The Brand Positioning Of The Organization Marketing Essay

The Brand Positioning Of The Organization Marketing Essay Brand equity is the intangible asset that the consumer associates with a product. We can determine it through financial impact of the product, brand extensions and consumer attitude. Zara garments were not designed and manufactured to be highly durable or classic clothes that would always be in style. They are described as clothes to be worn ten times and yet they contributed more than 70% of the Inditex group sales. This is a vital statistic considering that Inditex group owns seven other fashion brands. With regards to brand extensions the Zara brand was successfully used to launch Zara Home in 2003. Zara Home was well received and has grown internationally to have a presence in 23 countries and 250 stores (Matassa, 2008). Additionally Zaras strong brand equity can be manifested through its consumers attitude. This is clearly shown by Zaras global average of 17 visits per customer per year compared to the three visits per year received by its competitors. That is an avowal of huge brand loyalty. Brand positioning refers to the targeted consumers preference to buy your brand instead of others. Zara has been able to carve out its own niche through cost leadership as the high-end fashion product at a reasonable price. If we compare Zaras prices to those of its major competitors such as Benetton, Gap and HM it is far cheaper yet as fashionable. Zara has been able to develop a sustainable competitive advantage through its shortened supply chain response that enables it to consistently move a design from conception through to production then into its distribution centers in as little as three weeks. This has largely contributed in setting Zaras service apart from its competitors. In fact, 75% of the merchandise in an average Zara store is changed over duration of three to four weeks. Zara customers are therefore aware that if they spot a garment they like, they have to go and purchase it on the spot because it might not be there on their next visit. Discuss the brand strategy of the organization From Zara we can identify the broad strategies applied to strengthen the brand being as follows: the marketing mix, its people, short lead times and scarce supply. However, that is not to say that the Zara brands success lay solely on the mentioned factors. The organization as a whole has been able to clearly-define its brand values and allowed them to permeate throughout the entire organization. Zara has a distinct ownership for management of the brand right from the top management level. This has meant that critical activities such as sales, operations, customer service, product development and others are made use of in supporting the whole organizations strategic management process (Kotler Armstrong, 2009). The marketing mix is represented by the traditional 4Ps: product, price, place and promotion. With regards to product, the Zara strategy has been to anticipate the latest fashion in apparel and to produce them before other competitors. Secondly, the garments are manufactured to be non-durable so as to prompt the consumer not to store them in their wardrobes but to wear them and to visit Zara shops frequently for replenishment. Thirdly, the company ensures that its stores have a wide variety of products because each store receives new products at least twice per week. Clothes that have low demand are quickly spotted, removed and replaced by new trendier designs such that customers are always spoilt for choice. This product appeal is increased by the lower price that Zara charges in comparison to competing brands such as Gap, Benetton and HM. Zara has been able to use its low cost leadership as a sustainable competitive advantage to strengthen its brand positioning. The company operates using a vertical supply chain which covers all phases of the fashion process from design to manufacture to logistics to distribution and finally to its own retail stores (Matassa, 2008). The price attribute of Zaras products is lowered here by the fact that the company can minimise its inventory costs through use of just-in-time manufacturing. Also, the fact that Zara owns 90% of its retail stores implies that it is able to make the 50-60% gross margins that retailers make. This increases profitability for the brand which helps to sustain the low prices offered. The other component of the marketing mix that Zara uses well within its brand strategy is place. Here we encounter two very key considerations, the location of its stores and the distribution system being utilised. Zara stores are deliberately located on the best-known streets in a selected citys prime retail district. This is to make the brand visible to as many of its targeted market as possible while lowering the need for traditional advertising. According to Schewe and Hiam (1998) place also covers aspects such as market coverage, logistics and distribution and service levels. Zara has a high-tech distribution system with distribution centers centrally located from its manufacturing plants. Different stores are also supplied with different products depending on their requirements and assessed demand. The efficiency of the distribution system is so high that along the entire Zara supply chain it is difficult to find inventory. Products flow quickly, and without stopping, from fact ories to distribution centers to stores, where they are put immediately on the sales floor. This distribution system is heavily reliant on Zaras effective communications and information technology infrastructure. When it comes to the final P of marketing, promotion we witness one of the biggest differences between Zara and its competitors. Zara spends approximately 0.3% of sales on advertising while its competitors spend on average 3 4% of sales on advertising. The company prefers its marketing promotion to be done by word of mouth and from the appeal of its stores. Word of mouth has proved to be more effective for Zara than advertising or using celebrities has been for its competitors. Zara stores are laid out to dazzle. The store racks, the window displays and store layout are designed and tested at the headquarters in La Coruna before being deployed to all stores. This is done every four to five years. To ensure consistency the team from La Coruna is the one that does the redesigning at all company-owned stores. This is meant to attract customers inside the stores, and once in to display the fabrics, colors and designs to the best effect. The company also has a stylish and modern website from where customers can view or download the latest Zara catalogue. Other factors that we had mentioned earlier that Zara utilizes to enhance its brand equity and positioning are its short lead times and scarce supply of apparel. Small and frequent shipments keep product inventories fresh and scarce thus compelling customers to frequent the store in search of whats new and to buy now because next time they come they will not find that item. This is one of the core reasons why globally Zara has an industry high average of 17 visits per customer per year compared to three visits per customer per year for its competitors. The short lead times for products from factory to store sales floor ensure that Zara is able to react quickly to fashion trends. This differs from the method preferred by its competitors. Most fashion brands prefer predicting fashion to reacting to fashion. Reacting to fashion trends is less likely to fail than predicting if one is able to deliver the products while the demand still exists. Zara has perfected this ability as evidenced by its new products failure rate of 1% which is much lower than the industry average of 10%. Finally, Zara empowers its staff and has established a strong brand culture e.g. decision-making is encouraged among its young designers and bad decisions are not severely punished; store managers, product managers and commercials work together to ensure that stores are supplied with the correct products and quantities etc. Seller-customer intimacy is also encouraged so that the store managers are made aware of the customer preferences and tastes which could be used in coming up with new products. Problem The major problem with Zaras brand strategy would be its persistence with a centralized distribution system especially when we consider that the brand is rapidly expanding across the globe. Though the company has an effective distribution system, this foray into new markets in Asia, Latin America and the United States is bound to add complexity and also increase cost if Zara insists on relying on its original hub in Spain. A centralized distribution system will not effectively cope with the rapid expansion and different needs of the new markets. It would probably be more prudent if Zara establishes new production and distribution centers in these far away markets such as the US, Asia and Latin America. Recommendations The first recommendation is as we have stated above, Zara will need to decentralize its distribution system to these new geographical markets. This will not only increase efficiency in delivery but also aid Zara in maintaining its competitive edge of short product lead times from design to manufacturing to retail sales. Secondly the existing distribution centers in Europe are being overwhelmed by the rapid increase of the number of stores being opened. To prevent these distribution centers from becoming bottlenecks, Zara will have to establish more distribution centers to cater for its expanding European market. Thirdly, a foray into the markets in Asia and America would have to be carefully considered because of the huge cultural differences, especially with regards to Asia. Income levels could be going up within Asia but that does not translate necessarily into a market for fashion.

A Poison Tree Poem by William Blake

Honors English IV December 11, 2009 The theme of â€Å"A Poison Tree† by William Blake is about wrath and anger. If one were angry with a friend, that wrath would eventually subside; if one were angry with a foe, however, and if left unchecked or left to simmer that anger would not subside and would grow. His poem offers insight into what anger does if one â€Å"watered it in fears, / Night and morning with [their] tears; / and sunned it with smiles, / and with soft deceitful wiles† (547 l. -10 Wood). The poem is appropriate for Songs of Experience and not Songs of Innocence because it portrays something that children do not do: seethe with anger for a long period of time. Children forgive and forget easily, adults do not. Adults tend to hold grudges and seethe with anger until something interrupts it or changes it, but children have simpler minds and thus simpler aspects of anger that may not last a long time.The themes and images of â€Å"Composed upon Westminster Br idge, September 3, 1802† by William Wordsworth classifies him as a typical Romantic poet of his time. Wordsworth shows only the beauty of London and uses simple language to get his point across. The major theme of the poem is nature, and he only shows the beauty of the landscape, not the destitution and filth that truly was London during the Industrial Revolution.Wordsworth transfigures the truth with his imagination, saying that everything was â€Å"all bright and glittering in the smokeless air† (560 l. 8 Wood) when really the city was ridden with pollution and smog. Wordsworth also shows and absolute sense of awe for the beauty of what he is seeing, and turns away everything that is â€Å"ugly† about it. Wordsworth sees only the beauty of looking from a bridge in the morning and turns away all the bad things related to the people of the area, a characteristic of a Romantic.

Organisational System Security Internet Security Issues Essay

Adware – Is a software which you get when you have downloaded a different program or software for free or at a reduced price. Its main purpose is to download adverts to your computer screen when you visit websites. Adware is seen by a developer as away to recover costs of making software. But to the general user adverts on there monitor are annoying because it puts them off of what there doing and they have to close every advert down manually. Blackhat – Is a name given to a hacker whose purpose is to access data with out permission and to damage it or change it. Blackhat hackers can do this for arrange of reasons to make profit or as a hobby. They may also send other users viruses, internet worms or spam them. This type of hacker is known as the bad guy in the computer world. Botnet – Is a software robot, when a spammer sends out viruses to general users a Bot is attached to it. Once the spammer has control of the infected computers then they will have to purchase a Botnet which then lets them operate the controlled computers, then the spammer will send out a message to the computers cause them to send spam to mail servers, resulting in users opening up there mail will have tons of junk. Denial of service – Is an attack which leaves users with out use of the services of a website which they would normally use. The DoS attack does not normally mean the controller of it has stolen information, but has cost the company which it has targeted money and time. This can cause users that use that company’s website to purchase what they want from another website meaning that company’s business rivals are making money from the DoS attack on them. Exploit – Is a software which contains commands that take advantage of a computer system with weak security, the purpose of an exploit is to give a user more privileges on a computer system allowing them to access more data which was previously restricted from them. A weakness in the exploit is that it stops running when a newer version of the software is installed. Keylogger – Is a device which you can get as software or hardware it is connected or installed inside your keyboard. Its function is to log in keystrokes. There are many different reasons why we may use this such as helping fix computer system errors or seeing how an employee users there keyboard to see if there good at there job. You can purchase Keylogger’s off the internet. Malware – Is a software, its task is to damage a computer system such as to give a computer system a virus. Malware gets its name from the beginning of the word malicious and the ending of the word software. Malware’s include arrange of harmful programs such as computer viruses, worms, Trojans, rootkits and sometimes adware. Packet sniffing – Is a software or hardware which is used to analyze traffic that is passing through over a network. The packet sniffer checks each packet then decodes them so that they can be analyzed, to check there content. The analyzing is useful for finding out network problems, monitor network usage from users and debug client and network protocols. This will help maintain a network. Phishing – Is a term given that is a breech of security by a hacker. Such as attempting to acquire sensitive information on other computer users like there usernames, passwords and credit card information. The hackers target popular websites such as eBay, MySpace and PayPal. They get hold of user’s personnel information by sending fake emails pretending to by your bank. Piggybacking – Is a computer word which refers to a user connecting there laptop or computer to another persons internet connection. Then using the internet without the permission of the owner of the internet connection. But if you own a cafà © and have a hotspot this is not considered piggybacking because you have given permission to people to use your hotspot to connect to the internet. Spyware – Is a computer software that is secretly installed on to your computer and can take control over something’s that you do on it. It can install software which you did not want on your computer also it can make you go on websites that you did not click to go on and it could led you to harmful viruses that could affect your computer. When turning off your computer spyware can even change your computer settings. Trojan – A Trojan is a computer virus that appears on your computer designed to cause your computer harm. It has been know to be similar to a worm. Some Trojans may not cause harm to your computer but the six main types of Trojans are ones that cause remote access, data destruction, download, get on to a server, anti – viruses software disabler and denial of service attack. Whitehat – Is the name given to a hacker, who’s purpose is to prevent a breech of security within a company or organization. They are normally employed by a company to protect against there counterparts blackhat hackers who want to hack and steal information and data that does not belong to them. In the computing world the Whitehat hacker is know as the good guy. Worm – Is a computer program which sends copies of its self to networks, designed to cause harm to the network that they have targeted. It likes to eat up the bandwidth used on the network. Worms can also cause serious harm and damage to a computer operating system by attacking the weak parts of the computer. Zero-day Attack – Is a threat to computers, by trying to take control of computer applications that are unknown or patchfree. The attacker that controls the zero-day attack normally sets it up on a public forum because of the number of users that it could affect. Zombie – Is a computer that has been attached to the internet by a computer hacker. The owners of zombie computers do not know that there computers have be compromised. They are normally used as part of a botnet, but while they have been put in zombie mode the hacker can use other user’s computers to send Trojans or other harmful viruses. Resources Adware http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adware Blackhat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hat Botnet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botnet http://www.ibiblio.org/botnet/flora/indexstart.html Denial of service http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid92_gci213591,00.html Exploit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploit_(computer_security) Keylogger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystroke_logging http://www.actualspy.com/ Malware http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/alerts/info/malware.mspx Packet sniffing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_sniffer http://netsecurity.about.com/cs/hackertools/a/aa121403.htm Phishing http://www.antiphishing.org/ http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/p/phishing.html Piggybacking http://www.thefreedictionary.com/piggybacking Spyware http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware Trojan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_(computing) Whitehat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_hat Worm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_worm#Protecting_against_dangerous_computer_worms Zero-day Attack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-Day_Attack http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-zero-day-attack.htm Zombie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_computer

Descriptive Essay A Watery Escape - 880 Words

A watery escape Homeowners often find themselves in a position where they are happy with the way their home looks, yet, wondering at times if there is something to be added or modified. Many things can come to mind when you find yourself in this predicament, and some may ponder the possibility of their own ideas. I would like to take a moment to inject an idea of improvement to your home that you may not have thought of. My suggestion to you is; a pond. Yes, it sounds extravagant, doesn’t it? Well I’m here to tell you that it is not too far-fetched of an idea. I will use this moment of your time, in six easy steps, to show you just how easy it is to create your very own watery escape. Your first step is to decide the appropriate location to break ground. The pond can be in just about any place within your property lines, and it may be any size you choose. You must remember, however, that the bigger the pond, the more expensive it will be. This is mainly due to the fact that you will need a larger pond liner and a more powerful pump. I recommend using a can of spray paint to sketch an outline on the ground of the general shape and size you want the pond to be. Now that you have decided on a location and how large to build your pond, the second step is to make a selection of construction materials based on these dimensions. You will need to purchase a pond liner that will cover the complete volume of your pond. Use your spray paint outline to measure width, length and depth.Show MoreRelatedessay on dickins journey to niagra3989 Words   |  16 Pagesand, from its unfathomable grave arises that tremendous ghost of spray and mist which is never laid, and has been haunting this place with the same dread solemnity--perhaps from the creation of the world (Letters 3: 210-11). In this essay, I analyze Dickenss reaction to Niagara Falls in the context of other British travel narratives from the previous decade, and examine how Niagara speaks to Dickens of life after death (as he describes it above, the falls die and then rise again inRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesprobable good consequences of each action and the probable bad consequences while weighing the positive and negative impact of each consequence. It’s a kind of cost-benefit analysis. Exercises 1. Columbus Day is an American holiday. Write a short essay that weighs the pros and cons and then comes to a decision about whether there should be more or less public celebration (by Americans and their institutions) on Columbus Day, October 12. Here is some relevant background information to reduce yourRead MoreIgbo Dictionary129408 Words   |  518 Pagesillustrated the meaning and use of words; the great majority of the examples are due to him. Their merit is that they are not translations from English, but natural Igbo sentences elicited only by the stimulus of the word they illustrate. The short essays which appear from time to time (e.g. under otà ¹tà ¹, à ²Ã¯â‚¬ ¤gbanÌ„je) on aspects of culture are also his work, as are the sketches which served as basis for the illustrations, a large number of new words, and various features of the arrangement. When he had