JC Penney Advertising Essay Example for Free

JC Penney Advertising Essay As time progresses, the world, in terms of business is rather contracting. There is growing communication, interaction and exchange between different parts of the world. Technologies that were once thought of as a far sighted notion are now being used like household commodities and communication mediums that were once considered luxuries available to few are now necessities needed to prosper. And as the world is becoming more integrated and countries are becoming more and more dependent on one another in terms of trade and business the concept of branding, advertising and promotion is becoming more prevalent and widespread. This paper will focus on the marketing of JC penny. It would elaborate on the print as well as online marketing. Moreover it would compare and contrast advertising of online and bricks and mortar companies. Discussion The demand for accountability of marketing is rising and also the pressure of having less absolute dollars to work with so there is utmost need to be sharper, more purposeful and more targeted with marketing. JC Penney is a general retail brand that specializes in clothing, accessories and home furnishing. It has been around for decades and has been catering the needs of consumers of all ages and backgrounds. JC Penneys main target audience at the present times is women as well as youngsters. JC Penney faced criticism for being a brand that accommodated only the high-end and older generation. However, they have been changing their brand image and have been successful in implementing an image that is portraying a more young and trendy vibe. It now focuses on providing products that have the characteristics of being conservative, traditional, modern or trendy. Fundamentally JC Penney has been escalated in the last years is through the fact that it has moved from mass marketing to a more targeted approach. The few reasons for this change is that JC Penney believes that when business is difficult there is a lot greater chance of success with getting the arms around the best customers and increasing frequency share of wallet and trips with the best customers then trying to recruit new customers in tough times that may not shopping the brand. JC Penney has managed to find ways to develop formats that allowed it to get more productivity out the money that is spend. It has also become more targeted in terms of customer selection through becoming much sharper about making sure the right customers get the right format in the right piece. (Fetterman, 2006) JC Penney is one of the brands that hold the significance of being a brick and mortar store as well as an online retailer. Hence, it follows branding through all of the sources of mass media. It publishes magazines and postcards for the promotion of its products. It also advertises it products and offers through newspapers, television ads and online ads. When comparing the online and print media usage it quoted by Mike Boylson the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of JC Penney that In the postcard you can deliver more of a sales message, or more of a discount message these postcards may drive the customers online to see the full assortment online where as the larger brand books of JC Penny show a much richer sense of the style that they have and they portray fundamentally completely different messages. The postcard includes the offer and a link to the website to go see the expanded content where as the book itself that goes out shows the product, the customer can then either come in the store or they can go online or place their order on the phone. Direct mail is very important because through versioning and through customer segmentation the company is able to send out more targeted messages that are highly accountable and are also able to track the results in direct mail to a degree that cannot be possible in a lot of the other traditional mass media used by JC Penney. JC Penney has been focusing a great deal over its brand image and has been trying to diversify and broaden its target audience. It has recently changed to a new brand motif; Every day matters along with the new tag line, the company has been working on enhancing its customers services and the opening of several temporary promotional stores. JC Penney is focusing on increasing the popularity of its brick and mortar stores as well as its online retailing through providing customers with latest offers, discounts and showcasing their product line online for ease of access. Sloan, 2007) As the world is advancing so are the technologies and the ease with which communication is possible among all parts of the world. With the advent of the internet and the upscale increase in its popularity, there has been almost nothing that is not available on the World Wide Web. The phenomenon of e-shopping emerged with the internet. The fact that customers could get what they want in the ease of their ho mes, increased the recognition of the internet and also of online shopping. There are numerous differences and similarities between online shopping and traditional shopping. But what holds more importance is the way the companies market their product online and how different it is from the marketing and promotion of brick and mortar companies. (Lowrey, 2008) Marketing over the internet is considered less costly, as it is holds a lower cost of distributing information on a global platform. More and more business are moving towards online retailing due to its outnumbered advantages in terms of cost, convenience and mobility of information over a great distance. One of the major focuses that companies including JC Penney is on the website. The success of online marketing is highly dependent over the outlook, design and the information provided by the website. Both the online companies as well as brick and mortar companies need to identify their target audience before they implement any marketing strategies. This lets them focus on the type of marketing tool they would benefit them. Brick and mortar companies offer a more traditional aspect of shopping and they also follow a traditional approach of marketing. This is mostly through mass media such as newspapers, television broadcast and magazines. With the passage of time, there are less and less companies that focus solely over brick and mortar business. Most companies are now available online as there is less overheads and larger audience prone to response through the internet. Conclusion In the end it is imperative to recognize the increasing importance of internet in business. Both, online retailing and brick and mortar companies hold their own set of characteristics that make them distinct. As the progress of online shopping is increasing there is still need for brick and mortar stores for traditional shoppers. Most companies, however, imply both the alternatives and hence, carry out their marketing accordingly.

Hesters Deconstruction of Puritan Ideals in Nathaniel Hawthornes The

The Scarlet Letter - Hester's   Deconstruction of Puritan Ideals   Ã‚  Ã‚   Hester, the protagonist in Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, effectively challenges the efforts of the Puritan theocracy to define her, and at the same time, contain the threat she poses to the social order.    Throughout the novel Hester bears the mark of an "A" embroidered on her chest which was originally intended to label her as a social outcast, more specifically an adulteress to the rest of society. She wears the "A" for many years after she bears her "illegitimate" child with virtually no objection. She graciously accepts the punishment bestowed upon her by the strict Puritanical decree that rules, unimpeded, over the New England town where she finds residence. But as the novel progresses Hester remains subservient, dutiful and humble, living in slight seclusion with her child on the edge of town. Hawthorne writes:    As was usually the case wherever Hester stood, a small, vacant area - a sort of magic circle - had formed itself about her, into which, though the people were elbowing one another at a little distance, none ventured, or felt disposed to intrude. It was a forcible type of the moral solitude in which the scarlet letter enveloped its fated wearer; partly by her own reserve, and partly by the instinctive, though no longer so unkindly, withdrawal of her fellow-creatures (Hawthorne 181).    This excerpt from the text shows how Hester does, to some extent, impose strict limits upon herself which she lives by, and which helps to reinforce her punishment, and at the same time preserve and show respect to the Puritan theocracy. Hester cooperatively plays the role of the scapegoat for the rest of soci... ...forts of the Puritan theocracy as she refuses to divulge the identity of her fellow adulterer, revealing a weakness in the governance and facilitating her with a certain sense of power. This power Hester experiences, along with her child, are her testimony to the contribution she makes in the deconstruction of some patriarchal Puritan ideals. But at the same time Hester does lead a virtuous life that harmonizes quite well with this Puritan theocracy, this enables Hester to deconstruct parts of the social order at its very source. The upright way of life that Hester chose to live by, after time, resulted in a near metamorphosis of the originally stigmatized definition that the letter "A" held in society, to one that carried a much more positive connotation.    Work Cited: Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: St. Martins, 1991.   

Oligopoly in India Essay

A market structure dominated by a small number of large firms, selling either identical or differentiated products, and significant barriers to entry into the industry. This is one of four basic market structures. The other three are perfect competition, monopoly, and monopolistic competition. The three most important characteristics of oligopoly are: 1. An industry dominated by a small number of large firms 2. Firms sell either identical or differentiated products 3. The industry has significant barriers to entry. PRICING The members of an oligopoly change the nature of a free market. While they can’t dictate price and availability like a monopoly can, they often turn into friendly competitors, since it is in all the members’ interest to maintain a stable market and profitable prices. With four or five large firms responsible for most of the output of each industry, avoidance of price competition became almost automatic. If one firm were to lower its prices, it is likely that its competitors will do the same and all will suffer lower profits. On the other hand, it is dangerous for any single firm to increase its prices since the others might hold their prices in order to gain market share. The safest thing is to never lower prices and only raise prices when there is abundant evidence that the other firms will also raise prices. The largest or lowest-cost or most aggressive firm will often emerge as the price leader. When business conditions permit, the price leader will raise prices with the expectation that the others will follow. The practice of price leadership prevails in many industries: Competition does not exist in any form. Oligopolies that follow a price leader do not engage in price competition, but they still contest for market share with a variety of forms of non-price competition. Pepsi and Coke each spend billions on TV ads designed to entice the consumer to switch cola brands. SCALE OF OPERATION Oligopolistic firms that operate on a national or global scale are also huge in another sense – they are just plain big. Many have several hundred thousand employees and multi-billions of dollars in assets. Size is itself a source of power. ENTRY BARRIERS Oligopolies can become unstable when new firms attempt to gain entry. Of course the high cost of acquiring plant and equipment acts as a barrier to entry. It is also costly to enter an industry dominated by a small number of known trade names. Small firms already in the industry present a special problem. Some might try to grow beyond their established niches. The large firm will often simply purchase the up-and-coming small firm. Or the large firm or firms may rely on its established relationships with customers or suppliers to limit the activities of smaller firms. The new oligopoly is made up of multinational corporations that have chosen specific product or service categories to dominate. In each category, over time, only two to four major players prosper. Starting a new company in that market segment is difficult, and the few that do succeed are often gobbled up or run out of business by the oligopolies. MANIPULATING DEMAND The large firm is often in a position to create a demand for its own product through advertising. While this sometimes leads to actual product  improvement, it can also lead to the production of images rather than truly different products. A study of the tactics of brand names points out that good brand names are most important for the type of products that are â€Å"relatively undifferentiated in terms of product specifications or performance and where consumers are relatively satisfied with existing brands.† One conclusion of the study is that â€Å"†¦on the whole, branding is important only where the character of the product is not.† Few multinationals aspire to be monopolies. Monopolies attract government regulation and consumer anger (just ask Microsoft). Small oligopolies (such as Coke, Pepsi) make plenty of money and avoid the constant attention of the regulators. Oligopoly, then, is a compromise – a social adaptation to powerful technological trends. While the rules of perfect competition should both assure that prices reflect the true costs of production and that firms continue to improve their products and production processes, operating under these rules leads to the type of price competition that continually threatens the value of vast holdings of expensive and specialized production facilities. So we have accepted a set of economic rules that limit price competition but still seem to result in competition over product and production process development. Technology forced firms to become bigger, yet that very bigness put them at such risk that they had to become even bigger in order to control prices. OLIGOPOLY IN BEVERAGE INDUSTRY In the Indian context, the soft drink market though it may seem to be duopoly is essentially an oligopoly. Barring the two major cola giants Coke and Pepsi, every city also has local competitors and there is a large unorganized flavoured water market. Moreover, bottled water is also a competitor to the cola brands and in this category neither of the two cola companies are market leaders. However, as far as the cola flavored fizzy  drinks are concerned there are only two brands, Coke and Pepsi. Under such a situation economists would say there would be intense competition. Unless, the two parties collaborate with each other, which is certainly not the case in the cola market worldwide or in India. This implies that the primary battle is for market share and hence intensity of competition is high. Each and every move by a player attracts retaliation. 3 things important to be successful in this category (oligopoly of colas) are: 1. HIGH AWARENESS: This has two components-one is media awareness the other relates to point of consumption. The first one really means large advertising spends, and simple messages repeated umpteen times. Eg. lways Coca-Cola?or il mange more? Simple and memorable. The category leader dictates the awareness level. Once that has been established, the number two player needs to find a lever, which will ensure a position close to the leader, with less money spent. 2. EASY AVAILABILITY: Marketers in this category need to find innovative ways of ensuring availability of their brand at different consumption occasions and time. 3. HIGH EMOTIONS: The key differentiation in this category is emotion. Brand personality can make or break the brands in this category. In an oligopoly, it is foolish to cut price unless one of the two parties have a much lower cost base. That, too, is not the case in India. Both brands, Coke and Pepsi, invest heavily in advertising and in distribution through their franchise and their own systems. However, a great deal of attention is paid by both companies to cost, particularly in the development of a tightly effective supply chain system in which economies are squeezed out and, wherever possible both overheads and working capital are controlled. As a result it is extremely difficult to reduce prices. Indeed, it is counter-productive, as when prices are reduced in a particular area by one  of the cola brands, the second must follow. There have been some examples of price reduction, but this is generally the local franchise or the sales management of a particular area reducing the price. This is, however, generally not the case and prices have only been reduced in the recent past if there has been a reduction in Government taxes, either at the Central or State level. However, there has been some major initiative on the price front. The first took place some years ago when the brand Coca-Cola came back to India. At that time colas were sold in 200 ml bottles. Coca-Cola launched itself in all major cities in the 300 ml size at the same price as Pepsi, which was then in a 200 ml bottle. Pepsi was, however, prepared for Coca-Cola to launch in the larger bottle, which became the standard inmost parts of the country, making the price a parity issue between the two brands. A few years ago, Pepsi launched itself in one litre and 1.5 litre non-returnable PET bottles at a discount in comparison to a 300 ml returnable glass bottle, the traditional packaging in this product category. This resulted in a significant increase in the depth of consumption; amongst the loyal consumers in the larger towns. Coke followed Pepsi in each of the above moves in order to reduce the cost per glass to the consumer. The soft drink majors also pioneered a 500 ml non-returnable PET bottle, which was advertised almost totally on the cost of the consumer per 100 ml of cola. The great advantage of PET bottle is that they not only encourage high level of consumer but increased home consumption which was small compared to out of home consumption. The latest move to reduce price to the consumer was followed by Pepsi in April,2003 when it reduced the price of its 300 ml returnable glass bottle segment from Rs. 8 to Rs. 6 and priced 200 ml bottle at Rs. 5. However, Coke  still priced it 300 ml bottle at Rs. 8. Coke wanted to push the 200 ml â€Å"Chota Coke† pack in summer since they wanted to gain volumes so they priced 200 ml at Rs 5/-â€Å". The fresh price war follows an earlier onslaught when both Pepsi and Coke reduced prices by about 20% across the board just before the Union Budget for 2003-04 provided them with excise duty relief. In the recent past both the companies took aggressive steps and signed on thousands of new retailers in a drive into rural India that has pushed up sales steeply. Coca-Cola has made its beverages available in 40,000 additional villages in the last three years. As a result, the rural areas now contribute 35 per cent of the company’s sales compared with 25 per cent in 2000. Sales volume jumped over 125% in some rural areas. In order to service far-flung markets better, Coca-Cola has doubled the number of refrigerators in the market to 500,000 and added 5,000 new autos and light commercial vehicles to its fleet in the last one year. Pepsi also has also doubled distributors, cooling capacity and even the number of vehicles in rural areas. Thus, the contribution of rural areas to total sales has climbed from below 10 per cent to 10-15 per cent for Pepsi in the last couple of years. Pepsi has added more than 200 people to drive rural activation programmes and ensure improved coverage and market penetration. In addition, a new â€Å"hub and spoke† model has been put in place to drive the rural expansion plan. Both companies say there is untapped potential in the rural areas that will fuel quick growth in the coming years. e the rural expansion plan. In a competitive situation such as the one that exists in the cola market, the important thing is not the price; it is the value that the consumer  gets. And that always increases in proportion to the ferocity of the battle in the marketplace.

Essay The Benefits Genetic Engineering for Medical Purposes

Genetic Engineering has developed by very rapidly over the past twenty years. It is also one of the most controversial topics to go through the United States. From the research gene therapy to the cloning of different animals, genetic engineering can save lives while at the same time, endanger them as well. There are many pros and cons which are being heavily debated by political, scientific, and many other organizations. Most are centered on the idea of using Stem cells as a way of curing diseases. Stem cells are cells that have the capabilities to develop into many different types of cells in the body. Serving as a type of repair system for the body, they can theoretically divide without limit to take over for other cells for†¦show more content†¦Scientists once believed that human adult stem cells could be used, but that idea was quickly put to rest when scientists discovered that the cells may be damaged by sunlight or toxins in the air, as well as the fact that adult stem cells may contain more DNA abnormalities. Stem cell research could one day lead to the cures of diseases such as cancer, Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease (NIH, FAQs, 1). Did you know that with the science of DNA manipulation, animal cadavers can be turned into insulin for diabetics? Back in the 80s scientists isolated the human gene for insulin and transferred it into bacteria. Now bacteria cultures are used to produce large amounts of human insulin. DNA manipulation is especially important in medicine, where it holds the hope of curing genetic diseases such as Huntingtons, and even some types of cancer. There are several major types of DNA-manipulation enzymes used by living cells. The first type is DNA polymerase, which cells use to replicate their own DNA. The next type is DNA ligase, which joins 2 pieces of DNA to create a single piece. The third type is restriction enzymes, which appear to be made only by bacteria. Restriction enzymes are very important enzymes that are vital to our manipulation of DNA (Rapoza, DNA, 2). Another way of manipulating DNA is by cloning. Cloning is the production of exact copies of the original, kind of like a copying machine. With DNA molecules, cloning means putting new DNA into aShow MoreRelatedHuman Genetic Engineering is Morally Justified Essay811 Words   |  4 PagesAffirmative—Human Genetic Engineering is Morally Justified When they are finally attempted†¦genetic manipulations will†¦be done to change a death sentence into a life verdict. In agreeing with this quote by James D. 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