Leading at a Higher Level

IntroductionThe book under consideration is named â€Å"Leading at a Higher Level† and this extraordinary book was written by Ken Blanchard. The author has previously written numerous books namely The One Minute Manager, Raving Fans and now this book. The books written by the aforementioned author have turned out to be helpful for a number of people in perfecting their own leadership skills and expand the prospective of those around them.Now, in Leading at a Higher Level, Ken Blanchard discloses the answers to superlative leadership. Anyone and everyone can profit from the recommendations in this book that have previously helped thousands of leaders and business’ become more oriented around its people, centered on the satisfaction of its customers and performance-driven. The author introduces the readers to innumerable concepts such as the â€Å"triple bottom line† and how to use it to generate effectual objectives and visions.The book provides the readers with t he ways to determine ways to turn customers into what the author calls â€Å"raving fans† and build up a proper â€Å"customer mania.† Any of the higher authorities of an organization can use the techniques presented by the author in his book their own guidance, for leading teams as well as complete organizations. It can also help one in finding their own individual â€Å"leadership point of view†, which is a skill that all really great leaders have power over and it is also helpful in finding out how to relate it all the way through your entire life. By the use of this book, regardless of who or what place you are at, one can produce high-performing business; that can ease out life for everyone. Hoist your game, improve your presentation and make sure that you are foremost at a higher level.ReviewAs said, â€Å"Leaders in any realm of life can become self-serving when the driving reason for being in business is based solely on profit. While profit is a legitim ate goal, neglecting to see leadership as part of a higher calling diminishes the capacity to influence others and impact the greater good† (William, p.1). Leading at a Higher Level scrutinizes the notion of leading with a higher rationale, which necessitates a persuasive visualization and a way of life that the expansion of people is in the same way important to that of presentation. Author Ken Blanchard dares readers to show the way by asking themselves about their own realities, what they position for, and how they can take the inventiveness even if they do not have authoritative power.In the aforementioned book, the author along with a number of his colleagues has made the efforts to put forward their own understanding of top-notch leadership. By reading the book one can learn just how to create aims and objectives for the organization and the ways by which you can make your existence known as well as where your company is moving.Blanchard expands his step forward work on conveying well-known customer service and creating what he calls â€Å"raving fans.† In the book one will find the state-of-the-art dialogue of the well-known Situational Leadership II techniques for leading yourself, persons, teams, and complete businesses. Most significantly, Leading at a Higher Level the book is a big help if one wishes to take a good look at himself, determine the private â€Å"leadership point of view† and then use it for the rest of his or her life.  In the words of the author, â€Å"those who want to lead at a higher level need to understand what a high performing organization looks like and what is necessary to create one. They need to aim for the right target. Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people† (Blanchard, p.4).The author believes that anyone who wishes to become a better leader in any company, any organization, and any area of life needs to have a fi xed aim, follow the right idea, focus on the â€Å"bottom lines† that really matter at the same time as providing the customers with good support and deliver your ideal customer experience, and create â€Å"raving fans†. But most of all what he wants to deliver is that leaders should, â€Å"Listen, praise, support, guide, and help your people win† (Blanchard, p.5).The book is extremely informative when it comes to learning how to lead your people to enormity as you create elevated performing organizations that make life better for everyone. This book will direct you, motivate you, incite you, and be your criterion. Ken Blanchard along with a vast number of his colleagues are people that have spent a number of years in serving good leaders and organizations become grand, and as well as stay that way. In this book, they have made an effort to bring together everything they have learnt in the years gone by. By this book one can discover how to, â€Å"Go beyond the short term and zero in on the right target and vision, deliver legendary, maniacal customer service, and earn raving fans, truly empower your people and unleash their incredible potential, ground your leadership in humility and focus on the greater good† (Blanchard, p.10). Since a very long time, a vast number of people have benefited from the insight, understanding, and convenient procedures.From my personal point of view, the book is excellently written providing examples from the lives of real leaders. The book has been written in a very exciting manner and one can not get bored while reading it. Speaking for myself, I have not found anything negative about the book.ConclusionIn the light of the above discussion we can hereby culminate that the book that has been mentioned above namely Leading at a Higher Level was written by Ken Blanchard and the book is related to the ways in which leaders can understand themselves and then lead themselves, their teams and the entire org anizations on the way to success.Works CitedBlanchard, Ken. Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations.   United States of America. FT Press. 2006 Pp. 4,5,10.Williams, Susan. Leading at a Higher. Financial Times. 2007. Pp.1.

An Overview of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. specializes in retail donut market and was founded in 1937 in North Carolina. Today, there are over 400 stores which employ 3,900 employees in 45 states and 4 countries. The company produces about 7.5 million donuts each day. The company is one of the leading producers of donuts and is ranked 4th of the top 100 chains in the U.S. (standing as of 2004). The company owns and franchises Krispy Kreme doughnut shops and sells over 20 different kinds of doughnuts, including its Hot Original Glazed variety. Today, the company faces some significant challenges: Employees are suing the company over mismanagement of retirement funds Changes in eating habits have affected the company†s revenue In May of 2004, the Krispy Kreme stock fell almost 18 % because of changes in dieting habits, particularly the low-carbohydrate phenomenon. The sale of packaged donuts dropped dramatically. The company claimed this was impacting sales but analysts were skeptical because doughnuts are not thought of as â€Å"part of a diet†, any diet. And changes in America†s eating habits, especially the health craze that seems to be the current pattern is likely to impact the sales of sugary and snack foods. Krispy Kreme doughnuts fall into both categories. Changes in senior management always make investors wary. In 2005, Stephen F. Cooper was named CEO replacing Scott A. Livengood, who has retired as Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company. He will become a consultant on an interim basis. Steven G. Panagos has been named President and Chief Operating Officer (press release, 2005). The company hopes this change will turn things around. In the company†s own words, â€Å"The Company also announced that the results for its fourth quarter ending January 30, 2005 have been, and may continue to be, adversely impacted by significant sales declines. For the eight weeks ended December 26, 2004, system wide and Company average weekly sales per factory store have decreased approximately 18% and 25%, respectively, compared to the corresponding weeks of the prior year. The quarter is also being adversely impacted by the substantial costs associated with the legal and regulatory matters previously disclosed. These factors may result in the Company experiencing a loss for the current quarter. KZC will work with the Company to review whether it should take certain operational actions, which could include the consolidation of store locations. Any such actions could result in substantial losses, although it is expected that any restructuring charges largely would be non- cash charges. The system wide average weekly sales per factory store, is a non-GAAP financial measure. System wide sales data include sales at all company and franchise stores. The Company believes system wide sales information is useful in assessing our market share and concept growth (press release, 2005). The company needs to change. One start may be to consider its offerings. Although the company was initially successful by making doughnuts, they may need to expand and also offer customers healthier choices, such as low-fat muffins and bagels. Although this will change the premise of their business it provides an opportunity for the company to gain new customers. Dunkin Donuts has successfully altered their offerings and so can Krispy Kreme. The company also needs to settle their regulatory and legal affairs so that the company†s reputation doesn†t continue to be negatively impacted. Once they have a clean slate, they should issue a press release assuring consumers that Krispy Kreme has dealt with its issues and is back on track. Addressing any quality control issues and consolidating where possible will also lend an air of credibility, especially to stockholders and potential investors. The company needs to put some significant checks and balances in place to prevent any additional financial scandals and prove that the goal of the company is to regain financial stability and profitability. The company also faces increasing competition and needs to set themselves apart. One way could be to develop a â€Å"healthier† doughnut-one that is lower in fat but retains the taste. Basically, the company needs an overhaul and having a new CEO is the best way to start. This is the perfect opportunity to implement change on every front. The biggest challenge facing the company is to make these changes as quickly and efficiently as possible to regain their competitive edge and name in the industry.

Short Speech

How to be a Successful Sportsman Our government has always emphasized on the importance of sports. Our sportsmen have gone for overseas competitions. Sad to say, however, our athletes did not bring back any medals in the recently concluded World Olympics. To be a good sportsman, one must have balanced meals. It means that he should have a balanced diet of protein, carbohydrate and vitamins. He should not eat too much meat, neither should he eat too much fatty foods. Second, he must have enough sleep and rest. Eight hours of sleep per day is a must.He should not over-strain himself. Listening to music is one good way of relaxing. Third, a good sportsman must have regular training. If he is not consistent, he is bound to be lag behind. This requires discipline on the part of the sportsman himself. One good reminder is ‘come rain or shine, he must go to the field', and sweats it out. Finally, an excellent sportsman must have an excellent coach. A good coach will plan ahead for him and advise him on some strategic points and impart to him the required skill to excel.So keep your finger crossed, sportsmen, you can still make it. (197 words) My best friend A best friend is the first person who comes in when, out of the door, the whole world has gone. A best friend is one who loves the truth and you, and will tell the truth in spite of you. There are lots of people who you make friendship with, but it is very hard to find a true and honest friend. But I am very lucky that I have a best friend with whom I can share my feelings and divide grief with. His name is Thaqif. He is very friendly, and I am very happy to have him as my best friend.He is very well respectful, hardworking, and an honest person. Thaqif has all those friendly habits that we seek in a friend such as friendly behavior and respectfulness. Finally, Thaqif is very honest friend. He is very well mannered and organized person. He loves the truth and hate lying. Beyond that if he make any mistakes, h e tries to solve the mistake. In conclusion, Thaqif is very friendly and well organized person. He loves the people who speak truth and to be successful in life he is working very hard. And I am very happy to have him as my best friend! 206 words) †How to Protect the Environment† Good evening sir and friends, I would like to talk about†How to Protect the Environment† First of all, each one of us can start by not littering. We should throw our rubbish into the rubbish bin instead of anywhere we like. Another way of protecting our environment is by keeping our rivers clean. We can play our role by not throwing rubbish into the rivers. Meanwhile the factories can stop dumping their toxic waste into them. Moreover, farmers should avoid open burning in their farming practice because it pollutes the air.Finally, we can practice the 3R; Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. Every household should aim at reducing the amount of rubbish thrown. If â€Å"Reuse, Reduce and Recycle † are put into practice, the amount of rubbish thrown and the amount of energy used to produce some of the recyclable items can indeed be reduced. Clearly, each one of us can contribute towards the conservation of our environment and our efforts should be continuous. Protecting our environment means ensuring the existence of our future generation. With that, thank you. (176 words)

The Return: Midnight Chapter 22

â€Å"Ma ma said not in Fel ‘s Church,†Mrs. Flowers repeated to Stefan. â€Å"And that means not the thicket.† â€Å"All right,†Stefan said. â€Å"If he's not there, then where else?† â€Å"Well,†Elena said slowly, â€Å"it's the police, isn't it? They've caught him.†Her heart felt as if it were in her stomach. Mrs. Flowers sighed. â€Å"I suppose so. Ma ma should have told me that, but the atmosphere is ful of strange influences.† â€Å"But the sheriff's department is in Fel ‘s Church. What there is of it,†Elena objected. â€Å"Then,†Mrs. Flowers said, â€Å"what about the police in another city close by? The ones who came looking for him before – â€Å" â€Å"Ridgemont,†Elena said heavily. â€Å"That's where those police that searched the boardinghouse were from. That's where that Mossberg guy came from, Meredith said.†She looked at Meredith, who didn't even murmur. â€Å"That's where Caroline's dad has al his big-shot friends – and Tyler Smal wood's dad does too. They belong to al those no-women clubs with does too. They belong to al those no-women clubs with secret handshakes and stuff.† â€Å"And do we have anything like a plan for when we get there?†Stefan asked. â€Å"I have a sort of Plan A,†Elena admitted. â€Å"But I don't know that it wil work – you may know better than I do.† â€Å"Tell me.† Elena told him. Stefan listened and had to stifle a laugh. â€Å"I think,†he said soberly afterward, â€Å"that it just might work.† Elena immediately began to think about Plans B and C so that they wouldn't be stuck if Plan A should fail. They had to drive through Fel ‘s Church to get to Ridgemont. Elena saw the burnt-out houses and the blackened trees through tears. This was her town, the town which, as a spirit, she had watched over and protected. How could it have come to this? And, worse, how could it ever possibly be put back together again? Elena began to shiver uncontrol ably. Matt sat grimly in the jury conference room. He had explored it long ago, and had found that the windows were boarded over from the outside. He wasn't surprised, as al the windows he knew back in Fel ‘s Church were boarded up, and besides, he had tried these boards and knew that he could break out if he cared to. He didn't care to. It was time to face his personal crisis. He would have faced it back before Damon had taken the three girls to the Dark Dimension, but Meredith had talked him out of it. Matt knew that Mr. Forbes, Caroline's father, had al his cronies in the police and legal system here. And so did Mr. Smal wood, the father of the real culprit. They were unlikely to give him a fair trial. But in any kind of trial, at some point they would at least have to listen to him. And what they would hear was the plain truth. They might not believe it now. But later, when Caroline's twins had as little control as werewolf babies were reputed to have over their shapes – Well, then they'd think of Matt, and what he'd said. He was doing the right thing, he assured himself. Even if, right now, his insides felt as if they were made of lead. What's the worst they can do to me? he wondered, and was unhappy to hear the echo of Meredith's voice come back. â€Å"They can put you in jail, Matt. Real jail; you're over eighteen. And while that may be good news for some genuine, vicious, tough old felons with homemade tattoos and biceps like tree branches, it is not going to be good news for you.† And then after a session on the Internet, â€Å"Matt, in Virginia, it can be for life. And the minimum is five years. Matt, please; I beg you, don't let them do this to you! Sometimes it's true that discretion is the better part of valor. They hold all the cards and we're walking blindfolded in the dark†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She had gotten surprisingly worked up about it, mixing her metaphors and al , Matt thought dejectedly. But it's not exactly as if I volunteered for this. And I bet they know those boards are pretty flimsy and if I break out, I'l be chased from here to who-knows-where. And if I stay put at least I'l get to tel the truth. For a very long time nothing happened. Matt could tel from the sun through the cracks in the boards that it was afternoon. A man came in and offered a visit to the bathroom and a Coke. Matt accepted both, but also demanded an attorney and his phone cal . â€Å"You'l have an attorney,†the man grumbled at him as Matt came out of the bathroom. â€Å"One'l be appointed for you.† â€Å"I don't want that. I want a real attorney. One that I pick.† The man looked disgusted. â€Å"Kid like you can't have any money. You'l take the attorney appointed to you.† â€Å"My mom has money. She'd want me to have the attorney we hire, not some kid out of law school.† â€Å"Aw,†the man said, â€Å"how sweet. You want Mommy to take care of you. And her al the way out in Clydesdale by now, I bet, with the black lady doctor.† Matt froze. Shut back in the jury room he tried frantical y to think. How did they know where his mom and Dr. Alpert had gone? He tried the sound of â€Å"black lady doctor† on his tongue and found it tasted bad, sort of old-time-ish and just plain bad. If the doctor had been Caucasian and male, it would've sounded sil y to say â€Å"†¦gone with the white man doctor.† Sort of like an old Tarzan film. A great anger was rising in Matt. And along with it a great fear. Words slithered around his mind: surveillance and spying and conspiracy and cover-up. And outwitted. He guessed it was after five o'clock, after everybody who normal y worked at court had left, that they took him to the interrogation room. They were just playing, he figured, the two officers who tried to talk to him in a cramped little room with a video camera in one corner of the wal , perfectly obvious even though it was smal . They took turns, one yel ing at him that he might as well confess everything, the other acting sympathetic and saying things like, â€Å"Things just got out of hand, right? We have a picture of the hickey she gave you. She was hot stuff, right?†Wink, wink. â€Å"I understand. But then she started to give you mixed signals†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Matt reached his snapping point. â€Å"No, we were not on a date, no, she did not give me a hickey, and when I tel Mr. Forbes you cal ed Caroline hot stuff, winkey winkey, he's gonna get you fired, mister. And I've heard of mixed signals, but I've never seen them. I can hear ‘no'as well as you can, and I figure one ‘no'means ‘no'!† After that they beat him up a little bit. Matt was surprised, but considering the way he had just threatened and sassed them, not too surprised. And then they seemed to give up on him, leaving him alone in the interrogation room, which, unlike the jury room, had no windows. Matt said over and over, for the benefit of the video camera, â€Å"I'm innocent and I'm being denied my phone cal and my attorney. I'm innocent†¦Ã¢â‚¬  At last they came and got him. He was hustled between the good and bad cops into a completely empty courtroom. No, not empty, he realized. In the first row were a few reporters, one or two with sketchbooks ready. When Matt saw that, just like a real trial, and imagined the pictures they'd sketch – just like he'd seen on TV, the lead in his stomach turned into a fluttering feeling of panic. But this was what he wanted, wasn't it, to get the story out? He was led to an empty table. There was another table, with several well-dressed men, al with piles of papers in front of them. But the thing that held Matt's attention at that table was Caroline. He didn't recognize her at first. She was wearing a dove gray cotton dress. Gray! With no jewelry on at all, and subtle makeup. The only color was in her hair – a brazen auburn. It looked like her old hair, not the brindled color it had been when she was starting to become a werewolf. Had she learned to control her form at last? That was bad news. Very bad. And final y, with an air of walking on eggshel s, in came the jury. They had to know how irregular this was, but they kept coming in, just twelve of them, just enough to fil the jury seats. Matt suddenly realized that there was a judge sitting at the desk high above him. Had he been there al along? No†¦ â€Å"Al rise for Justice Thomas Hol oway,†boomed a bailiff. Matt stood and wondered if the trial was real y going to start without his lawyer. But before everyone could sit, there was a crash of opening doors, and a tal bundle of papers on legs hurried into the courtroom, became a woman in her early twenties, and dumped the papers on the table beside him. â€Å"Gwen Sawicki here – present,†the young woman gasped. Judge Hol oway's neck shot out like a tortoise's, to bring her into his realm of sight. â€Å"You have been appointed on behalf of the defense?† â€Å"If it pleases Your Honor, yes, Your Honor – al of thirty minutes ago. I had no idea we had gone to night sessions, Your Honor.† â€Å"Don't you be pert with me!†Judge Hol oway snapped. As he went on to al ow the prosecution attorneys to introduce themselves, Matt pondered on the word â€Å"pert.†It was another of those words, he thought, that was never used toward males. A pert man was a joke. While a pert girl or woman sounded just fine. But why? â€Å"Cal me Gwen,†a voice whispered beside him, and Matt looked to see a girl with brown eyes and brown hair back in a ponytail. She wasn't exactly pretty, but she looked honest and straightforward, which made her the prettiest thing in the room. â€Å"I'm Matt – Well, obviously,†Matt said. â€Å"Is this your girl, Carolyn?†Gwen was whispering, showing a picture of the old Caroline at some dance, wearing stilts, and with tanned legs that went up and up to almost meet before a miniskirt took over, black and lacy. She had on a white blouse so tight at the bust that it hardly seemed able to contain her natural assets. Her makeup was exactly the opposite of subtle. â€Å"Her name's Caroline and she's never been my girl, but that's her – the real her,†Matt whispered. â€Å"Before Klaus came and did something to her boyfriend, Tyler Smal wood. But I have to tel you what happened when she found out she was pregnant – â€Å" She'd gone nuts, was what had happened. No one knew where Tyler was – dead after the final fight against Klaus, turned into a ful wolf in hiding; whatever. So Caroline had tried to pin it on Matt – until Shinichi appeared and became her boyfriend. But Shinichi and Misao were playing a cruel joke on her, pretending that Shinichi would marry her. It was after she realized that Shinichi didn't care at allthat Caroline had gone total y bal istic, and had real y tried to make Matt fit the gaping hole in her life. Matt did his best to explain this to Gwen so she could explain it to the jury, until the judge's voice interrupted him. â€Å"We wil dispense with opening arguments,†said Judge Hol oway, â€Å"since the hour is so late. Wil the prosecution cal its first witness?† â€Å"Wait! Objection!†Matt shouted, ignoring Gwen's tugging at his arm and her hissing: â€Å"You can't object to the judge's rulings!† â€Å"And the judge can't do this to me,†Matt said, twitching his T-shirt back from between her fingers. â€Å"I haven't even had a chance to meet with my public defender yet!† â€Å"Maybe you should have accepted a public defender earlier,†replied the judge, sipping from a glass of water. He suddenly thrust his head at Matt and snapped, â€Å"Eh?† â€Å"That's ridiculous,†cried Matt. â€Å"You wouldn't give me my phone cal to get a lawyer!† â€Å"Did he ever ask for a phone cal ?†Judge Hol oway snapped, his eyes traveling around the room. The two officers who had beat Matt up solemnly shook their heads. At this, the bailiff, whom Matt suddenly recognized as the guy who'd kept him in the jury room for around four hours, began wagging his head back and forth in the negative. They al three wagged, almost in unison. â€Å"Then you forfeited that right by not asking for it,†the judge snapped. It seemed to be his only way of speaking. â€Å"You can't demand it in the middle of a trial. Now, as I was saying – â€Å" â€Å"I object!† Matt shouted even louder. â€Å"They're al lying! Look at your own tapes of them interrogating me. Al I kept saying – â€Å" â€Å"Counselor,†the judge snarled at Gwen, â€Å"control your client or you wil be held in contempt of court!† â€Å"You have to shut up,†Gwen hissed at Matt. â€Å"You can't make me shut up! You can't have this trial while you're breaking al the rules!† â€Å"Shut your trap!† The judge belted out the words at a surprising volume. He then added, â€Å"The next person to make a remark without my express permission shal be held in contempt of court to the tune of a night in jail and five hundred dol ars.† He paused to look around to see if this had sunk in. â€Å"Now,†he said. â€Å"Prosecution, cal your first witness.† â€Å"We cal Caroline Beulah Forbes to the stand.† Caroline's figure had changed. Her stomach was sort of upside-down-avocado-shaped now. Matt heard murmurs. â€Å"Caroline Beula Forbes, do you swear that the testimony you shal give wil be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?† Somewhere deep inside, Matt was shaking. He didn't know if it was mostly anger or mostly fear or an equal combination of both. But he felt like a geyser ready to blow – not necessarily because he wanted to, but because forces beyond his control were taking hold of him. Gentle Matt, Quiet Matt, Obedient Matt – he had left al those behind somewhere. Raging Matt, Rampaging Matt, that was about al he could be. From a dim outside world, voices came filtering into his reverie. And one voice pricked and stung like a nettle. â€Å"Do you recognize the boy you have named as your former boyfriend Matthew Jeffrey Honeycutt here in this room?† â€Å"Yes,†the prickly nettle voice said softly. â€Å"He's sitting at the defense table, in the gray T-shirt.† Matt's head flew up. He looked Caroline straight in the eye. â€Å"You know that's a lie,†he said. â€Å"We never went on one date together. Ever.† The judge, who had seemed to be asleep, now woke up. â€Å"Bailiff!†he snapped. â€Å"Restrain the defendant immediately.† Matt tensed. As Gwen Sawicki moaned, Matt suddenly found himself being held while duct tape was wrapped round and round his mouth. He fought. He tried to get up. So they duct-taped him around his waist to the chair. As they final y left him alone, the judge said, â€Å"If he runs off with that chair, you wil pay it out of your own salary, Miz Sawicki.† Matt could feel Gwen Sawicki trembling beside him. Not with fear. He could recognize the about-to-explode expression and realized that she was going to be next. And then the judge would hold her in contempt and who would speak up for him? He met her eyes and shook his head firmly at her. But he also shook his head at every lie Caroline came up with. â€Å"We had to keep it a secret, our relationship,†Caroline was saying demurely, straightening the gray dress. â€Å"Because Tyler Smal wood, my previous boyfriend, might have found out. Then he would have – I mean, I didn't want any trouble between them.† Yeah, Matt thought bitterly: you'd better walk careful y – because Tyler's dad probably has as many good friends in here as yours does. More. Matt tuned out until he heard the prosecutor say, â€Å"And did anything unusual happen on the night in question?† â€Å"Well, we went out together in his car. We went over near the boardinghouse†¦no one would see us there†¦Yes, I – I'm afraid I did give him a†¦a love-bite. But after that I wanted to leave, but he didn't stop. I had to try to fight him off. I scratched him with my nails – â€Å" â€Å"The prosecution offers Peoples'Exhibit 2 – a picture of the deep fingernail scores on the defendant's arm – â€Å" Gwen's eyes, meeting Matt's, looked dul . Beaten. She showed Matt a picture of what he remembered: the deep marks made by the huge malach's teeth when he had pul ed his arm out of its mouth. â€Å"The defense wil stipulate†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"So admitted.† â€Å"But no matter how I screamed and fought†¦Well, he was too strong, and I – I couldn't – â€Å"Caroline tossed her head in agony of remembered shame. Tears flooded from her eyes. â€Å"Your Honor, perhaps the defendant needs a break to freshen her makeup,†Gwen suggested bitterly. â€Å"Young lady, you are getting on my nerves. The prosecution can care for its own clients – I mean witnesses – â€Å" â€Å"Your witness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – from the prosecution. Matt had scribbled as much of the real story as he could onto a blank sheet of paper while Caroline's theatrics had gone on. Gwen was now reading this. â€Å"So,†she said, â€Å"your ex, Tyler Smal wood, is not and has never been a† – she swal owed – â€Å"a werewolf.† Through her tears of shame Caroline laughed lightly. â€Å"Of course not. Werewolves aren't real.† â€Å"Like vampires.† â€Å"Vampires aren't real either, if that's what you mean. How could they be?†Caroline was looking into every shadow of the room as she said this. Gwen was doing a good job, Matt realized. Caroline's demure patina was beginning to chip. â€Å"And people never come back from the dead – in these modern times, I mean,†Gwen said. â€Å"Well, as to that† – malice had crept into Caroline's voice – â€Å"if you just go to the boardinghouse in Fel ‘s Church, you can see that there's a girl cal ed Elena Gilbert, who was supposed to have drowned last year. On Founder's Day, after the parade. She was Miss Fel ‘s Church, of course.† There was a murmur among the reporters. Supernatural stuff sold better than anything else, especial y if a pretty girl was involved. Matt could see a smirk making the rounds. â€Å"Order! Miz Sawicki, you wil keep to the facts in this case!† â€Å"Yes, Your Honor.†Gwen looked thwarted. â€Å"Okay, Caroline, let's go back to the day of the al eged assault. After the events you have narrated, did you cal the police at once?† â€Å"I was†¦too ashamed. But then I realized I might be pregnant or have some horrid disease, and I knew I had to tel .† â€Å"But that horrid disease wasn't lycanthropy – being a werewolf, right? Because that couldn't be true.† Gwen looked anxiously down at Matt and Matt looked bleakly up at her. He'd hoped that if Caroline were forced to keep talking about werewolves she would eventual y start to twitch. But she seemed to have complete control over herself now. The judge seemed furious. â€Å"Young lady, I won't have my court made a joke with any more supernatural nonsense!† Matt stared at the ceiling. He was going to jail. For a long time. For something he hadn't done. For something he would never do. And besides, now, there might be reporters going over to the boardinghouse to bother Elena and Stefan. Damn! Caroline had managed to get that in despite the blood oath she'd made never to give their secret away. Damon had signed that oath as well. For a moment Matt wished that Damon were back and right here, to take revenge on her. Matt didn't care how many times he got cal ed â€Å"Mutt†if Damon would just appear. But Damon didn't. Matt realized that the duct tape around his middle was low enough that he could slam his head against the defense table. He did this, making a smal boom. â€Å"If your client wishes to be completely immobilized, Miz Sawicki, it can be – â€Å" But then they al heard it. Like an echo, but delayed. And much louder than the sound of a head striking a table. BOOM! And again. BOOM! And then the distant, disturbing sound of doors slamming open as if they had been hit by a battering ram. At this point the people in the courtroom Stillcould have scattered. But where was there to go? BOOM! Another, closer door slamming open. â€Å"Order! Order in the courtroom!† Footsteps sounded down the wooden floor of the corridor. â€Å"Order! Order!† But no one, not even a judge, could stop this many people from muttering. And late in the evening, in a locked courthouse, after al that talk of vampires and werewolves†¦ Footsteps coming closer. A door, quite near, crashing and creaking. A ripple of†¦something†¦went through the courtroom. Caroline gasped, clutching at her bulging stomach. â€Å"Bar those doors! Bailiff! Lock them!† â€Å"Bar them how, Your Honor? And they only lock from the outside!† Whatever it was, it was very close – The doors to the courtroom opened, creaking. Matt put a calming hand on Gwen's wrist, twisting his neck to see behind him. Standing in the doorway was Saber, looking, as always, as big as a smal pony. Mrs. Flowers walked beside him; Stefan and Elena drew up the rear. Heavy clicking footsteps as Saber, alone, went up to Caroline, who was gasping and quivering. Utter silence as everyone took in the sight of the giant beast, his coat ebony black, his eyes dark and moist as he took a leisurely look around the courtroom. Then, deep in his chest, Saber went hmmf. Around Matt people were gasping and writhing, as if they itched al over. He stared and saw Gwen staring along with him as the gasping became a panting. Final y Saber tilted his nose to the ceiling and howled. What happened after that wasn't pretty from Matt's point of view. Not seeing Caroline's nose and mouth jut out to make a muzzle. Not seeing her eyes recede into smal , deep, fur-lined holes. And her hands, fingers shrinking into helplessly waving paws, widespread, with black claws. That wasn't pretty. But the animal at the end was beautiful. Matt didn't know if she'd absorbed her gray dress or shucked it off or what. He did know that a handsome gray wolf leaped from the defendant's chair to lick up at Saber's chops, rol ing al the way on the floor to frolic around the huge animal, who was so obviously the alpha wolf. Saber made another deep hmmf sound. The wolf that had been Caroline rubbed her snout lovingly against his neck. And it was happening in other places in the room. Both of the prosecutors, three of the jurors†¦the judge himself†¦ They were al changing, not to attack, but to forge their social bonds with this huge wolf, an alpha if ever there was one. â€Å"We talked to him al the way,†Elena explained in between cursing the duct tape in Matt's hair. â€Å"About not being aggressive and snapping off heads – Damon told me he did that once.† â€Å"We didn't want a bunch of murders,†Stefan agreed. â€Å"And we knew no animal would be as big as he was. So we concentrated on bringing out al the wolf in him we could – wait, Elena – I've got the tape on this side. Sorry about this, Matt.† A sting as tape ripped free – and Matt put a hand to his mouth. Mrs. Flowers was snipping the duct tape that held him to the chair. Suddenly he was entirely free and he felt like shouting. He hugged Stefan, Elena, and Mrs. Flowers, saying, â€Å"Thank you!† Gwen, unfortunately, was being sick in a trash can. Actual y, Matt thought, she was lucky in having secured one. A juror was being sick over the railing. â€Å"This is Ms. Sawicki,†Matt said proudly. â€Å"She came in after the trial had begun, and did a real y good job for me.† â€Å"He said ‘Elena,'†Gwen whispered when she could speak. She was staring at a smal wolf, with patches of thinning hair, that came limping down from the judge's chair to cavort around Saber, who was accepting al such gestures with dignity. â€Å"I'm Elena,†said Elena, in between giving Matt mighty hugs. â€Å"The one who's†¦supposed to be dead?† Elena took a moment out to hug Gwen. â€Å"Do I feel dead?† â€Å"I – I don't know. No. But – â€Å" â€Å"But I have a pretty little headstone in the Fel ‘s Church cemetery,†Elena assured her – then suddenly, with a change in countenance, â€Å"Did Caroline tel you that?† â€Å"She told the whole room that. Especial y the reporters.† Stefan looked at Matt and smiled wryly. â€Å"You may just live to have your revenge on Caroline.† â€Å"I don't want revenge anymore. I just want to go home. I mean – â€Å"He looked at Mrs. Flowers in consternation. â€Å"If you can think of my house as ‘home'while your dear mother is away, I am very happy,†said Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"Thank you,†Matt said quietly. â€Å"I real y mean that. But Stefan†¦what are the reporters going to write?† â€Å"If they're smart, they won't write anything at all.†

Brand Management Summary Essay

Constructs: * Consumer based brand equity: The differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand. It involves consumers’ reactions to an element of the marketing mix for the brand in comparison with their reactions to the same marketing mix element attributed to a fictitiously named/unnamed version of the product or service. * Brand knowledge: a brand node in memory to which a variety of associations are linked: * Brand image: set of brand associations in a consumers’ memory. It are perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory. Brand image is defined by: * Type of Brand associations: * Attributes: Non-product related or product related. * Benefits: Functional, experiential or symbolic. * Attitudes * Favorability, Strength and Uniqueness of Brand associations * Brand awareness: recall and recognition by consumers. It is about the strength of the brand node or trace in memory. Findings: * A brand is said to have a positive (negative) customer-based brand equity if consumers react more (less) favorably to the product, price, promotion, or distribution of the brand than they do to the same marketing mix element when it is attributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product or service. * Favorable CBBE can lead to enhanced revenue, lower costs, greater profits, larger margins, less elasticity, increased marketing communication effectiveness and licensing opportunities. * Pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion strategies stimulate CBBE. * Building CBBE requires creating a familiar brand name and a positive brand image. * Measuring CBBE can be done (1) indirectly by measuring sources of brand knowledge or (2) directly by measuring the effects of brand knowledge on consumer response to elements of the marketing  mix. * Managing CBBE: (1) take a broad and long-term view of marketing a brand (2) specify the desired consumer knowledge structures and core benefits for a brand (3) consider a wide range of traditional and nontraditional advertising, promotion and marketing options (4) coordinate the marketing options that are chosen (5) conducting tracking studies and controlled experiments (6) evaluate potential extension candidates. Implications: * Marketing activity can potentially enhance or maintain consumers’ awareness of the brand or the favorability, strength or uniqueness of certain associations. * This enables making short- and long-term decisions better and more insightful. Article 2: Esch, Franz-Rudolf, Tobias Langer, Bernd H. Schmitt and Patrick Geus (2006), â€Å"Are Brands Forever? How Brand Knowledge and Relationships Affect Current and Future Purchases,† Journal of Product & Brand Management, 15, 2, 98-105 Constructs: * Brand attributes: awareness, image, perceived quality, perceived value, personality, and organizational associations. * Brand knowledge attributes: awareness and image, where awareness is a necessary condition to build brand image. * Brand relationships: * Satisfaction: the exchange aspects of a relationship. It’s about giving vs. receiving. * Trust: the feeling that is the outcome of a communal relationship with a brand. * Attachment: a longer-lasting, commitment-inducing bond between the brand and the consumer. Satisfaction and Trust lead to brand Attachment. * Behavioral outcomes: Current purchase behavior and future purchase behavior. Findings: * Current purchases are affected by brand image directly and by brand awareness indirectly. * Future purchases are not affected by either dimension of brand knowledge directly, but brand knowledge does affect future purchases via a brand relationship path that includes brand satisfaction, brand trust and attachment to the brand. Concluding, brand knowledge is not sufficient to build long-term brand relationships. However,  relationship variables are critical for predicting future purchases as well as current purchases. * Brand awareness does not significantly affect brand satisfaction and brand trust. * Brand awareness affects brand image and both are direct determinants of current consumer purchase behavior. Implications: * Currently, brand managers measure brand awareness and brand image. They should also consider brand relationship measures and develop strategic and tactical initiatives that ensure that consumers are satisfied with the brand, trust it and feel attached to it if they wish to achieve long-term success. Lecture notes (27-08-2012): Introduction to Brand Management Once, products were un-differentiable, often sold loose, the quality varied significantly and many people made the same thing. To make buyers prefer your ‘commodity’, brands were introduced: * A name, sign or symbol intended to identify the goods & services of one (group of) sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition. It creates reputation, awareness and prominence. Organizations perceive brands as physical products, where customers perceive it as psychological products, since they want to buy brands and not simply products. A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a need or want. It consists of 4 levels: Core benefit, tangible product, augmented product and total product. * A brand is a product, but one that adds other dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products designed to satisfy the same need. It makes products different in a rational, tangible, symbolic, emotional and intangible way. In reality, the most valuable assets are intangible ones. A brand is important for * Customers because: it’s an identification of a production source, it assigns responsibility to the maker, it reduces risk, it reduces search cost, it forms a bond / pact with the maker of the product, it is a symbolic device, and a sign of quality. * Manufacturers because: it allows identification to simplify handling or tracing, it allows legal protection of unique features, it’s a signal of quality level, it endows unique associations to products, it’s a source of competitive advantage and a source of financial returns. As long is something is perceived as different, from the product category, it is branded. It should be given a label and provided a meaning. Types of things that can be branded: 1) Physical goods 2) Services 3) Retailers & Distributors 4) Online products and Services 5) People and Organizations 6) Sports, Arts and Entertainment (experience goods like Walt Disney and Pixar) 7) Geographic Locations 8) Ideas and Causes. Brands Fail because market conditions change, where some companies fail to adapt (inertia). Business Challenges & Opportunities: * Savvy customers: More experienced customers demand more than respect. * Brand proliferation: few products are ‘mono’ branded nowadays. Often, complex brand families and portfolios are required. * Media fragmentation: New methods of communication arise (internet) and expenditures appear to shift from advertising to promotion. * Increased costs: Developing new products is costly so team up with other brands. * Increased competition: Differentiation becomes more difficult, markets start to be more mature and low-priced competitors arise. Consider brand extensions. * Greater accountability: Engage short-term performance orientation, make sure you have your figures right. Customer Based Brand Equity: (1) Differential effect that (2) brand knowledge has on (3) consumer response to the marketing of that brand. Marketing a product should make the consumers’ response more favorable compared to not branding the product. Types are: * Consumer brand equity: A positive, strong, active and unique meaning of the brand. * Financial brand equity: enables earning more in  the short and long run. The Strategic Brand Management Process (to build, measure and manage brand equity): 1. Identify and Establish brand positioning and values: It is your attempt to get in the mind of the consumer in a distinct and valued place. This includes mental maps, a competitive frame of reference, points of parity & difference, core brand values and brand mantra. It is also about who is in your market. 2. Plan and implement brand marketing programs: The mixing and matching of brand elements (visual or verbal?), integrating brand marketing activities and leverage of secondary associations that convey meaning to consumers. 3. Measure and interpret brand performance: Use brand value chains (how will our activities influence what customers think, feel and do), audits, tracking, and equity management systems. What is a Business Value Chain: a. Customer brand equity management goal: build, sustain, and leverage a strong, active and unique meaning of the brand. b. Financial brand equity goal: to enable more earnings in the short and long run. 4. Grow & Sustain brand equity (how to improve things): concepts that are used are brand-product matrixes (shows all brands and products sold by one firm), brand portfolios and hierarchies, brand expansion strategies and brand reinforcement and revitalization. The 6 deadly sins of branding: 1. Brand Memory loss: don’t forget what a brand stands for, don’t change identity. 2. Brand Egoism: overestimating your (supplying) capabilities and importance. 3. Brand Deception: Don’t include fictional ingredients that appear healthy or try to cover the reality of your product. 4. Brand fatigue: Companies are bored with their brands, causing a lack of creativity. 5. Brand paranoia: Too much focus on competition instead of product quality. 6. Brand irrelevance: Not staying ahead of the product category’s market. Lecture notes WC week 1 (29-08-012 / Red Bull Case): Sources of brand equity for Red bull: * First mover advantage, premium pricing, and special ingredients  (taurine). * New market creation (energy drink), and an all round occasion product. * Sampling often, source efficacy, cool image, limited availability, and specific associations such as sports and athletes. Their strategy is a global approach. Tactics are always similar, and sports are always important. How does the marketing program contribute to the brand equity: * They have a broad positioning, aiming for high quality and high price, being a premium product and being exclusive. Some terminology: * Disruptive products are those that break the rules, the normal way of doing business. * They do so ‘below the line’ by using exceptional promotion activities. * They do so ‘above the line’ by using out of the box marketing. * Share of voice: Share of expenditures on advertising, as a share of the product category. * Share of belly: Share in all types of drinks consumption. * The most important things for branded products are involvement and interest. * ‘Jump on the bandwagon’ means following the mainstream (Bullit vs. Red Bull). Why are Red bull’s advertisements so successful and how do they maintain their marketing monumentum? * High integration and a consistent program. * Limited availability, which causes buzz marketing. * Their ads use a specific humorous tone of voice, which builds awareness. Findings of the energy drink experiment: * All energy drinks increase blood pressure. Placebos only do so under high motivation. Red bull and brand extensions (the key to success is a ‘fit’ with your brand): * What did they do already? Shots, different tastes, Red Bull cola, Premix with alcoholics, refrigerators, and using different sizes. * Which ones were successful? Different sizes, sports events, magazines, shows, and the flagship store that sells a lot of merchandise. * Which ones were unsuccessful? Different tastes, Cola, and energy shots. Week 2: Branding Objectives: Values, Identity and Positioning Article 1: Brown, Tom J., Peter A. Dacin, Michael G. Pratt and David A. Whetten (2006) â€Å"Identity, Intended Image, Construed Image, and Reputation: An Interdisciplinary Framework and Suggested Terminology,† Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34, 2, 99-106 Constructs according to CED (Central, enduring, and distinctive organizational level of analysis): * Identity: An individual’s self-difinition / who are we as an organization. * Organizational identity: the property of a social group rather than an individual. * Intended Image: mental associations about the organization that organization leaders want important audiences / stakeholders to hold. * Construed image: Mental associations that organization members believe individuals or multiple people outside the organization hold about the organization. * Reputation: mental associations about the organization actually held by others outside the organization. Findings: * Image concerns what an organizational member wants others to know about the organization, while reputation is a perception of the organization actually held by an external stakeholder. * Corporate associations belong with the stakeholder, not to the organization. They may be influenced by a variety of outside sources: competitors, industry analysts, consumer activists and the media in addition to communications from the company. Implications: * Not mentioned Article 2: Coleman, Darren, Leslie de Chernatory and George Christodoulides (2011) â€Å"B2B Service Brand Identity: Scale Development and Validation,† Industrial Marketing Management, 40, 1063-1071 Constructs: * B2B service brand identity: the strategist’s vision of how a B2B service brand should be perceived by its stakeholders. It consists of the following scale dimensions: * Marketing Culture: unwritten policies and guidelines which provide employees with behavioral norms. It’s also about the importance an organization places on the marketing function. * Client relationship management: relationships with customers are the  cornerstone of industrial marketing. Therefore, the quality of CRM is very important. * Corporate Visual identity: logos can simplify the process of communicating brand benefit by being visual metaphors. They also help distinguishing a brand. * Integrated marketing communications: they help an organization’s brand identity manifest. For B2B, communications focus on organization rather than products. * Brand personality: The strength, favorability and uniqueness of the brand personality association. It should be easy to describe by clients, and f avourable. Findings: * After two factor analyses, the paper chose to rename some dimensions: * Employee & client focus: The organization treats employees & clients as an essential part of the organization, will help them in a responsive manner, will discover and respond to their needs, and top management is committed to providing quality service. * Corporate visual identity: Our font and logo is an important part of our visual identity, which makes us recognizable. * Brand personality: Associations are extremely positive and favorable, and clients have no difficulty describing them. * Consistent communications: There’s a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of all communication tools. Furthermore, Advertising, PR and Sales are providing consistent messages. * Human resource initiatives: There are employee-training programs designed to develop skills required for acquiring and deepening client relationships. Moreover, the organization regularly monitors employees’ performance. * The model is now empirical instead of conceptual. In addition, it is a synergistic network since all dimensions are highly correlated. Implications: * When managers want to asses the effectiveness of B2B service brand identity efforts, they should focus on either one or multiple of the above mentioned dimensions and measure them over time. Article 3: Chernev, Alexander, Ryan Hamilton and David Gal (2011) â€Å"Competing for Consumer Identity: Limits to Self-Expression and the Perils of Lifestyle  Branding,† Journal of Marketing, 75, May, 66-82 Constructs: * Self-expression of lifestyle and social identity: this is enabled by a huge degree of customization for certain products and also by social media. Findings (keep in mind that all findings discuss short-term effects): * Consumer brand preferences are a function of the activities they were involved in prior to evaluating a given brand. This finding holds because the need for self-expression is finite and ultimately can be satiated. This means that the need for self-expressive brands decreases as the number of alternative means of self-expression increases. * The extent to which consumers use brands to express their identities is not limited to self-expressive brands in the same category but it is also a function of the availability of alternative means of expressing identity. Satiation is caused by: * Personal brand relevance: how close is the brand related to your identity. Brands evaluated later in a set were more likely to be rated lower or equivalent in terms of personal relevance. * Perceived brand uniqueness: How brands are perceived to be different. * Consumers’ willingness to pay. * Increasing the prominence of self-expressive brands that are already a part of a consumer’s identity is likely to weaken future brand preferences. This holds between and across product categories. This effect is more pronounced for symbolic than functional brands: * Brand associations should be distinguished: Functional and symbolic associations. * Increasing the need for self-expression (e.g. by threatening identity) has the effect of strengthening brand preferences. * Self-expressive behavioral acts such as product customization can lead to identity saturation, weakening consumers’ brand preferences. Implications: * Brands might possibly compete across categories and become a part of a person’s identity. * Lifestyle branding has proven to be successful for many brands. However, managers may be trading fierce within-category  functional competition for fierce across-category symbolic competition when doing so. All self-expressive brands could end up competing with one another, and possibly even non-brand self-expressive items and social media. * More practical: It might be unattractive to have a shop with self-expressive products next to another shop selling such (Apple Store). Article 4: Naresh, Sheena G. (2012) â€Å"Do Brand Personalities Make a Difference to Consumers?,† , Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 37, 31-37 Constructs: * When associated to image, brand uniqueness or identity is the arrangement of words, ideas and associations that structure the total perception of the brand. * Brand personality: the set of human characteristics associated with the brand. It makes brands more interesting, memorable, and it makes people more aware. The Big 5: * Sincerity: Down to earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful (Douwe Egberts). * Excitement: Daring, spirited, imaginative, up to date (Porsche). * Competence: reliable, intelligent, successful (ABN AMRO). * Sophistication: Upper class, Charming (Mercedes). * Ruggedness: Outdoorsy, Tough (Levis, Nike, Marlboro). * Brand personality statement: what personality managers want their consumers to perceive. * Brand personality profile: what the consumers are thinking and feeling about the brand. Findings: * Sentimental brand personalities are common for all fast moving consumer goods. Secondly, most FMCGs are characterized as young, successful and inspiring. Finally, success, friendliness, trendiness, uniqueness, modernization and glamour are often found. Implications: * Marketers should focus on strengthening their strategies by emphasizing personality traits of their brands. This can cause strategic changes in brand positioning or communications. Lecture notes Week 2 (03-09-2012): If your customers don’t know who you are, they won’t buy. You have to show who you are in order to do business. The circle of brand management: * Strategists propose an identity by using a certain strategy marketers and PR build on this strategy by choosing a position and messaging this position (potential) customers generate a brand image based on these messages strategists can again build a strategy to reposition the image of the consumers.  §1: Brand Identity: How strategists want the brand to be perceived: * It explains whether an ad suits the brand, whether new products should be launched inside or outside the brand boundaries, how far can we change our communication style regionally and internationally, or whether sponsorship would ‘fit’ the brand. * Definition: the unique composition of physical, social and psychological components of a brand as far as they are crucial, lasting and remarkable. * What’s the vision & aim of a company, what makes it different, what are its values, what need is the brand fulfilling, what is its permanent nature, and what signs make it recognizable. * Aspects: CED: Central, Enduring (whether it’s consistent over time) & Distinctive. * Components: Physical (external characteristics, logo), Psychological (experiences, character, point of view), Social (spokesperson, category, relationship, users).  §1.1 Heritage, consisting of history, consistency, passion and leadership. Effects are: * (1) Authentic real (2) trustworthy safe (3) intimate warm (4) expert excellence in performance and experience. * Sources are people, the firm itself, and region & nation; human capital, social capital, cultural capital & natural capital. * Country of origin is very important, and countlessly many papers have covered it.  §1.2 Personality & Values: * For the Big Five personality indicators/dimensions, see page 9 article 4. * Prototypical cues help distinguishing things between product categories. It also helps in creating expectance. * Values are stable,  desirable modes of conduct or abstract end-states that direct behavior. Milton R. defined 18 instrumental & 18 terminal values that can be used to find identity. * Core brand values: abstract associations that characterize the 5 to 10 most important aspects or dimensions of a brand. These serve the foundation of a brand strategy, and in particular the POPs and PODs (see page 11). For BMW this would be stylish driving, for Marlboro the cowboy life. * Brand Mantras: the ‘heart and soul’ of a brand: a 3-to-5 word phrase that captures the essence or spirit of the brand positioning and values. Malibu: seriously easy going. Here, campaigns are more about context rather than content; the expression of the brand is more important than the brand itself. Brand mantra’s consist of: * (1) Brand function (Authenticity for NIKE), (2) Descriptive modifier (Athletic for NIKE), (3) Emotional modifier (Performance for NIKE). * Implementing a mantra requires: communication simplification inspiration.  §1.3 Vision: The brand’s dream about the future. It is about shaping the category and improving customers’ welfare. Visions are provocative and can guide short-term behavior by communicating direction. The Brand Identity Prism to the left discusses (1) physique (features, symbols, attributes), (2) Personality, (3) Culture (set of values), (4) Relationship (beliefs and associations), (5) Reflection (consumers’ perception) and (6) Self-image (What the consumer thinks of himself).  §1.4 Brand Image: How the brand is actually perceived: * Identification: Brand awareness & category structure. * Qualification: Brand associations & meaning structure.  §2 Brand Positioning: The part of the brand identity and value proposition to be actively communicated to a target audience. It is the act of designing the company’s offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customer’s minds. The following paragraphs represent the steps that should be taken when positioning a brand.  §2.1 (step A) Frame of Reference: Who is the target customer and who are the main competitors? Here, we define category membership: * Target markets can be defined by  segmentation. Segmentation can be done on the basis of consumers (descriptive, behavioral, psychographic or geographic) or B2B (nature of the goods, buying conditions, demographics). Combinations are also possible. Criteria: * Identifiability, size, accessibility, responsiveness. * Take into account that there are different types of competition, namely on product type, category or class. In addition, competition may occur at benefit level rather than attribute level (see paper 3 page 8). * When comparing at category level, 1 brand is the reference brand and several others are compared to that. If you’re the reference brand, consider improvements on prices and quality. Be aware that decreases in attributes hurt more than for non-reference brands. When you’re not a reference brand, any POD from the reference brand is a loss. Therefore, reference brand have competitive advantages. * Prospect theory: Extra value diminishes as available gains increase. * When you’re launching a new brand, all ‘usual’ category characteristics will first have to be transferred. ‘Creating’ a category is not advised and very expensive (Subway food). Copying prototypical cues can be used by the follower brand to be accepted in the category (e.g. fast food using Red & Yellow / McDo).  §2.2 (step B) POPs & PODs are chosen after defining the frame of reference: * Points of Parity: How is the brand similar to others in the category, how can they be associated and compared. Moreover, which associations are shared? Category POPs are necessary to be a legitimate and credible product offering within a category. Competitive POPs negate PODs of competitors. * Points of Difference: How is the brand different to others in the category? It’s about brand associations that are unique to the brand and favorably evaluated by consumers. They can be functional (performance related) or abstract (imagery-related). They’re also closely related to unique selling propositions, competitive advantages and distinctive competences. They’re more difficult to obtain than POPs. PODs and POPs can be defined using the following typology: Intrinsic product differentiation, Design/Style differentiation, Symbolic Differentiation, Channel Differentiation, Price Differentiation, Customer Service differentiation, Customer intimacy differentiation. Choosing PODS and POPs  is based on: * Desirability: Relevance, distinctiveness and believability. * Deliverability: Feasibility, communicability and sustainability.  §2.3 (Step C) Establishing POPs and PODs: This can be difficult since many POPs and PODs are negatively correlated (e.g. High quality and low price). Methods that can solve this problem are (1) separation of attributes (2) Leveraging equity of another entity (3) redefining the relationship.  §2.4 Use and usage situation: What is the brand promise and consumer benefit? And what is the occasion when the product will be consumed? The best moment to confront customers with product (advertisements) is when they really need it (e.g. In India, detergent ads are place on top of buses, since everyone does their laundry on the balcony where they see these tops).  §2.5 Statement and tags Are the current looks and ingredients compatible with its positioning? There are multiple elements that will evaluate and choose a brand positioning: 1. The Target audience 2. The compelling benefit 3. The reason why customers should believe the PODs 4. Product Name 5. Product Category Week 3: Special Branding Strategies Article 1: Keller, Kevin Lane and Philip Kotler (2012) â€Å"Branding in B2B firms† in: Handbook of Business-to-Business Marketing, edited by Gary l. Lilien and Rajdeep Grewal, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK. Constructs: * B2B branding: might not be needed because buyers are experienced and fully informed, it’s more about the buying experience, it involves  unnecessary costs, effects are only short-term, calculating ROI is difficult, brand building is complex and because it doesn’t significantly influence the buyers’ final decision. Findings: * The Brand Management Scorecard: a. Managers understand what the brand means to customers. b. The brand is properly positioned.  c. Customers receive superior delivery of the benefits they value most. d. The brand takes advantage of the full repertoire of branding and marketing activities available to build brand equity. e. Marketing and communications efforts are seamlessly integrated. The brand communicates with one voice. f. The brand’s pricing strategy is based on customer perceptions of value. g. The brand uses appropriate imagery to support its personality. h. The brand is innovative and relevant. i. For a multiproduct, multi-brand firm, the brand hierarchy and brand portfolio are strategically sound. j. The firm has in place a system to monitor brand equity and performance. * Steps to build and manage a strong brand: a. Ensure the organization understands and supports branding and the role of brand management. Moreover, internal branding is important (next two steps): b. Horizontal and vertical alignment: branding efforts should be understood by all. c. Brand mantras: (see p10  §1.2) will consistently reinforce and support the brand. a. A General Electric application: for this firm, more then a brand mantra was integrated successfully through 11 different businesses. d. Adopt a corporate brand strategy if possibly and create a well-defined brand hierarchy: (Carefully) decide on brand architecture (distinctive brand elements applied to the different products sold by the firm). Corporate branding is preferred. e. Corporate credibility: competence in delivery and satisfaction for the client. It depends on expertise, trustworthiness and likability. f. Brand hierarchy: Significantly different sub-businesses require sub-brands. g. Frame Value Perceptions: Strive for differentiation and value rather than  commoditization. Framing is about how clients currently think and choose among products and services, and then determining how this ideally should be. h. Link non-product-related imagery associations: Apple is perceived as an innovative brand, where Microsoft is more of an aggressive firm. Consider how dimensions of corporate credibility affect decisions of the B2B customer. i. Uncover relevant emotional associations for the brand: Security, social approval and self-respect definitely play a role. In addition, how do risk and feelings influence a customers decision making? j. Emotions and decision-making: Ultimately, individuals rather than organizations make purchasing decisions. These people are influenced by emotions & ratio. k. Segment Customers carefully and develop tailored branding and marketing programs. Should there be a uniform image within and across firms? l. Segmentation within organizations: the ‘buying center’ brings together initiators, users, influencers, deciders, approvers, buyers and gatekeepers. People fulfill multiple of these tasks, but all should be approached with identical messages. m. Segmentation across organizations: careful customer analysis is required for successful segmentation. Implications: Not mentioned. Article 2: Desai, Kalpesh Kaushik and Kevin Lane Keller (2002) â€Å"The Effects of Ingredient branding Strategies on Host Brand Extendibility,† Journal of Marketing, vol. 66, (January), 73- 93. Constructs: * Line extensions: minor product changes in the host brand, possibly already introduced by others in the category. When these changes are branded, they’re further defined as: * Slot-filler brand expansions: the level of one existing product attribute changes. * New attribute expansion: an entirely new attribute or characteristic is added to the product. * Self-branded ingredient: the host brand includes and creates a new self-brand. * Co-branded ingredient branding: using associated brands as ingredients (Dell & Intel) that are supplied by another firm. Findings: * For Slot-filler expansions, a cobranded ingredient facilitates initial expansion acceptance, but a self-branded ingredient leads to more favorable subsequent category extension evaluations. Subjects appeared not to credit the host brand for the cobrand association in evaluating subsequent extensions, and if anything, they held it against the host brand. * For new attribute expansions, a co-branded ingredient leads to more favorable evaluations of both the initial expansion and the subsequent category extension. Because a self-branded ingredient did not help ‘broaden’ the equity of the host brand, and because the host brand may have lacked credibility, an extension involving a self-branded ingredient was less favorably evaluated. * Should ingredients be branded? Yes, it improves the competitiveness of the host brand and it’s a signal of quality when combining high quality brands. Implications: * Besides helping improve the competitiveness of the host brand, the new attribute can, in some cases, expand the usage of the host brand. * Co-branding might enhance short-term equity of a host and its value, even under low fit. However, in the long-term co-branding will require more fit to the category. After all, they’re borrowing and not generating equity themselves. * Evaluations of slot-filler extensions suffer after the cobrand that was originally used in the expansion is dropped from the extension. Article 3: Gussoni, Manuela and Andrea Mangani (2012) â€Å"Corporate branding strategies in mergers and acquisitions,† Journal of Brand Management, I 350-213IX, 1-16 Constructs: * Corporate name is a strategic marketing asset and carries the corporation’s reputation. * Mergers & Acquisitions: can be classified as: * Conservative: the new entity adopts the acquirer’s or the target’s corporate name. * Innovative: the new entity uses a mixed or new name. * Horizontal: if the combining entities are active in the same  industry and produce similar goods & services. * Vertical: if the combining entities are active in the same industry but at separate production stages (buying buyers or suppliers). * Divisional acquisition: acquiring /merging only some divisions of companies. * Diversification: if the combining entities are active in separate industries * Financial investments: if a financial investor, typically a private equity investment firm, acquires a manufacturing or service company. Findings: * Divisional acquisition, vertical integrations, diversifications and the sectors involved do not affect the probability of the strategy being innovative. * Inventing a new name for a target is unusual. * Innovative brand strategies are more probably in the case of mergers (as opposed to acquisitions), horizontal M&As and financial investments. More specifically, a mixed name is the preferred option since value and reputation of both names will be involved. * When doing a financial investment, the acquirer doesn’t transfer it’s name, but chooses between keeping the acquired name or changing it in case of bad reputation. * Horizontal M&As tend to extend the name of the acquirer to the target. Implications: * Management and chanting of brands and corporate names may have a profound impact within organizations. Therefore we recommend carefully interpreting our and other studies regarding naming strategies. * Marketing during a M&A process is often underestimated. Article 4: Ilicic, Jasmina and Cynthia M. Webster (2012) â€Å"Celebrity co-branding partners as irrelevant brand information in advertisements,† Journal of Business Research Constructs: * Celebrities are identified as co-branding partners, where two brands (one being the celebrity) are paired with one another in a marketing context such as an advertisement. * Their should be a match between the  celebrity and brand image to achieve positive effects on consumer attitudes. * A celebrity not only provides consumers with relevant brand information when they convey characteristics pertinent to the brand but also when they mention information relevant to the endorsed brand. * Irrelevant information provided by a celebrity endorser also aids in making a judgment about whether the brand is able to deliver the benefit according to the consumer. This holds regardless of whether relevant brand information is also present. * Dilution effect in marketing: Dilution of consumers’ beliefs might occur when a celebrity provides both irrelevant and relevant brand information. This effect is present regardless of whether consumers perceive the celebrity to match or mismatch th e brand. Findings: * When a celebrity co-branding partner does not provide information about the partner brand nor brand benefits but plays a peripheral role, consumer judgments in the ability of the partner brand to deliver benefits, their purchase intent and their match-up perceptions become less positive. * Consumer brand benefit beliefs and purchase intentions show evidence of a dilution effect only when consumers perceive a mismatch between the celebrity and brand and when presented with irrelevant information supplied by a celebrity in addition to relevant brand information. When purely relevant information is presented, dilution does not occur. * Dilution occurs on perceived brand benefits, purchase intentions and match-up perception between the celebrity and the brand. Implications: * Ensure that a celebrity co-partner does not provide irrelevant brand information within advertisements to avoid brand benefit belief, purchase intent and match-up dilution. * Advertisements should feature an irrelevant and incongruent celebrity in combination with relevant brand information.

Teen Pregnancy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Teen Pregnancy - Essay Example ches, however, have resulted to significant differences possibly â€Å"arising from a combination of political, religious and research design factors.† (Bonell, C., 2004) Teenage pregnancy poses a problem to the young couple, their baby and the society. For the couple, they have to deal with not being able to finish high school or going to college. â€Å"Only 40 percent of teen moms who give birth at age 17 or earlier finish high school according to research compiled by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.† (Huus, K., 2010) As for the child, it more often grows up trying to match its peers in terms of necessities and luxuries in life. Society is not spared. The U.S. government spends over at least $9.1 billion for health care, housing assistance, food stamps, child welfare services â€Å"provided for teens and their children, and the lost revenue due to lower taxes paid by teen mothers.† (Huus, K., 2010) Teen pregnancy also serves as a marker of sexual behavior that brings a substantial risk of contracting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. (Allen, et. al., 1997) Although there was a steady decline in teenage pregnancies in the United States, approximately 1 million teenage girls become pregnant each year. (Overview, 2007) Research shows that â€Å"practitioners and researchers have been sorely remiss in discovering proven, replicable, and socially acceptable ways to help American young people avoid unwanted pregnancies.† (Schinke, S., 1998) How can society solve this seemingly neglected problem? â€Å"Within psychology, especially, critical thinking has been championed for all students and professionals.† (Levy, D., 1997) As teen pregnancies are often studied in relation to the psychological behavior of the individual, maybe critical thinking can help society find a way to come up with better programs to guide teenage parents or thwart the rise the occurrences of teenage pregnancies. Analysis and evaluation of teenage pregnancy

Statistic Analyses of Crimes in the UK Research Paper

Statistic Analyses of Crimes in the UK - Research Paper Example Data was collected from the government data portal (gov.uk). The portal has a database of historical data sets on all sorts of crime committed in UK. The figure below presents a time series plot for the number of robbery cases reported over a period of time (from 1970-2013). The graph shows that cases of robbery have been on rise from 1970 till close to 2005 when the cases began going down. In this section we describe the model used to predict the number of robberies (crime). This is an OLS model that has dependent variable (number of robberies) and two independent variables (unemployment rate and annual growth); This variable looked at the patterns of unemployment in the United Kingdom. Unemployment occurs when people are without work and actively seeking work.  The  unemployment rate  is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in the  labor force. During periods of  recession, an economy usually experiences a relatively high unemployment rate.  The data was collected from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which is the largest producer of official statistics and the recognized national statistical institute of the UK. It is a time series data spanning from 1970 to 2013. The graph shows no clear cut pattern but rather an up and down movement of the unemployment rate over the period. However, it is worth to note that the country had the least unemployment rate in 2005 but this changed and drastically increased during the global economic crisis that affected the world. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United Kingdom expanded 3 percent in the third quarter of 2014 over the same quarter of the previous year. GDP Annual Growth Rate in the United Kingdom averaged 2.04 Percent from 1970 until 2013, reaching an all-time high of 7.63 Percent in the first quarter of 1973 and a