Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coursework - Essay Example The harshest reaction is a condition called coelliac disease. Some other forms of reactions include non-coelliac gluten sensitivity, gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity. Persons with coelliac disease and gluten sensitivity feel improvement when they pursue a gluten free diet. This Genius Gluten Free advert has presented this entire idea in a simple, attractive and tempting way, which has the potential to grab its target consumer within an instant. Meaning of the Advert Genius Foods has launched what it promises to be the first TV advert for a gluten free bakery brand in the United Kingdom. The theme of the advert offers a wholesome and tasty option for those looking for a gluten free diet. It has been presented with a quite homely touch, particularly with a mother expressing her delight in the product. The layout is attractive and appealing as consumers would love to try the product. The line at the bottom is convincing and drives the consumer to know more about gluten free prod ucts and related benefits and eventually end up in buying the brand. It is a very strong motivator for the consumers to try the brand after realising the importance of instilling gluten free products in their daily diet. The slogan ‘Surprise! I bake you a cake’, as pictured in the ad, is expressing a simple gluten free seeded loaf to be as tasty and tempting as a cake. There is a mother standing beside with a cake, and surprised expressions tell the audience about the goodness of the Genius Gluten Free brand, which is not only delicious but also wholesome (Locker & Kienzler 2009). Denotative and Connotative Meaning Genius Gluten Free bread offers full sized slices that are ideal for sandwiches. It has been created for people who rely on a gluten free lifestyle and can enjoy a pleasant tasting gluten free bread option. The advert has been expressed through a perception of a common consumer who lives on a gluten free diet and looks forward to having a daily diet free from gluten but does not want to compromise taste. This bread brand has delivered its message successfully to its target market, which is a common health conscious consumer. The meaning of a mother with a cake captures the common household attention to buy a better option of daily bakery requirements with a much better taste in comparison to other gluten free products available in the product (Martin & Chaney 2012). The advert also emphasises the fact that there are some people who wish to switch their diet to a gluten free one but are hesitant to bear the unpleasant taste it might offer. For these types of people, the Genius Gluten Free has offered a complete healthy solution with supreme taste and health at the same time. Moreover, a strong aspect in the advert is the information it is offering to its consumers to check further knowledge about the gluten free products through a website link provided (Mead & Andrews 2009). This enables the consumers, especially the dubious ones, to lea rn more about the special diet option, and what benefits a gluten free diet can offer them if they incorporate it in their daily diet plan. The complete advert is aimed to target its market with a convincing idea simple enough to understand and attractive enough to buy the brand. Most importantly, the advert is capable of retaining in the minds of those who watch it, which becomes a great factor in making an actual purchase by the consumer. Cultural Aspect and Consumer Accessibility The Genius Gluten F

MARKETING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

MARKETING - Essay Example The consistent general theme in the advert is financial sobriety in the young generation. The most consistent features in the advert are saving, financial education, banking choices, giving to charity, financial issues and unemployment. The advert, feed the pig, is related with the leading article. The advert encourages saving among the young generation whereas the article talks about financial issues. There is no competition for this advertisement simply because the advertisement is a government initiative. The advert is for the American young adults who are subject to financial crippling and unemployment. The advert categorically asks the reader to teach about money and encourage teens and young adults to start saving from the little they have in piggy banks or financial institutions (ADWEEK Web). This is a good investment in that ADWEEK being a national magazine covering all issues including those relating to the teens it will thus provide a basic avenue for the advert to reach the young adults and guardians. In conclusion, I find this advert very positive to the financial aspects of the young people and the entire economy. The government initiative has placed this advertisement in the right place and therefore a worthwhile endeavor. ADWEEK â€Å"CBS’. â€Å"Moonves Eyes $4 Million Super Bowl Spot Bullish network boss sees record rates for NFL gem† Web, 16 February 2012.

Case Study Ikea Invades America Marketing Essay

Case Study Ikea Invades America Marketing Essay IKEA has successfully grown in the home furnishings retail market as a result of its primary philosophy of cost-leadership, wide variety of fashionable and practical products, and its ability to maintain low costs and pass the savings onto the customer. In addition to this, IKEA has also implemented some very important details into their overall corporate strategy that affects the shopping experience of the customer. They have reinforced their chic-style and sophisticated environment by offering gourmet meals in their stores (offering smoked salmon and other Swedish delicacies), implementing the availability of a child day-care area rendering adults free to shop, and by focusing on self-service shopping/self-guided tours through fully furnished staging areas. In addition to the experience that customers regard as convenient and even fun, IKEA can attribute the success of their organization to their very well balanced corporate strategy. They follow a specific process that allows them to design and contract the manufacturing of medium to high quality (relative to price) home furnishings and also permits the unique shipping, distribution, display and final point of sale of these products in a very methodical manner. The overall success of the company comes from its strategy to produce attractive yet simplistic designs that are made from inexpensive yet reasonably well-constructed components. These unfinished products are then shipped in a disassembled fashion (flat-packed), sold directly to the customer in a warehouse type store, and then taken by the customer to their home where the final assembly takes place all in return for a price that is 30-50% less expensive than competitors. What do you think of the companys product strategy and product range? For the limited niche market that IKEA operates within, the companys product line is substantially larger than any of its competitors. This could come as a result of the flexibility of its products designs. A single product such as a table or a bookshelf can be selected and purchased as a component of a larger set or as an individual product, however due to the interchangeable nature of the product lines, it could also be implemented in a way that complements another set of furnishings from a different design set. This advantage allows for the minimization of design costs. The advantages of the product strategy are clear increased cost savings that are translated into lower prices for the customer, while still marketing your brand as a fashionable option for home furnishings Low Price with Meaning. IKEA provides the customer with the freedom to select their own furnishings, designs, and combinations while providing them with as much assistance as they can to streamline the purchasi ng process. From the showroom examples that display fully furnished home scenarios to the availability of user-centered items such as tape-measures and vehicle cargo racks, IKEA is implementing its self-service (for customers) philosophy. Another advantage of the product strategy comes from the understanding that is inherent between the customer and the manufacturer the costs are lower because they are simplistic, medium quality, convenience designs where assembly is required without exception. This flat-packed strategy saves on construction and shipping space. The arrangement is dual-benefit since the consumer can see the savings of self-assembly. This balance between quality, product line and price comes about through a very closely monitored process. The disadvantages of the product strategy and the product range are fairly evident as well. The idea of the transient use of medium-quality, self-constructed, Scandinavian-styled furniture naturally eliminates a large portion of the population as a target market for the products. Either the total combination of these details or each of them individually potentially causes concern among certain consumer demographics. The niche market in which IKEA resides does not prov ide a sizeable product line for those that are not looking for the overall type of furniture that they provide. In addition to this, the western mentality regarding home furnishings is one that IKEA hesitated in reacting to. It conducted market research and found that its product line was not aligned with traditional demand, especially due to the reluctance of Americans to adopt a Scandinavian style of home furnishings. Despite its success, there are many downsides to shopping at IKEA. What are some of these downsides? IKEAs Vision Statement (in Figure C of the case) describes how the company seeks to build a partnership with its customers. What do you think of this vision statement? The disadvantages of shopping at IKEA are almost as intrinsic to the environment as the advantages. Due to the sheer size and layout of the stores, the ability for consumers to quickly locate and select a small number of products and vacate the premises is very difficult. It seems that to keep a timely and efficient traffic flow the second level of the store is designed along a path that leads the consumers through a display of all the different product lines throughout the separate segments (kitchen, bath, bedroom, etc.) In order for a consumer to locate the product they are seeking, they may experience some difficulty navigating through IKEAs 10,000 other products. In addition to this, the scarcity of store locations limits the ability of the consumer who is ordering from a catalog to physically experience the product prior to purchase and delivery. The vision statement is logical in its delivery, but potentially flawed in its practicality and how it pertains to IKEA. First and foremost, the company states the need for a substitute to expensive furniture. They seem to make the claim that never before has there been a company to provide this to the consumer, however, local furniture stores have been offering low-priced, fully assembled furniture prior to the introduction of IKEA. Furthermore, they claim that they are manufacturing beautiful, durable furniture; these claims cannot be quantified and are therefore merely a matter of opinion. One consumer could experience IKEA furniture and regard it as the best design and manufacturing initiative to have ever been implemented in the home furnishing market; another could experience the very same furniture pieces and be completely aghast and appalled by the very idea that these products were regarded as either beautiful or durable. Moreover, they claim to be responding to the home-fur nishing needs of those all over the world; those who have different styles, tastes, and budgets. This is partially false due to the very nature of their marketing. They are not responding to the individual needs of the world, rather they are addressing the various home furnishing needs with the Scandinavian-answer. They are marketing their limited furniture blueprints, styles and designs in an attempt to convince their target markets to change the way they think about furnishings (ephemeral vs permanent, minimalist vs elaborate). They are claiming to be the panacea for those who exist in a world without affordable, high-quality furnishings; they claim to side with the masses. They create a sense of class-warfare and claim that they cant accomplish their noble goal without the help of the consumer. So they propose this seemingly harmless bond between IKEA and customer, because evidently one of the most profitable corporations in the world whom holds some of the most powerful brand re cognition ever, couldnt continue to offer low prices if they had to build their own furniture. It seems slightly ridiculous when you dissect the advertising logically. There is no doubt that forcing the customer to build their own furniture translates into cost savings, but to what extent do the consumers actually get to enjoy those benefits? Nonetheless, they continue to lower prices and increase market share, so their strategy seems to be working very well. The fact that IKEA hopes to have fifty stores in operation in the Unites States by 2013 is an indication of how optimistic the company is about the viability of its value proposition in this country. Do you think IKEA is being overly optimistic in its growth plans? How would you improve IKEAs value proposition to make it even more attractive to American consumers? IKEA will most likely attain its goal of having fifty stores in operation in the U.S. by 2013. However, it will be a challenging task to accomplish without applying significant changes to the overall approach IKEA has taken regarding the U.S. First, they need to perform market research regarding the purchasing trends of not only their current customer demographics, but more importantly, the demographics of the customers that they are not attracting. Secondly, they need to familiarize themselves with the distinct and separate styles to which Americans are attracted. The ability to transpose the traditional (American) way of thinking regarding interior design with a more European (Scandinavian) based fashion may not be advantageous for IKEA. Additionally, the products that IKEA offers are too limited in their usability in different regions of the country. Just as different parts of the world appreciate different styles, different regions of the U.S. do as well. The U.S. is unique that it encompasses all the different ethnicities of the world in a free market, the ability of IKEA to convince every separate ethnic groups individual preferences may not be realistic either. The capacity for adaptive change will be the key to IKEAs continued existence and prosperity. It is a win-win for every party involved: If IKEA performs research to determine what they need to change to be successful in America they: a.) will continuously attract their loyal customers with newer design releases, b.) may capture new market segments of consumers that never considered IKEA an option (through advertising their upgraded and expanded product line) and c.) could recapture discouraged consumers that tested the products, but are no longer interested in the IKEA brand. To achieve the kind of growth that IKEA is hoping for, should the company change its product strategy? If so, in what way(s)? What about its product range-are there limitations to the matrix approach? Should the company expand its product lineup to include a greater number of styles and price points? In what other ways should the company consider changing its product lineup? It should expand its belief that the whole world can be convinced to accept the Scandinavian design is the universal taste in furniture. Most importantly, they need to implement three progressive features to their business model (especially in U.S. market). First they need to adopt a higher quality brand image of their limited product line than they currently possess. After a much needed expansion of their product line, they need to market the increased quality and expanded selection. If they are going to increase the number of stores, then an expanded product line is necessary to attain customers in these new geographic areas. They have the image of simple, functional, stylish furnishings, however price can determine quality and certain consumers have a high aversion to companies that claim that their products are high-quality, but not meant to last a long time; or that their products are beautiful and stylish, but cheap at the same time. These paradoxes are detrimental to the attainment of consumers that are actually affluent. Secondly, they need to adjust to the market in which they are advertising. If they are operating in Midwestern U.S., then after performing market research they need to advertise the products that appeal to that locations population the most. Third, they need to increase the availability of services in their stores, such as delivery for those who cannot transport the number of furnishings they need to outfit their home, financing for large purchases, and company assistance with the assembly of their products. All of these could be acquired at a premium if the consumer chooses to do so. The availability of these offers could further eliminate the consumers that dont consider IKEA an option. IKEA claims to market to the predominantly low-middle income, young, urban and suburban, educated, professionals but at the same time they claim that their typical consumer is sophisticated enough to appreciate fine wine and fine food, participates in international travel with their frequent flier miles, etc. This paradox is illogical in and of itself as well. The ability of a young, educated, low-income, urban dweller to spend their limited disposable income on fine wine, food, and international travel (all the while doing so by saving money on their affordable, yet chic home furnishings) is highly unlikely. The more likely scenario is that this image of the IKEA consumer is the representation that they wish to project in hopes of attracting consumers who wished to be viewed as this depiction as well. It is doubtful that a successful individual with fashionable tastes will spend their income on temporary, particle board furniture. That is the equivalent of considering a McDonalds s ophisticated, urban dining just because it happens to be located in the center of downtown in a metropolitan area. If you had to predict, what do you think IKEAs value proposition and product lineup will look like in ten years?   IKEA will most likely use the size and strength of its organization wisely to expand its product line drastically, increase the availability of corporate offers in order to make its products even more attainable for the consumers, and will implement a locality philosophy to provide certain geographic areas with the styles the local population demands. It will also have a high probability of implementing a massive marketing campaign so as to expose other potential markets to its innovative and efficient designs prior to expanding, thus increasing future demand in locations that may eventually receive an IKEA store. IKEA will most likely also continue its approach to manufacturing by using outsourced manufacturing locations in order to avoid unnecessary costs. IKEA has a high probability of surviving and prospering due to its differentiation/low-cost strategy. Some industry observers have suggested that IKEA should open a number of smaller, satellite stores across the United States (e.g., in shopping malls, strip malls, etc.). By offering a limited range of IKEA products, these IKEA Lite shops would presumably give consumers who do not otherwise have access to a full-size IKEA the opportunity to experience the brand. In addition, consumers who do live near a full-size IKEA would be able to use these mini-outlets to make minor purchases (e.g., purchase a set of mugs, as opposed to an entire living room set). Do you agree with this idea? Why or why not? No, I dont believe that this is in the best interest of IKEAs overall corporate strategy. They have carved a niche in the home furnishings market by doing exactly what they have determined to be the more effective manner of cost-reduction (based on market research). Smaller home furnishings can be attained and purchased through their business-to-customer internet portal through the company website. Usually, consumers are more comfortable purchasing small, inexpensive items over the internet over large, costly items. If IKEA was to implement smaller IKEA-lite stores, they would then be competing with stores such as Bed, Bath Beyond and Pier 1. Their differentiation strategy of self-shopping and self-assembly would be rendered either unavailable or no longer a competitive advantage. Furthermore, the cost incurred to operate and ship small items to these satellite stores would increase the overall costs of the items. The profitability of IKEA comes from the savings of selling large home furnishings to consumers that are willing to assemble the products themselves. The sale of smaller, tier 2 and tier 3 items such as towels, mugs and cups, and storage containers are profitable due to the fact that the consumer is in the main facility looking for large home items. The sale of secondary items is available to complement the larger items. The implementation of smaller, IKEA-lite stores would not be recommended as it conflicts with their current corporate strategy and there is no discernible benefit in changing the methodology at this point in time.

Electoral College Outdated Essay -- Politics

Every four years, the century-old debate over the Electoral College rekindles. Currently, as the contest between the Republican candidates intensifies and the remaining four rush toward the finish line for nomination, speculators are turning their attention toward the Presidential Election that is right around the corner. Predictably, the legitimacy of the Electoral College is once again under scrutiny. Although the Electoral College was an ingenious compromise establish by Framers of the Constitution, the development of the two party politics and the â€Å"winner-take-all† system has led it to the fail its original purpose. When the Framers were drafting the presidential selection procedure of the Constitution in 1787, they presented an artful compromise to the issue of direct election. With the new country spanning thousands of miles along the Atlantic coast and barely connected by transportation or communication, it was impractical if not impossible to distribute information widely enough for every citizen to make an informed choice (Kimberling). In a direct election, this lack of knowledge about candidates living in other states would inevitably result in citizens voting for the candidate they knew the most about. Because the larger states have considerable more voters, presidents would be elected not for their political beliefs, but for their place of residence. Given the inability to spread information extensively, the Framers compromised by adopting the idea of representation. The people up and down the country would vote for local delegates with whom they were familiar with. These electors would then elect a president â€Å"pre-eminent for ability and virtue† (Hamilton 333). By devising the Electoral College, the Framers ensured th... ...ve up the live up to ideals of the Framers in our present day. Works Cited Kimberling, William C. â€Å"The Electoral College.† Federal Election Commission, May 1992. Web. 13 March 2012. Hamilton, Alexander. â€Å"Federalist 68.† The Federalist with Letters of â€Å"Brutus†. Ed. Terence Ball. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 331-334. Print. â€Å"Flunking the Electoral College.† Editorial. New York Times. 20 Nov. 2008. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. Ray v. Blair. No. 649. Supreme Court of Alabama. April 3, 1952. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. Ross, Kelly. â€Å"Electoral College Outdated.† Northern Arizona News. 6 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. Kammer, Jerry. â€Å"As Presidential Electors Include Exgovernors, Activists.† Tucson Citizen. 16 Oct. 2008. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. Longley, Lawrence D. and Alan G. Braun. The Politics of Electoral College Reform. London: Yale University Press, 1975. Print.

Mannerism vs Classicism

During the sixteenth century a style of art was developed almost by accident. It was developed mainly in Italy, in the city of Florence. It was different than all the other styles, and this intrigued many. It had not had a real name until about 1921, it was called Mannerism. Mannerism is the best art form that came out of the Renaissance. During the sixteenth century while the High Renaissance was evolving two definite styles of artwork developed. The first, which was Mannerism and is also sometimes called anti-classical style, and the second was Classicism, also known as anti-mannerism. This is some sort of hint that the two were almost opposites. 1 One response that was provoked by the upheavals of the sixteenth century was the attempt to escape reality, an effort that was echoed by some of the painters of the age, known as Mannerists. The Mannerists and their patrons cultivated artificial and esoteric images of the world; they undermined perspective, distorted human figures, and devised unnatural colors and lighting to create startling effects. 2 Mannerism broke all of the unwritten rules of painting. It created darker paintings and showed more emotion. Mannerism can be quite easily recognized. Art was no longer boring, it was more creative; this is not to say that art before then was not creative. The artists mixed colors, creating new shades. Classicism however was almost totally different. Classicism, attempted to recapture the aesthetic values and the strict forms that had been favored in ancient Greece and Rome. Classicism aimed for grandiose effects, through restraint and discipline within a formal structure. 3 A classicist painter was restricted in the ways that he painted. There were unwritten and written codes on how to paint in the classic style. There was not as much creativity in the painting. The classicist painters used traditional shades and lighting effects, while mannerists experimented with them. Mannerism tore away from the traditional bounds that held the rest of the art world in. Mannerism produced many new ways of painting. Mannerism breaks apart from the formal principles established during this period. Michael Angelo, with his tormented figures, seems to have shown the road. Symmetry disappears in favor of diagonal compositions; balance and measure give room to movement and expression. The games played by light and shadow become as dramatic as the faces. 4 Many new shades of color and lighting effects were developed and this helped to set the mood that the artist wanted you to feel. They began to use acidic colors and painted new scenes not seen before. This got the people interested. They had seen the scenes that the classicist painters were painting, and that got boring. It s the same with things now. People always want the new, and not the old. The Mannerist artist has the right or duty to employ any possible method of observation. Thus, creating new and exciting paintings. Some of the best painters of all time came out of the Mannerist style. If one removes from an account of sixteenth century art in Rome Raphael and all Michealangelo s works then little is left. Only Sebastiano del Piombo and Giulio Romano remain as major painters. 6 Although these are the major painters of the Mannerist style, there were others, such as, Vasari, Ammanati, and Salviati. Mannerism was first definable by Raphael s pupil Giulio Romano. 7 Mannerism as a style had many influences in later art, such as with baroque. Baroque tried to do the same as the Mannerist style, only on a more grandeur scale. 8 Caravaggio who grew up in Rome around the evolving styles of art, mannerism influenced him the greatest. One of his greatest paintings, The Supper at Emmaus, is a great example of how mannerism was blended into a painting, although it cannot be placed under the same category. Mannerism doesn t only produce brilliant and rebel artists, it also produces schools which imitate it. 9 This sparked a whole new movement in art because individual artists shape their own styles, developing new ones, which people imitate and so on. Also, it wasn t just a period of art like classicism, people later in history painted in this style. Painting was not the only form of art that mannerism was used for. Architecture was also a form of art that was widely used in Europe. The Sistine Chapel is perhaps one of the greatest examples of mannerism used in architecture. The handling of decoration and space seen in Michealangelo s plans for the Laurentian Library is also Mannerist. 10 Mannerism used in architecture however was mainly used in the northern parts of Europe, but the most famous are in Italy. The architecture of the Classicism movement was all straightforward and Gothic-like. The mannerists found new ways to design manneristic architecture. The figures of the rhythmic anti-classical painter and or architect function otherwise, for in themselves they express neither an established rule of nature, nor any unambiguous rationally understood space. In a word, for them the problem of three-dimensional space vanishes, or can do so. 11 The Classical painter or architect would stay with many two dimensional figures and not let the building give a true three-dimensional look and feel, mannerists did this. In conclusion, Mannerism is definitely the best art style that came out of the Renaissance period. Not only did it find new and exciting ways to paint and sculpt, but also new ways to build buildings. Some of the greatest artists of all time were mannerists. The mannerist style influenced many painters and architects of later time. Mannerism, unlike other art styles was not so much a rebellion against older styles as a deliberate cultivation. 12 Therefore mannerism is the best art form that was developed during the renaissance.

Site-to-Site Connectivity Scenario Essay

I am troubleshooting replication between the Main Office and Branch Office 1. It seems that changes to user object attributes take a very long time to propagate or do not propagate at all. I am not sure when replication is supposed to occur and have no idea where to begin testing? Do you have any recommendations, any suggested steps to help me narrow down the problem? Thank you! Junior Admin Good morning Junior Admin I’m sorry about the trouble you are having. Active Directory replication by default is ‘pull’ rather than ‘push’, meaning that replicas pull changes from the server where the change was effected. Because this is an Inter-site set up the replication traffic is going to be higher. You can use Performance Monitor, Event Log, or Network Monitor to check how much traffic you are having. The time required to replicate directory data between domain controllers is known as the replication latency. Replication latency can vary depending on the number of domain controllers, the number of sites, the available bandwidth between sites, replication frequency, and more. Active Directory automatically builds the most efficient intersite replication topology using information you provide through Active Directory Sites and Services about your site connections. The directory stores this information as site link objects. One domain controller per site is assigned to build the topology; this is called the intersite topology generator. The intersite replication topology is updated regularly to respond to any changes that occur in the network. You can control intersite replication through the information you provide when you create your site links. By monitoring replication regularly you will be able to determine the normal replication latency on your network. With that information, you can easily determine if a problem is occurring. You can also manually force the replication by  running repadmin /syncall /AdeP or use AD sites and services console. You can adjust the frequency to match with your specific needs. Be aware that increasing this frequency increases the amount of bandwidth used by replication. I would also recommend that you run dcdiag /q and repadmin /replsum to check the health of DC and replication status in case if errors are reported post the logs. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. IT Admin