Luxury brands Essay

Whenever you switch on the television, or flip through the pages of magazines, you are bombarded with celebrity news and reality shows that touch your inner needs to feel beautiful, important and recognized. Those gorgeous people in advertisements tell you that their lifestyle and material possessions like clothes and accessories can make you beautiful as well, and help you to be part of their world. All you need to do is to buy the right fashion brands by the right designers. Then you start to crave for the Louis Vuitton bag or the Chanel glasses. Soon you are hooked by the luxury. Fashion has always played a significant role in the history of the great civilizations. With the clear differences between social classes the consumption of luxury was limited to the elite classes. The nineteenth century marked the beginning of the luxury goods sector and the start of many of the highly valuable luxury brands that we know today, e. g. Gucci, Hermes, Cartier and Louis Vuitton in France, Burberry in England and Bvlgare in Italy. Nowadays, the luxury fashion sector is the fourth largest revenue generator in France, and one of the most remarkable sectors in Italy, Spain, the USA and the emerging markets of China, Russia and India. The luxury industry has increased impressively having a huge growth in demand. The luxury consumer is powerful. Consumers have much choice in products, shopping channels and pricing of luxury goods. The aim of this study is to examine young people’s attitudes, i. e. their beliefs, feelings and purchase intentions, towards luxury brands. The author tries to find out what â€Å"luxury† means to young people, what influences their consumer decision-making, and on a small scale, young adults luxury brand awareness. 3 defining factors of luxury: Luxury is nonessential: Luxury is desired, not needed. In luxury you are at your best. It makes your life richer and more worth living. Luxury is â€Å"hard to get†: Its availability is restricted by high price, by small series, by exclusiveness. If you are allowed at all to try and get it, it demands an effort, a sacrifice. Luxury is superb, inspiring feelings of wonder and excitement: It represents an outstanding achievement, it is a divine experience. You cannot but admire the people that created it. You are so charged up that you must share your experience with others. What is Brand? A distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence or a combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from others in the market. Once a brand has created positive sentiment among its target audience, the firm is said to have built brand equity. Levels of brands:- Signature brands – These are the most expensive brands in their category. They are personal creations, one of a kind, signed by a highly acclaimed authority or by an artist of supreme status (an outfit created by Tom Ford) Supreme brands – These are products that are produced in limited series, often hand crafted (a Rolls Royce Phantom 101EX car, the service at Tiffany & Co. , or a night at the Ritz Hotel in Paris). High End brands – High quality mass production (from a BeoCenter2 music system by Bang & Olufsen to G Collection chocolate pieces by Godiva). 6 P’s of luxury brand marketing. Performance:- Performance refers to the delivery of superior experience of a luxury brand at two levels – first, at a product level which must satisfy the functional and utilitarian characteristic as well as deliver on its practical physical attributes and, second, at an experiential level i-e the emotional value of the brand the consumers buy into – beyond what the product is to what it represents. Pedigree:- Many luxury brands have a rich pedigree and extraordinary history that turn into an inseparable part of the brand’s mystique which isbuilt around the exceptional legendary founder character of the past. Paucity:- over distribution of luxury brands can cause dilution of luxury character. Hence, many brands try to maintain the perception that the goods are scarce. paucity is more promotional in nature such as the limited editions or the special series to generate artificial desire and demand. Public figures:- Public figures or celebrities have traditionally been employed as one of the marketing mix in luxury brand advertising and they still continue to grab attention, credibility and impact. This strategy attempts to remove the appearance of â€Å"selling† while still promoting the product by making it seem as a part of the celebrity’s lives, thereby positively affecting the consumer’s attitudes, brand value and purchase intention. Public relations:- plays an enormous role in image proliferation of the brand, thereby subtly influencing public opinion. PR is used to generate buzz and convey brand news. Pricing:- Consciously or subconsciously, consumers tend to generate a mental luxury stature or image with the price range that the brand operates. it is important for luxury brands to price themselves right as setting the price lower than consumer expectation and willingness to pay can potentially harm the brand value. Five steps to build a luxury brands Identifying a niche segment:- Luxury brands are built on the premise of offering high symbolic value to a very selective segment of consumers who are more focused on high status associations than the underlying price. As luxury brands are substantively different from other brands. Positioning based on high levels of differentiation:- As global brands strategize their competitive moves, they are likely to either follow a cost leadership strategy or a differentiation strategy. luxury brands should aggressively differentiate their brand experience. luxury brands are characterized by high levels of customer loyalty, that define their identity and powerful associations. Emphasizing symbolic value:- The most important element is the brand’s ability to create and communicate symbolic value for its customers. Symbolic value means the extent to which the brand is perceived by the customers. Creating perceptions of exclusivity:- All luxury brands strive to create a sense of exclusivity for their customers. Perceptions of exclusivity can be created by unattainable price, limited geographic availability, barriers to possession, or even limited supply. It enables the brand to sustain its positioning in the face of extreme external shocks such as heightened competition, regulatory shocks or even recession. Uncompromising delivery on superior brand promise:- Successful brands are those that create supportive organizational and operational structures that facilitate the implementation of strategies to deliver on promises which involves multiple dimensions in the case of luxury brands. they also will need to project consistency and continuity at every possible touch point. Objectives of the study:- To examine consumer’s motives for buying luxury brands. To identify the factors influencing the consumer’s at the time of purchasing luxury brands. To measure the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction among the people with their preferred luxury brands. To examine consumer’s preferences towards celebrity endorsed brands in comparison to premium brands. Need of the study:- It has been observed the growth of Luxury market is growing by leaps and bounds. The world has become a very small place in terms of geographies and global distance is getting shorter and shorter every day. Modes of communication have increased considerably and hence people have exposure to varying products available at a premium cadre across the globe. Hence it becomes imperative to design and market. Luxury brands that have a universal appeal and can take on the needs and aspirations of people across the globe. Review of Literature:- (Hansen & Wanke, 2011) Luxury is highly desirable, but affordable only to a few. Luxury is often described as something being of excellent quality, which means that the ingredients or components of a luxury product are exceptional and superior to what is found in ordinary products. (Dubois & Kapferer, 2010) were among the first to recognize the importance of international luxury products and brands in academic literature. (Dijk, 2009) Luxury brands is the kind of goods for which demand increases as income rises, and goods that have a high income elasticity of demand. (Silverstein & Fiske, 2008) Brands are important when creating an individual style, especially when talking about shoes, clothing, watches, fashion accessories, spirits and cars. Brands send messages to friends, lovers and potential employers about who a person is or would like to be. (Danziger, 2005) Luxuries are the extras in life that make it more fulfilling, more rewarding, more comfortable, more enjoyable†. She further suggests a definition for the concept, which states that luxury is â€Å"that which nobody needs but desires†. (Vickers, 2003) It has been remarked that luxury goods are higher in the psychological, social and symbolic dimension, while non luxury goods score higher in the functional value. (Dubois & Czellar, 2002) have also explored the relationship between the concepts of â€Å"luxury and â€Å"prestige† as applied to brands by means of an interpretative analysis of in-depth consumer interviews. The results indicated that prestige can be achieved independently of luxury in many categories. At a symbolic level, consumers can interpret luxury as the symbol of brand prestige. (Dubois, Laurent & Sandor Czellar, 2001) published a consumer report analyzing complex and ambivalent attitudes to luxury. Again they conducted two studies. The first study was a consumer-based exploratory analysis with usual qualitative interviewing methods. Research Methodology:- Research is an intensive study in a particular field to achieve at a better conclusion of a problem. Research Methodology is a systematic way of solving the problem. 1) Research Type:- Type of research used is Descriptive Research. The purpose of using the descriptive research method is to acquire accurate, factual, systematic data that can provide you with an actual picture of the data set that you are reviewing. 2) Research Design:- The research design is the basic framework or a plan for a study that guides the collection of data and analysis of data. It includes how data is to be collected, what instruments will be employed, how the instruments will be used and the intended means for analyzing data collected. 3) Data collection method:- a) Primary data:- Questionnaire: These are designed to collect information which consists of relevant questions about the respondent’s attitude and consumer preferences. It is semi-structured, has a combination of close and open ended questions. A sample of 100 will be chosen. The survey will aim at young people under the age 20-30 in Ludhiana. b) Secondary data:- Information that has been previously gathered for some purpose other than the current research project. Information gathered from research journals, books, internet and articles. 3)Sampling:- When some of the elements are selected with the intention of finding out something about the population from which they are taken, that group of elements is referred as a sample, and the process of selection is called Sampling. 4) Sampling Unit:- A single section selected to research and gather statistics of the whole. Limitations:- A major limitation of the project is that it lacks broader exploration on consumer perception and purchasing of luxury products and its relationship with local products. This study has a homogeneous sample and its analyses and tests can only be applied to present luxury consumers. The sample size for both, quantitative and qualitative research might be seen as a further limitation of this research impacting the extent of generalization and should be increased in future research. This would also allow for a better differentiations to gender, age and/or income groups and for higher levels of R-square explanation. The positive relationships between purchasing of luxury goods and the need of uniqueness, symbolic/status consumption and identity indicate that most of the people want to avoid similarity, but, at the same time, they want to possess the status symbols that are consumed to symbolize personal and social identity.

Definition and Examples of Euphuism (Prose Style)

Definition and Examples of Euphuism (Prose Style) Euphuism is an elaborately patterned prose style, characterized in particular by the extensive use of similes and metaphors, parallelism, alliteration, and antithesis. Adjective: euphuistic. Also called  Asianism and aureate diction. Euphuism is about infinite expansion, says Katharine Wilson. A  single thought can breed analogies, anecdotes, intellectual choices, and printed pages (Turne Your Library to a Wardrope: John Lyly and Euphuism in  The Oxford Handbook of English Prose 1500-1640, 2013).The term euphuism (from the Greek, to grow, bring forth) is derived from the name of the hero in  John Lylys ornately florid Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit (1579).Euphuism is not related to euphemism, a more common term. Commentary The freshest colours soonest fade, the teenest razor soonest turneth his edge, the finest cloth is soonest eaten with moths, and the cambric sooner stained than the coarse canvas: which appeared well in this Euphues, whose wit, being like wax, apt to receive any impression, and bearing the head in his own hand, either to use the rein or the spur, disdaining counsel, leaving his country, loathing his old acquaintance, thought either by wit to obtain some conquest, or by shame to abide some conflict; who, preferring fancy before friends and his present humour before honour to come, laid reason in water, being too salt for his taste, and followed unbridled affection, most pleasant for his tooth. (John Lyly, from Euphues, 1579)Nothing daunted at the staunch refusal of different divines, whose modest walk was interrupted by their bold assertion of loathsome rights, they moved on, while laughs of hidden rage and defeat flitted across their doll-decked faces, to die as they next accosted so me rustic-looking critics, who, tempted with their polished twang, their earnest advances, their pitiful entreaties, yielded, in their ignorance of the ways of a large city, to their glossy offers, and accompanied, with slight hesitation, these artificial shells of immorality to their homes of ruin, degradation and shame. (Amanda McKittrick Ros, Delina Delaney, 1898) Euphuism and Rhetoric The historians tell us that Euphuism is older than Euphues, but they have failed to notice that the English study of rhetoric provides a much better indication of its origin than do the imagined influences of Italy and Spain. ... Now, the recipe, so to speak, of Euphuism is to be found in The Arte of Rhetorique [1553]. By this is not meant that we claim that [Thomas] Wilsons book taught Lyly his secret; only that it was through the fashionable study of rhetoric in the literary coteries of the time that this manner of writing was evolved. Examples of what is meant abound in this book. (G.H. Mair, introduction to Wilsons Arte of Rhetorique. Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1909) Euphuism and Tacit Persuasion Patterns The locus classicus for the tacit persuasion patterns we have been discussing is a linguistically lunatic Elizabethan short novel, John Lylys Euphues. ... The book consists mostly of moralizing speeches, couched in a style so full of antithesis, isocolon, climax and alliteration that it comes to be about tacit persuasion patterns. ...[A] reader of Lyly is so conditioned to antitheses that he starts to make them at the least suggestion. Chiasmus as well as double-isocolon has become a way of perceiving. ...[Lyly] didnt have anything new to say. In his moral world, nothing new was left to say. How make a splash, then? You let the tacit persuasion patterns generate the meaning for you. Finding yourself with nothing to say, you deliver yourself methodically into the arms of chance. And so Euphues, whatever help it may provide for prodigal sons, comes to be a pattern-book of tacit persuasion. ...We see better illustrated here than in any other prose style I know the back-pressure form exe rts on thought. Vernon Lee, an acute student of English style, once called syntax the cast left by long repeated acts of thought. Lyly stood this observation on its head, thought becoming the cast left by infinitely repeated tacit persuasion patterns. (Richard A. Lanham, Analyzing Prose, 2nd ed. Continuum, 2003)

Beethoven, Handel, and Bach essays

Beethoven, Handel, and Bach essays Try this. Play for someone a random selection of classical music and ask him or her to identify a given piece. Now do the same with Joy to the World by Johann Sebastian Bach, The Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus by George Frederic Handel, and The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Undoubtedly, the second group was more recognizable to the listener. And for good reason. These are three of the most accomplished composers in history, each contributing vastly to the music of the last four centuries. Each came from different circumstances and approached their career from a different angle. Johann Sebastian Bach was born and died in Germany. He grew up the son of a church organist, studied organ in the church, and spent the rest of his life employed by various churches as a German organmeister, in charge of playing, fixing and tuning the organ. He also supervised and instructed the choirboys education. In the few moments he had between church meetings, organ tunings, and teaching he would write page after page of music to be performed at congregations or in lessons. Throughout his life, Bach seemed to be driven to explore all the possibilities of a given style or genre. The Brandenburg Concertos were put together as a kind of a musical rsum in a desperate attempt to get out of his routine position. Sadly, he didnt get the job and it was back to the church for poor old Bach. As you might expect, Bach died in relative obscurity and poverty, yet his death in 1750 heralded the end of an Era, and his life was a monument to creativity: In addition to his innumerable volumes of musical compositions, he also had twenty children-Bach truly was a master organ player. Unlike Bach, George Frideric Handel was not born into a musical family, and was forced to study music in secrecy to avoid upsetting his father. Of the three composers under dissection, music was the least accessible to Handel. His talent would not go unnotic...

Comment, Suggestion, and Feedback

Comment, Suggestion, and Feedback Comment, Suggestion, and Feedback Comment, Suggestion, and Feedback By Maeve Maddox A reader asks about these three words: I was wondering about the differences between comment, suggestion, and feedback. They often seem to be used interchangeably. I would like to know how to use each word appropriately in different contexts.    Here are the relevant definitions of these words in the context of social media: comment noun: a remark or criticism on or upon anything. suggestion noun: an idea or thought suggested, a proposal. feedback noun: information about the result of a process, experiment, etc. The word comment has the broadest application because a comment can contain a suggestion or provide feedback. The comments that follow the posts on this site provide examples of all three terms. Comment Carnival – The word derives from a phrase meaning â€Å"the putting away of flesh†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ as in the fasting from meat as Christians [according to traditional dogma] are supposed to do during Lent. It became an event of feasting and revelry because it’s the last chance for the next 6 weeks to indulge in that delicious pot roast, steak dinner, or other self-gratifications. The reader has added information relating to a post about words derived from a Latin word meaning flesh. This kind of comment enriches the site by expanding the post in a relevant manner. Suggestion Could you also clarify and explain the origins of â€Å"chalk it up†. I’ve also seen â€Å"chock it up† which I assume is an error.   I’ve also heard â€Å"chop it up† in the same context. This reader, in commenting on the post about chock-full, has made a suggestion for a future post. Such suggestions keep me supplied with topics. Feedback I think your spelling of cockeyeed is incorrect.  I think it is spelled cockeyed. (minus one e) Feedback can be positive or negative. Comments that express agreement or appreciation let writers know they’re on the right track with their intended audience. Comments that point out errors or ambiguity enable the writer to improve a published post. NOTE: I like to receive feedback that points out typographical errors by way of email, rather than in the open comments section- and not just to minimize my embarrassment. When the error has been corrected in the post, the comment remains as a distraction to future readers. The figurative use of feedback derives from a technical term relating to electronics: feedback noun: The return of a fraction of the output signal from one stage of a circuit, amplifier, etc., to the input of the same or a preceding stage, â€Å"positive feedback† tending to increase the amplification; â€Å"negative feedback† tending to decrease the amplification. Also, a signal so returned. I’ll take this opportunity to thank my readers for all three- comments, suggestions, and feedback. They are and have been of tremendous benefit to me, as a blogger and as a student of English. Related post: Comment Etiquette Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comma After i.e. and e.g.20 Words Meaning "Being or Existing in the Past"The 7 Types of Possessive Case

Position essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Position - Essay Example after a high-profile spokesperson named Celerino Castillo, a former high-ranking Drug Enforcement Agency operative, testified and gave first-hand information about the substantial involvement of the CIA in the drug trade. The following discussions center on the issues regarding how the CIA gets involves in drug trades. The CIA was created by a Wall Street investor and lawyer named Clark Clifford through the National Security Act of 1947 (Corruption Enablers in Legal-Judicial Areas, 2009). Corruption was rooted with the CIA when it was created (Stitch, 2009). The leaders of this US government transformed section supported the illegal trade, including Clifford. The CIA got involved in this trade to finance their operations and later on became a money producing machine for some money-hungry operatives. This information was included in Celerino Castillo’s report. In the early 1950’s all the way up to the mid 1970’s the U.S. military participation in Laos, Indochina had a lot to do with illegal drugs. Research shows that heroin and opium were flown by â€Å"Air America† into a lot of different nations, as well as Vietnam (Stitch, 2007). Because of CIA’s drug trafficking, Southeast Asia became the major producer of heroin and opium. It is assumed that Southeast Asia produces 80% or the world’s heroin and opium (Stitch, 2007). The good image of South Vietnam was also tarnished by the drug trade brought in by the CIA from Laos. Cultures like that of the Hmong in Laos delivered 40,000 men for the CIAs underground Laotian military (Stitch, Rodney, 2007). Nevertheless in the development, opium production took over the Hmong people and many became addicted. To back the Hmong drug addiction, the CIAs â€Å"Air America† transferred rare opium beyond the Laotian mountains to the drug test centers. During the mi d-70s, Army health officers gave estimation that roughly twenty percent of American fighters had become addicted to the drugs because of the CIA (Stich

How the globalization of industry has led to the deterioration of the Essay

How the globalization of industry has led to the deterioration of the position of women in Third World countries - Essay Example The fact that these percentages are indicative of the importance of women for the increase of performance of firms in Third World countries does not seem to have been taken into consideration by legislators in these countries – the same assumption can be made regarding the behaviour of the members of International Organizations that have the obligation to examine the respect of rights of women and children globally. In accordance with the study of Nanda (2000, 25) ‘literate but unskilled—and largely female—labor has thus far fuelled the tremendous increase in manufactured exports of garments and micro electronic products from the Third World to the industrially-advanced economies of the North’. In the above study, it is made clear that women have a critical role in the development of industrial activities in most countries around the world – not only in these belonging in the so-called Third World. From another point of view, this study could lead to the assumption that in the future women in those countries would need to be appropriately trained in order to meet the demands of market globally (development of technology used in all industrial sites, improvement of communication among employees and managers, increase of daily performance and so on). The above projects – if attempted - could meet a series of obstacles; more specifically, as it is noticed al so by Nanda (2000) – women in firms in Third World countries are likely to be non-skilled - at an extremely high percentage.

Psychological Theories in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Psychological Theories in Education - Essay Example In recent years, the focus has been on creating a socialization process which assists the novice educators in understanding and applying general insights relating to teaching and learning. Thus, it can be seen that various theoretical approaches and practices were suggested by several psychological theorists in the history of education. In the 20th century, one most prominent researcher in developmental psychology has been Jean Piaget (1896-1980) who was mainly interested in the biological influences on how people come to know or learn and considered himself a genetic epistemologist. He is one of the most significant education theorists who has dealt with the cognitive as well as constructivist strategies of learning and contributed heavily to the various aspects of education through his significant theories. The Piagetian theory of cognitive development and constructivist learning theory have both had a significant impact in the field of education. Jean Piaget is the central contrib utor of Cognitive constructivism which is mainly based on his work. The two major aspects of his theory are the process of coming to know and the stages one moves through as one gradually acquires the ability to know. In an analysis of Piag... to the physical and mental stimuli is of significant value for human beings to survive in any kind of environment and this process of adaptation incorporates both assimilation and accommodation. According to Piaget, every individual holds mental structures. It is through assimilation of external events, and conversion of these events to suit one's mental structures that one gains the ability to adapt to the physical and mental stimuli. Furthermore, it is important to realize that the mental structures themselves lodge to new, strange, and frequently changing aspects of the outer environment. The second principle of Piaget, termed as organization, is concerned with the nature of the adaptive mental structures which he explained through the first principle. According to Piaget, the organization of the mind is in multifarious and integrated ways. It is important to understand the theories of Piaget in relation to the mental development of the child. "Piaget's theory has two major parts: an "ages and stages" component that predicts what children can and cannot understand at different ages, and a theory of development that describes how children develop cognitive abilities." (Cognitive Constructivist Theories). Piaget's theory of cognitive development is the major foundation for cognitive constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. According to his theory of development, humans cannot be 'given' information which they immediately understand and use, but instead, they must 'construct' their own knowledge. They build their knowledge through experience which facilitates them to create schemas which can be understood as mental models. Through the complimentary processes of assimilation and accommodation, these schemas are changed, engorged, and made more sophisticated.