Integrated Marketing Communications Essay Example for Free

Integrated Marketing Communications Essay Definition: Integrated Marketing Communication Definition: IMC is a concept of marketing communications planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communications disciplines – for example, general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and public relations – and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communications impact by The American Association of Advertising Agencies (the 4A’s) The Emergence of IMC The Market revolution forcing a movement towards IMC: †¢ †¢ A shift of marketing dollars from media advertising to other forms of promotion, particularly consumer and trade oriented sales promotions A movement away from relying on advertising-focused approaches, which emphasize mass media such as television and national magazines, to solve communication problems A shift in marketplace power from the manufacturer to the retailer The rapid growth and development of database marketing Demands for greater accountability from advertising agencies and changes in the way agencies are compensated The rapid growth of the Internet, which is changing the very nature of how companies do business and the ways they communicate and interact with consumers †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The Role of Marketing Communication Marketing communication performs several functions for consumers: †¢ Consumers are told how the product is used, by what kind of person, and where and when †¢ Consumers learn about who makes the product and what the company and the brand stand for †¢ It allows companies to link their brands to other people, places, events, brands, experiences, feelings, and things †¢ It also contributed to brand equity by establishing the brand in memory and crafting a brand image Marketing communication contributes specifically to brand equity in the following ways: †¢ By creating awareness of the brand †¢ Linking the right associations to the brand image in the consumer’s memory †¢ Eliciting positive brand judgments or feelings †¢ Facilitating a stronger consumer-brand connection Marketing Communication Forms Marketing communication consists of 6 major modes of communication: Advertising: Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor Sales Promotion: A variety of short-term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or a service Events and Experiences: Company sponsored activities and programs designed to create daily or special brandrelated interactions Public relations and publicity A variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company’s image or its individual products Direct marketing: Use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, or internet to communicate directly with or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers or prospects Personal selling: Face-to-face interaction with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders Advertising Sales Promotion Events

Analysis of the Mexican Economy :: Mexico Economics Culture Governmental Essays

Analysis of the Mexican Economy I. Historical, Population, Culture, Political, and Economic Information History Mexico was the site of some of the earliest and most advanced civilizations in the western hemisphere. The Mayan culture, according to archaeological research, attained its greatest development about the 6th century AD. Another group, the Toltec, established an empire in the Valley of Mexico and developed a great civilization still evidenced by the ruins of magnificent buildings and monuments. The leading tribe, the Aztec, built great cities and developed an intricate social, political, and religious organization. Their civilization was highly developed, both intellectually and artistically. The first European explorer to visit Mexican territory was Francisco Fernà ¡ndez de Cà ³rdoba, who in 1517 discovered traces of the Maya in Yucatà ¡n. In 1535, some years after the fall of the Aztec capital, the basic form of colonial government in Mexico was instituted with the appointment of the first Spanish viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza. A distinguishing characteristic of colonial Mexico was the exploitation of the Native Americans. Although thousands of them were killed during the Spanish conquest, they continued to be the great majority of inhabitants of what was referred to as New Spain, speaking their own languages and retaining much of their native culture. Inevitably they became the laboring class. Their plight was the result of the 'encomienda' system, by which Spanish nobles, priests, and soldiers were granted not only large tracts of land but also jurisdiction over all Native American residents. A second characteristic of colonial Mexico was the position and power of the Roman Catholic church. Franciscan, Augustinian, Dominican, and Jesuit missionaries entered the country with the conquistadores. The Mexican church became enormously wealthy through gifts and bequests that could be held in perpetuity. Before 1859, when church holdings were nationalized, the church owned one-third of all property and land. A third characteristic was the existence of rigid social classes: the Native Americans, the mestizos, mixed Spanish and Native American (an increasingly large group during the colonial era), black slaves which were brought from Africa and the Caribbean, freed blacks and white Mexicans. The white Mexicans were themselves divided. Highest of all classes was that of the peninsulares, those born in Spain, as opposed to the criollos, or Creoles—people of pure European descent who had been born and raised in New Spain. The peninsulares were sent from Spain to hold the highest colonial offices in both the civil and church administrations.

Starbucks’ Mission: Aligned with Its Strategies

Is Starbucks' Mission (vision, goals, objectives) aligned with its strategies? Analyze Starbucks based on the strategic process outline and write a five page paper answering the preceding question. As I drove to work this morning, I decided to make a slight detour from my normal route to get a cup of morning goodness in the form of fresh coffee. I could have stopped off at the corner convenience store, smelt gasoline being pumped and the ring-a-ding-ding of the slot machines that frequent just about every Las Vegas establishment, but I was looking for a little more something. I decided to drive an extra 30 seconds out of my way to go to an establishment that I knew would provide outstanding quality coffee, serve it with a smile, and provide an environment that was classy and warm. I decided to go to Starbucks. As I walked in, I smelt the fresh coffee grounds and heard a catchy song on the stereo. When the gal behind the counter greeted me with a big smile and asked, â€Å"What can I get started for you? † I knew I had made the right decision. The Starbucks corporation has done an outstanding job since 1970 with the execution of it's strategicprocess resulting in it currently owning 40% of the specialty coffee market and boosting annual sales exceeding $7 billion according to an article published by Burt Helm. Figure 1. Strategic Management Tasks According to the courseware there are five steps to be accomplished in the Strategic Management Process. See Figure 1 above. The one essential area that this graph excludes however is analysis. I will include this step in the following discussion. Mission Statement From the Starbucks website we find that the Starbucks' mission statement is, â€Å"Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow†. The website goes on to say â€Å"the mission is more than words on a piece of paper but rather a philosophy that guides how we do business every day. † While the later half appears to be fluff and corporate jargon, it is actually relevant in the way the Starbucks conducts business daily. With this mission statement they have determined who they are and what they intend to do. Breaking it down further we find that the key market is the coffee market, the contribution is to be the premier purveyor of the finest coffee, and that the distinction is doing all of this while maintaining their uncompromising principles. I will state the uncompromising principles as part of the objective area to follow. Analysis Starbucks knows that it is not in this market alone. In fact in some areas of the world it is already slightly behind. According to caterersearch. com, â€Å"in the UK Starbucks has been usurped by Costa Coffee as the UK's largest coffee shop operator, with 24. % (540 stores) compared to 24. 7% (555) for the Whitbread-owned chain†. The article went on to say that the market continues to have huge growth, exceeding 15% per year. The courseware introduced one method of analyzing the market known as SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). It was interesting to find the following chart, Figure 2, located in the Datamonitor Starbucks Co rporation Company Profile. Figure 2. Starbucks SWOT Analysis This SWOT analysis invariably helped Starbucks with the next phase of the strategy process, that of objective setting. Setting Objectives As mentioned earlier, Starbucks mission statement eludes to uncompromising principles. According to the Starbucks. com, these principles include: 1. Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. 2. Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. 3. Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee. 4. Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time. 5. Contribute positively to our communities and our environment. 6. Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success. While the Corporation calls these principles, and they are principles indeed, they also use these principles as a set of objectives from which they conduct their daily operations. A final objective that has recently come about from the Corporate Chairman Howard Schultz, is to ensure that the company does not forget its roots as it attempts to continue to grow. Schultz is aggressive. According to a Business Week article by Burt Helm, he would like to triple annual sales up to $23 billion by the year 2012, and almost quadruple the number ofStarbucks stores globally. This is smart. He sees the strengths and opportunities of the SWOT analysis above and wants to expound on his global presence and take advantage of the continual 14-15% annual growth of the market. Schultz also knows that there are slowing US retail sales however. To counteract this he intends to preserve the old world feel of a coffee bistro. In order to keep up with the demand, Starbucks has had to modernize some of its procedures. Helm states that the company has had to sacrifice some of the old world feel and incorporate the use of automatic espresso machines, vacuum sealed bags of coffee, CDs, and so on. Schultz wants to minimize the watering down of what he calls â€Å"The Starbucks Experience†. This is difficult in today's society in which most businesses attempt to get consumers in and out as quickly as possible and customers expect and demand the same, a phenomena known as â€Å"The McDonaldization of Society†. Implementation and Execution of the Strategy Starbucks has implemented the principles and goals into daily operations. Looking through page after page of the Starbucks website, it is evident that the corporation has internalized these principles and uses them as guidelines. Providing a great work environment hashappened in a number of ways. Starbucks provides employees with training and education. One program listed on the Starbucks website is called, â€Å"Learning to Lead†. In this program employees learn effective management practices. Another employee programis â€Å"Business and Communication† in which workers are offered a variety of classes to aid in their management skills. These programs allow for advancement and a sense of accomplishment by employees. They added together with company benefits are attempts by Starbucks to foster a friendly work environment. Diversity is accomplished through the hiring process. Starbucks knows that it is important that every voice is heard, and in which employees strive to learn about one another. In doing this, the company ensures that no group of potential customers are alienated. Starbucks applies the highest standards in freshly delivered coffee in a couple of ways. According to the company home page, Starbucks works with suppliers and farmers daily in an attempt to sustain high quality coffee production. In addition to this, a program known as â€Å"Coffee Education† was put into effect in which employees learn the finer nuances of coffee, from aroma to taste, and as a result are better able to speak to customers about the gourmet products. The intent of this according to Helm, is to share Starbucks' passion for coffee and to make the coffee industry more like the wine industry. If Starbucks is able to make its customers connoisseurs of coffee, it can then stock and sellhigh end coffee for up to $28 per pound. Starbucks knows that competitors such as McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, or even the corner convenience store can't compete in this niche of the market. Starbucks has had success with ensuring that coffee drinking is an experience. According to Jeneanne Rae, â€Å"80% of Starbucks' revenues come from customers who visit their stores an average of 18 times a month†. This statistic alone tells us that the company is keeping its customers happy. The nice lighting, the plush furniture, the smooth music all aid in this endeavor. Rae goes on to say, â€Å"people will gladly pay more for an experience that is not only functional but also emotionally rewarding†. Simply put, I could go to the corner store and get a cup of coffee for $. 5 and get my caffeine shot for the day. In this process however I may feel like I'm missing out on the finer things in life, â€Å"The Starbucks Experience†. As a result, I will go out of my way, pay $2 for a cup of coffee, and feel more satisfied. Starbucks also strives to contribute positively to its communities and surrounding environments. It strives to be a friendly gathering place for locals. According to its website, Starbucks supports local organizations with cash and contributions as well as promotes art, culture, education, and environmental awareness. The final goal of Starbucks is to be profitable and promote future success. It does this through taking care of its stakeholders. The Starbucks Code of Ethics for CEO and Finance Leaders states, â€Å"I am charged with ensuring that stake holders interests are appropriately balanced, protected and preserved†. All corporate decisions are made with the preceding oath in mind. Starbucks will continue to have success in the coffee market due to its strongstrategy. From vision statement, through SWOT, to implementation, and finally the execution of daily operations, it has been a synergistic effort. This process has culminated in what has been coined, â€Å"The Starbucks Experience†. Customers will take a five minute detour, just as I did this morning, to be greeted with a warm smile, receive a piping hot cup of java, all in a clean quant old world feel environment. Howard Schultz and his crew are well on their way to achieving their goals of 40,000 stores and $23. 2 billion in sales by the year 2012. REFERENCES Datamonitor Starbucks Corporations Company Profile, 25 Jan 2005. Retrieved 20 July 2007 from, http://www. investor. reuters. om/data/files/Company%20Profile%20Sample%20for%20Reuters. pdf Helm, Burt. 9 Apr 2007. SAVING STARBUCKS' SOUL; Chairman Howard Schultz is on a mission to take his company back to its roots. Oh, yeah-he also wants to triple sales in five years. Business Week. Retrieved 20 July 2007 from http://proquest. umi. com/pqdweb? index=44=1252343951=3=1=3=PROD=PQD=309=PQD=1184944744=29440=1 Keel, Robert. 10 July 2007. The McDonaldization of Society. Ret rieved on 20 July 2007 from, http://www. umsl. du/~keelr/010/mcdonsoc. html McDonald's to open coffee chain in Japan, 12 July 2007. Retrieved on 20 July 2007 from, http://www. topix. com/drink/2007/07/mcdonalds-to-open-coffee-chain-in-japan Rae, Jeneanne. 27 Nov 2006. The Importance Of Great Customer Experiences? Business Week. Retrieved 20 July 2007 from http://proquest. umi. com/pqdweb? index=60&did=1166573331&SrchMode=3&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1184944933&clientId=29440&aid=1 UK coffee market set to double over the next 10 years, 23 May 2007, Retrieved on 20 July 07 from,

Class Stratification In Pride And Prejudice - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 1010 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/05/31 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Pride and Prejudice Essay Did you like this example? Humanity has been entrenched in multiple centuries of class division and stratification for most of its civilized history. The division of power and privilege is perhaps the defining feature of humanity. No other species has nearly the same level of inequality of the distribution of resources. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Class Stratification In Pride And Prejudice" essay for you Create order Modern social stratification of course has its roots in the days of early feudalism, wherein social classes were defined by birth. Feudalism developed into industrialism/capitalism, and thus the modern conception of the social class was born. With the conception of social classes comes with the various antagonisms between them, i.e. the rich vs the poor, the proletariat vs the bourgeoisie. These antagonisms are the subject of much analysis in both popular culture and the more ivory tower type intellectual circles alike. From all the way up top of the ivory tower comes works like Das Kapital (including all 3 volumes) by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, who both in detail described the various problems with centralizing the means of production and capital accumulation. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is a popular romance novel titled Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, who focuses on the relationship between 2 people whos financial backgrounds are wildly different. Through Jane Austens excellent use of characterization, the contrasting social platitudes and norms of the various class stratums in 1800s England is revealed in great detail. To begin, the most basic of the differences between social classes is not the beliefs and the convictions held by those within it, but rather the behaviors and the way in which they present themselves to others. In Pride and Prejudice this is detailed excellently in the first few chapters. For example, in chapter four Austen directly characterizes the Bingley family in contrast with the rest of the party. They were in fact very fine ladies; not deficient in good humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of making themselves agreeable when they chose it, but proud and conceited. They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and of associating with people of rank, and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others. The Bingley family is shown to be middle class by the parties standards, but because of their inflated spending habits and association with those of higher rank, they deem themselves worthy of acting down upon those who are less fortunate or even as fortunate as themselves. Not only does this detail the livelihood and presentation of those considered high class, which is one of thrift, grandiose presentations of wealth, and patronization, but it also details the desperation of those in lower socioeconomic standings to fraudulently present themselves as being above what they truly are. However, the behaviors and presentations are not the only major differences between the middle and the upper class, even the ways in which the classes think vary greatly. Pride and Prejudice once again outlines this with great detail on page 357, during Darcys speech to Elizabeth. I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit. Unfortunately an only son (for many years an only child), I was spoilt by my parents, who, though good themselves (my father, particularly, all that was benevolent and amiable), allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing; to care for none beyond my own family circle; to think meanly of all the rest of the world; to wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own. Such I was, from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased. Darcy outlines the way hes been thinking for almost his entire life. Greed, egocentrism, and alienation are all fundamental parts of the upper class mindset. Even when Darcys most basic principles, that being the ones he was raised on, contradict his actions, he chooses to ignore them, and instead to disregard any semblance of care for others. Its only once he meets Elizabeth, who is a part of the middle class, does he begin to see the error in his ways. Elizabeth teaches him to become self aware, and to care for, or at the very least respect the lives of other people. This mindset isnt exclusive to Darcy either, as many of the other affluent characters demonstrate the same way of thought. In brief, the rich view the world through an entirely different perspective compared to the poor, one of egocentrism, cognitive dissonance, and greed. The differences between the two social standings are exemplified greatly throughout the book. Their is a massive divergence of the behaviors and presentations regarding each of the classs, wherein those of high social standing act according to the doctrine of extravagance, while those who are in a lower social standing often try to imitate such acts of grandiosity. The class differences dont stop at actions, even the way in which the affluent think is distinct in contrast to the rest of humanity. They think only about themselves, and how they are perceived by people of equivalent or higher standing, with blatant disregard to the opinions and well being of those they consider below them. To conclude, the stark contrast of those with rank vs those without is both deep and all encompassing. The presence of class is almost omnipresent in its influence on everyday life.