The Growth of Tourism

International air fares are falling. More and more employers are offering holiday entitlements. Needless to say, the number of people who travel to exotic holiday destinations across the world is on the rise. The tourism industry has witnessed tremendous growth over the last few years. And it looks like it will continue this upward trend. So what are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend? The growth in the tourism sector has many advantages. In many parts of the world tourism has created more jobs than any other industry. Tourism helps countries to earn valuable foreign exchange.Tourism has also helped in the preservation of many heritage structures and art forms which would, otherwise, have died without leaving a trace. For example, many ethnic Indian dance forms would have died if they hadn’t received the patronage of foreign tourists. Tourism promotes cultural understanding. As people travel to other countries, they get an opportunity to learn about other cultures and beliefs. Intercultural understanding is always good for global harmony. On the flip side, tourism has some disadvantages too. In many countries, particularly those in the under developed world, ourism has led to the establishment of some morally questionable practices. For example, many tourist hotspots in Asia and Latin America are now synonymous with prostitution and illegal gambling. Tourist hotspots are also plagued by problems like theft, maimed begging and drug abuse. However, these disadvantages are nothing compared to the advantages and it doesn’t take a lot of efforts to see that tourism has more benefits than drawbacks. Share on print Share on facebook Share on stumbleupon Share on twitter Share on email Share on gmail More Sharing Services

Finding “Love In L.A.” Essay

Stuck in traffic on the Hollywood freeway one morning, a happy-go-lucky guy named Jake gets into an accident amidst nursing a fantastic dream about owning a better car than his beat up ’58 Buick. After surveying the damage on his car and the absence of it, Jake sees an opportunity once he meets the victim of his traffic flight of fancy. He unleashes his charms and proceeds to woo his victim, a Venezuelan immigrant named Marianna, by asking her name and number, and by trying to convince her not to let the authorities know what happened. However, all his attempts fail as Marianna keeps shifting the focus back to the problem at hand. When finally confronted with the responsibility for the damages, Jake decides to lie his way out by giving false information regarding his identity and car insurance. Despite these, he pursued Marianna by claiming to be both a musician and an actor. After the so-called solution to the problem, Marianna seems to warm up to Jake and finally relents in giving her number. As they part ways, Jake notices that Marianna jots down his license plates, making sure that he would be traced. However, Jake has the last laugh as it is revealed that his license plates were just stolen from an old junk. The story ends with the sly fox gloating on his escape and slipping back into another fantasy. Love in L. A. is a story about love, or the lack of it. Readers of the story are led to believe that it is a story of two star-crossed lovers, a carefree guy and a stable, proper girl, meeting in the most unlikely of places such as a traffic accident on Hollywood boulevard. However, the story reveals that the romantic notion of finding love in unlikely places is just a fantasy, a flight of fancy not unlike the one Jake was having when he smacked into Marianna’s car. L. A. is perfect as a setting for this story as it is a chorus of both the business world and cultural diversity. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, it is one of the largest and most diverse cities in the United Sates with a population of almost 10 million multicultural residents (State and County Quick facts). Aside from its impressive statistics, it is also home to the most famous entertainment town in the world, Hollywood. It is the perfect place for a carefree character to have a chance encounter with the prim and proper business type. And where else but to stage it in a freeway where all walks of life are made equal by suffering the same fate, being stalled in a traffic jam. Thus, L. A. can be considered a perfect setting for star-crossed â€Å"lovers† meeting in a city’s societal crucible, the freeway. The interaction between the characters when they meet mirrors courtship. The boy finally having a chance to talk to the pretty girl, tries to put his best foot forward while the girl seems impervious to the infatuation. This encounter reveals the hidden agendas, the motives behind the charms and the fallacy of first impressions. Then, the reader is once again taken for a ride as it seems that the prim and proper girl melts to the charm of the easy-go-lucky guy and relents in giving him a sliver of personal information. But this hope is dashed once again in the last part of the story as the masks of the two characters are stripped away to reveal their slyness and manipulation: one is making sure the other will not escape while the other gloats in his final sham. This final encounter supports the fact that the love in this story is nothing more than a means, to be manipulated by both characters to achieve their ends. When Jake Met Marianna The introduction of Jake paints a picture of a carefree easy-go-lucky guy who lives detached from the set rules of life. He is presented as a man whose philosophy hinges on self-freedom rather than stability. He despises being chained to routine, as shown by his arrogance towards ‘the steadily employed’ and his reference to Marianna’s hurrying to the office as ‘boring’. He can be considered a free spirit, not in a positive sense, but rather more as a bum who would rather live in fantasy than face the responsibilities of reality. Despite the age of his car, 52 years old, Jake comes off as middle-aged, around 25-30 years of age, lanky and with a scruffy chin, wearing a shirt with a rock and roll theme, faded jeans and battered Chuck Taylors. He would have been cool if he had focused on restoring his ’58 Buick rather than daydreaming about having a new car. Instead, his daydreaming almost led to the loss of his present car. The traffic accident strengthens the characterization of Jake, magnifying his tendency to live in his dreams rather than face reality. He went for swagger and charms rather than owning up fors his mistake, in the hopes of both escaping the responsibility of paying for the damage and capturing the girl. The traffic accident was also the means for the reader to be introduced to Marianna, the victim of Jake’s daydream. She is first introduced as affable, even smiling at Jake in their first verbal exchange. However, the conflict also reveals her true nature as she deflects all of Jake’s advances to ensure that justice is served. Despite her short exposure and introduction in the story, the reader can glean so much history from the way she reacted to the problem. From the small pieces of information provided in the story, one can infer that Marianna’s immigrant family have had success in their adopted homeland, evidenced by the fact that her father was able to give her a car. She is an independent woman, asserting her right even in the barrage of Jake’s swagger and charm. But, she can also be very manipulative. Realizing that Jake was untrustworthy, she pretended to be affected by her charms so as to escape his advances. Then, when they were about to separate, she jotted down the Buick’s plate number just in case the information received was false. Her efforts failed however as it is revealed that even the plate number was false. The last paragraphs defined both characters. They were an anti-thesis of each other right down to their cars. Jake drove a beat down yet very durable 1958 Buick while Marianna drove a brand new, imported but quite flimsy car. The beat down Buick is an extension of the characterization of Jake in the sense that it had the potential to be a very beautiful car if only taken care of. Its fake plate number represented the swagger of Jake, open to the public but fraudulent. Marianna’s car on the other hand also mirrored her personality. It was new, imported and up to date with the advancements of the modern age. But since it was imported, much like the immigrant Marianna, it was flimsy and not up for the abuse of American freeways. Even the effect of the accident on both owners and cars were similar. Surely, Marianna will be traumatized once she finds out that all the information she got, down to the plate number, were fake and useless, much like her car which was dented and damaged. As for the Buick and Jake, life goes on, the potential of the car continues to be unrealized much like its owner’s reality warped by his fantasies. In closing, the title of the story misleads the reader into thinking that it is indeed a romantic story. Thus, it perfectly encapsulates the underlying theme of misleading. This theme propels the story: from the lies and swagger of Jake to his penchant for living in daydreams to the manipulation of Marianna with Jake’s infatuation of her down to the fake license plates of the Buick. Even readers will shake their heads, falling victims to the same fate as Marianna and her flimsy car. Works Cited U. S. Census Bureau. â€Å"State and County Quick facts†. last revised 21 April 2010. Web. 13 July 2010.

Should school uniforms be mandatory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Should school uniforms be mandatory - Assignment Example Many people believe that the school uniforms must be implemented strictly in schools in order to avoid any negative feelings among children. Supporters of school uniform argue that it is essential in the current world in which school children are utilized for executing antisocial activities like violence, drug trafficking, sexual exploitations etc. On the other hand, critiques believe that the implementation of uniforms in schools is a violation of human right which prevents school children from expressing their identity or personality. They believe that a unified dress code can affect the diversity in school campus and prevent children from thinking creatively. I am an advocate of the strict adherence of school uniforms in school campus and this paper analyses various factors in favor and against the implementation of school uniforms. Unified dress codes in schools can prevent discrimination and develop a sense of equality among students. School children often compare their dresses with that of their colleagues. If he feels that his dresses are poor compared to his colleagues he might develop inferiority complex. In order to avoid such negative feelings uniforms must be implemented in schools. One of the major arguments in favor of school uniforms is related to safety and security of the students. The safety argument is that school uniforms make it more difficult for unwelcome outsiders to infiltrate the school grounds (Those disgusting School Uniforms) School is a place which is attracted by antisocial elements in order to derail the developments of the students and also for executing their secret missions. School uniform would help to identify the intruders in the school compound and the authorities can easily identify who are students and who are intruders and thus the chances of crimes can be considerably reduced. It is easy for to exploit school children for sexual exploitations because of the hormonal developments

Russian taxation and tax optimization schemes Essay

Russian taxation and tax optimization schemes - Essay Example Tax optimization schemes can therefore be said to be the structuring and organizing of a company’s or individual’s activities in order to reduce of minimize that their tax liabilities. This exercise which is becoming legal increases the amount of money maybe a company wishes to reinvest in its productive assets or even distribute among its shareholders (Saez, Slemrod, and Giertz 13 –50). There is no way to escape interacting with the tax authorities. Of the surveys conducted in the recent past, it emerges that there has been charged additional tax liabilities which are related to VAT and profit tax. These tax charges were due to insufficient economic documentation and justification. There has been consistent strengthening of the tax policy in Russia. This has lead to a marked reduction of tax payments. The Russian government introduced changes. These tax changes protect the integrity of the country’s tax system. These changes included the introduction of a mendments to the general anti-tax avoidance provisions. These are part of the tax optimization schemes that Russia is implementing. They include income tax exemptions and the introduction of the option of a tax liability in cases where a tenant qualifies for tax deductions. There are also schemes that let companies avoid declaring de facto members of staff as employees. This frees such staff from the obligation of paying high payroll taxes which my go up to thirty percent of one’s salary. This paper will look at income taxes or VAT and the tax Optimization schemes (Selen 17-67). Income taxes or VAT in Russia in 2012 and the tax Optimization schemes According to Ernst & Young (14 – 32), one of the structures for optimization in Russian that is most common is the creation and the usage of the of the corporate profit centers in the internal offshore zones as well as in foreign offshore jurisdictions. This has created an environment whereby some certain taxpayers are relea sed from taxation and the administrative territorial formations enjoying reductions in the tax rates in federal taxation. By utilizing these optimization schemes, they result to an effective profit tax rate. Most companies are employing these optimization schemes because of that they need to disclose their statements, so they can be issued with foreign securities, or obtain loans from foreign banks or even in cases of multinational mergers. Compared to other countries round the world the Russian Federation offers more protection to taxpayers. This is done by putting the burden of proving the usage of illegal tax shelters on the tax authorities. This has resulted to having the tax inspectorate taking the taxpayers to court to prove that tax shelters are illegal and in most cases the inspectorate loses such (Ernst & Young 14 – 32). The draconian rules that exist in other parts of the world, for instance the disclosure rules that were introduced in order to evaluate in United Ki ngdom the Inland Revenue on tax planning in advance, do not exist in Russia (Long 855-869). Russian businesses and foreign investors will at times be embroiled in tax disputes with the tax authorities. Due to changes introduced in tax laws which require a taxpayer to appeal to the highest tax authority before proceeding to court, it has really reduced these tax disputes. The tax optimization schemes have created an opportunity whereby conclusive amicable agreements with the tax authorities are reached during the litigation process (Long 855-869).

Reflaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflaction - Essay Example ders arises from innocent diet and life decisions and goals, only to result in anorexia that requires months of intervention from hospitals and outpatient psychotherapy to get back to old self. However, anorexia is preventable by the avoiding consumer culture described by Jhally, and unconditionally embracing self and learning to honor and love of our bodies (579). Riley acknowledges that negative body image, like that experienced by Chernik during teenage, is common among girls and young women, especially White, as they continually become dissatisfied with their bodies. However, the black woman is not so much into weight losing but into independence, intelligence and self-confident implying that weight losing is only a priority when there is need to lose it after which one can get back to old lifestyles. I am angered by Riley’s approach of living that focuses more on identifying the body she wanted to be in and working out to get just it and the doing nothing to sustain it, thus encouraging bulimia nervosa. Like the anorexia Nervosa patient, the blacks suffering from bulimia only react to weigh loss calls when obese and seek positive body image (230). Like Chernik and Riley, Coward argues that feminism today emphasizes life-threatening slimness that sees the young and old conflict with their bodies as they search for fashionable slimness through elimination of problem areas (345). Considering Coward’s argument, I am inspired to think that whether one ends up being anorexic or non-bulimic, the goal is to get rid of excessive fat in the body especially around the stomach, bosoms, and legs (346). The implication is that women negatively connote the perfect well-rounded female body in search of sexually immature adolescent figure. Though married, Bergman is wants to lose weight and attain the perfect female body her own style and would be gland if it would involve a surgery to get that desired body. Unlike Chernik and Riley, she would only have surgery to

Privatization of zain company in kuwait Assignment

Privatization of zain company in kuwait - Assignment Example Getting hold of all the board members to assist in making key decisions was difficult since they also had other government duties assigned to them. The research findings also revealed that Zain’s services changed after its privatization. When comparing Zain’s services between pre and post privatization, the study revealed that the level of satisfaction due to service and product increased. The several categories of service delivery evaluated included: communication to the clients, monthly billing, branches availability and working hours, and the time for service delivery whether it is new subscription or reactivation of the service. The results revealed that the services before privatization were basic. In regard to its services, Zain also increased its investment in software development services, sophisticated modern technology; wireless connectivity services, including 3G, 4G/LTE Internet services and fiber optics after its privatization. The varied products and servi ces brought about by Zain’s privatization were registered in its profits. Some of potential weaknesses experienced during the study that were not within the control of the researchers included time constraints, small number of participants and lack of pre-privatization company sources. As regards to time; time frame allocated for the entire study was not enough to enable the researcher interview all the respondents. The set time was limited; thus, it was difficult for the researchers to meet the employees and the customers, some of which have busy schedules. Secondly, the sample population chosen for the research was small compared to the entire number of Zain’s customers and employees. Lastly, before privatization; the company was owned by the government and was not listed in Kuwait stock Exchange market. Therefore, to access data and get information on the strategy

Relaxing & Energizing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Relaxing & Energizing - Case Study Example George has no idea why his energy level is so different from practices to races, but he sees this problem as a major obstacle to developing as a runner and performing to his potential. Cindy Frederickson, George’s coach thinks he needs to develop relaxation and energization skills needed to control his arousal during practice and competition. Based on your knowledge of both relaxation and energization, answer the following four questions that relate to developing and implementing these critical mental training tools. Explain the rationale for your answers thoroughly, citing important information from the book and lectures. Your rationale will count as much as your actual response. 1. What mental training tool should George use to lower his arousal level when he gets nervous? Relaxation is the ability to decrease unwanted muscular tension, reduce excessive activation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and calm the mind by eliminating unwanted thoughts. a. How about raising his psych level when he’s unmotivated for practice? Energization is the ability to arouse the body by increasing muscular strength and power, stimulate the activation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and invigorate the mind with energizing thoughts. 2. What is the difference between relaxation and energization? Relaxation is to help you lower your arousal. Energization is to help you increase arousal. Between Total Relaxation/ Energization and Rapid Relaxation? Total takes more time. How can George use each? When he is overly anxious he should use relaxation. When he is lethargic he should use

Prison law and penology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Prison law and penology - Essay Example This may lead them to focus more on controlling the inmate population rather than working on their rehabilitation. As previously stated, inmates tend to gather and form groups according to their race (black, Hispanic, Caucasian, etc.) or a race-related reasons (groups such as the neo-Nazis, K.K.K, etc.) and as a result, riots often break due to racial grounds. The real motives behind gangs formation and activity are actually power and wealth, things which they can achieve in various ways, often related to violence and disorder (Summers, 2006). The gangs are becoming increasingly stronger and more dominant ("Violent Gangs", n.d) and are also wise to draft to their ranks some prison guards and others that assist them in exchange for money, favours and more. 1 Therefore, prison authorities and representatives must always be attentive and prepared to thwart gangs attempts to gain more power and hurt others along the way. This undoubtedly shifts the focus of prison authorities from the desire to rehabilitate prisoners to the need to control and monitor them so that they dont cause more trouble and eruption of violence and havoc. Also, there are inmates which obviously overwhelming and something which they cannot escape or resist. These people have no place, power or control in the outside world and are therefore making extreme efforts to make their permanent home, the prison, their own kingdom and domain. This leads them to try and take control over it by forceful means and using violence and terrorizing others. They even develop ways to carry out their deeds using technological innovations and creative ways. For instance, it is claimed that a group of prisoners used a 400-year-old binary code system in order to smuggle notes, using guards as deliverers and smugglers of them (Summers, 2006). This shows the innovation and adaptability of gangs. They are no longer plain and simple, nor do they work in primitive ways. Now, when a

Business Entities, Laws, and Regulations Research Paper

Business Entities, Laws, and Regulations - Research Paper Example In this scenario, Mei-Lin is the hiring manager of a new construction company called Surebuild Inc. This corporation has advertised a position of jackhammer operator, and Mei-Lin is facing a challenge of determining the best applicant fit for the job. She wants to treat each applicant equally, and determine the most qualified under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (Steingold, 2011). In the United States, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is charged with the duty of enforcing federal laws, which make it illegal to discriminate against an employee or job applicant due to an individual’s religion, race, age, sex, color, race, genetic information and disability (Steingold, 2011). ...Michelle is a 35-year-old high school graduate. She has experience in operating jackhammer, although she is currently pregnant. Mei-Lin cannot choose to discriminate against Michelle just because she is pregnant. She is, therefore, a legitimate applicant for the job. Nick is a 23-year- old college graduate, but with no experience in operating jackhammer. He has epilepsy, and this cannot prevent him from getting this job. This is because the federal law states that no applicant or employee should be discriminated against because of disability (Meiners & Ringleb, 2011). Felipe, who is the final applicant, is 38 years old without a high school diploma, and she does not speak English. She can be dismissed on the grounds that she does not have a high school diploma. The hiring manager can, therefore, choose either Nick or Michelle as the best applicants for the jackhammer operator position. Restaurant/Bar Business Starting up a sports bar and restaurant will be a difficult task for both Jose and Lou. This is because they do not have enough capital, and they will consider bringing in Miriam to provide the finances. This business will, therefore, be formed under the Partnership Agreement Act. In this scenario, Jose, Lou, and Miriam will be partners in the sports bar and restaurant, however, daily running of the business will be done by Jose and Lou only. In this partnership agreement, Miriam will only contribute capital in return for a profit. All the partners will have liability and share loses because each of them has something to lose. Most of loses will be directed to Jose and Lou because both of them are responsible for the daily running of the business. Opening sports bar and restaurant business require food and liquor licenses.

When to use Adobe Photoshop Essay Example for Free

When to use Adobe Photoshop Essay Plain and simple, Photoshop is for creating and editing photos and raster (pixel) based art work. The program was originally developed as a tool to enhance photographs, but over time its functionality has developed to the point where it can be used to create: User interface designs Web pages Banner ads Video graphics Editing pictures for print Because there is so much information about Photoshop out there in the form of tutorials and guides, some people feel that it’s all you need – a one stop shop. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The problem is that there are instances when you don’t need to use Photoshop, and should in fact be using Illustrator or InDesign. Do not create logos with Photoshop – It’s a bad idea that will do nothing but cost you time and money. Again, Photoshop is pixel, or raster based. If you create a logo with it, the files that it creates can not be enlarged or manipulated in the same manner that an Illustrator-based logo can. Do not set type in Photoshop for print projects – For type to print at its clearest, it needs to be vector based; Photoshop exports type as pixels. Now, you can save your Photoshop files in as an .EPS file which allows you to export type as vectors, but still this is not a best practice, so just don’t do it. Adobe Photoshop There are a lot of tutorials on Adobe Photoshop. As a matter of fact, there are so many tutorials that focuses on Photoshop that many people contact me or comment on this site stating that there are not enough tutorials on Illustrator or Indesign. (One factual tidbit: My Illustrator tutorial section is the most popular page in the tutorials section according to Google Analytics. To be even more honest, it is the most popular page in the whole domain.) It is a good thing that there are a lot of tutorials on Photoshop, but there are some negative side effects within widely vast available information. These tutorials help you become an expert on this software, and to my honesty, that is how I learned most majority of the techniques with Photoshop. The problem: The vast information network on Photoshop tutorials also causes people to become â€Å"too comfortable† with Photoshop and tend to â€Å"try† to do everything with Photoshop alone. What is Photoshop? The most important thing to know about Photoshop is that it is a pixel based program. Photoshop was primarily created in the beginning as a photograph enhancing tool and not so much anything else like it is used today. Adobe has recognized that many users were starting to use Photoshop to create elaborate UI designs, web page graphics, banner ADs, text effects and more. Adobe then started rolling out features that help designers create images for print, web, motion graphics and so on. However, again, the problem is that there are certain times when Photoshop is not needed (gasp!) to create certain projects. Photoshop is generally used for: Photo enhancement/Photo color correction Software/Web/Mobile UI design Web graphics Motion graphics Special effects Common mistakes/misconceptions One common misconception is the idea that it is good to use Photoshop to create stationary systems and logo’s. For the sake of yourself, please take this idea outside the window. Let’s talk about business cards as an example. There is an alarming number of tutorials online that shows you how to create business cards in Photoshop. These are what I call â€Å"bad tutorials† that teaches you the wrong way of creating a business card. Despite the result and outcome of these tutorials being amazing, or perhaps you can even get it printed and it will look fine, it is a bad practice to get into an habit. Just because the result looks fine don’t mean the practice is the best way. First off Illustrator type is by far superior in print output than Photoshop is. Yes Photoshop can output type, and even in vector â€Å"paths†. Yes Photoshop can bring in vector objects as â€Å"smart objects†. Yes Photoshop can draw paths using the pen tool. But the most important thing out of all this is that IN THE END, it is outputted as pixel data. Yes I am aware that it also depends on the file output. For instance, .TIFF does not output vector data but does output layer information and transparency. But .EPS does support vector output, yet it still doesn’t mean this is the best practice to do so. So should you never use Photoshop to create business cards? There are times you actually want to use Photoshop to create business cards. When it is justified to use Photoshop for business cards and other print projects If your business cards contain any textures, photography, special effects, blurs (not that I am encouraging this), or any type of pixel based design, Photoshop is obviously the best way to go. However, remember to output ANY pixel based art work in 300 ppi resolution with CMYK color mode. Do not output it RGB. If you have Photoshop filters in your artwork, changing your work to CMYK mode, or even applying certain filters in CMYK mode seem to look desaturated or not look too good. The work around to this: Create all your special effects, filter effects, etc in RGB mode. Flatten the work (merge layers) after you feel that your work in Photoshop is complete, and change the color mode to CMYK. Again, you will regret not switching color modes to CMYK after you send it off to the printer. Your result will look significantly different than you hoped for. When you should never use Photoshop for print projects For the love of all things that you love, do not use Photoshop to set type in your print projects. It is important to note that I am not saying you should never use the type tool in Photoshop. I am stating that it is not a good idea to use it in print projects. Never use Photoshop to create logo’s. The obvious reason is because pixel data cannot be enlarged without distortion. If you create the logo in vector format, your logo will be scalable to any size forever.

Appropriation of Brand Extension

Appropriation of Brand Extension LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter intends to set the theoretical frame of the thesis by introducing the main areas needed to create the basis of our analysis, shaping the ways towards our own main purpose. Thus, it begins with the roots of brand extension and starts of with the concepts of brand, brand identity and brand hierarchy and then leads into brand extension and explains it as a means of growth for a brand. Narrowing down the scope, it goes into the typology of brand extension and identifies the successful and unsuccessful factors of brand extension. Finally it identifies certain rules for the success of brand extension and looks at different models used for the effectiveness of brand extension. 2.1 BRANDING: In todays world of increased competition and consumer awareness, the marketing of new products has become ever more complex. We have moved into a time where consumers are literate enough to choose their own products on the basis of their judgment and where competition among products and services gives them an opportunity to select the best product that would suit their need. Branding has become one of the most important issues in the launch of a new product. Having functional and emotional attributes attached to it, branding has gained popularity as consumer relates more and more to it. Historically examples of branding can be found as early as 9000 years ago when owners or manufacturers used to give distinctive and distinguishing symbol or name to their property or product. However it was the 19thcentury that arguably saw the dawn of the modern branding era and it was the industrial revolution that caused its birth. It was the industrial revolution that created the mass production t hat meant an ever- increasing proportion of people worked for a manufacturer and not themselves. They no longer needed to mark the products that they produced as their own; rather what they produced was collectively produced for one company. Before we proceed further, lets look more deeply into branding and then link that to the concept of brand extension. 2.1.1 DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION Different scholars have defined the word brand differently as different meaning or contexts have been attached to them. Balmer and Greyser (2003) have given the most explanatory definition of branding explaining both the traditional and their own perspective about branding. They have stepped forward from the traditional definitions of branding and have defined branding on the corporate level having corporate implications. According to them three type of definitions have been identified. The first two are traditional whereas the third one is the advanced version of branding which incorporates their point of view about branding. They are: Erstwhile. In its simplest sense a brand denotes a name, logotype, or trademark and was originally used to signify ownership as with branding of live stock. These are, increasingly, seen to be points of entry to the essence of a brand rather than the essence of branding per se. (Definition similar to the one given in Oxford Concise Dictionary) Established. This refers to the added values that a brand brings to a product. Products may or may not have brand values. Product brand values are superimposed by the organization by its marketing and communication experts and advisers. They are made memorable. In the main, such values are fashioned in the mind; not on the production floor. They are, essentially, synthetic. Whereas products are made in a factory, brand values exist in the mind. Brands can be timeless in a way that products may not be. However Balmer and Greyser(2003) have identified a new understanding about brands. They call this aspect of branding as emergent Emergent. While the category most certainly is established, the fundamental differences between this category and the other two are only beginning to be appreciated. This category refers to brands at the corporate level. Corporate brand values are not contrived; they need to be bona fide. The role of personnel and of culture in establishing and maintaining and understanding corporate brand values is of essence. In the words of Sir Michael Perry, a former Chairman of Unilever, brand is much more than a symbol to differentiate goods and services: In the modern world, brands are a key part of how individuals define themselves and their relationships with one another. More and more we are simply consumers We are what we wear, what we eat, what we drive. This description of brand explains that brand is much more than the physical and functional value that it holds. Its a bundle of attributes both functional and emotional. Thus brands not only meet our physical needs but also address our emotional needs. A blind test was conducted on Pepsi and Coca Cola. It was found that Pepsi was preferred over Coke in regards to its taste. Yet the sales of Coke are much higher than Pepsi that shows that despite being functionally better, people are emotionally attached to coke. Stephen King was Director of planning at one of the largest advertising agencies, J Walter Thompson, when he described brand as: People choose their brand as they choose their friends. You choose your friends not usually because of specific skills or physical attributes (though of course these come into it) but simply because you like them as people. It is the total person you choose, not a compendium of virtues and vices. 2.2 BRAND IDENTITY Brand identity refers to the public image of a product, line or service in the eyes of a consumer. McClendon (2003) considers that brand identity is something that exists in the minds and hearts of the consumers when they hear the name of the brand. He further adds that it is the identity of the brand that provides the real strength to the business. It is the visual link between the company and the consumer. Brand identity includes brand names, logos, positioning, brand associations and brand personality. Upshaw (1995) has identified brand identity as a brands DNA configuration. He supposes that the particular set of brand elements is blended in a unique way to establish how the brand will be perceived in the market place. According to Kapferer (2001), it is critical for each business to understand that the attributes of a brand represent the indispensable elements. Not all brand managers are aware of this. Yet in order to find out which of the extended brand elements is needed to me diate with the market, pre testing is done and this is considered to be the best method to avoid trails and errors. In his book, Aaker (2000) argues that a brand is more than a product. Creating an extension can benefit the parent brand by helping it break out of the box. According to him, there are several reasons for building a rich extended brand identity, reasons that are going to be illustrated in the following figure and explained underneath it. A richer brand identity is a more accurate reflection of the brand. Just as a person cannot be described in one or two words, neither can a brand. Three word taglines or an identity limited to attributes will simply not be accurate (Aaker, 2000, p. 54). Aaker (2000) considers that the identity of a brand represents what the brand stands for. Taking into consideration that the brand identity is inspirational, it must comprise and reflect the values and cultures of the entire organization. Moreover, customer concern should dominate the strategy of the business. And lastly, Aaker emphasizes in his picture that the extended identity provides a home for constructs that help the brand move beyond attributes. In particular, brand personality and symbols normally fail to make the cut when a terse brand position is developed, yet both are often extremely helpful strategically as well as tactically (Aaker, 2000, p.54). Balmer (2003) has emphasized on the concept of corporate identity and in his historiography model, we are currently in stage 4 in which the emphasis would be on organizational identity, corporate identity, corporate communication, corporate reputation and finally but most importantly corporate branding. 2.3 BRAND HIEARCHY TREE Brand structure can be illustrated logically by using the brand family tree together with all the related sub-brand branches. The figure below can be viewed as an organizational chart. The horizontal and vertical dimensions are grouped after numerous factors such as segment, product, quality and design (Aaker, 2000). The horizontal dimension shows the scope of the brand in terms of the sub brands that lie under the brand umbrella in the box visualized Colgate as a parent brand. The vertical dimension represents the brands and sub-brands that exist for an individual product- market entry (Aaker, 2000). The visualized overview of the whole brand guides the brand managers to keep an eye on its entire brand and to analyze if there are too many or too few. The question is how these brands can be reinforced, what message they deliver to the consumer and what improvements to the particular message can be done (Aaker, 2000). Keeping an eye on this hierarchy is quite important as it enables a company to identify the fit for new extension and also helps to maintain a clear vision of each product keeping in view the rest of the brands in the hierarchy. Thus its easy to maintain fit and leverage in brand extension with the help of this brand hierarchy. Every company would like to see its brand growing and prospering. Brands grow through two principle means. The first mean is called organic growth whereas the second one is called growth through extension. 2.4 ORGANIC GROWTH FOR BRANDS In this case making a brand or product frequently available or adding incentives to the brand makes it more popular. Sales of any one brand increase because what they have to offer becomes attractive to somebody, somewhere. Brands can be made more attractive by improving either the functional or emotional attributes of the brand. Thus in functional attributes we can improve any of the four Ps whereas in emotional one can improve the personality or image of the brand. A good example would be of Coca Cola and their distribution. Not only have they made it available from Atlanta to Zanzibar, from Moscow to Melbourne but also you can buy it from supermarkets, newsagents, cinema, restaurants, street corners, cafà ©, football stadium, pop concert and even at car parks where you have vending machine1. Whilst there are numerous marketing tools to achieve organic growth, this type of growth stems from three things: getting that brand used by more people, getting it used by the same people more often or getting people to use more of it on any of the occasions they use it in the first place. 2.5 GROWTH THROUGH EXTENSION The second and relatively newer way of growing brand is through extension, which is the core focus of this study. Before going into detail about how brands grow through extension, I will firstly define extension and try to differentiate the various types of extensions. Due to the relative immaturity of the concept, there is no standard definition of brand extension and various marketing scholars have given different definition to the same terminology. From the readings that I have conducted of books and research papers, its obvious that around a decade back scholars used to give a more generalized definition of brand extension. The generalization of the definition can be observed from the fact that brand extension was used for extension into both related and non-related products. The following definition will clarify my point of view. In a typical brand extension situation, an established brand name is applied to a new product in a category either related or unrelated, in order to capitalize on the equity of the core brand name (DeGraba and Sullivan, 1995; Pitta and Katsanis, 1995). Also certain research papers indicated that brand extension being generalized was then differentiated into two types as indicated by this piece of research work. Brand extensions come in two primary forms: horizontal and vertical. In a horizontal brand extension situation, an existing brand name is applied to a new product introduction in either a related product class, or in a product category completely new to the firm (Sheinin and Schmitt, 1994). A vertical brand extension, on the other hand, involves introducing a brand extension in the same product category as the core brand, but at a different price point and quality level (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Sullivan, 1990). In a vertical brand extension situation, a second brand name or descriptor is usually introduced alongside the core brand name, in order to demonstrate the link between the brand extension and the core brand name (e.g. Marriott Hotels, Courtyard Inn by Marriott). Most recently the word line extension has been given to extension done in the same product category whereas brand extension would refer to extension in unrelated products and in this study I will undertake this understanding of extension. Taylor (2003) has referred to them as direct and indirect stretch. Jobber (2003) has given the term brand extension to line extension whereas brand extension has been referred to as brand stretch. The current emphasis on the subject has been due to its enormous success. Consumers being the end users have become friendlier to the concept and are now accepting it as illustrated on the next page. Its obvious from this graph that consumers are becoming much friendlier to the concept then they were a decade ago and this shows the popularity of the concept and the frequency at which it has been used in the past decade. Lets get an insight into the various types of extension. 2.5.1 LINE EXTENSION OR DIRECT STRETCH Line extension is defined as being a variant of the same basic product. It might be a new flavor or a new size. Basically its a slight variation to the original product. Examples would be of Colgate. We used to have Colgate regular but now we have Colgate total, Colgate Max fresh Gel, my first Colgate for kids, Platinum, Deep clean etc. The basic purpose of this strategy is to encourage more people to use a brand. It can also be considered as a first step towards brand extension. But the only bad thing about too many variations in the products or having too many line extension is that it may confuse the user in regards to which product should he/she use. Also it may cause a cannibalization affect within the product range. 2.5.2 BRAND EXTENSION OR INDIRECT STRETCH Brand extension on the other hand would refer to extending your product range into a product category that wouldnt be commonly associated with it. A simple definition described below will illustrate my point of view. Brand extension is using the leverage of a well known brand name in one category to launch a new product in a different category. (Brandextension.org) Giles Lury in his book about Brand Watching has defined brand extension as: Brand extension is the use (and occasional misuse) of an existing brand name and equity to launch a product or service into a category or market not normally associated with that brand. (Lury, 1998) Thus in contrast to earlier scholars, who had generalized the concept of brand extension, new researchers have distinguished the concept well from line extension. 2.6 RATIONALE BEHIND USING BRAND EXTENSION Brand extension has gained a lot of popularity and is considered to be the key tool for launching new innovations. A survey was conducted by Brand gym in 2003 in which marketing directors were asked about brand extension. The following graph illustrates the response. The results indicated that 83% of the marketing directors thought that brand extension would be the main way of launching new innovation in the next two to three years. Yet research has also shown that only 50 percent of brand extension survives after the first three years. Firstly brand extension differs from line extension because where line extension offers customers more varieties or styles of the original brand in its original market, a brand extension takes an existing brand to pasture new ones. Taking Mars as an example we see that the original chocolate bar has been line extended into different styles including Mars Kingsize, Mars miniature and for a limited period Dark chocolate Mars. However when Mars launched the Mars ice cream, it entered a new market for the brand and as such had extended the brand franchise. Mars also extended into flavored milk drinks market with Mars in a bottle. The rationale behind brand extensions popularity is that its difficult and expensive to launch a completely new brand. The most often quoted statistic being that nine out of every ten new brands fail. New brands are therefore seen as a high, though sometimes high return strategy. On the other hand, brand extension is a cheaper and more reliable method of building on what already exists. Not surprisingly companies who have already invested a lot of money in creating a brand are keen to maximize its full potential. Finally it can be concluded that companies would like to leverage and thus give initial success to the new brand by exploiting the equity that has been established by the parent brand. 2.7 KELLER AND AAKERS WORK ON BRAND EXTENSION Keller and Aaker (1998) extending on their typology of product range extension and corporate brand extension have examined the impact of corporate marketing on a companys brand extension. In their research paper they have described how consumers evaluate brand extension in general and then concentrating on corporate brand extension, they have studied the impact of corporate marketing on consumer evaluation of corporate brand extension in the presence and absence of supporting product advertising. The initial research work describing product brand extension is as follows: Research on consumer responses to extensions of product brands, suggest that two key factors influence consumer evaluation. the types of association that make up the parent brand image the relationship between the parent brand and the extension product These factors affect the consumer belief about whether the new product fits as a member of the product line. In sum, the record therefore suggests that a variety of different associations for the parent brand can be transferred to an extension, assuming a basis of fit exists. Now an extension that they made in regards to brand extension was that they applied this concept to corporate brand extension. But before going further its important to know Aakers three dimensions of corporate credibility. They are: 1. Corporate expertise is the extent to which a company is thought able to competently make and sell its products and services. 2. Corporate trustworthiness is the extent to which a company is thought to be honest, dependable, and sensitive to consumer needs. 3. Corporate likability is the extent to which a company is thought likable, prestigious and interesting. This results gathered from this study have strategic implication both to the benefits/risks associated with brand extension and also to the effectiveness of brand extension. Thus a summary of the results are as follows. Firstly by showing that corporate marketing related to product innovation enhances perceptions of corporate credibility and extension fit, and thus much favorable extension evaluations, this study showed benefits for brands with reputation of high quality products. Secondly this study provided a more detailed account of particular dimensions of corporate credibility, namely corporate expertise, trust worthiness and likeability. Thus this study concluded that corporate expertise appeared to play a more influential role in evaluation of corporate brand extension than either corporate trustworthiness or likeability. Thirdly this study suggested the merits of leveraging a strong brand to introduce a new product. One advantage of using a brand extension strategy to name a new product is that a less concerted advertising effort may be necessary. To the extent that brands extensions are able to leverage existing parent brand associations in consumer memory, a company should find it easier to achieve brand image with an extension branding strategy instead of giving a new product a new name. The fact that corporate marketing activity impacted consumer evaluations of a corporate brand extension in the absence of any product specific advertising is further an empirical support for the benefit of adopting a brand extension strategy. Fourthly this study suggested that corporate marketing activity significantly influenced extension evaluations even when the extension was advertised on the basis of another image dimension point. Thus corporate image associations are more likely to transfer to an extension on the basis of the branding strategy. Lastly this study also suggested that where a company is in a situation of having a trade off between various strategies like reinforcing a strong association, strengthening a weak association or creating a new association, then it wholly depends on the situation of each of the elements to decide which strategy to choose. For example: In some cases, existing associations may be so strong that they may be better off emphasizing other information to fortify a weak or supply a missing association. 2.8 TYPES OF BRAND EXTENSION Limited work has been done on the typology of brand extension. From various research papers, books and websites that I have consulted regarding brand extension, very few have distributed brand extension into different types. (Brandextension.org) have generated the following typology of brand extension taking functional and emotional attributes of the brand into consideration. 1. Similar product in a different form from the original parent product. This is where a company changes the form of the product from the original parent product. An example is (frozen) Snickers Ice Cream Bars. The original Snickers bar is a shelf stable candy. The brand extension is a similar product, but in a different form. Jell-O Portable Pudding and Pudding Cups is Jell-O pudding in a different form and section of the store. 2. Distinctive flavor/ingredient/component in the new item. When a brand owns a flavor, ingredient or component, there may be other categories where consumers want that property. E.g. Peanut butter is a characteristic ingredient in Reeses Peanut Butter Cups candy. Chocolate is a characteristic ingredient of Hershey. Brand Extension Research identified Reeses Peanut Butter as a logical extension that capitalizes on this association. 3. Benefit/attribute/feature owned. Many brands own a benefit, attribute or feature that can be extended. E.g. Brand Extension Research showed Armor All brand was defined by automotive surface protection which can go beyond vinyl dressing. Paint needs protecting also. Arm Hammer owns a benefit of deodorizing. Their baking soda product has claimed that it removes odors from refrigerators, etc. As a result, they extended the brand into other products such as Arm Hammer underarm deodorant and cat litter deodorizer. 4. Expertise. Over time, certain brands may gain a reputation for having an expertise in a given area. Leverage can be achieved when extending into areas where this special expertise is deemed important. E.g. Hondas expertise in reliable engines led to lawn mowers, gas powered generators and a variety of other gasoline engine powered devices. What brand comes to mind when we think of baby products? Gerber. As a result of this acceptance of their expertise, they successfully launched Gerber Baby Powder, Gerber Baby Bottles, etc. Sara Lee is known for baked desserts, so why not other baked goods like bread. 5. Companion products. Some brand extensions are a natural companion to the products the company already makes. E.g. Contadina was a tomato paste and sauce brand. In brand extension research, consumers thought Contadina pasta was a logical companion product that would have the leverage of the Italian heritage of the parent. Aunt Jemima (the pancake mix brand) launched pancake syrup, as a companion to compete with Log Cabin syrup. 6. Vertical extensions. Some brand extensions are vertical extensions of what they currently offer. A brand can use their ingredient/component heritage to launch products in a more (or sometimes less) finished form. E.g. Nestlà ©s Toll House chocolate refrigerated cookies is an example. Most Toll House chocolate chips are used in cookies, so why not make a brand of Toll House chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Fields Cookies were ready-to-eat. They offered frozen cookie dough, moving backwards as a vertical extension. Rice Krispies has always been used in kids treats. Kellogg offered Rice Krispies Treats ready-to-eat. 7. Same customer base. Many brand extensions represent a marketers effort to sell something else to its customer base. This works particularly well when that customer base is large and to some extent captive. E.g. VISA launched travelers checks directed to its credit card customers. 8. Designer image/status. Certain brands convey status and hence create an image for the user. E.g. Designer clothing labels have been extended to furniture, jewellery, perfume, cosmetics and a host of other items. Some brands promote a lifestyle and can extend to items that people wear, as a badge of identifying themselves with that lifestyle. The above-mentioned typology is quite useful as it indicate the key areas where extension is done along with the methodology used to extend the product line. Yet it must be said that not all research work would agree with this typology as it is felt that certain types confuses line and brand extension or in ways generalizes it more to extension rather than brand extension. For example: Adding attribute to the products in the same product line would be line extension and not brand extension. Still it is a good base for my research work and also for further research into the typology of brand extension. Aaker (1998) has described two types brand extension differentiating the concept on a corporate level. The first type described by him is product brand extension. A company makes a product brand extension when it uses an existing brand name distinct from its corporate name to introduce a new product outside its current product offering. With product brand extension consumers are often completely unaware of the company involved. The second type described by him is corporate brand extension. A corporate brand extension is one which relies on the corporate name to launch a new product . A corporate brand extension clearly identifies an organization with a product, and so evokes different reactions from consumers than a product brand extension. A corporate brand may create associations in consumers minds that reflect the values, program, and activities of the firm. 2.9 SEQUENTIAL STRETCHING AND UMBRELLA BRANDING Extension to parent brand is usually a sequential process in which brands are initially line extended and then brand extended. This sequential stretching of brands leads to the formation of a whole family of brands thus giving rise to the concept of Umbrella branding. As the name indicates, umbrella branding refers to extension of a parent brand into a variety of products such that a whole range of products would come under the same brand. Taylor (2003) has divided the sequential extension into three main steps namely core brand extension, direct stretch and indirect stretch. I will illustrate the concept using Dove as an example. Brand extension was a key driver of Doves explosive growth during the 1990s. Coupled with geographic expansion, it helped grow sales fivefold, to almost $1 billion. The brand continues to grow at 20 percent per year and is well on its way to hitting the $ 2 billion mark in the next few years. Let go through the sequential process and apply it to Dove. The first and most crucial step to be noted is that Dove didnt extend its product line until it had achieved the following two things. †¢ A strong bar business had been built †¢ The brand had satisfactory scores on attributes rating for mildness and moisturizing. An important thing to be noted is that extension took place only after Dove had secured its soap bar business and had improved it. Thus once there was strength in the brand, it extending it to other products. Stretching went through the following stages. Stage One: Core Range extensions: Dove remained a product brand with a single format at this stage. It extended (line extension) its product range by adding new versions such as sensitive skin that now accounts for up to a third of sales. Further growth of the bar through product and pack innovation, remains a key source of profitable growth. Diagrammatic illustration of this step would indicate the extension into the two types. Stage Two: Direct stretch: In this stage extension is done into markets that are quite relevant to the product line. In the case of dove, it extended its product range into bath and shower products. Yet till now dove is focused on personal washing. The key reasons of dove extension at this stage were strong product delivery and innovative packing that differentiated them from other products in the range. The following diagram illustrates their stretch in to shower and bath products. Stage three: Indirect stretch: Capitalizing on their skin care outlook, Dove decided to be ambitious and to move beyond the washing and bathing market. Although they started off selectively, they introduced products like deodorants and hair gels etc. that were once again a big success. This process of broadening a product range is referred to as Umbrella Branding as illustrated by the diagram given below. The dove success has been due to consistent marketing and a consistent communication campaign. Consistency has been a key part of building brand identity and has been an additional glue to tie together the extension. 2.10 BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAND EXTENSION Brand extension being the most popular mean of brand growth has some surprising statistics. Success rate of brand extension is hard to find, especially as what constitutes a success varies enormously. Yet a survey conducted by OCC using a simple and effective definition of success (still being on shelf after six years after launch) found out that 50 percent of all brand extension fails. This figure is certainly an eye opener for most companies as half of the product fails using brand extension. Taylor (2003) has associated this huge failure figure due to Brand ego tripping and also gives effective steps to avoid it. But before we go into the detail of this concept, lets look into the benefits and drawbacks of brand extension. 2.10.1 BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAND EXTENSION The remarkable popularity of the concept over the last decade is a confirmation of the fact that there are marked benefits that can be associated with brand extension. Taylor (2003) has described the consumer benefits of brand extension in which he has identified consumer knowledge, consumer trust and lower cost as the major benefits of brand extension. Tauber (1988) has differentiated the benefits on the basis of efficiency and effectiveness emphasizing more on the cost benefits. An existing strong brand promotes a new product or service as there is less need to create awareness and imagery. Thus in a way awareness is already present and the only thing left is Appropriation of Brand Extension Appropriation of Brand Extension LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter intends to set the theoretical frame of the thesis by introducing the main areas needed to create the basis of our analysis, shaping the ways towards our own main purpose. Thus, it begins with the roots of brand extension and starts of with the concepts of brand, brand identity and brand hierarchy and then leads into brand extension and explains it as a means of growth for a brand. Narrowing down the scope, it goes into the typology of brand extension and identifies the successful and unsuccessful factors of brand extension. Finally it identifies certain rules for the success of brand extension and looks at different models used for the effectiveness of brand extension. 2.1 BRANDING: In todays world of increased competition and consumer awareness, the marketing of new products has become ever more complex. We have moved into a time where consumers are literate enough to choose their own products on the basis of their judgment and where competition among products and services gives them an opportunity to select the best product that would suit their need. Branding has become one of the most important issues in the launch of a new product. Having functional and emotional attributes attached to it, branding has gained popularity as consumer relates more and more to it. Historically examples of branding can be found as early as 9000 years ago when owners or manufacturers used to give distinctive and distinguishing symbol or name to their property or product. However it was the 19thcentury that arguably saw the dawn of the modern branding era and it was the industrial revolution that caused its birth. It was the industrial revolution that created the mass production t hat meant an ever- increasing proportion of people worked for a manufacturer and not themselves. They no longer needed to mark the products that they produced as their own; rather what they produced was collectively produced for one company. Before we proceed further, lets look more deeply into branding and then link that to the concept of brand extension. 2.1.1 DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION Different scholars have defined the word brand differently as different meaning or contexts have been attached to them. Balmer and Greyser (2003) have given the most explanatory definition of branding explaining both the traditional and their own perspective about branding. They have stepped forward from the traditional definitions of branding and have defined branding on the corporate level having corporate implications. According to them three type of definitions have been identified. The first two are traditional whereas the third one is the advanced version of branding which incorporates their point of view about branding. They are: Erstwhile. In its simplest sense a brand denotes a name, logotype, or trademark and was originally used to signify ownership as with branding of live stock. These are, increasingly, seen to be points of entry to the essence of a brand rather than the essence of branding per se. (Definition similar to the one given in Oxford Concise Dictionary) Established. This refers to the added values that a brand brings to a product. Products may or may not have brand values. Product brand values are superimposed by the organization by its marketing and communication experts and advisers. They are made memorable. In the main, such values are fashioned in the mind; not on the production floor. They are, essentially, synthetic. Whereas products are made in a factory, brand values exist in the mind. Brands can be timeless in a way that products may not be. However Balmer and Greyser(2003) have identified a new understanding about brands. They call this aspect of branding as emergent Emergent. While the category most certainly is established, the fundamental differences between this category and the other two are only beginning to be appreciated. This category refers to brands at the corporate level. Corporate brand values are not contrived; they need to be bona fide. The role of personnel and of culture in establishing and maintaining and understanding corporate brand values is of essence. In the words of Sir Michael Perry, a former Chairman of Unilever, brand is much more than a symbol to differentiate goods and services: In the modern world, brands are a key part of how individuals define themselves and their relationships with one another. More and more we are simply consumers We are what we wear, what we eat, what we drive. This description of brand explains that brand is much more than the physical and functional value that it holds. Its a bundle of attributes both functional and emotional. Thus brands not only meet our physical needs but also address our emotional needs. A blind test was conducted on Pepsi and Coca Cola. It was found that Pepsi was preferred over Coke in regards to its taste. Yet the sales of Coke are much higher than Pepsi that shows that despite being functionally better, people are emotionally attached to coke. Stephen King was Director of planning at one of the largest advertising agencies, J Walter Thompson, when he described brand as: People choose their brand as they choose their friends. You choose your friends not usually because of specific skills or physical attributes (though of course these come into it) but simply because you like them as people. It is the total person you choose, not a compendium of virtues and vices. 2.2 BRAND IDENTITY Brand identity refers to the public image of a product, line or service in the eyes of a consumer. McClendon (2003) considers that brand identity is something that exists in the minds and hearts of the consumers when they hear the name of the brand. He further adds that it is the identity of the brand that provides the real strength to the business. It is the visual link between the company and the consumer. Brand identity includes brand names, logos, positioning, brand associations and brand personality. Upshaw (1995) has identified brand identity as a brands DNA configuration. He supposes that the particular set of brand elements is blended in a unique way to establish how the brand will be perceived in the market place. According to Kapferer (2001), it is critical for each business to understand that the attributes of a brand represent the indispensable elements. Not all brand managers are aware of this. Yet in order to find out which of the extended brand elements is needed to me diate with the market, pre testing is done and this is considered to be the best method to avoid trails and errors. In his book, Aaker (2000) argues that a brand is more than a product. Creating an extension can benefit the parent brand by helping it break out of the box. According to him, there are several reasons for building a rich extended brand identity, reasons that are going to be illustrated in the following figure and explained underneath it. A richer brand identity is a more accurate reflection of the brand. Just as a person cannot be described in one or two words, neither can a brand. Three word taglines or an identity limited to attributes will simply not be accurate (Aaker, 2000, p. 54). Aaker (2000) considers that the identity of a brand represents what the brand stands for. Taking into consideration that the brand identity is inspirational, it must comprise and reflect the values and cultures of the entire organization. Moreover, customer concern should dominate the strategy of the business. And lastly, Aaker emphasizes in his picture that the extended identity provides a home for constructs that help the brand move beyond attributes. In particular, brand personality and symbols normally fail to make the cut when a terse brand position is developed, yet both are often extremely helpful strategically as well as tactically (Aaker, 2000, p.54). Balmer (2003) has emphasized on the concept of corporate identity and in his historiography model, we are currently in stage 4 in which the emphasis would be on organizational identity, corporate identity, corporate communication, corporate reputation and finally but most importantly corporate branding. 2.3 BRAND HIEARCHY TREE Brand structure can be illustrated logically by using the brand family tree together with all the related sub-brand branches. The figure below can be viewed as an organizational chart. The horizontal and vertical dimensions are grouped after numerous factors such as segment, product, quality and design (Aaker, 2000). The horizontal dimension shows the scope of the brand in terms of the sub brands that lie under the brand umbrella in the box visualized Colgate as a parent brand. The vertical dimension represents the brands and sub-brands that exist for an individual product- market entry (Aaker, 2000). The visualized overview of the whole brand guides the brand managers to keep an eye on its entire brand and to analyze if there are too many or too few. The question is how these brands can be reinforced, what message they deliver to the consumer and what improvements to the particular message can be done (Aaker, 2000). Keeping an eye on this hierarchy is quite important as it enables a company to identify the fit for new extension and also helps to maintain a clear vision of each product keeping in view the rest of the brands in the hierarchy. Thus its easy to maintain fit and leverage in brand extension with the help of this brand hierarchy. Every company would like to see its brand growing and prospering. Brands grow through two principle means. The first mean is called organic growth whereas the second one is called growth through extension. 2.4 ORGANIC GROWTH FOR BRANDS In this case making a brand or product frequently available or adding incentives to the brand makes it more popular. Sales of any one brand increase because what they have to offer becomes attractive to somebody, somewhere. Brands can be made more attractive by improving either the functional or emotional attributes of the brand. Thus in functional attributes we can improve any of the four Ps whereas in emotional one can improve the personality or image of the brand. A good example would be of Coca Cola and their distribution. Not only have they made it available from Atlanta to Zanzibar, from Moscow to Melbourne but also you can buy it from supermarkets, newsagents, cinema, restaurants, street corners, cafà ©, football stadium, pop concert and even at car parks where you have vending machine1. Whilst there are numerous marketing tools to achieve organic growth, this type of growth stems from three things: getting that brand used by more people, getting it used by the same people more often or getting people to use more of it on any of the occasions they use it in the first place. 2.5 GROWTH THROUGH EXTENSION The second and relatively newer way of growing brand is through extension, which is the core focus of this study. Before going into detail about how brands grow through extension, I will firstly define extension and try to differentiate the various types of extensions. Due to the relative immaturity of the concept, there is no standard definition of brand extension and various marketing scholars have given different definition to the same terminology. From the readings that I have conducted of books and research papers, its obvious that around a decade back scholars used to give a more generalized definition of brand extension. The generalization of the definition can be observed from the fact that brand extension was used for extension into both related and non-related products. The following definition will clarify my point of view. In a typical brand extension situation, an established brand name is applied to a new product in a category either related or unrelated, in order to capitalize on the equity of the core brand name (DeGraba and Sullivan, 1995; Pitta and Katsanis, 1995). Also certain research papers indicated that brand extension being generalized was then differentiated into two types as indicated by this piece of research work. Brand extensions come in two primary forms: horizontal and vertical. In a horizontal brand extension situation, an existing brand name is applied to a new product introduction in either a related product class, or in a product category completely new to the firm (Sheinin and Schmitt, 1994). A vertical brand extension, on the other hand, involves introducing a brand extension in the same product category as the core brand, but at a different price point and quality level (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Sullivan, 1990). In a vertical brand extension situation, a second brand name or descriptor is usually introduced alongside the core brand name, in order to demonstrate the link between the brand extension and the core brand name (e.g. Marriott Hotels, Courtyard Inn by Marriott). Most recently the word line extension has been given to extension done in the same product category whereas brand extension would refer to extension in unrelated products and in this study I will undertake this understanding of extension. Taylor (2003) has referred to them as direct and indirect stretch. Jobber (2003) has given the term brand extension to line extension whereas brand extension has been referred to as brand stretch. The current emphasis on the subject has been due to its enormous success. Consumers being the end users have become friendlier to the concept and are now accepting it as illustrated on the next page. Its obvious from this graph that consumers are becoming much friendlier to the concept then they were a decade ago and this shows the popularity of the concept and the frequency at which it has been used in the past decade. Lets get an insight into the various types of extension. 2.5.1 LINE EXTENSION OR DIRECT STRETCH Line extension is defined as being a variant of the same basic product. It might be a new flavor or a new size. Basically its a slight variation to the original product. Examples would be of Colgate. We used to have Colgate regular but now we have Colgate total, Colgate Max fresh Gel, my first Colgate for kids, Platinum, Deep clean etc. The basic purpose of this strategy is to encourage more people to use a brand. It can also be considered as a first step towards brand extension. But the only bad thing about too many variations in the products or having too many line extension is that it may confuse the user in regards to which product should he/she use. Also it may cause a cannibalization affect within the product range. 2.5.2 BRAND EXTENSION OR INDIRECT STRETCH Brand extension on the other hand would refer to extending your product range into a product category that wouldnt be commonly associated with it. A simple definition described below will illustrate my point of view. Brand extension is using the leverage of a well known brand name in one category to launch a new product in a different category. (Brandextension.org) Giles Lury in his book about Brand Watching has defined brand extension as: Brand extension is the use (and occasional misuse) of an existing brand name and equity to launch a product or service into a category or market not normally associated with that brand. (Lury, 1998) Thus in contrast to earlier scholars, who had generalized the concept of brand extension, new researchers have distinguished the concept well from line extension. 2.6 RATIONALE BEHIND USING BRAND EXTENSION Brand extension has gained a lot of popularity and is considered to be the key tool for launching new innovations. A survey was conducted by Brand gym in 2003 in which marketing directors were asked about brand extension. The following graph illustrates the response. The results indicated that 83% of the marketing directors thought that brand extension would be the main way of launching new innovation in the next two to three years. Yet research has also shown that only 50 percent of brand extension survives after the first three years. Firstly brand extension differs from line extension because where line extension offers customers more varieties or styles of the original brand in its original market, a brand extension takes an existing brand to pasture new ones. Taking Mars as an example we see that the original chocolate bar has been line extended into different styles including Mars Kingsize, Mars miniature and for a limited period Dark chocolate Mars. However when Mars launched the Mars ice cream, it entered a new market for the brand and as such had extended the brand franchise. Mars also extended into flavored milk drinks market with Mars in a bottle. The rationale behind brand extensions popularity is that its difficult and expensive to launch a completely new brand. The most often quoted statistic being that nine out of every ten new brands fail. New brands are therefore seen as a high, though sometimes high return strategy. On the other hand, brand extension is a cheaper and more reliable method of building on what already exists. Not surprisingly companies who have already invested a lot of money in creating a brand are keen to maximize its full potential. Finally it can be concluded that companies would like to leverage and thus give initial success to the new brand by exploiting the equity that has been established by the parent brand. 2.7 KELLER AND AAKERS WORK ON BRAND EXTENSION Keller and Aaker (1998) extending on their typology of product range extension and corporate brand extension have examined the impact of corporate marketing on a companys brand extension. In their research paper they have described how consumers evaluate brand extension in general and then concentrating on corporate brand extension, they have studied the impact of corporate marketing on consumer evaluation of corporate brand extension in the presence and absence of supporting product advertising. The initial research work describing product brand extension is as follows: Research on consumer responses to extensions of product brands, suggest that two key factors influence consumer evaluation. the types of association that make up the parent brand image the relationship between the parent brand and the extension product These factors affect the consumer belief about whether the new product fits as a member of the product line. In sum, the record therefore suggests that a variety of different associations for the parent brand can be transferred to an extension, assuming a basis of fit exists. Now an extension that they made in regards to brand extension was that they applied this concept to corporate brand extension. But before going further its important to know Aakers three dimensions of corporate credibility. They are: 1. Corporate expertise is the extent to which a company is thought able to competently make and sell its products and services. 2. Corporate trustworthiness is the extent to which a company is thought to be honest, dependable, and sensitive to consumer needs. 3. Corporate likability is the extent to which a company is thought likable, prestigious and interesting. This results gathered from this study have strategic implication both to the benefits/risks associated with brand extension and also to the effectiveness of brand extension. Thus a summary of the results are as follows. Firstly by showing that corporate marketing related to product innovation enhances perceptions of corporate credibility and extension fit, and thus much favorable extension evaluations, this study showed benefits for brands with reputation of high quality products. Secondly this study provided a more detailed account of particular dimensions of corporate credibility, namely corporate expertise, trust worthiness and likeability. Thus this study concluded that corporate expertise appeared to play a more influential role in evaluation of corporate brand extension than either corporate trustworthiness or likeability. Thirdly this study suggested the merits of leveraging a strong brand to introduce a new product. One advantage of using a brand extension strategy to name a new product is that a less concerted advertising effort may be necessary. To the extent that brands extensions are able to leverage existing parent brand associations in consumer memory, a company should find it easier to achieve brand image with an extension branding strategy instead of giving a new product a new name. The fact that corporate marketing activity impacted consumer evaluations of a corporate brand extension in the absence of any product specific advertising is further an empirical support for the benefit of adopting a brand extension strategy. Fourthly this study suggested that corporate marketing activity significantly influenced extension evaluations even when the extension was advertised on the basis of another image dimension point. Thus corporate image associations are more likely to transfer to an extension on the basis of the branding strategy. Lastly this study also suggested that where a company is in a situation of having a trade off between various strategies like reinforcing a strong association, strengthening a weak association or creating a new association, then it wholly depends on the situation of each of the elements to decide which strategy to choose. For example: In some cases, existing associations may be so strong that they may be better off emphasizing other information to fortify a weak or supply a missing association. 2.8 TYPES OF BRAND EXTENSION Limited work has been done on the typology of brand extension. From various research papers, books and websites that I have consulted regarding brand extension, very few have distributed brand extension into different types. (Brandextension.org) have generated the following typology of brand extension taking functional and emotional attributes of the brand into consideration. 1. Similar product in a different form from the original parent product. This is where a company changes the form of the product from the original parent product. An example is (frozen) Snickers Ice Cream Bars. The original Snickers bar is a shelf stable candy. The brand extension is a similar product, but in a different form. Jell-O Portable Pudding and Pudding Cups is Jell-O pudding in a different form and section of the store. 2. Distinctive flavor/ingredient/component in the new item. When a brand owns a flavor, ingredient or component, there may be other categories where consumers want that property. E.g. Peanut butter is a characteristic ingredient in Reeses Peanut Butter Cups candy. Chocolate is a characteristic ingredient of Hershey. Brand Extension Research identified Reeses Peanut Butter as a logical extension that capitalizes on this association. 3. Benefit/attribute/feature owned. Many brands own a benefit, attribute or feature that can be extended. E.g. Brand Extension Research showed Armor All brand was defined by automotive surface protection which can go beyond vinyl dressing. Paint needs protecting also. Arm Hammer owns a benefit of deodorizing. Their baking soda product has claimed that it removes odors from refrigerators, etc. As a result, they extended the brand into other products such as Arm Hammer underarm deodorant and cat litter deodorizer. 4. Expertise. Over time, certain brands may gain a reputation for having an expertise in a given area. Leverage can be achieved when extending into areas where this special expertise is deemed important. E.g. Hondas expertise in reliable engines led to lawn mowers, gas powered generators and a variety of other gasoline engine powered devices. What brand comes to mind when we think of baby products? Gerber. As a result of this acceptance of their expertise, they successfully launched Gerber Baby Powder, Gerber Baby Bottles, etc. Sara Lee is known for baked desserts, so why not other baked goods like bread. 5. Companion products. Some brand extensions are a natural companion to the products the company already makes. E.g. Contadina was a tomato paste and sauce brand. In brand extension research, consumers thought Contadina pasta was a logical companion product that would have the leverage of the Italian heritage of the parent. Aunt Jemima (the pancake mix brand) launched pancake syrup, as a companion to compete with Log Cabin syrup. 6. Vertical extensions. Some brand extensions are vertical extensions of what they currently offer. A brand can use their ingredient/component heritage to launch products in a more (or sometimes less) finished form. E.g. Nestlà ©s Toll House chocolate refrigerated cookies is an example. Most Toll House chocolate chips are used in cookies, so why not make a brand of Toll House chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Fields Cookies were ready-to-eat. They offered frozen cookie dough, moving backwards as a vertical extension. Rice Krispies has always been used in kids treats. Kellogg offered Rice Krispies Treats ready-to-eat. 7. Same customer base. Many brand extensions represent a marketers effort to sell something else to its customer base. This works particularly well when that customer base is large and to some extent captive. E.g. VISA launched travelers checks directed to its credit card customers. 8. Designer image/status. Certain brands convey status and hence create an image for the user. E.g. Designer clothing labels have been extended to furniture, jewellery, perfume, cosmetics and a host of other items. Some brands promote a lifestyle and can extend to items that people wear, as a badge of identifying themselves with that lifestyle. The above-mentioned typology is quite useful as it indicate the key areas where extension is done along with the methodology used to extend the product line. Yet it must be said that not all research work would agree with this typology as it is felt that certain types confuses line and brand extension or in ways generalizes it more to extension rather than brand extension. For example: Adding attribute to the products in the same product line would be line extension and not brand extension. Still it is a good base for my research work and also for further research into the typology of brand extension. Aaker (1998) has described two types brand extension differentiating the concept on a corporate level. The first type described by him is product brand extension. A company makes a product brand extension when it uses an existing brand name distinct from its corporate name to introduce a new product outside its current product offering. With product brand extension consumers are often completely unaware of the company involved. The second type described by him is corporate brand extension. A corporate brand extension is one which relies on the corporate name to launch a new product . A corporate brand extension clearly identifies an organization with a product, and so evokes different reactions from consumers than a product brand extension. A corporate brand may create associations in consumers minds that reflect the values, program, and activities of the firm. 2.9 SEQUENTIAL STRETCHING AND UMBRELLA BRANDING Extension to parent brand is usually a sequential process in which brands are initially line extended and then brand extended. This sequential stretching of brands leads to the formation of a whole family of brands thus giving rise to the concept of Umbrella branding. As the name indicates, umbrella branding refers to extension of a parent brand into a variety of products such that a whole range of products would come under the same brand. Taylor (2003) has divided the sequential extension into three main steps namely core brand extension, direct stretch and indirect stretch. I will illustrate the concept using Dove as an example. Brand extension was a key driver of Doves explosive growth during the 1990s. Coupled with geographic expansion, it helped grow sales fivefold, to almost $1 billion. The brand continues to grow at 20 percent per year and is well on its way to hitting the $ 2 billion mark in the next few years. Let go through the sequential process and apply it to Dove. The first and most crucial step to be noted is that Dove didnt extend its product line until it had achieved the following two things. †¢ A strong bar business had been built †¢ The brand had satisfactory scores on attributes rating for mildness and moisturizing. An important thing to be noted is that extension took place only after Dove had secured its soap bar business and had improved it. Thus once there was strength in the brand, it extending it to other products. Stretching went through the following stages. Stage One: Core Range extensions: Dove remained a product brand with a single format at this stage. It extended (line extension) its product range by adding new versions such as sensitive skin that now accounts for up to a third of sales. Further growth of the bar through product and pack innovation, remains a key source of profitable growth. Diagrammatic illustration of this step would indicate the extension into the two types. Stage Two: Direct stretch: In this stage extension is done into markets that are quite relevant to the product line. In the case of dove, it extended its product range into bath and shower products. Yet till now dove is focused on personal washing. The key reasons of dove extension at this stage were strong product delivery and innovative packing that differentiated them from other products in the range. The following diagram illustrates their stretch in to shower and bath products. Stage three: Indirect stretch: Capitalizing on their skin care outlook, Dove decided to be ambitious and to move beyond the washing and bathing market. Although they started off selectively, they introduced products like deodorants and hair gels etc. that were once again a big success. This process of broadening a product range is referred to as Umbrella Branding as illustrated by the diagram given below. The dove success has been due to consistent marketing and a consistent communication campaign. Consistency has been a key part of building brand identity and has been an additional glue to tie together the extension. 2.10 BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAND EXTENSION Brand extension being the most popular mean of brand growth has some surprising statistics. Success rate of brand extension is hard to find, especially as what constitutes a success varies enormously. Yet a survey conducted by OCC using a simple and effective definition of success (still being on shelf after six years after launch) found out that 50 percent of all brand extension fails. This figure is certainly an eye opener for most companies as half of the product fails using brand extension. Taylor (2003) has associated this huge failure figure due to Brand ego tripping and also gives effective steps to avoid it. But before we go into the detail of this concept, lets look into the benefits and drawbacks of brand extension. 2.10.1 BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAND EXTENSION The remarkable popularity of the concept over the last decade is a confirmation of the fact that there are marked benefits that can be associated with brand extension. Taylor (2003) has described the consumer benefits of brand extension in which he has identified consumer knowledge, consumer trust and lower cost as the major benefits of brand extension. Tauber (1988) has differentiated the benefits on the basis of efficiency and effectiveness emphasizing more on the cost benefits. An existing strong brand promotes a new product or service as there is less need to create awareness and imagery. Thus in a way awareness is already present and the only thing left is

History of Barbados :: Essays Papers

The island of Barbados was first inhabited by an Amerindian migrant group called the Saladoid-Barrancoid around 350 to 650 AD. Their ancestors are believed to be from the Orinoco Basin in South America. The Spanish were the first Europeans to land on the island in the sixteenth century and reported the Amerindian settlement. However, when the Portuguese explorer, Pedro a Campus landed there in 1536, he claimed that the island was uninhabited. The original inhabitants, the Saladoid-Barrancoid, spoke a language which later became known as Arawakan. They were considered to be skilled farmers and fisherman while also excelling in ceramic crafts. They traded throughout the Caribbean area, which is known because artifacts of the Saladiod-Barrancoid have been found not only on Barbados, but also on neighboring islands. The slave population of Barbados increased greatly between 1643 and 1666. In 1643 the island had 6,400 slaves, and by 1666 they had over 50,000. The wealth of the planter class on the island was becoming more evident. The prosperity of the sugar industry within Barbados lasted until the early 1700s. The island of Jamaica and some of the Leeward Islands gained prosperity within the sugar industry. The diminishing sugar industry within Barbados was most directly related to their soil, which began to wear out. Barbados also faced problems with insects and drought. The life of those who worked on the plantations was not good. They endured hot temperatures, disease, and were at the mercy of their master. On almost every sugar-producing island, the death rate was higher than the birth rate, and it was known that those that worked on the sugar producing islands were up for a much harsher life than those taken to places like North America. Since the slaves died too quickly to reproduce, the plantation owners were constantly forced to bring more slaves in.

How Big is Your Gun Essay -- Gun Control

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, in 1791, stated â€Å"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.† The controversy soon started on who, what, and how the founding fathers bestowed these rights. Who should be allowed to carry arms? What type of arms should be allowed to bear? How can the people obtain these arms? All of these questions have been debated, discussed, and argued by both sides of the controversy. Who should be allowed to keep and bear arms? Federal law states that one must be eighteen years old or older to purchase a rifle or shotgun, and twenty-one years old or older to purchase a handgun. The pro-gun advocate argues that eighteen to twenty year olds should be allowed to own handguns and sixteen year olds should be allowed to have a rifle or shotgun, while their opponents are arguing that the law should be increased require a rifle or shotgun owner to be twenty-one or older and handgun owner to be at lease twenty four years old. One must also be a legal citizen of the United States, who has not renounced their citizenship, must not use or be addicted to any controlled substances, and must not have been dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces to purchase and keep a gun. Noticeably absent are laws prohibiting gun ownership by alcoholics, although it is illegal to possess a gun while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. People for stronger gun control regulati ons argue that alcohol use mixed with guns dramatically increases the risk of accidental shootings. Activists on both sides of the gun control issue are still perfecting their arguments on the legality of gun ownership by pe... ...n years of age as long as they have no knowledge that the buyer is not allowed to own a gun. Gun control activists contend that this loophole puts guns in the hands of thieves, killers, and the mentally ill. Stricter registration laws are also sought after by proponents of gun control, the manufacturer and gun shop are required to register who they sold the gun to, but a sale between two individuals is not required to be registered to any authority. Gun activists see this exchange as free commerce and do not approve of the recommended registration requirements. Whether the path to gun ownership should be a straight shot or an obstacle course will remain an ongoing debate. There are concessions made by both sides of the personal weapon controversy, but there will never be complete agreement on who should be able to own, what type of weapon, or how they got it.