Analytical Comparison and Contrast Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analytical Comparison and Contrast - Coursework Example Here, the artworks, ‘The Blue Boy’, an oil painting by Thomas Gainsborough, and ‘Pinkie’, a portrait by Thomas Lawrence, are made use to compare, under the subject: Two artists’ conceptions of a single theme. Thesis statement: Analysis of similarities and differences between two Artworks to attain an inference on the same by considering the artists, the viewers, and related facts in history or society (special references to the artworks: ‘The Blue Boy’ (portrait), by Thomas Gainsborough, and ‘Pinkie’ (portrait), by Thomas Lawrence). Analysis The analysis of the artworks ‘The Blue Boy’( See appendix -1) by Thomas Gainsborough, and ‘Pinkie’( See appendix -2) , by Thomas Lawrence is based on the following factors like the artists, assessment as a viewer, and other related facts in history or society, and strictly based on similarities and differences. I. Artists A. Similarities One can easily identify a number of similarities between Thomas Gainsborough and Thomas Lawrence. The following are some important similarities. First of all, the first names of the artists (Thomas Gainsborough and Thomas Lawrence) are similar. Besides, both the artists made use of the same medium to express their creativity (say, oil and canvas). Both the artists were British citizens, who primarily focused in portrait painting. Within their lifetime, they were considered as noteworthy portrait painters in Europe. As pointed out, they made use of oil and canvas as their medium, which was most suitable for portrait painting. Both the artists transformed their personal interest (say, drawing/painting) into their career as painters. B. Differences There exist a number of differences between Thomas Gainsborough and Thomas Lawrence. The following are some important differences. Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury. On the other side, Thomas Lawrence was born in Bristol. Thomas Gainsborough’s father wa s a weaver by profession, but Thomas Lawrence’s father was an inn keeper. Before becoming a landscape painter, Thomas Gainsborough was a landscape painter. James Ernest Thorpe states that â€Å"The Blue Boy was often thought of as Gainsborough’s greatest painting† (435). Later, he turned to portrait painting. But Thomas Lawrence was genuinely interested in portrait painting. Thomas Gainsborough completed the painting ‘The Blue Boy’ in the year 1770, but the portrait ‘Pinkie’ by Thomas Lawrence was completed in the year 1794. Thomas Gainsborough married Margarett Burr and had children. On the other side, Thomas Lawrence was forced to be a lifelong bachelor. Besides, he was forced to lead an unhappy personal life. Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait painting helped him to keep himself away from economic problems. On the other side, Thomas Lawrence was forced to face economic problems in his life. II. Assessment as a viewer A. Similariti es When one tries to assess the artworks ‘The Blue Boy’ and ‘Pinkie’, one can easily identify a number of similarities. Some of the most important similarities are pointed out below. First of all, both the works are portraits of youngsters booming with energy. The medium made use by the painters is similar, i.e. oil and canvas. Both the paintings are presently owned by The Huntington (museum/ art gallery) in California. Both the paintings are from England and are considered as best examples for portrait painting in Europe. Besides, both the artworks are considered as showpieces at The Huntington. As these portraits are exhibited in the same gallery, most of the viewers consider that these works are completed by the same painter. The position of the youngsters (models) in the portraits is helpful for the viewers to have clearer look on their faces. Both the works give

Expression of a persons mental state Essay Example for Free

Expression of a persons mental state Essay Emotions, feelings and intuition is the expression of a persons mental state, normally based on the persons internal (physical) and external (social), sensory feeling.[8]  We use emotions to determine our personal state of mind, we can be angry, sad and confused; and through emotion we can arrive at the truth that we are depressed. Regardless this truth only remains legitimate if the causes of the emotions remain constant. Likewise in the case we change the context of the situation, such as instead of it raining it were sunny, that person wouldnt feel as depressed and a new truth would emerge. Ethics is the study of morality; analysing if behaviour, thoughts and actions are good or right as opposed to bad and wrong.[9] Ethics plays a major role in the modern world as every public and social source, especially the media, are advertising what is nice and evil, good and bad, right and wrong. It is like the legal system, but it is more vague and theoretical also the consequences tend to be social as opposed to being sent to jail. Ethics are open to interpretation by each individual each society or even a culture as a whole. Where in the majority of Western countries it is seen as morally wrong to have more than two wives as well as illegal, in some Arab countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia it is acceptable to have more than one wife if you can support them. Sometimes the more wives you marry, the more money you must have, therefore the wealthier you are.[10] It is interesting to see how a large amount of people can interpret the same truth, such as in this case, which was brought to my attention by a guide during my stay in China. The use of footbinding on 6 year old girls in China during 1,000 years to impress the Emperor[11], was at the same time interpreted completely differently by an entire society. Westernized countries have never deformed their bodies, for status, erotic or social reasons as it is seen as morally wrong. It all depends on the context, and in this case it is the different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs of the two societies. History is the objective study and interpretation of information about the past.[12] To any historian a vital area of focus is the validity of sources to arrive at a truth. For example an unedited video would be considered reliable as it shows what happened without any tampering of the source as opposed to a journal, which could be biased.  However if the source is biased does it mean the truth is no longer valid ? For example when I was a little kid my parents (the source) used to tell me the Three Kings would come every January bearing presents and so they did. To me at the time it seemed as a truth and it was still valid, because I got my presents. Its not until we change the context, e.g.: present day, that the truth loses all its validity. This shows that the truth we derive from the validity of the sources is completely relative depending in the context which it is presented in, which means that the truths we know now may not be considered truths in the future.  Mathematics is a science dealing with logic and aim to derive theorems from axioms.[13] Whether it was discovered or invented we will never know, however one thing is certain; maths is highly influential in our day to day life; for example, technology, finance and architecture. We assume that mathematics provides us with an absolute truth; 1 + 1 = 2  However during my IGCSE course I experienced the ambiguity of maths (in the following example), which since then has left me thinking, if we could continue using maths as a source for truth.  The fraction 1/3 when written as a decimal number is .333 where the dots indicate that the sequence of 3s is infinite.  Thus we might write the equation:  1/3 = .3333  Multiplying both sides by 3 we get:  1 = .999  Therefore:  1 + 1 = 2 We know the first equation is a truth as we have been taught this in school and the world of mathematics revolves around that equation being valid. However using mathematical induction and rationalisation we have induced that the last equation is also valid. Nonetheless we arrive to the conclusion that they both can not be equal in a same frame of reference.  Once again Margaret Atwood, shows that the truth as we know it, cant be absolute as it varies depending on the context in which it is proposed. Answering the question Does this mean that there is no such thing as truth ? I believe there is always a truth as depending on the context, any situation can be manipulated to arrive at a truth. However I dont think Universality[14]; an idea which is universal, and exists everywhere, throughout the Universe nor an Absolute Truth exists, as the value of every thought changes depending on the context. As the Relativists would say; its all Relative.  I think a more appropriate title would have been: Does this mean there is no such thing as an absolute truth ? as the use of Context is all allows for there always to be a truth but not one that is absolute. Bibliography: Atwood, M. (1996), The Handmaids Tale. Vintage (pg. 202) http://dictionary.reference.com

Increasing Brand Equity Through Viral Marketing Marketing Essay

Increasing Brand Equity Through Viral Marketing Marketing Essay Together with a friend/business partner, I have been developing a new business venture for the last two years. We are building an online platform for DJs, producers and record labels in the dance music industry (It is like a facebook developed for the dance music industry). It is not finished yet and we are still conducting research. Therefore I am going to write my thesis about this topic to expand my knowledge, with the main advantages to use the outcome of my thesis for my business venture. We will offer services to artists and producers to distribute their music efficiently with the main goal to become famous. Marketing is key in this recent concept and it is a new marketing phenomenon that has not been dealt with properly before by theorists. The fact that it is not a very common topic and it will be more difficult to find relevant papers makes it more challenging and therefore more interesting to write about this topic. Strategic brand management and marketing theories are used as a theoretical reference point when the artist branding practises are being evaluated and interpreted. The focus is on three theoretical concepts, viral marketing, brand awareness, and brand equity. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Case background: Globalization and digitization of the dance music industry Over the last few years, the dance music industry has been undergoing a revolutionary change. The emergence of Internet is having a significant impact on the supply chain for dance music. Figure 1, based on Premkumars digital distribution strategies (2003), shows that physical distribution has been replaced by digital distribution. Sharing music through the internet has never been this easy. Modern communications technologies have created new opportunities and increased competition. The digitization and globalization of music asks for new ways to promote and distribute music globally. Figure 1. Dance music distribution: shift in the supply chain a) Pre Web1.0 Physical distribution (until 1999) Artist Record Label Distributor Retailer Consumer b) Web1.0 Digital distribution through record labels (1999 2005) Artist Record Label Distributor Consumer c) Web2.0 Digital distribution and promotion through viral marketing (2005 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Artist Record Label Viral marketing Consumer The advent of the Internet is having a significant impact on both the supply chain for music and the dominance of the big record labels (Graham et al., 2004). The digitization and globalization of the dance music industry has led to a decrease of importance of record labels. Artists do not need record labels anymore to promote and distribute music. With intense competition, it is prudent for record labels to concentrate on their core competency of music creation. This way, record labels can remain truly relevant and valuable to both established and new artists (Crawford, 2001). This change of the supply chain of distributing and promoting music has led to a major structural change in the role of the artist. While the future may look bleak for the major record labels, it looks much more positive for artists and consumers (Graham et al., 2004). The individual artist brand has become more important in order to successfully gain competitive advantage in the dance music industry, which is becoming more crowded and aggressive because of the emergence of internet. It is more difficult for individual artists to be unique and share their sound these days. Because of the increase in importance of the artist brand, artists should understand brand management practices. Consumers should be made aware of the existence of the artist, and therefore brand awareness is very important. Entertainment products, like music, by established names are generally believed to perform better in the market. The charts of top selling offering (e.g. Billboard 200) are primarily populated with established artists, providing ample support for this perception (Moore et al., 2006). In other words, success of artists depends on artist brand awareness. Brand awareness measures consumers knowledge of a brands existence. It refers to the proportion of consumers who know or recognize the  brand. Brand awareness is an often undervalued asset; however, awareness has been shown to affect perceptions and even taste. People like the familiar and are prepared to ascribe all sorts of good attitudes to items that are familiar to them. Awareness is often transferred into perceptions of technological superiority and market acceptance (Kover, Aaker and Joachimster, 2000). According to Aaker (1991), brand awareness is a dimension of brand equity. Brand equity refers to that part of the value of a product that is attributable to the brand name. However, this paper will use brand equity in a different way than other theorists do. In the dance music industry, brand awareness plays a key role in the success of an artist, and therefore this thesis focuses on brand awareness and its relation with brand equity. Explicitly or implicitly, it is generally accepted that brand equity plays a role in the sales of entertainment products (Moore et al., 2006). This study measures brand equity as the difference in success between an established artist and a similar unknown artist. Once an artist is established, its success develops like a snowball effect or so-called virtuous circle. Artists should understand how to create and increase their brand equity and benefit from this sweeping change of the dance music industry. In the past, artists were promoted by their record labels and their success depended on the artists and labels network. Word-of-mouth played a big role in the distribution and promotion of music. The emergence of internet and the diminishing power of record labels have made it easier for artists to share music (globally) and therefore reach more people. New communication platforms like Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and blogs increased this phenomenon even more. This has also led to new possibilities for artists to create brand awareness. There are different ways for artists to promote themselves or get promoted to increase brand awareness. Record labels are used to share and distribute music in record shops and on the Web, artist agencies are used to handle and arrange event bookings, and artists themselves can promote themselves in their network. Because of the importance of word-of-mouth marketing to promote artists and music in the dance music industry, and the emergence of internet, artists should look for new ways and possibilities to share, promote, and distribute music through the Web. Viral marketing is a marketing tool that creates word-of-mouth through the internet. Therefore, this thesis will focus on the concept of viral marketing and whether it can be used to increase brand awareness in the dance music industry or not. The goal of viral marketing is to use consumer-to-consumer (or peer-to-peer) communications-as opposed to company-to-consumer communications-to disseminate information about a product or service, thereby leading to more rapid and cost effective adoption by the market. With viral marketing, consumers become promoters of the brand and spread the word to their friends. This thesis will explain the effects of viral marketing on the creation of brand awareness, which will consequently lead to brand image. This study refers to the first phase of the awareness process. 1.2 The problem statement Critics find the availability of free online music as life-threatening, while others think the new music industry will benefit from digitization and globalization in other ways. Describing how artists can benefit from the digitization and globalization of the music industry by creating brand awareness and brand equity through viral marketing is the main goal of this thesis, leading to the formulation of the following problem statement: To what extent does viral marketing create artist brand awareness, and thereby result in an increase of brand equity in the dance music industry? 1.3 Research Questions In order to be able to give an accurate answer to this problem statement, a set of research questions needs to be formulated to get a clear understanding of its context and implementation. The research questions are: What are brand awareness and brand equity and what is their relation? What is viral marketing and is it effective? What is the relation between viral marketing and brand awareness? What is the purpose of using viral marketing to create brand equity in the dance music industry? What is the effect of viral marketing on brand equity in this case? 1.4 Conceptual model Brand image Brand awareness Viral marketing Brand loyalty Brand equity in the dance music industry 1.5 Relevance Academic relevance There are several generally accepted theories about brand equity (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993; etc.). Despite the age of these theories, they are still widely used in research these days. Brand equity is defined in terms of the marketing effects uniquely attributable to the brand (Keller, 1993). Aaker explains the dimensions of brand equity, but his and other theories fail to explain direct causes of brand equity. A comparison between Aaker and Keller will explain the importance of brand awareness in its relation to brand equity. This study develops a new framework based on those existing theories with new practical insights developed for the dance music industry. Research and theories in this area are outdated and need to be revised to be applicable on this case. The focus of this thesis will be on brand awareness, because of its importance in the dance music industry as explained before. Brand equity occurs when the consumer is aware of the brand (Keller, 1993). Therefore, brand awar eness is of great importance in the creation of brand equity it is defined as the first phase of brand equity in this study. Other dimensions of brand equity, like brand loyalty or perceived quality, are established, once consumers are aware of the brand. This thesis does not focus on the effects of brand equity, but only looks at the first phase; brand awareness. This will be applied to the dance music industry, thereby resulting in a deeper insight and understanding on the importance of brand awareness related to the creation of brand equity. This thesis will focus on a relatively new phenomenon of word-of-mouth through the web: viral marketing. Viral marketing has been studied intensively the last years, but little is known about the effectiveness of viral marketing and whether it influences consumers actual behaviours (De Bruyn Lilien, 2008). This study will provide a better understanding of the effectiveness of viral marketing on brand awareness and brand equity, which will explain whether viral marketing is a useful method to use to create brand awareness, resulting in brand equity. Marketing theories about (customer-based) brand equity and viral marketing are used as a theoretical reference point when the artist branding practises are being evaluated and interpreted. Managerial relevance There is much uncertainty and indifference toward the new digital music industry. The visible disadvantages of the consequences (decrease in sales of music) are easier to measure than the indirect advantages of the consequences (exposure, acquaintance, distribution convenience). Internet increased the convenience of sharing music. However, artists themselves find it difficult to share their music effectively, because competition has increased significantly. Internet allows new artists to provide consumers with unprecedented amounts of song samples. This resulted in an enormous increase in music choice. As a consequence, new artists face tough competition in their efforts to get adequate attention on the internet (Crawford, 2001). Creating and managing a real brand is important for an artist to become successful. Because of the increase in importance of the artist brand, artists should understand brand management practices. Consumers should be made aware of the existence of the artist, and therefore brand awareness is very important. Artists and record labels increasingly try to promote themselves via social media, because it is a free and easy way to reach a large amount of people in a short period of time. But little is known about the effects of viral marketing. The effects of viral marketing on brand awareness will be studied in this thesis, in order to provide artists and record labels with a useful and effective tool to increase their brand equity. 1.6 Thesis structure The second chapter will explain of the terms brand awareness and brand equity in the dance music industry. In the third chapter a description of the term viral marketing will be given along with the effects of viral marketing. The interrelationships between the different variables will be explained in the fourth chapter. First the relation between brand awareness and brand equity will be explained and then the relation between viral marketing and brand awareness will be explained. The final chapter will contain the conclusions from the study including a discussion and suggestions will be given for further research. Chapter 2: Brand awareness and brand equity This chapter will shortly explain the terms brand awareness and brand equity. First, existing theories about brand equity and brand awareness are described and explained in order to build a theoretical background for this study. Then, the relation between brand awareness and brand equity will be described. 2.1 What is brand equity? Brand equity is a widely used marketing concept and there are numerous definitions for brand equity. In a general sense, brand equity is defined in terms of the marketing effects uniquely attributable to the brand for example, when certain outcomes result from the marketing of a product or service because of its brand name that would not occur if the same product or service did not have that name (Keller, 1993). Keller (2008) showed and explained the process of building strong brands in his Customer Based Brand Equity model. He focuses on brand-added value which he defines as the differential effect that consumers brand knowledge has on their response to the marketing of that brand. The process consists of the following dimensions: brand salience, brand performance, brand imagery, consumer judgement, consumer feelings and brand resonance. Aaker (1991) defines brand equity as a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand its name and symbols that add to or subtract from t he value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or to that firms customers. Aaker identifies five assets; brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, brand association, and other proprietary brand assets. Keller explains brand equity as a customer-based process consisting of several steps which are related, while Aaker explains brand equity as set of brand dimensions without making a distinction between a firm and its customers. This thesis defines brand equity as the difference in success between an established artist and a similar unknown artist in the dance music industry. Figure 2 visualises the brand equity process in the dance music industry. It combines Kellers conceptual framework of customer-based brand equity and Aakers theory of brand equity to develop a new framework which explains the process of building brand equity. Figure 2. Brand equity in the dance music industry Brand loyalty Brand awareness Brand image According to Keller (1993), Customer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer is aware of the brand and holds some favourable, strong, and unique brand associations in memory. The different types of customer-based brand equity are discussed by considering the effects of these dimensions of brand knowledge on brand loyalty and consumer response to product, price, promotion, and distribution strategies. The focus of this thesis will therefore be on brand awareness, and how to create brand awareness, because it is of great importance in the creation of brand equity it is the first phase in the creation process of customer-based brand equity in this study. Brand image, brand loyalty and other dimensions of brand equity occur once brand awareness is established. This process is in line with Stalpers findings (2011); brand equity includes brand awareness and brand image, which subsequently could lead to popularity and brand loyalty. The relation between brand awareness and brand equity will be explained in paragraph 2.3 and a method used to create brand awareness will be explained in chapter 3. 2.2 What is brand awareness? Brand awareness measures consumers knowledge of a brands existence. It refers to the proportion of consumers who know or recognize the  brand (Keller, 2001). A brand can increase the demand for a product in several ways. Brand awareness makes it easier for consumers to identify products with the well-known brand names  (Mary W.Sullivan, 1998). Therefore, brands provide information by increasing awareness and serving as a proxy for quality. According to Keller (1993), brand awareness plays an important role in consumer decision making. One reason Keller mentions, is that brand awareness can affect decisions about brands in the consideration set, even if there are essentially no other brand associations. Consumers tend to prefer familiar, well-established brands. A minimum level of brand awareness may be sufficient for product choice, even in the absence of a well-formed attitude (Bettman and Park 1980; Hoyer and Brown 1990; Park and Lessig 1981). In this thesis, artist brand awareness refers to the extent that a consumer knows or recognizes an artist. Chapter 4 will explain why brand awareness is of great importance in the dance music industry. 2.3 Brand awareness and brand equity In contrary to other theories about brand equity, this thesis only focuses on the relation between brand awareness and brand equity. As explained before in previous paragraphs, brand equity occurs when the consumer is aware of the brand (Keller, 1993). Once brand awareness and thus brand equity is established, we can look at the effects of the dimensions of brand equity on brand loyalty and consumer response to different strategies. According to Keller (1993), high levels of brand awareness and a positive brand image should increase the probability of brand choice, as well as produce greater consumer (and retailer) loyalty and decrease vulnerability to competitive marketing actions. Chapter 3: Viral marketing The phenomenon viral marketing will be explained in this chapter. The goal of this chapter is to get a better understanding of viral marketing and its effectiveness. Advantages and disadvantages will be explained. The final paragraph will explain how viral marketing can be used to create brand awareness. 3.1 What is viral marketing? Marketers are looking for new ways of communicating with customers and creating a dialogue with customers. The growth and evolution of the internet has led to the creation of a new format of word-of-mouth; viral marketing through new media. It is the online version of word-of-mouth or so-called network marketing. The goal of viral marketing is to use consumer-to-consumer (or peer-to-peer) communications-as opposed to company-to-consumer communications-to disseminate information about a product or service, thereby leading to more rapid and cost effective adoption by the market (Krishnamurthy, 2001). Viral marketing and its offline counterpart word-of-mouth differ in two ways (De Bruyn Lilien, 2008).: Viral marketing practices are electronic by nature; there is no face-to-face communication. Viral marketing referrals are usually unsolicited, that is, they are sent to recipients who are not looking for information, and hence are not necessarily willing to pay attention to them. According to the same authors, Viral marketing occurs when consumers willingly become promoters of a product or service and spread the words to their friends; they are driven to do so either through an explicit incentive (e.g., financial incentives, need to create network externalities) or simply out of a desire to share the product benefits with friends (e.g., fun, intriguing, valuable for others). Viral marketing utilizes multiple new media channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Google, and Twitter, which enable customers to take a more active role as market players and reach (and be reached by) almost everyone, anywhere, and anytime. These new media threaten long established business models and corporate strategies, but also provide ample opportunities for growth through new adaptive strategies (Hennig-Thurau et. Al, 2010). Social media is essentially a new form of virtual word-of-mouth marketing. It is harnessing different social media networks. Viral marketing is a marketing strategy that creates a buzz around a product/service. It essentially acts like a virus, exploding the message to the masses, which can be used among all types of media, including social media. 3.2 What are disadvantages of viral marketing? From the last paragraph, it can be concluded that viral marketing works extremely rapid and the transmission of the marketing message is comparatively inexpensive. This all sounds promising, but marketers need to be aware of potential risks connected to viral marketing. Viral marketing is a relatively new phenomenon and the effects are difficult to measure (De Bruyn Lilien, 2008). The next paragraph will explain the effectiveness of viral marketing. According to Wuyts et Al (2010), a viral marketing campaign relies entirely on consumers to spread it, which makes it impossible for marketers to further control this process once the message spreads over the Web as a virus. In addition, consumers can edit a message once they will forward it to their peers, which makes it difficult to control the content of the message itself. Furthermore, consumers that unwillingly receive messages could consider such messages as spam, which may damage a brand. Finally, a marketer cannot control a campaigns timing (Welker, 2002). Control can thus be seen as the most important and challenging factor of a viral marketing campaign in order to maintain a good relationship with consumers. 3.3 Is viral marketing effective? Previous examples of successful viral marketing campaigns indicate that viral marketing could be effective. The most famous viral marketing campaign that put viral marketing on the map was the campaign by Hotmail in 1996. It helped Hotmail become the leading personal web-based email service provider. Hotmail users forwarded messages with a small endnote: P.S. Get your free email at Hotmail. With this campaign, Hotmail recruited 12 million subscribers in 18 months with a marketing budget of only $500 000 (Kirby and Marsen, 2006). As stated in previous paragraphs, it is important for marketers to understand the process and pitfalls of viral marketing in order to create a successful viral marketing campaign. De Bruyn Lilien (2008) support this statement: To better understand why and how viral marketing can be effective, we must understand its pass-along process and its underlying mechanisms of influence. The same authors say that by leveraging the power of interpersonal networks to promote a product or service, viral marketing campaigns are an effective means to transform communication networks into influence networks capturing recipients attention, triggering interest, and eventually leading to adoption or sales. But not all social networks are equally effective. It seems that networks of friends (as opposed to networks of professionals or colleagues) are more suited to the rapid and effective diffusion of peer-to-peer online referrals. 3.4 Viral marketing and brand awareness Viral marketing through new media is a relatively new phenomenon. As explained in the previous paragraph, viral marketing is considered as an effective tool to transform (electronic) communication networks into influence networks. In order to explain the relation between viral marketing and brand awareness, the marketing objectives of viral marketing should be explained first. Viral marketing through new media on the Internet is used to increase brand awareness or achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) and to create market share in a short period of time on a shoestring promotion budget (Krishnamurthy, 2001). De Bruyn Lilien (2008) developed a multi-stage model of word-of-mouth influence through viral marketing, which includes the following stages: Awareness:  The consumer knows the alternative exists, but may not have either interest in it or sufficient information to understand its possible benefits. Interest. The consumer is aware, develops some interest, and hence decides to learn more about the product. Final decision. The consumer has now taken an observable action, a purchase of a good or service or the sustained adoption of an innovation. As discussed before, viral marketing has some pitfalls. But what is this relation with brand awareness? Once the message is spread over the Web, it is impossible for a marketer to control this process and influencing what and how the message will be spread. This could lead to negative publicity. But does this harm a brand? Although popular wisdom suggests that any publicity is good publicity, prior research has demonstrated only downsides to negative press. However, according to a study by Berger et Al (2010) negative publicity could lead to positive outcomes. They argue that negative publicity can increase purchase likelihood and sales by increasing product awareness. This means that the old wisdom could be true in terms of creating awareness: any publicity is good publicity. Chapter 4: Interrelationship between variables Chapter 4 will apply all the previously described relations on the dance music industry. A more practical insight will be given about the meaning of brand awareness, brand equity and viral marketing within the dance music industry. The first paragraph will focus on brand awareness and brand equity. The final paragraph will explain how viral marketing can be applied in the dance music industry. 4.1 Brand awareness and brand equity in the dance music industry Brand equity includes awareness and image of a brand, which consequently could lead to a certain level of popularity and brand loyalty. Products and services with a strong brand are expected to comprise a higher quality. When an established artist with a strong brand releases a new song, consumers will expect high quality based on the experience that they have with that particular artist. As a consequence, consumers perceive less risk, and brand loyalty will be higher, which will make them less price sensitive. Furthermore, established, popular artists are able to charge more for their gigs (shows), because of their strong brand (Stalpers, 2011). Understanding how to reach high levels of brand equity by creating a strong brand is therefore important for artists to become successful. Especially in the dance music industry, brand awareness is important, because in general consumers will particularly listen to music from artists they know or recognize. Because of the enormous availability and supply of online dance music, consumers will filter music based on different aspects like genre or recognition. To create brand awareness, artists should understand brand practices to know how to position themselves in the market as a brand. The individual artist brand is important in order to successfully gain competitive advantage in the dance music industry, because established artists, like established brands, have name recognition, and have developed a certain image, and, furthermore, are associated with particular type of products (Levin et al, 1997). The presence of a recognized artist signals quality to the prospective consumer much as a trusted brand name implies quality in a product. 4.2 Viral marketing in the dance music industry As stated before, networking plays a large role in the dance music industry, especially compared to the general (mainstream) music industry. This is due to the fact that DJs in the dance music industry do not only play their own music, but also others work. A rock band, for example, only performs its own songs, but a DJ in the electronic dance music industry plays songs from several artists. They discover new music by sharing music with their colleagues and friends. Therefore networking and word-of-mouth is very important in this particular industry. As explained before, viral marketing occurs when consumers willingly become promoters of an artist and spread the words to their friends; they are driven to do so either through an explicit incentive (e.g., financial incentives, need to create network externalities) or simply out of a desire to share the product benefits with friends (e.g., fun, intriguing, valuable for others). Especially the last incentive (desire) would be an applicable incentive for consumers to share music. Also record labels can benefit from viral marketing, because they can guide artists to create a successful viral marketing campaign. The internet made it difficult for new artists to get adequate attention. These new artists can turn to record labels, which can assist them in getting attention through intense marketing efforts. Record labels can also facilitate the music creation and distribution process for these new artists (Crawford, 2001). Viral marketing is useful for artists because it is inexpensive and fast, as explained before. Welker (2002) confirms this statement: Obviously the call for cost reduction in marketing communication makes it necessary to consider viral strategies which are a new interpretation of the good old word-of-mouth-paradigm (Welker, 2002). The main goal for new artists is to create awareness. As concluded in paragraph 3.4; any publicity is good publicity to create awareness. Does this also apply to new, unknown artists in the dance music industry? According to the study by Berger et Al (2010), negative publicity should have differential effects on established versus unknown products. They found out that negative reviews hurt the sales of books, in this case, by well known authors, but it increased sales of books that had lower prior awareness. This confirms the statement that any publicity, whether positive or negative, increases or creates awareness. For a new artist it means that the main downside of viral marketing, namely control of the message, does not apply, because what and how the message will be spread is not important, the fact that it is spread is what counts. Chapter 5: Conclusion, discussion and recommendation This chapter will summarize the findings, discuss limitations and implications, and make recommendations for future research. The first paragraph will start with a short, but clear, answer on the problem statement, following by a more extensive conclusion. 5.1.1 Problem Statement The problem statement of this paper is formulated as follows: To what extent does

Racism in Toni Morrisons Song of Solmon Essay -- Song of Solmon Essay

Racism in Toni Morrison's Song of Solmon Milkman is born on the day that Mr. Smith kills himself trying to fly; Milkman as a child wanted to fly until he found out that people could not. When he found, "that only birds and airplanes could fly&emdash;he lost all interest in himself" (9). The novel Song of Solomon is about an African American man nicknamed Milkman. This novel, by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison was first published in 1977, shows a great deal of the African American culture, and the discrimination within their culture at the time Song of Solomon takes place. In part one, the setting is in a North Carolina town in the 30's and 40's. Â   Part one introduces readers to not only Milkman, but also to his family and friends. His father holds power in the African American community because he has his own business and is ambitious. Milkman's mother is a center figure in the community simply because her father was the doctor. Milkman has a mysterious unmarried Aunt, with a single daughter and granddaughter. He also has a friend, Guitar who is a member of a group of seven African American men dedicated to keeping the 'ratio' between blacks and whites the same. Throughout the novel, Milkman gradually learns about his families past as well as forgotten pieces of his own childhood. Â   In part two, Milkman goes south to his father's hometown. He is looking for a fortune that his father and aunt had found long before. When he does not find the fortune he begins trying to find where it went. This takes him to where his great grandfather and mother originated. Milkman eventually is led to the town where he is a direct descendant of the town's legend, Solomon. It is in this town that Milkman finds himself and becomes his own m... ... lied for it, killed for it," (247). For her revenge, after all of the Butlers died Circe says "I want to see it all go, make sure it does go, and that nobody fixes it up. I brought the dogs in to make sure" (247). She allows everything they loved to be destroyed. Â   Morrison shows readers a side of American History rarely seen. She shows the deepness of prejudice and how many different ways it has effected people. While she does this she also tells a story of soul searching, Milkman tries to find himself among many people who are confused and ate up by hate and prejudice. In the end, he is able to find who he is and where he stands on all of the issues that are going on around him. When he gets this understanding Milkman retrieves, and achieves his childhood dream of flying. Works Cited Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York, Penguin Books USA Inc., 1987

Colonial Politics and Democracy

Democracy is a much contested concept. Its notion differs with reference to the type of government a state employs. But in general sense, democracy pertains to a type of government in which the role and the involvement of every individual are very significant. The term democracy actually is derived from the Greek word demos which means ‘people’, and from kratos which means ‘rule’. In other words, democracy entails a form of government that is ruled by the people themselves. (Tilly, 2007)It is said that democratization has been one of the impending features of globalization. (Ray & Kaarbo, 2004) Regarding this, states and nations are beginning to patronize the underlying and the basic principles of democracy. But prior to the concept of globalization, colonial politics had been one of the first mechanisms used to promote democracy.  (Andrews, 2001)Some defined features of colonial politics that help the rise and institutionalization of democracy to other st ates and nations in the world include the idea that ‘power and authority’ should not be bestowed to a single person for that person has this tendency of abusing his obtained power and authority. Conversely, those countries who abide by the principles of democracy divided or distributed both power and authority to three branches of the government, namely: the executive, legislature and judiciary.Through this structure, checks and balances are very much possible. Another defining mark of colonial politics is the method of ‘governorship’ wherein power and authority is distributed among the elected or delegated governors. These governors rule state provinces. Lastly, the process of election is inherent in a democratic form of government. In this method, every citizen has the right to vote for whom he or she thinks fit to rule.  (Lijphart, 1999)The significance of these features of colonial politics really contributed to the rise of democracy. They show that t he role and involvement of every individual are the integral part of democracy. Hence, it should be first arranged and managed by the government in order for the state to function as really democratic.Reference:Andrews, C. M. (2001). Colonial Self-Government, 1652-1689. Adamant Media Corporation.Lijphart, A. (1999). Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries. Yale University Press.Ray, J. L., & Kaarbo, J. (2004). Global Politics (8th ed ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company.Tilly, C. (2007). Democracy (First ed ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Dells Marketing Case, Dillema

How would you describe Dell's current distinctive competencies? What other potential sources of distinctive competency might Dell work to develop? Answer: According to the case, Dell's Current distinctive competencies are: ; â€Å"Mass customization†; by focusing on this strategy (which they followed as their core differentiation strategy), Dell has successfully been able to transform the way consumers shop for technology. Customer could place customized orders for their PC's according to their unique needs and wants.Which at that time seemed to be a very attractive, innovative and hence successful strategy. However while concentrating too much on its distinctive strategy of mass customization for too long, Dell gravely failed to adapt to the changing world of technology which opportunity was promptly grabbed by its current and emerging competitors like HP, Sony, Leaner, Apple and others. They quickly managed to reap the benefits of the fast growing market for technological p roducts like PC's and notebooks. Direct Sales Channel- Dell has proved to be extremely successful at coming up with a very efficient and smart supply chain, by making Its customers able to place orders for their PC's online, wrought e commerce. Dell used direct sales via Internet, whereas traditional PC manufacturers previously assembled PC's to make them ready for purchase at retail stores. Thus, Dell enjoyed early-to-market advantage. This eliminated the need for retailers that would add unnecessary time and cost for Dell and Dell has enjoyed this competency for a pro-longed period of time. Dell's cost efficiency: Dell was able to provide PC's at a low cost for quite a period of time, until paying a low price for a standard PC was no more attracting the potential customers who were rather lured y the more technologically advanced products offered by Dell's competitors like Hewlett-Packard. However continuing with its cost cutting strategy cost them their customers in later years w hen HP emerged as the market leader and attracted all the consumers and business clients to themselves.Moreover, Dell's extremely efficient supply chain management aided In keeping Its costs low and hence being cost effective. Dell's strong market position due to its strong brand value as one of the top 100 brands In the world (In the IT systems market), provided It with a competitive advantage. Dell has a strong market presence in IT systems market. Despite losing market share to other players in the recent past, Dell continues to remain a strong player in the IT systems market.In the fast growing market for technological products Dell should have obviously gone for innovating their product lines. Dell should go for product development. It might work to launch faster and more attractive versions of PC's and laptops. Most Importantly Its marketing strategy should be changed, In order to reap benefits from Its distinctive competencies. Being Innovative could have obviously paid off a s a good extinctive competency, because then competitors like HP and Apple would get as much opportunity to grab the market share.Moreover, Dell could go for making ‘OFF silent changes In Its organizational culture Day encouraging Its employees to De more creative and to think out of the box so as to get rid of the monotonous feeling in them which would also enhance the productivity and would obviously spread a good word of mouth regarding Dell as a â€Å"ready to innovate and serve company', which would work as another great distinctive competency. Question 2) Dell is currently engaged in a cost leadership strategy. If Dell decided to move more toward a differentiation strategy, what might be some sources of differentiation Dell could explore?Answer 2: Emphasizing on the cost leadership strategy for too long has caused Dell to lose it market share and not to mention has lead it to earning lower profits. That's because the same strategy would not work forever. Dell has not ex plored in serving their customers with variety in their offerings for PC's and notebooks, neither did it do much to upgrade its features and technology. Dell has not re-invested any of its profits into going for a different racketing strategy other than cost leadership.A differentiation strategy incorporates the development of a product or service so that it can offer a customer perceived uniqueness in the marketplace that seems to be better than or different from the products of the competition. Dell has to focus more on providing additional value for their customers if they want to differentiate their brand form the others in the market, to do so, they have to address their customers not yet raised demand for new technology say for example, delight their customers by offering new software and applications for their PC's.Dell can also go for sales promotion; that is they can provide short term offers where they would be providing free upgrades for software in their current customer s' PC's and offer discounts on certain software Just so as to attract their customers' lost interest. Launching and promoting different complimentary products made by Dell can be a good idea to enhance the sales of Dell PC's.For instance if Dell came up with a product line for gaming computers, to attract a certain segment of its potential clients, and along with that if it issued games made by Dell one of which would be provided for free with the gaming PC's, it loud be a great way of differentiating their brand as â€Å"innovative† in the mind of customer, especially since no other competitor at that time came up with gaming PC'S. Question 3: According to Nations Product-Market expansion grid which strategy is applicable for Dell computer's offerings?Explain the strategy in your own words in the context of the case. Answer 3: Nations model is based upon four types of strategies which are; market penetration strategy, market development strategy, product development strategy and diversification strategy. The diagram below illustrates the Nations Product-Market expansion grid. In my opinion, Dell should primarily go for product development strategy and then market development strategy. By going for product development strategy, Dell would be issuing new, developed and modified versions of its products.By doing so, Dell can show it to the industry that they are all ready to launch innovative products and solutions for their clients both Business and consumer. Moreover given the strong and well established brand name Dell has, it would not be a problem to beat its competitors Like HP, IT Dell can offer new Ana developed products to Its customers. For example by considering software as an product/service to offer, Dell can assemble a services portfolio that would include e-mail disaster recovery, spam/virus filtering and archiving via its Message acquisition.Moreover Dell can come up new models of its PC, and notebook, more lighter ones, faster ones, PC's specially made for gaming, and PC's which are specially made lighter and smaller for office going executives and students. Just like Google developed a new browser Chrome for the existing Internet user. Going for a market penetration strategy would be bad session for Dell since it has proved to be a failure Just because it refused to be innovative about its products and was only focusing on a single strategy of â€Å"mass customization†.However, Dell can also go for a market development strategy if that is feasible giving the transportation and set up costs associated with setting up business and dealerships in developing countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, or it can focus on a different demography, like the elderly people; by creating easy to use and simple light laptops for them, which they can also afford with a little portion of their savings.

How blind hiring can improve workplace diversity

How blind hiring can improve workplace diversity There’s a growing trend across industries when it comes to hiring- and in the age of information, you may be surprised to learn that involves having access to less information instead of more, in an effort to enhance ethical hiring practices and improve workplace diversity. If your company isn’t utilizing blind hiring practices yet, it might not be long before it jumps on this progressive new hiring bandwagon. What is blind hiring?This bold new hiring practice is referred to as â€Å"blind hiring,† and according to a recent article by Analytics in HR (AIHR), â€Å"Blind hiring is any technique that anonymizes or ‘blinds’ personal information about a candidate from the recruiter or hiring manager that can lead to unconscious (or conscious) bias about the candidate. This bias tends to be unfair and discriminatory because much of the personal information that is presented is generally unrelated to his or her on-the-job performance.†How blind hiri ng can improve your company’s hiring practicesAs an HR professional, not having access to personal candidate information that tends to lead to bias allows for increased objectivity when evaluating potential hires. As a result, decisions will be based on a candidate’s skills, knowledge, and potential to succeed, and things like a candidate’s race, gender, age, and education level are ignored- and when ability is the primary driving factor for hiring, it results in a more qualified and talented workstaff. Increased hiring objectivity also leads to a more diverse workforce, which benefits both employers and employees.How are companies- and the HR world at large- warming up to the idea of blind hiring According to AIHR, â€Å"Blind hiring is gaining more acceptance as part of a larger movement to remove faulty human judgment element that interferes with hiring people that were truly the best candidates in first place. Research featured in the Harvard Business Revie w found that candidates who were hired based on an algorithm were  50% more likely to be successful  on the job than candidates picked based on recruiters’ human judgment.†How companies are implementing blind hiring practicesCurrently, the most common methods for doing so are occurring during the resume review process and through the use of anonymized pre-hire tests and assessments. AIHR reports that significant human bias exists during the resume review process: â€Å"Resumes with White-sounding names receive  30 percent more interviews  than identical resumes with African American names. Resumes with old-sounding names were rated as  less suitable for the job  compared to identical resumes with modern-sounding names.† Removing all superfluous personal candidate info from their applications, resumes, and online profiles is designed to eliminate this bias. Pre-hire tests and personality assessments- using anonymous candidate IDs- are also being used m ore frequently to assess a candidate’s abilities and potential fit when making hiring decisions. Both of these tools are reported to increase hiring objectivity and workplace diversity, which can be gauged and tracked through your HR department’s recruitment metrics.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Are your company’s hiring practices as objective as they could- and should- be? If not, then consider adopting blind hiring practices to make things more fair. Use the strategies and advice presented here to help improve the diversity in your workplace and make sure you’re hiring the most qualified candidates possible.