Highlighting mitchells and butlers strategic

Highlighting mitchells and butlers strategic Executive Summary This report is aimed at highlighting Mitchells and Butlers strategic choices through the analysis of its internal and external environment. A number of measurement tools were used in order to express this. The report firstly looks into the external environment in which the organisation is involved with. The external analysis was split into two different sections: The macro environment and the microenvironment. A PESTLE analysis was used for the macro environment as this captures all the factors that affect Mitchells and Butlers, of which none of them they can control. To analyse the microenvironment Porters five forces model was used as this highlights all the factors that can have a direct effect on an organisation. Following the Internal Analysis the report then looks at the internal logistics of the business. Looking internally into Mitchells and Butler identified many aspects of the business such as its resources and capabilities, competitive advantage, core competencies and the stage the company is at with regards to the life cycle. All these differing aspects will then help to identify the strategic choices available to Mitchells and Butler. The report then looks at the financial side of the organisation using three financial statements: Cash Flow, Balance Sheet and 5 year income statement. These are analysed to review sales trends and profit trends. A SWOT Analysis has been drawn out which helped in the completion of the TOWS matrix. The TOWS matrix combined with the SFA model identify areas where Mitchells and Butler can grow. To conclude the report, all the data was collected and analysed to suggest short, medium and long term plans for Mitchells and Butler. Introduction. This report is the second part of a two part report which will analyse both the internal and external factors that influence the Mitchells and Butlers organisation. A strategic analysis of the company has already been carried, which can be seen in Appendix 1. It involved carrying out analysis on the vision, mission, values and objectives of M+B. This report will focus on the strategies that Mitchells and Butler implement in order to grow. The report will firstly look at the Micro and Macro external environment using tools such as PESTLE, SWOT, Porters five forces model and competitor gap analysis which will combine to give a competitor analysis. Once the external analysis is complete the report will then focus its attention on the internal analysis. This will involve analysing Mitchells and Butlers core competencies by conducting a portfolio analysis. Based upon these analysis the report will then finish with recommendations of the future strategic choice and direction of the company followed by a short, medium and long term plan for Mitchells and Butlers. The business report will use David F (1988) comprehensive strategic management model as a guideline in order to cover all aspects of the strategic report. As mentioned above Vision and mission statements have already been analysed, th erefore this report will start on performing both internal and external audits. 1. External Analysis â€Å"A companys marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing managements ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its target customers. Successful companies know the vital importance of constantly watching and adapting to the companies environment†. (Kotler, P et al. 2008) 1.1 Macro Environment Carrying out external analysis allows firms to adapt quickly to the changing environment. The macro environment is the â€Å"complete social context in which the organisation resides†. Carrol, A + Buchholtz, A (2008) Kotler, P et al. (2008) also includes that it is the larger societal forces that affect the whole microenvironment. He states that there are six major forces in a companys macro environment: Political Economic Social Technological Legal Environmental 1.2 PESTLE Analysis PESTEL analysis categorises the factors that effect an organisation externally. Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2005) note that many of these factors are linked. When one factor changes it can have a knock on effect on other factors. As these factors change they affect the competitive environment in which the organisation operates in, as a result it is crucial that organisations are aware of the changes in the external environment. Political Licensing Laws- Mitchells and Butlers have a minimum requirement to follow all licensing laws lay down by the government. If at any time they come in breach of these licenses they place themselves in serious jeopardy with the federal agencies. Smoking Ban- The smoking ban, introduced in July 2007, had a serious effect on all of Mitchells and Butlers managed pubs and restaurants. The ban meant that no establishment was to allow smoking in any of its premises. Economic Unemployment- With the UK, along with the rest of the world, going further and further into a recession, companies look to try and cut costs by lowering the number of staff, therefore unemployment rises. A report written in the TimesOnline website by Grà ¡inne Gilmore in February 2009 highlights some facts and figures which can affect consumers disposable income. In it he states that unemployment rose close to two million and predictions have been made that the figure could rise to three million by next year, the highest level since 1986. Tax Increase- With taxes expected to rise in January 2010, consumer spending will slow down. Inflation The rise of inflation makes it harder for people to borrow as the banks Social Social Responsibility As the leading operator of managed pubs and pub restaurants in the UK, Mitchells and Butlers has a commitment to give the responsible retailing of alcohol. Mitchells and Butlers established a policy for retailing alcohol in a responsible manner. This ensures that all of their licensed premises are operated responsibly. Under age Drinking Mitchells and Butlers launched the â€Å"Challenge 21† campaign, which was aimed at stopping/ reducing the number of under aged drinkers in their managed premises a. Healthy Eating Due to the increased awareness of healthy eating through government ad campaigns, celebrity chefs etc Mitchells and Butlers has to be aware of the varying attitudes towards healthy eating. As a result they offer a wide variety of dishes on there menus across all their differing brands. They look to offer a good choice of healthy options at the same time as offering more indulgent dishes. Mitchells and Butlers are continually creating fresh dishes with an emphasis on nutritional value. Legal Minimum Wage The National Minimum wage was introduced 10 years ago and has increased 5.5% year. Mitchells and Butler must comply with the minimum pay levels for each age group to comply with the law. Health and Safety at Work act 1974 The Act is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in the United Kingdom. (hse.gov.uk, 2009) Mitchells and Butlers must ensure that they enforce the health and safety of both there workforce and their customers. Environmental Weather Due to the varying weather conditions throughout the whole year, Mitchells and Butlers should be constantly aware of the effects good and bad weather can have on there outlets. Recycling Due to raised awareness of pollution in the environment and the effects of waste Mitchells and Butlers have to show there commitment in creating as little waste as possible, and where possible recycle as much of their waste as possible. They also have a commitment to reducing there carbon footprint which can be done by the recycling of used cooking oil which is then converted into bio-diesel. 1.3 Microenvironment â€Å"The microenvironment consists of the actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers: the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries,rs and publics†. Kotler, P et al. (2008) It is the environment with components that have specific and immediate implications for managing the organisation. Decisions made involving the microenvironment have a direct effect on the organisation. It can be controlled by the company and analysis at this level is firm specific. Xu, J.(2005) There are many models that can help firms to measure the position they are in within their environment. 1.4 Porters Five Forces The Objective of performing industry analysis is to develop an organisations competitive advantage in order to be more successful than its competitors. The way in which this can be done is by using Porters Five Forces Model. ( Lynch, 2003) In it he identifies the five basic forces that can have an effect on an organisation. Bargaining power Threat of Of suppliers new entrants The report will now go into further detail of each threat, identifying the different aspects of each factor and the affect they could have on Mitchells and Butler. Threat of Entry With Mitchells and Butlers being the leading operator of managed pubs and pub restaurants, they must be aware of any potential threats that may arise from new entries in the market. The industry in which Mitchells and Butlers operates is one where barriers to entry are very low and therefore easy for new organisations to enter the market. However due to the sheer size of the organisation they have an automatic advantage over any new entries. Economies of Scale Mitchells and Butlers are in the position to gain economies of scale due to the number of managed outlets they have. With around 2,000 businesses they have the ability to lower the costs of products because of the amount they will be ordering at one time. Experience Mitchells and Butlers has been operating as an independent division since 2003 but it history dates back to 1898. This unparalleled experience of the pub industry accounts for invaluable knowledge and experience which can help in the development and growth of the organisation. Customer Loyalty With over 2000 outlets built mainly in residential areas Mitchells and Butlers will have built up a high level of customer loyalty. This makes it increasingly difficult for new competitors to establish a loyal customer base for themselves. It is evident however that not everyone is within close proximity to a Mitchells and Butlers unit and therefore consumers will be loyal to a different business. Product Differentiation Mitchells and Butlers understand the importance of product differentiation and aim to deliver products of the highest quality at the lowest possible prices. It also prides itself on customer service, displaying just how important they feel it is. Mitchells and Butlers also drive to promote its own brands in order to create product differentiation. Bargaining Power of Buyers Concentration of buyers With Mitchells and Butlers being in a market with a huge amount of potential buyers then it is in complete power with what price to set. If the buyers are not happy with the price then they simply have to go elsewhere as the market is big enough to attract more customers. However Mitchells and Butlers can not set the price at whatever they choose as the fierce competition in the market drives prices down and they have to compete with there rivals for customers. Product Differentiation With so many other options available for the buyer Mitchells and Butlers has to be able to differentiate itself from the rest of the market. They do this buy offering the highest quality at the lowest possible prices. It also prides itself on customer service, displaying just how important they feel it is. Mitchells and Butlers also drive to promote its own brands in order to create product differentiation. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Mitchells and Butlers is in a very strong position when it comes to its bargaining power with its suppliers. They are the leading operator in managed pubs and pubs restaurants with the largest market share. Suppliers will have to listen to what they are demanding or else they face loosing a huge amount of revenue. Threat of Substitutes Products or services There is a large threat of substitutes that are available from supermarkets. The off trade market that is now available to potential consumers is a huge threat to Mitchells and Butlers. With the constant promotion of alcoholic beverages from the large supermarket chains such as Tescos, Sainsburys and Morrisons means that Mitchells and Butlers have to differentiate themselves from this market and establish themselves as offering an experience and a service rather than just solely a product. The supermarkets also advertise deals such as â€Å" TWO CAN DINE IN FOR  £10†. This such advertisement was ran by MS. Being a differentiated product will entice potential consumers towards it. Threat of Rivalry In a market where growth is slow and competition very high, Mitchells and Butlers have created rivalry by becoming the leading operator in its markets and taking a lot of customers from its competitors. However it does not face rivalry from small independent outlets as they focus their attention away from the big rivals. The way in which Mitchells and Butlers create rivalry is by the pricing policy on drinks. Being the leading operator in managed pubs means that they are able to buy in bulk reducing the costs of products. With relation to food Mitchells and Butlers has a variety of brands that are in varying markets that can capture different customers with the varying levels of quality and price. For example the harvester brand is aimed at the lower end of the market, whereas the Browns brand is at the other end of the spectrum, catering for the higher end customers. 2.0 Internal Analysis The process of performing an internal analysis is similar to that of an external analysis. Representative managers and employees from throughout the firm need to be involved in determining a firms strengths and weaknesses. The internal analysis involves collecting information about the firms management, marketing, finance and operations. The gathering of this information is a great benefit to managers and employees as they get to know how their work affects other areas and activities of the organisation. Performing an internal analysis is an excellent way of improving the process of communication within an organisation. (David, 1999) 2.1Portfolio Analysis Campbell et al (2002 p. 107) defines a portfolio analysis as an â€Å"Underpinning concept that is a need for a business to spread its opportunity and risk. A broad portfolio signifies that a business has a presence in a wide range of product and market sectors. Conversely, a narrow portfolio implies that the organisation operates in only a few or even in one product or market sector. A broad portfolio offers the advantage of robustness in that a downturn in one market will not threaten the whole company† It is essential that Mitchells and Butlers carry out a portfolio analysis as they operate in many different markets resulting in a number of different cashflows from there brands. 2.2 BCG Matrix The Boston consultancy matrix identifies the relationship between market share and growth of a business. It offers a way of examining a companys portfolio of product and market interests. (Campbell et al 2002) Market Share Stars Question Marks Cash Cows Dogs Mitchells and Butler would be classed as a cash cow. Being the leading operator in managed pubs they have the largest share of the market. However the market in which they are positioned is one that is maturing. Growth for Mitchells and Butlers is slow and the condition of the market is stable. Below is a diagram which converts the BCG matrix into the product life cycle. Internet Accessed via: There are many brands associated with Mitchells and Butler which are in varying stages of their life cycle. The next stage of the report is to show an example of brands in there different stages of the life cycle. The use of this is that it allows Mitchells and Butlers to identify which of their brands are in the decline stage and come up with either new strategies/ products in order for it to grow again. 2.3 The Life Cycle Model 2.4GE-McKinsey Matrix An alternative way in which to evaluate the portfolio of an organisation is by a directional policy matrix/ GE-McKinsey matrix. This matrix categorises an organisations business units into those with good prospects and those with less good prospects. The matrix positions units according to how attractive the market is in which they operate and secondly through the competitive strength of the SBU in that market. (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, R. 2009) 2.5 Resource Based view of Mitchells and Butler The resource based view of a firm is a model of an organisations performance that focuses solely on the resources and capabilities controlled by a firm as sources of competitive advantage. (Wernerfelt, B. 1984, cited in Barney, J Hesterley, W. 2006) Resources are defined as the tangible and intangible assets that an organisation controls whereas capabilities are a â€Å"subset of a firms resources and are defined as tangible and intangible assets that enable a firm to take full advantage of other resources it controls†.( Barney, J Hesterley, W. 2006. p.76) Barney Hesterley (2006) also state that there are four main categories in which resources and capabilities can be classified into four main sub categories: Financial resources, Physical resources, Human resources and organisational resources. M B Financial resources and Capabilities Two loans: One of  £2.3 billion which is secured against the assets and cash flow of he business. The second is an unsecured loan of  £550 million from a number of major banks. Cash generated through sales of products and services. M B Physical resources and Capabilities Property, plant and equipment. Computer Software. Leases: Both operating leases and financial leases. Reputation M B Human resources and Capabilities Operated by an experienced senior management team. Committed to training and investing in their employees to enable them to develop their skills and experience. M B Organisational resources and Capabilities Relationships between the different levels of management. Clear communication Importance of team building in each business unit. Experience of senior management. Training programmes at operational level. Mitchells and Butler use their capabilities to turn their resources into products or services. For instance it uses its reputation to increase its financial resources. 2.6 Core Competencies â€Å"Core competencies are the skills and abilities by which resources are deployed through an organisations activities and processes such as to achieve competitive advantage in ways that others cannot imitate or obtain†. (Johnson, Scholes, and Whittington, 2008. p. 97) This is no more important than in a recession, Mitchells and Butlers needs to focus on its core competencies in order to cerate competitor advantage and steal, what is, a diminishing number of, customers. 2.7 The VRIO Framework VRIO is an acronym for 4 questions that can be used in order to assess the competitive advantage that can be gained from resources and capabilities. The VRIO framework allows an organisation to assess its resources and capabilities potential to create a competitive advantage. †( Barney, J Hesterley, W. 2006. p.76) The Question of Value Mitchells and Butlers uses its resources and capabilities in order to create competitive advantage and stay the leading operator in managed pubs and restaurants. Its organisational resources and capabilities has equated to the acquiring of 239 pub restaurants from Whitbread plc in 2006. The financial capabilities plus experience of management team means that they can cope in a period of financial downturn. The Question of Rarity With Mitchells and Butler being in such a saturated market where growth is very slow and product differentiation hard to achieve then its physical resources and capabilities create very little competitive advantage. It is its organisational, human and financial resources that create it. The size, experience, knowledge, training, quality, price create competitive advantage over a long period of time. The Question of Inimitability This question aims at identifying an organisations strength against any competitors trying to imitate their products or services. For Mitchells and Butler although it may be easy to copy its tangible resources, it is certainly not easy to imitate their intangible capabilities. With over 100 years of experience in the pub trade gives them invaluable experience and knowledge of the industry. The senior management team has over 15 years of experience and the board of executive directors have worked on the strategy and development of Mitchells Butlers since 1995. (mbplc.com â€Å"our management†) [Cited 14/12/2009] The Question of Organisation Although Mitchells and Butler may have competitive advantage with its resources and capabilities, in the above three questions, it can not continually create a competitive advantage unless they are an organised company. The senior management team must work together in order to create systems, policies and procedures in which each individual unit runs at its optimum level. This is done by vertical communication between the varying different levels of operation. 2.8Value-Chain Analysis A Value chain â€Å"is the set of business activities in which a firm engages in to develop, produce, and market its product or services†. † (Barney, J Hesterley, W. 2006. p.83) 3.0 Financial Information 3.1 Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement can be seen in appendix 3. 3.2 Balance Sheet The balance sheet is available in appendix 4. 3.3 5 year Income Statement Available in Appendix 5. From analysing the above financial information, one can draw the major trends from the financial year 2008. Sales Trend Analysing the 5 year review one can see a major difference in the sales trend. Turnover has increased to  £1,908 million over the year which is a 0.7% increase over the financial year. However Profit Trend Although there was an increase in revenue there was a significant decrease in operating profit. From the previous year there is a huge drop from  £309 million to  £131 million a gap of  £178 million. A reason for this could be due to the amount of money they had to repay on a loan they took out to cover the costs of an abandoned joint venture. Mitchells and Butler decided to reduce its level of â€Å"unsecured medium term debt†. (mbplc.com. 2009) Looking at the 5 year report one can see that the dividend pay out was  £18 million, compared to the previous 4 years ,it is on average around  £33 million less. To do this they paid an interim dividend of 4.55p per share which is represented on the income statement. This was paid on the 27th June 2009. The short-term loan of  £550m has to be paid down to  £400m by the end of 2009 and then down to  £300m by the end of 2010. Mitchells and Butler have managed to get the loan amount down to  £475 million. The organisation is aiming to bring capital expenditure down to  £120 million whilst selling some of its pubs along the way. This is a way in which they will pay back the  £550 million loan, however it will have a huge effect on the size of the business and its net profit in the next financial year. (Hall, 2009) Below is a list of further trends that were available from the corporate profile September 2009. Major Trends 2008 Turnover-  £1,908m up 0.7% EBITDA-  £477m up 1.1% Operating profit-  £343m Profit before tax-  £179m down 13.5% Earnings per share- 31.5p down 11.3% Before exceptional terms and IAS 39 movements. Source mbplc.com- corporate profile September 2009 (Appendix 6) 3.4 Balanced Scorecard Financial L4L growth turnover and profit, ROI on investment and acquisition, total capital expended, rent/lease review uplifts, assignment premiums Internal Business Processes Mitchells and Butler have both long and short hold leases. IT systems Mitchells Butlers is reliant on its IT systems to trade efficiently and to ensure that appropriate controls are in place Learning and Growth Graduate Programs are in place for two different areas: The Corporate Graduate Scheme and the Retail Graduate Scheme Training given at all operational levels. Employees must be able to work to the standards set by the Mitchells and Butler legacy. Customer Service Standards Service standards have a huge impact on Mitchells and Butlers success. Service standards are a key element in the choice of consumers pub. Employee satisfaction survey, retailer satisfaction survey, Now to Wow, mystery customer, retailer complaint levels, customer complaint levels Strengths Financial ability Market share Management Team Knowledge and Experience within the industry. Diversity of customers through differentiated markets. Training schemes. Brand name Good understanding of customers needs Weaknesses Massive amounts of cost implications. Hard to differentiate products and services. High level of debt Dire trade outlook Opportunities Smoking ban Increase in the eating out market. Cheap pubs available for acquisition. Increase customer base by going â€Å"green†. Comply with all environmental issues. Threats Smoking ban Regulations Staying in is the new going out Recession Decrease in leisure pound Increase in the off trade market New Legislations Bad press from binge drinking Competition Low barriers of entry. Current disagreements between board members. 3.5SWOT Analysis 4.0 Strategic Choice In order for MB to develop further, they must look at the different strategic options. They need to ask themselves 5 questions: What do we want in life? On WHAT basis are we to compete? WHEN do we implement these? WHICH direction? HOW? Patton, F(2009) 4.1 Porters Generic Strategies Porters two parameters: â€Å"a company can seek to compete† and the market in which a company seeks to compete can be broad or narrow, led him to construct the three generic strategies seen below. (Thomson, 2001) Patton, F (2009) Porters model of generic strategies. Adapted from Porter, M(1985) Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Mitchells and Butlers uses the Differentiation strategy. It offers a range of differentiated products across a number of markets. The different brands in the organisation ensure that they appeal to the whole market. A way of expressing how MB use the differentiated strategy is to look at the different brands and the markets they operate in. Cost/ Price Focus: Crown Carveries- â€Å"Top quality carvery meals at great prices†¦..† Differentiation Focus Harvester â€Å"Family-friendly restaurants serving freshly-prepared grills, spit-roasts and fish dishes and the famous salad cart, included with every meal†. Cost Leadership Ember Inns â€Å"Quality local pubs providing customers with a relaxed home from home and a great range of cask ales, wines and tempting, traditional pub food favourites with a modern twist†. (Internet accessed via [Cited 14/12/2009] 4.2 Strategy Clock The strategy clock was developed by Cliff Bowman. The clock is based around price and the perceived value the customer will gain from the product or service. Mitchells and Butlers can use the strategic clock to choose where they wish to position a brand or business unit. It represents different positions in a market where potential customers have different requirements in terms of value for money. (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 2008. p224) Mitchells and Butler are positioned between the hybrid and differentiation stage. They aim to provide products and services that are different to that of their competitors in a range of different markets however in certain brands e.g. harvester their strategy is to offer lower cost meals. For a more in depth explanation of Bowmans strategy clock please see Appendix 6. 4.3 The Ansoff matrix Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, R (2009) state that the Ansoff matrix provides a simple way of showing the four different directions of strategic development. They state that an organisation starts in the top left hand box. It then has a choice between penetrating further within its existing sphere, move to the right and develop new products for its existing markets; moving downwards bringing its existing products into new markets: or move diagonally down, which involves full diversification where the organisation enters new markets with new products. Adapted from Ansoff, H (1988) The diagram above was taken from an internet site: http://strategyiseverywhere. However the model is exactly the same across all literature. Mitchells and Butlers strategic development direction is one which uses market penetration, market development and Product Development. Market Penetration Market penetration involves the organisation taking an increased share of its existing markets with the same product range. It does not involve an organisation having to venture into unfamiliar territory. The advantage of market penetration is that it increases power over both suppliers and buyers. (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, R 2009) Mitchells and Butlers used market penetration as a growth strategy by building, buying and acquiring more and more pubs. It is now the leader in managed pubs and pub restaurants within the industry with around 2,000 businesses. Market Development Market development involves an organisation offering existing products to new m

American Woman Hair Styles and Head Gear in History :: essays research papers

American woman hair styles and head gear (1600-1775) In the American history there are three main head styling groups. These groups are the rich Virginian group from 1619-1675, the rich in the American colonies from 1675-1775, and finally the poor or middle class of the colonies, which since the hair didn’t change much was pretty much the same all through the era. Virginia (1619-1675) In the year 1619 the American style was very masculine. In America there weren’t very many women this was because America was a harsh land. The men in America would pay for women to come to America, but only if the women would marry them. The hard sea voyage meant that they needed good stiff hats that would actually stay on their heads. The year of 1660 was a year which was full of change, the rich people were coming over with new styles from France and Britain. This hair style pulled back most of the hair and coiled it in the back, and then the excess hair was curled and made to cascade around the face. Often time pearls and ribbons were added to the coil in the back. In 1675, the head coverings were â€Å"out† and only light head coverings were used, however, in the northern colonies heavy hoods were used frequently. The colonies as a whole (1675-1775) In 1750, the coiffure, which was used frequently among the rich of Europe, was finally catching on in the Americas. A coiffure was a French style that you have probably seen, it is huge hair styles that are made primarily out of horse hair and take hours to complete. The hair got big and wild and out of control. In some cases they even put cardboard cut outs of animals or trees in the sea of wire curls. Toward the end of the big hair the styles came close to the head and spread out. In the may of 1771 a girl sent a letter to the Boston Gazette telling of a woman with the coiffure. The girl had been walking down the streets when a woman driving her carriage had been thrown from her seat. The woman was alright, but the hair piece was completely torn from her head. Inside of the complicated hair piece was tallow and horse hair, to keep the good locking hair on the outside stiff. The feather in the hair was started by Marie Antoinette. She had a peacock feather in the tall hair and when the King exclaimed about how pretty he thought she looked, it became a new style. American Woman Hair Styles and Head Gear in History :: essays research papers American woman hair styles and head gear (1600-1775) In the American history there are three main head styling groups. These groups are the rich Virginian group from 1619-1675, the rich in the American colonies from 1675-1775, and finally the poor or middle class of the colonies, which since the hair didn’t change much was pretty much the same all through the era. Virginia (1619-1675) In the year 1619 the American style was very masculine. In America there weren’t very many women this was because America was a harsh land. The men in America would pay for women to come to America, but only if the women would marry them. The hard sea voyage meant that they needed good stiff hats that would actually stay on their heads. The year of 1660 was a year which was full of change, the rich people were coming over with new styles from France and Britain. This hair style pulled back most of the hair and coiled it in the back, and then the excess hair was curled and made to cascade around the face. Often time pearls and ribbons were added to the coil in the back. In 1675, the head coverings were â€Å"out† and only light head coverings were used, however, in the northern colonies heavy hoods were used frequently. The colonies as a whole (1675-1775) In 1750, the coiffure, which was used frequently among the rich of Europe, was finally catching on in the Americas. A coiffure was a French style that you have probably seen, it is huge hair styles that are made primarily out of horse hair and take hours to complete. The hair got big and wild and out of control. In some cases they even put cardboard cut outs of animals or trees in the sea of wire curls. Toward the end of the big hair the styles came close to the head and spread out. In the may of 1771 a girl sent a letter to the Boston Gazette telling of a woman with the coiffure. The girl had been walking down the streets when a woman driving her carriage had been thrown from her seat. The woman was alright, but the hair piece was completely torn from her head. Inside of the complicated hair piece was tallow and horse hair, to keep the good locking hair on the outside stiff. The feather in the hair was started by Marie Antoinette. She had a peacock feather in the tall hair and when the King exclaimed about how pretty he thought she looked, it became a new style.

Finding a New Advertising Agency Essay

It started with a pair of certified letters to MINI USA’s Woodcliff Lake headquarters in northern New Jersey in the summer of 2005. One of the letters was addressed to Jim McDowell, vice president and managing director of MINI USA, the U.S. division of BMW’s MINI automobile brand. The other letter was to Trudy Hardy, marketing manager for MINI USA and a direct report to McDowell. Both letters were from Scheid, Roberts, and Reicher (SRR),1 MINI’s advertising agency since 2001, and both arrived at their respective destinations at almost exactly the same time. From her desk, which was not in the immediate proximity of McDowell’s office, Hardy sat back in her chair and opened the letter without the knowledge that McDowell had just received a similar letter. Her thoughts and feelings as she broke the seal of the envelope and read the one-page letter partly confirmed previous suspicions but, nevertheless, included a sense of great disappointment and some hurt feelings. A rare event in the client-advertising agency relationship, SRR’s letter informed Hardy that they would resign the MINI account in order to pursue a larger account with a competing German automobile manufacturer. For Hardy, it was during the next few moments that the gravity of the event began to sink in. SRR had been the ad agency for MINI ever since the months leading up to the U.S. launch of the new MINI Cooper, which was the first new car launched by the MINI brand since its acquisition by BMW several years earlier. In a time when the duration of a client-advertising agency relationship typically lasted for just about two years, the collaboration with SRR had been in her mind a productive one for almost five years. And in the same way that she believed the relationship had been extremely valuable  to MINI, it was also hard for Hardy to believe that the same did not hold true for SRR as well. In 2001, the MINI account stood as one of the first major SRR client wins when it was a start-up agency with fewer than 50 employees. SRR had now grown to more than 300 employees, and the launch of the MINI Cooper was an unquestioned success. In some ways, MINI and SRR had grown up together. 1 Although this case is based on actual events, Scheid, Roberts, and Reicher (SRR) is a fictional name for MINI USA’s advertising agency from 2001 to 2005. For simplicity, hereinafter, MINI is used as opposed to MINI USA. 2 The BMW Group maintained a general rule that each BMW brand have its own advertising agency. For example, SRR could not work for BMW and MINI at the same time. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Professor David Godes prepared this case with the assistance of Research Associate Peter Wickersham. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright  © 2007, 2008 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-5457685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. Hardy began to think of the task before her. In one sense, if she were the marketing manager for almost any other product, the selection of a new advertising agency might not have been such a critical task. But the MINI brand, in almost every respect, was unique—from the design of the car itself to the passionate owners of the car who, for example, often named their MINI Cooper as they would a pet or family member. MINI’s advertising since the launch of the Cooper had been highly unconventional, and although she had no immediate ideas of how to proceed in finding a new agency, Hardy knew that  the selection process would need to be just as unique. The BMW Group and MINI Mini History We went round the works, and I drove him at a hell of a speed—I’m sure he was terrified—but then he was so impressed by its road holding. We stopped outside his office. He got out of the car and he said, â€Å"Go ahead and make it.† — Alec Issigonis, head of design for the Morris Mini Minor (a.k.a, the Mini), conversation with Leonard Lord, chairman of British Motor Corporation (BMC), 19583 The twentieth century witnessed the creation of scores of automobiles, but it can be argued that only a handful of these cars transcended the others to become cultural icons. For some car enthusiasts, the short list of such cars might have included the likes of the Ford Model T or Volkswagen Beetle. For those living in the United Kingdom and Europe in the 40 years between 1959 and the end of the century, the Mini Minor and its descendants, including the original Mini Cooper, would almost certainly have been counted among them. The genesis for what was to become the Mini was attributed to Leonard Lord in response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egypt in September 1956. Since it was thought this action might disrupt or restrict the shipment of oil from the Middle East, Lord commissioned Alec Issigonis to design a small car intended for those seeking frugal transport. The design requirements were few and simple: the ability to seat four people, use of a BMC engine, and an overall size smaller than that of current BMC cars. Issigonis formed a team of eight designers and engineers. In one of their first meetings together, Issigonis placed four wooden chairs on the workshop floor in two rows of two and asked four of his team members to sit in them. They then shuffled the chairs around on the floor until each could sit comfortably in a minimum of space. The rough dimensions were captured in chalk on the workshop floor; the passenger space required was to be at least 8 feet 9 inches long, Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org â€Å"Well, I guess they’re off to greener pastures,† he said in a matter-of-fact tone. After talking some more about the resignation, they soon turned their attention to finding a new partner. â€Å"Listen, I have total confidence in you to find our next agency,† McDowell assured Hardy. â€Å"It won’t be easy, but you know our brand better than anyone. The only catch is that we should probably have this nailed down before the end of the year, which means early December. Let’s talk more once you have an idea of where you’d like to take the search.† With those words, McDowell left Hardy’s office. In addition to its small size (and in some cases because of it), the design of the Mini contained several other notable innovations. It was one of the first front-wheel-drive cars, and its engine was mounted transversely so as not to contribute more than two feet to the overall length of the car. The wide spacing of the wheels allowed for more efficient passenger space, and thus more than 80% of the overall dimensions of the Mini were devoted to luggage and occupants. The design of the Mini also had some other unique consequences. First, the Mini’s simple layout made it easy for owners to modify the interior and exterior of the car; as a result, customization of the car became common. Second, its wide wheel spacing and low center of gravity made the Mini suitable for development of a racing variant of the car. An acquaintance of Issigonis, John Cooper, created the Mini Cooper in 1961 to be driven in rally races. The Mini Cooper was quite successful,  winning the prestigious Monte Carlo rally in 1964, 1965, and 1967. In all, around 150,000 Mini Coopers were produced. The mass-produced version of the Mini was a success in terms of unit sales. It also attracted a cult-like following. Each of the four Beatles owned a Mini as did Peter Sellers and many other famous British celebrities of the day. In 1995, the Mini was voted â€Å"Car of the Century† by readers of Autocar, a U.K. car magazine. BMW Acquires Mini Although the Mini was universally considered a success, the same could not be said for the succession of parent companies that owned the brand. In 1968, British Leyland was formed when BMC merged with the Leyland truck company. In 1975, British Leyland went bankrupt, and the company—with classic brands such as Jaguar, Rover, MG, Triumph, and Mini—was bought out by the British government. In 1988, the collection of surviving brands, now referred to as the Rover Group, was sold to British Aerospace, another nationalized company. Along the way, there were notable investments made in the Rover Group by other car manufacturers, including Honda of Japan, which owned approximately 25% of the company at one time. Yet, the greatest investment and perhaps the biggest surprise occurred in 1994 when BMW, the German luxury automaker with 1993 sales of $18 billion, acquired Rover and its brands, including Mini, for $1.2 billion. In the eyes of senior management at the BMW Auto Group (AG), the vision for the purchase of the Rover Group was to take the company into a new international era. Bernd Pischetsrieder, who was named chief executive officer of BMW AG in 1994, explained it this way: â€Å"The key to success is continuously changing your focus over the long term . . . in the ‘80s, we focused on enhancing the engineering process. The  key emphasis for the ‘90s is globalization of the entire business, including financing, product engineering, styling, designing, manufacturing, and sourcing.†4 Similarly, some industry analysts believed that BMW could not afford to compete solely at the luxury end of a maturing world car market. The acquisition of the Mini brand and the decision to develop the new MINI was seen as a solid strategy to offer less expensive cars without jeopardizing the integrity of the BMW brand.5 According to an analyst with Commerzbank, â€Å"By slightly modifying an existing brand, effectively ‘inserting’ a new vehicle into it, it avoids having to pay all the upfront costs associated 4 J. P. Donlon, â€Å"Honk if you are global (interview with BMW CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder),† Chief Executive, October 1, 1994. 5 BMW differentiated the new version of the Mini from the original by capitalizing all four letters when referring to the new model (i.e., MINI). 3 Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org  feet 2 inches wide, and 4 feet 4 inches high. Ultimately, once the engine and luggage space were added, the Mini was designed to be just 10 feet in length (Exhibit 1). MINI USA: Finding a New Advertising Agency (A)  with developing a new brand. The costs of brand building cannot be underestimated, as anyone at Daewoo would be quick to point out.†6 Not included in the deal to divest the Rover division, notably, was the MINI  brand as well as the manufacturing facility near Oxford, England. â€Å"We knew we had a winner there. Much to the chagrin of the British, we held onto it,† McDowell would say later. Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F240566 Designing a New MINI The design and development of the new MINI in the mid-1990s was to some at BMW the embodiment of the larger struggle to integrate the cultures of Rover and BMW. Between 1994 and 1999, there existed two separate MINI design teams—one British and one German. The British-based Rover designers and engineers for much of that time envisioned a revolutionary design of the new MINI. One such MINI concept was unlike, the previous Mini in almost every way but was seen as a contemporary interpretation of Issigonis’ vision of building a small car with maximum passenger space (Exhibit 3). BMW’s designers took a more evolutionary approach in terms of design combined with BMW’s reputation for delivering high-performance, driver-oriented cars. On one night in 1998 at his home in Munich, Frank Stephenson, a BMW designer originally from the U.S., cast himself into the role of Issigonis, who was known for doodling designs of cars on the back of napkins. On a kitchen towel, Stephenson sketched a series of updated versions of the original Mini to reflect modern trends in design and new technology; see Exhibit 3 for a sample sketch.7 In the end, it was Stephenson’s design that would form the basis of the new MINI. The official launch of the MINI was held at the Paris auto show in 2000. During the show, senior BMW AG executives and Stephenson unveiled the new MINI to a rousing ovation. In explaining its design, Stephenson said, â€Å"The MINI Cooper is not a retro design car, but an evolution of the original. It has the genes and many of the characteristics of its predecessor, but is larger, more powerful, more muscular and more exciting than its predecessor.†8 Two production models were to be launched in the U.K. (its historical home) in July 2001: a base model called the MINI One and a more upscale MINI Cooper. A sportier MINI Cooper S was to be launched soon thereafter in the U.K., and both the MINI Cooper and MINI  Cooper S were scheduled for launch in the U.S. as well as other parts of the world in early 2002. Even though the first MINI Coopers were not scheduled to arrive until early 2002, work was well underway in 2000 to establish an organization to support  the launch of the MINI in the United States. MINI USA was established as a division of BMW of North America LLC and would share the same headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, as its parent organization. Jack Pitney was named general manager of MINI USA, a unique distinction for someone with a marketing background as opposed to automotive engineering, manufacturing, finance, or sales. Kerri Martin was appointed MINI’s marketing communications manager. Trudy Hardy was also recruited in 2001 as brand communications manager of MINI, reporting to Martin. The MINI USA headquarters organization was designed to be small (fewer than 25 employees), nimble, and highly creative. From the start, the credo of the organization appeared to be, â€Å"If another car company might take the same approach, MINI ought not.† Martin, for instance, was commonly called by the title â€Å"keeper of brand soul† instead of marketing manager. Work proceeded quickly. By the end of 2000, www.miniusa.com was live and already receiving hits. As with the MINI USA headquarters organization, the existing BMW infrastructure was utilized to create a network of U.S. MINI dealerships. Nevertheless, in a similar fashion, great lengths were taken to establish MINI as its own brand. Approximately 70 dealerships in 31 cities were renovated to add an exclusive MINI showroom under a separate marquee. In total, across all U.S. dealerships, first-year MINI sales objectives were expected to be 20,000 units, an amount Pitney viewed as aggressive but within reach. Base retail sticker prices for the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S models were set at about $18,000 and $21,000, respectively, including dealer shipment fees. Additionally, leveraging the history of customizations to the original Mini, each model carried an extensive list of optional equipment and exterior color schemes. For instance, the car roof alone could be painted at the factory with one of more than 10 color schemes, including a black-and-white checkerboard pattern as well as an image of either the Union Jack or American flag. Early expectations were that the MINI Cooper S would capture approximately 80% of sales due to its larger engine and better acceleration. Depending on the amount of optional equipment selected, the total price of a MINI Cooper S could exceed $25,000. Given its design and price range, plans were to position the MINI Cooper as a premium small car—something that MINI saw as a new market niche. This was especially true because the MINI Cooper was smaller and more expensive than some of the better-established compact cars made by Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. Initial MINI marketing materials and media reports from auto shows portrayed the MINI Cooper as a â€Å"fashionable accessory to an affluent, urban-hipster lifestyle.†9 However, early market research also indicated that the target market for the MINI was not limited to a specific demographic group or socioeconomic class but rather was more of a lifestyle choice or mind-set. For example, in surveys conducted before launch, potential MINI buyers in the U.S. described themselves as â€Å"young at heart† or â€Å"free spirited,† a finding that was consistent among both young as well as older age groups. Moreover, the potential MINI buyer appeared to be less concerned by the opinions of others and was independent minded. MINI and BMW AG drew a number of conclusions from this initial research. First, it was decided that further research should closely examine the psychographic factors associated with the purchase of a MINI, since the most fervent of potential MINI buyers seemed to have a common mind-set about the car, which was something that Pitney and others hoped to explore in greater detail. Second, the research confirmed to them that, unlike the original Mini, the new MINI should not be marketed as a car for the masses but instead to a particular segment of car buyers. Third, although it created 9 Suzanne Vranica, â€Å"Cool Mini Cooper Prepares for Relaunch,† The Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2001. Pitney and Martin thus recognized the importance of selecting an advertising agency with experience in nontraditional advertising such as promotional events, online advertising, and direct marketing. None of the large advertising agencies known for television advertising were invited to pitch the account, a decision that many industry observers viewed as bold and against the grain. DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler Group unit, for example, had recently consolidated its $1.5 billion ad account at Omnicom Group. MINI also decided to base part of the compensation of the ad agency on the collective opinions of its dealers, something that was unique in advertising. Following a fourmonth review, SRR was selected as MINI’s agency of record. A separate firm, Circle.com, was selected to handle their online technology strategy and customer relationship management (CRM) duties. Although MINI would not disclose it publicly, the MINI account was valued at about $25 million per year in term s of total marketing spend, a relatively modest size for an automotive client. Let’s Motor: The U.S. Launch of the MINI The U.S. Launch Campaign (2001–2002) By July 2001, in the eyes of Pitney, Martin, Hardy, and the rest of the MINI team, both the marketing strategy and the creative focus of MINI’s U.S. launch (scheduled for March 2002) were taking shape. Moreover, they felt that the desire to do things differently at MINI had been taken to a whole new level. Most significantly, the marketing team had decided not to use any television or radio advertising as part of MINI’s launch, an industry first for what was essentially an entirely new automobile brand in the U.S. market (it had been almost 40 years since the original Mini was sold in the U.S.). Instead, a phased approach using print and nontraditional marketing techniques was developed. During August and September 2001, MINI’s focus was  to build brand awareness primarily through print advertising in magazines. The tagline for the ads was â€Å"Let’s Motor,† a theme developed by SRR and that would be carried throughout the launch campaign in 2002. The use of the word â€Å"Let’s† at the beginning of each ad was intended to create a feeling of inclusiveness, and the tone of the ads was intended to be friendly and funny. For example, one ad read: â€Å"Let’s not use the size of our vehicle to compensate for other shortcomings. Let’s Motor.† Another began, â€Å"Let’s put away the middle finger.† In addition to initial print advertising in magazines such as Autoweek, SRR developed The Book of Motoring, a 5-inch by 5-inch glossy booklet designed to convey exactly what it meant to be a motorer. â€Å"How is motoring different from driving?† it posed to the reader. â€Å"Physically, they’re the same process . . . the difference is in the mind of the operator . . . when you drive, you go from A to B . . . when you motor you go from A to Z . . . it’s all about living . . . nobody can tell you when you’re motoring . . . you just know.† The book also suggested that motorers pay the toll for the car behind them or feed parking meters if they see a meter maid coming. â€Å"Motorers look out for one another,† the book said. The Book of Motoring could be obtained through BMW dealers or the MINI USA website. In October 2001, in addition to continued print advertising, the SRR and the MINI marketing team designed a series of promotional events and publicity stunts to create additional buzz for the brand. Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org  challenges for the manufacturing team in Oxford, England, it was clear that the target market would likely seek to make their MINI unique by adding optional features and color schemes. Finally, it also became apparent that limiting their advertising to traditional media such as television and radio would not be cost effective, since the MINI itself was not a mass-market car  and since its potential buyers seemed less interested in being part of the mainstream. In one example, for a Formula 1 car race in Indianapolis, MINIs were secured to the top of three fullsize sport-utility vehicles and were driven to the city from other parts of the U.S. carrying signs that read, â€Å"What are you doing for fun this weekend?† The same MINI-toting SUVs then toured some 24 U.S. cities (Exhibit 4). When curious onlookers asked about the car, representatives were instructed to give them a card that said â€Å"Coming to America† and directed them to the MINI USA website. Sporting events were also used as venues to promote the car. For instance, a MINI was placed in the stands of an Oakland A’s baseball game and in the Superdome for a Monday Night Football game (Exhibit 5). As part of this promotion, during the game, the announcer did a series of â€Å"callouts† that drew the attention of the fans in attendance to the MINI. As one example, he announced: â€Å"To the gentleman in Section 101, you’ve left your lights on.â €  When the in-stadium camera focused on the MINI in Section 101, its lights flashed and then shut off. This particular promotion also played a role in the firm’s attempts to anthropomorphize the MINI. When the official launch of the MINI Cooper began in March 2002, MINI and SRR continued their grass-roots marketing efforts and print advertising in combination with outdoor advertising using, most notably, billboards, which they felt were underutilized by other car brands. In all 45 markets where the new MINI was to be sold, teaser billboards were posted on the day that showrooms were opened. Instead of displaying the car or its logo, the billboards only included the company’s website, miniusa.com, and a single line of text. One billboard read, â€Å"XXL XL L M S Mini.† Another read, â€Å"The SUV backlash officially starts now.† Then, in April, a new series of  billboards were rolled out that included a photo of a MINI, the MINI logo, and the â€Å"Let’s Motor† tagline. Slogans included, â€Å"Let’s Sip Not Guzzle,† referring to its above-average fuel economy. The outdoor advertising was taken to the extreme in cities like New York, where a skyscraper was wrapped to represent the car’s two-tone paint job and a 29-foot-by-125-foot billboard was erected in Times Square. Though typically considered a traditional medium, print advertising was used by MINI as nontraditionally as possible. In late 2001, for instance, executives from 35 magazines were invited to MINI’s headquarters to brainstorm unique ways to market the new MINI in print. One noteworthy outcome of this session was a proposal to use the margins around news stories to hold advertisements. At launch, the â€Å"cornering ads,† as they were called, were run in six magazines, including Rolling Stone and Motor Trend. The ads said, â€Å"Nothing corners like a MINI† and contained a photo of the Mini Cooper S cornering the one-inch margin of the magazine page. Other aspects of the launch campaign included the following (Exhibit 6): †¢ More than 6 million magazine inserts of an abridged version of The Book of Motoring †¢ A series of MINI-inspired cartoons featured in The New Yorker magazine †¢ Other magazine inserts including an unscented MINI-shaped air freshener and a pullout car game. Another insert allowed readers to customize the car using peel-off stickers; accessories such as wheel covers, blowers, and racks could be placed on a photo of a MINI in the ad. In total, more than 30 million magazine inserts were published in magazines ranging from Car and Driver to Vanity Fair. The MINI organization was very  happy with the creative output of SRR. â€Å"Conceptually, just about every one of their ideas was spot on,† Hardy said. â€Å"Besides the fact that they really ‘got’ the brand, they also made sure that the ideas they showed us were fleshed out and developed. This extra effort on their part really made it easier for us to react to the ideas and to give them meaningful feedback so we could work together to make them come to life.† MINI and SRR planned to explore other advertising media as 2002 wore on, just not television. Rather than use TV advertising, for example, MINI opted to sign a deal with National Cinema Network, a movie theater network, to show 30- and 45-second advertisements on roughly 2,000 screens in five cities. 7 Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org By the close of 2002, there were several reasons for MINI and SRR to celebrate. Most obvious were the year-end MINI sales figures, which indicated that 24,590 units had been sold in a little over nine months. At that pace, first-year sales were projected to total over 30,000 units. In addition to the strong sales figures, a consumer survey indicated that brand awareness for the MINI among the carbuying public was 25%. A survey indicated that 75% of MINI buyers had read or heard about the MINI through  public relations and Internet exposure before the official launch advertising actually began in March 2002. The launch campaign also earned both MINI and SRR a significant number of awards, including Adweek magazine’s 2002 Guerilla Marketer of the Year and 2003 Media Plan of the Year honors, the 2002 Kelly Awards Grand Prize for Outstanding Magazine Advertising, and two 2002 Cannes Media Lion prizes. SRR also won the Best of Show Award and an award for innovation in marketing at the annual One Show awards, a prestigious event sponsored by the One Club for Art and Copy in New York. At the same awards ceremony, MINI USA received the Advertiser of the Year Award. Pitney was named one of two Automotive News Marketers of the Year (the other was awarded to Jim McDowell, vice president of marketing for BMW of North America). In January 2003, the MINI was selected as the North American Car of the Year by the same publication. The MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S were selected as finalists for the Motor Trend Car of the Year as well. The Creative Work Continues (2003–2005) By all accounts, the relationship between MINI and SRR was felt by both sides in 2003 to have been a highly productive collaboration to that point. â€Å"Each day we came to the office thinking that we had one of the best jobs in the world. In a sense, SRR was just part of the family. We’d interact and debate ideas on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis,† Hardy described. â€Å"It was a close working relationship.† Over the next two years, MINI’s strategy of using primarily nontraditional advertising in combination with print and outdoor advertising continued, as did SRR’s ability to develop unique creative material in support of this strategy. One magazine campaign featured punch-out, assembleable versions of the MINI Cooper built on a 1:56 scale. About 4.4 million inserts were created, featuring two cars with different combinations of accessories, and came complete with assembly instructions; both cars became collectors’ items. In another campaign, consumers could pull out MINI cartoon-character decals from magazines. The stickers came eight per sheet and were designed to drive buyers into dealerships for a ninth sticker. Approaches like this one were well received by dealers, including Wayne Youngblood, general  manager of Motor City Mini near Detroit. â€Å"I’m thrilled with it; MINI marketing is quirky, fun, and it delivers customers that match the vehicle perfectly,† he said. â€Å"In my 30 years in the business, there has been no other product that commands as much excitement or attention as MINI.†10 Sales of the MINI Cooper continued to climb (Exhibit 7). In 2004, a MINI Cooper convertible was added to the model lineup. Changes would soon be underway, however. In March 2005, Martin announced that she was leaving MINI to become director of market development for Volkswagen of America, a company known for spending about $500 million annually in North American advertising. Around the same time, Pitney and McDowell made the unique decision to switch jobs as general manager of MINI USA and vice president of marketing for BMW of North America. But the ultimate surprise was SRR’s resignation of the MINI account in order to become the agency of record Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org for Volkswagen. By then, Hardy had assumed Martin’s duties as head of marketing, and one of her first challenges was starting over and finding a new advertising agency, which would not be easy given the unique relationship that MINI enjoyed with SRR. Advertising Agencies With each passing year of technological advancements, it was apparent to MINI and others that the foundations of any advertising firm—creativity and the ability to deliver creative content in a variety of media—were becoming less and less the exclusive domain of bigger advertising firms with extensive production staffs. Consequently, it was possible for a one- or two-person shop to perform the same creative services as a large, multinational advertising conglomerate with billions in revenues such as Omnicom, WPP, Interpublic Group (IPG), and Publicis. Advertising firms in 2005 could be categorized into either of these two groups, but a third group also existed. The â€Å"independents,† as they were called, were privately owned firms with anywhere from about 10 to 300 employees. As was the case with SRR, oftentimes these firms were started by young, entrepreneurial advertising professionals looking for creative freedom or autonomy following stints at one or more o f the publicly held multinational firms. Seen by some to be a competitive response to the growth of the independents, consolidation was a significant theme in the advertising industry during much of the 1990s and early twenty-first century. Over this period, the major holding companies appeared intent on expanding market share in order to gain economies of scale, diversifying their revenue streams, and serving clients as a one-stop shop while growing into large, multinational players. In 1993, for example, the top three agency holding companies captured a 36% share of the market. By 2003, this figure had increased to 50%.11 The increase in market share was largely achieved through acquisitions of independents and smaller holding companies, with the bulk of these acquisitions occurring from 1996–2001. One holding company, IPG, acquired 240 companies during that period. Another significant industry theme was the shift in agency compensation over the past decade from commissions to fee-based compensation. Traditionally, advertising organizations had been paid at a set percentage of an advertising budget for the creative work on an account; this percentage was  typically in the 12%–15% range but could be as high as 20%. A major criticism of this compensation system was that it did not align the agency’s pay with the success of a particular campaign or with the amount of work required to create the campaign. The fee-based system (or FTE model) charged production fees and employee hours along with a standard profit margin (e.g., 20%) for the advertising firm. In 2005, it was estimated that 80% of all advertising clients had moved away from commission-based compensation structures to enter fixed fees or a combination of fee and incentive compensation.

Migrant Mother and the Electronic Super highway

Migrant Mother and the Electronic Super highway Free Online Research Papers New Jersey born Dorothea Lange, originally Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn, was an incredible photographer. Lange was able to catch the human dignity of a person in any dire situation, whether it was economical, social, emotional, or some combination of the three. Nam June Paik, a Korean born artist, has been considered the pioneer of video art. Paik uses the medium to express the complexities of contemporary culture. This paper will be comparing and contrasting how the Dorothea Lange’s, Migrant Mother, Nipomo Valley, and works by Nam June Paik. How they were created, the statement each is trying to make with their work or works and how society perceived/perceives it. Lange’s photo known as Migrant Mother is a portrait of a woman and her children in a California migrant labor camp within the Nipomo Valley. It was the last of a series of six photographs that Lange shot in March of 1936. â€Å"Lange was concluding a months trip photographing migratory farm labor around the state for what was then the Resettlement Administration. Migrant Mother is a Silver Gelatin photographic print, which is widely reproduced for numerous different reasons and in different forms. Seeing as the Migrant mother photograph is a classic picture that is widely associated with Dorothea Lange, and the depression, it is widely sought after to have a copy of. The photograph, which is easily reproducible, has been made into postcards, posters, magazines, newspapers, films, pamphlets and other collectible items that they can sell. Nam June Paik was the creator of a national touring exhibition called The Electronic Super Highway. For this exhibition, Paik has created his own town called Cybertown. Cybertown was a new community founded on moving images. Paik’s town, its people, places, and things in it, were all video sculptures. So opposed to the image of the Migrant Mother by Lange, Paik’s small town is less easily reproduced, pretty much not reproduced, unless it’s to be made into a copy of a photograph of the actual sculpture its self. Dorothea Lange, a resettlement administration, RA, a hired photographer was sent to take pictures of the Great Depression, to show America what was really going on. At the end of the assignment Dorothea was to photograph the pea pickers in California, which she passed up just thinking she had enough photos and that no one would know. Good thing she didn’t, she got the Photograph that became the iconic symbol for the great depression, and it was the picture of Farm Security. With the Migrant Mother photo, as well as many others, Lange was trying to make a statement as most artists do with their work. She was showing us the real world, in the depression era. What was really out there, what was going on, what it felt like and looked like. Pointing out to us the living conditions of the migrants and others who were trying to get work, where there wasn’t much to be found, also of the people taking the jobs that some people who turn their noses up. Taking what they could get and giving too much labor, for the little amount of what they got back. Lange’s photographs forced the public sympathy for a necessary relief program and persuaded a reluctant congressional committee to vote in funds for that program. Lange’s intention of social science was to show the waste, cheapness, and cruelty of life in the south, in the central states and in the West. Nam June Paik’s video sculptures were also messages about the society, but of the nineties. The message’s, although meaningful and important, don’t seem as harsh and â€Å"down and dirty† Lange’s, showing the real life of some American’s. Paik created Cybertown as his own version of the small town America in the new electronic age of the nineties. A lot of Paik’s first video sculptures were made to represent his family, both blood and artistic families. In Paik’s Cybertown, he had created what was to be a push cart, like you would see people selling popcorn out of, and turned it into a video cart, which was to represent the rise of consumerism in not only America but Asia too. Paik pointed out that as it was uncommon in the previous years, six out of ten people in Asia owned a TV and washer dryer combo. Paik also pointed a finger at and made fun of how lazy people were becoming. Creating a sculpture in 1994 called the Couch Potato. When the Couch Potato was created, he was wondering how the world was supposed to move and evolve or do anything with the world its fingertips, saying that human evolution was not a necessity anymore. Paik also created a Sculpture that had to deal with how the creation of the internet had changed the mail service forever. Also, Paik was making a statement that unlike regular â€Å"snail mail,† email was better not only for the economy, as we don’t use thousands of trees to mak e all the paper needed, but also you get email in an instant. When viewing a work of art years after it was made, always changes how someone interprets the work. It may be close to the same interpretation as what the artist originally intended, but never the same. Lange’s Migrant Mother went beyond its life in the Farm Security Administration and created a life of its own, as a powerful and beautiful photograph. Viewers today, see a photograph like Migrant Mother and know it’s a historical photograph, and associate it with the Great Depression. But they don’t get the same feeling knowing that that scenario had been fixed and isn’t happening at the very moment. They see it as a powerful work of art, hanging in galleries. Not as the documentary photograph it is. Visually, compositionally, and physically the picture is a gorgeous photograph, and that is how most interpret the photo today. Paik on the other hand, still in a way applies to today, seeing as how the electronic superhighway known as the world wide web, today is a very big part of not only the American culture but of most cultures across the globe. Statues such as the Couch Potato and Vidiot Surfer, very much still apply today with the argument of lazy Americans and the cause of obesity. Paik’s sculptures seem dated in some ways with the old TV’s used and the images used to display on the TV’s but they still get the same message across and are interpreted closer to the artists original statement, more so now because of the fact that they were made closer to the present day and really is still debated and talked about. Over all, for the fact that Dorothea Lange and Nam June Paik were worlds apart in their type of art work they were trying to create, and even in the years that they created them, there are several similarities with the two. They were both revolutionaries, in the art world, Lange more of an icon. They both very successfully took art to the next level, and put meaning behind it, showing us something that they believed in, and getting a message out there to the public. Lange showing her public, of their surroundings, living conditions of those less fortunate close to them, and what they should be happy for. Paik making a statement about the consumer America and how rapidly it’s changing, and how we need to take care of ourselves and be aware that things around us are moving fast, that some things are becoming obsolete. Art is and always be around in some form or another whether it be to look at for pleasure or something to help tell a story. Artists will continue to try and communicate through their art work to the viewer, some sort of something. No matter how many times a work is reproduced and whether its in its original form when you view it or not, will never change the over all message that you get from the work. It may alter it somewhat but never change you perception of the work entirely. Art, photographs, sculptures, paintings, whatever it is will always be a classic form of enjoyment for most cultured people. End notes: Meltzer, Milton. Dorothea Lange: A Photographer’s Life. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1978, 3. Partridge, Elizabeth. Dorothea Lange: A Visual Life. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994, 14. Illuminations: Contemporary Film Video Art, ackland.org/art/exhibitions/illuminations/image6.htm. Illuminations: Contemporary Film Video Art, ackland.org/art/exhibitions/illuminations/image6.htm. Story Of A Photographic Session: Migrant Mother, http://chnm.gmu.edu/fsa/b/. Lange’s Migrant Mother in the FSA Collection: An Overview, http://faculty.uml.edu/sgallagher/Depression.htm. Meltzer, Milton. Dorothea Lange A Photographer’s Life. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1978, 133. Kleiner, Fred and Chirstin Mamiya, Gardner’s Art Through The Ages, (12th Ed.) California: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005 797. Meltzer, Milton. Dorothea Lange: A Photographer’s Life. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1978, 132-133. Meltzer, Milton. Dorothea Lange: A Photographer’s Life. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1978, 133. Coles, Robert. Dorothea Lange. New York: Aperture Inc., 1982, 25. Coles, Robert. Dorothea Lange. New York: Aperture Inc., 1982, 26. The Electronic Super Highway: Nam June Paik in the Nineties, eai.org/eai/tape.jsp?itemID=2409. The Electronic Super Highway: Nam June Paik in the Nineties. Video: 1995, November 29, 2005. The Electronic Super Highway: Nam June Paik in the Nineties. Video: 1995, November 29, 2005. The Electronic Super Highway: Nam June Paik in the Nineties. Video: 1995, November 29, 2005. The Electronic Super Highway: Nam June Paik in the Nineties. Video: 1995, November 29, 2005. Bibliography Coles, Robert. Dorothea Lange. New York: Aperture Inc., 1982. Illuminations: Contemporary Film Video Art, ackland.org/art/exhibitions/illuminations/image6.htm. Kleiner, Fred and Chirstin Mamiya. Gardner’s Art Through The Ages. (12th Ed.) California: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005. Lange’s Migrant Mother in the FSA Collection: An Overview, http://faculty.uml.edu/sgallagher/Depression.htm. Meltzer, Milton. Dorothea Lange: A Photographer’s Life. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1978. Partridge, Elizabeth. Dorothea Lange: A Visual Life. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994. Story Of A Photographic Session: Migrant Mother, http://chnm.gmu.edu/fsa/b/. The Electronic Super Highway: Nam June Paik in the Nineties, eai.org/eai/tape.jsp?itemID=2409. The Electronic Super Highway: Nam June Paik in the Nineties. Video: 1995, November 29, 2005. Research Papers on Migrant Mother and the Electronic Super highwayMind TravelPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyHip-Hop is ArtThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceThe Spring and AutumnThe Fifth HorsemanWhere Wild and West MeetAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 219 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

Stippling - Art Definition

Stippling - Art Definition As a transitive verb,  the act of stippling involves covering an area with dots. What comes right to mind is a wildly time-consuming technique, done with a technical pen and ink (usually black), in which an image is drawn dot by dot by dot. (One may also stipple glass, an engraving plate, a quilt, or even an interior wall.) The resulting image contains no lines. It is a collection of dots, strategically placed to suggest forms, shapes, contrast, and depth. It is left to the viewers eye to complete the picture- a proposition which seldom fails. Stippling is also the manual forerunner of Benday dots and halftones. (For you younguns out there, these were graphic image tools employed before the advent of the computer pixel.) Similar Technique Pointillism is a close relative of stippling, in which the artist, using brushes and different colors of paints, creates an entire composition out of dots. As a noun in this instance, stippling is what one sees, and is the end result of someone using stippling as a verb.

The Natural Disasters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Natural Disasters - Essay Example These two cases were of great significance to the governments of both nations and hence elicited responses as they occurred. The earthquake that took place in Italy provoked the government to declare a state of emergency and it dedicated all its attention towards the earthquake and the effect it had on the general Italian populace e.g. the prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi decided to cancel an official visit to Russia in order to pay a visit to and assess the area that had been hit by the earthquake. Such a declaration was not made in China. Relevant government officials undertook an assessment of the area and immediately got into directing their efforts towards combating the effects of the disaster and looked into disaster preparedness. It has been recorded that Italy had been warned of the earthquake by a seismologist but the government had decided to ignore it and decided not to act on it. China embarked on the mass disposal of the bodies and influenced the DNA tests that were meant to assist with the identification of the bodies yet Italy’s engagement in this is unknown. The governments of the two countries embarked on resettling the survivors and the displaced persons to areas of safety and took measures to ensure the people stayed off the affected areas to avoid the possibility of accidents and to maximize safety. The displaced persons were offered tents, food, and water among others. Both countries also arraigned necessary services e.g. medical, temporary academic and water, at the campsites.

Intercultural Communications Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intercultural Communications - Assignment Example The movie is about a family comprised of a father, daughter, and son who are headed out on a picnic. All of a sudden, the father draws a gun and starts shooting and the two children run in the hope of rescuing their lives. The father later shoots himself in the head after setting their car on fire. Jenny (the girl), sees all that happens and does not tell the brother about it. She leads her brother to the desert after gathering some food. They are stranded, but to their rescue comes a boy who knows the place well. They try communicating with each other, but it is impossible and they decide to use sign language. He helps them find water and shares the food he has hunted with them (Oommen 33). They later together with the aboriginal boy find a deserted farm and decide to rest there. The boy continues with his hunting and is almost caught in a crossfire with other hunters in a truck. He finds the girl dressing and dances to her hoping to capture her attention, but the girl is clueless about what he is trying to communicate. Later the following morning, Jenny, and her brother (Luc) find the aboriginal boy hanging dead on a tree. She wipes ants on the dead boy’s chest before they head out. They come across a deserted mining town where they find a white man who leads them to a hotel. Years later, we see Jenny all grown up in her home daydreaming (Miczo and Welter 54). Communication barrier is one of the main challenges facing people from different cultures. This is clearly shown when the two siblings meet with the aboriginal boy. Jenny tries to talk to him, but the boy does not understand what she is saying. The brother comes to her rescue by gesturing to the boy. Although they later learn to communicate solely through signs and words, it still proves very challenging. They are together all the time, but because they do not speak the same language, they are not able to learn anything about each other.