Journal assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal - Assignment Example From a personal experience, you are connected with other people whom you share the same profession when you join this organization. You learn and share experiences with people who understand you because you work in a similar environment. I have been a member of Nevada Nurses Association; hence, I have been able to enjoy this great opportunity. Becoming a full member of American Nurses Association is equally important and beneficial to me as a nurse. This is because I regularly receive journals every month on any emerging issue or trend in my profession. This information is very resourceful when it comes to making important decision and moves in my profession. I have also been able to network with other members in this organization. This has enabled me to form and maintain long lasting relationship with other nurses in this movement. Hence, joining this association has been of importance to my profession (McQuilkin, 2005). Every practicing nurse should be a member of a professional organization in order to enjoy the benefits as stated above. It will also help them protect and champion for their rights in the course of duty. Hence, through this association, I will ensure that all nurses are registered members in order to network and connect with each of them. Further, nurses have an obligation to be advocates politically. For example, Nevada has a good name because of its impact in championing for the rights of nurses in US. These political activities enable the association to establish powerful relationships, which can be used to prevent or change any issue that is affecting well being of nurses. As a political organization whom members are nurses, it has been able to protect the rights and welfare of nurses. I believe that nurses have an obligation to be political advocates. This is because they will be able to influence and act on issues that affect them in the line of their duty. For example, it could increase in

Strategy Tripod Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Strategy Tripod - Assignment Example 72). When it comes to global business, strategy is perceived in two dynamics, 1- strategy as action, and 2) strategy tripod. The ‘strategy as action’ perspective suggests that the essence of strategy is interaction because actions and reactions such as ‘competing aggressively’, ‘price war’, ‘attack’, ‘counterattacks’ etc lead to competitive advantage (Peng and Gokalp, 2011, p. 250). The ‘strategy tripod’ model sheds light on global competitive dynamic based on the major three perspectives, namely industry-based, resource-based and institution-based views. The Strategy Tripod The fundamental objective of the competitive strategy of a company is to gain sustainable competitive advantage in the industry. There has been a great amount of academic debates during recent years concerning competitive strategies to explain ‘why do firms succeed and often fail’. There are different approaches concerning competitive strategy such as SWOT, Porter’s five force etc. The strategy tripod is another approach to explain competitive strategy that states that a company’s competitive strategy derives from three main sources: the pressure of the industry the company operates in, the impact of the institutions that a company is surrounded by and the resources that a company possesses (Wallner, 2012, p. 12- 13). Peng (2008, p.14) identified the very fundamental four questions in strategy. They are: 1) ‘why do firms differ’? 2) ‘How do firms behave’? 3) ‘What are the main determinants of the scope of a firms’? 4) What are the main determinants of a firm’s success or failure? He elucidated the concept of ‘strategy tripod’ to answer ‘how do firms behave’. According to him, strategy tripod is a framework that states that a competitive strategy as a discipline has three ‘legs’, that are the basic three perspectives; industry-based, resource-based and institution-based views of a firm. Three leading strategy perspectives, namely industry-based view, institution-based view and resource-based view of the firm collectively lead to a strategy tripod. The industry-based view highlights the five-forces affecting an industry and explains that the strategic effort is meant to examine the five competitive forces namely competitive rivalry, threat of entry, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers and bargaining power of customers. The resource-based view concentrates on strengths and weaknesses internal to a firm, whereas the industry-based view focuses on the opportunities and threats that are external to a firm. Industry-based view thus concentrates on the O and T whereas the resource-based view concentrates on the S and W in the SWOT (Peng, 2008, p. 14). The institution-based view suggests that a firm and its competitive strategy conditions are influenced by the institutions that the firm is surrounded by. The three ‘legs’ of strategy tripod are explained in detail below: Industry-based view The industry-based view, which is pioneered by Michel Porter in early years of 1980s, emphasized that the primary principle of competitive strategy formulation is the relationship that a firm builds with its environment. External factors are the major determinants of a firm’s competitive strategy because these factors not only affect firm’s performance but also its way to achieving competitive advantage (Gao, Murray and Kotabe, 2010). Firms are largely depending on various external industry forces such as threats of substitutes and new entrants, bargaining power of buyers and suppliers and competition rivalry among the major counterparts.

Gossip in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gossip in the Workplace - Essay Example To start with, workplace gossip can have lasting effects and impressions. The workers and employees are best advised to abstain from it so that these gossip conversations do not have lasting effects in the long term. Workplace gossips can turn pretty ugly at times since the informal ‘grapevine’ network present within an organization spreads very quickly and no one can actually stop rumors as well as true stories from being shared openly. Continuing further, the causes of workplace gossips are that the small conversations which are held between two employees are spread to other workers working within the organization if the conversation is overheard by another individual who also works in that organization. (Heller, 1998) It is also possible that one of these two people might tell others who would further tell the remaining staff that is working within the organization and hence the gossip can turn really nasty at the end. With more and more informal gossips in the workplace, it is suggested that the employees are not concentrating properly on their assigned tasks and the bosses take particular note of this fact. They mention these points to the employees who like to gossip a lot and also warn them from time to time so that the gossip within the workplace is reduced drastically. The effects of this workplace gossip are that the employees have a bad image within the organization and they are not taken in high esteem. They are also told of concentrating on their own duties rather than wasting their times on having useless gossips all the time. (Drumheller, 2006) Workplace gossips also mean that the employees have lost a lot of interest in their work and they do not find their job challenging enough. The employers should provide comfort to these types of employees by changing their job nature or making their job focus a bit more different. They can also be delegated work in a

Business Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Strategy - Assignment Example The business performance of 2007 has shown positive development to the satisfaction of the company. Yet they have to be very vigilant to sustain the up trend in the coming years also. The company needs innovative planning and strategies to sustain the gain of last year to enable them to keep floating always ahead. Coco Cola is an old and established brand worldwide backed by a strong team of manpower. Internally they are very stable and strong to provide strong pillars to the edifice of marketing. They enjoy 94% brand recognition and more than 60% market share in the world. They need to be vigilant all the times to keep on appraising the performance and finding the underperformance if any at any level. With the type of expertise and skill they have it is sure to overcome the weakness that might creep in by active communication and crackdown. Coco Cola is spread to a large domain all over the world market, which is full of complexities. Different people with different tastes, culture, psychology, different lifestyles live in different countries. This is always a challenge to the marketers to satisfy everyone. In India the company faced challenge from the very start and also when Coca Cola entered into this country second time. After Coco Cola had established its foothold in India the change in government gave a fatal blow to the company when the changed government ordered it to wind up and leave India on the ground that the country could not permit an ordinary product which is not high tech and which the country could produce itself. Second time when Coco Cola entered India again with a new government the local brand ‘Thumbs Up’ was thriving in the market that was favourite brand for the local countrymen (Basu, 2006). Coca Cola had to take over that brand and nourish it to claim the large market share it had enjoyed. Even today the brand holds command and contributes sizeable market share to the parent company. The

Who defines beauty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Who defines beauty - Research Paper Example Beauty is a very subjective issue and thus can only be judged by the receiver. For one, with increased education, both men and women are using more measures to determine what is beautiful and what is not. For example, men have discovered that women favor dominant males and as such men may forgo their health, safety and so on in order to acquire rank so that they can have the power that makes them attractive to women. Elliot Aronson, a social psychologist at Stanford University, argued that how one sees oneself to some extent determines how attractive others see them. This is especially important given that it is almost impossible to find a culture that appreciates one’s body as being beautiful just as it is. Furthermore, we are no longer living in the Darwinian era where natural selection ruled and our purpose in life was merely mirrored towards reproduction and survival of the fittest. This means that we are no longer restricted to defining beauty within the constructs of finding a suitable mate. To put it better, finding a potential mate today involves looking for more than the ability to procreate. Today, both sexes are looking for intelligence, personality, compatibility and most of all the moral compass of the potential partner, friend, acquaintance or work mate. Unlike animals, men and women of today are seeking for greater meaning and purpose in their lives. This naturally means that our rationale of what beauty slightly differs from that of our Darwinian counterparts. All said beauty can only be judged by the receiver.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Essay Example for Free

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Essay This fiction book takes you on the adventures of the twelve year old Percy Jackson as he discovers who he really is. Being a demigod, a child of a Greek god and a mortal woman, Percy is in for the ride of his life. Percy Jackson is not what you would consider to be normal; aside from having ADHD and dyslexia strange things just seem to happen to him and no one seems to understand. His last epidemic was while on a field trip to a local art museum in New York his pre-algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodd, attacked him revealing that she was one of three Furies; he ended up getting expelled making this the sixth boarding school to kick him out. Now up until recently he believed the legends he heard in his Latin class about the Greek gods were just stories but lately he has started to reconsider. Scared and confused he is sent back to his mom, Sally Jackson, and his step-father, Gabe. Gabe has always hated Percy and to be completely honest Percy looks at him as a lazy, drunk, gabling mess that has no respect for anyone but himself, but Percy’s mom lets Gabe mistreat her saying, â€Å"he provides for the family Percy its fine. Sensing the confusion and even anger in Percy’s countenance Sally decides to take him to Long- Island for a three day vacation. The cabin they stay in holds so many memories about Percy’s father that he asks questions about him even though he already knows the answer. Sally answers†¦.. Cautiously because if Percy found out his father was a Greek god he would become a very big target and for Percy’s safety she keeps her answers vague. Sally can sense Percy isn’t telling her what really happened at school but she doesn’t pry she just keeps saying if you want to talk I’m here. After a long day Sally and Percy find their way to bed. Percy, just lying there unable to sleep, starts to wonder what his dad was like, what his best friend Grover is doing, and if he didn’t have such a terrible step-dad his life would be so much easier. And just when he started to slip off into unconsciousness he heard a very loud banging at the door. Both Sally and Percy awoke with a start; who could be at the door in the dead of night? Sally ran to the door to find Grover Underwood, Percy’s best friend from Yancy Academy, standing in the rain with a look of fear in his face. At first Percy is ecstatic to see him but soon he realizes that something is very wrong. Grover is a satyr and is very in tune with the Greek god world unlike Percy and was sent to protect Percy. Grover came to warn Sally that the Furies were after Percy and that they had to get Percy to Camp Half-Blood as soon as possible. Sally pushes the boys to the car and drives as fast as she can. Percy having no idea what is going on and so Grover explains where they are going. He says Camp Half- Blood is a camp for kids that are demigods so they can train and be protected from the monsters of the underworld. Then as they approach the camp something smashes their car sending them flying through the air the boys and Sally start running for the trees, where just beyond the tree line lays the camp. As the start up the hill a minotaur grabs Sally and squeezes her into a fine gold powder. Distraught Percy charges the minotaur and heads up breaking one of the horns off and the minotaur runs off into the woods; while the boys narrowly escape to the camp. With Percy knowing so little about his dad he does not know who his father is and stays in the Hermes Cabin, under Luke Castellan. The kids seem nice but Percy really doesn’t understand what he is in for. One night they are playing a game of capture the flag when Percy gets wounded. As he is stumbling around he steps in the stream and is instantly healed and green tridents appear above his head, revealing he is the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea. This would be a bad thing if the gods hadn’t made an oath to stop having children; but the camp cheered and congratulated Percy on this discovery. Now that the camp knew who Percy’s father was they could better explain who he was and what he was capable of doing. After training for the entire summer Chiron, Percy’s mentor suggested that Percy should be granted a quest. Percy accepted and chose Grover and Annabeth, a friend he made at camp, to take the journey with him. The quest required the kids to find the entrance to the Underworld, find Zeus’s master bolt and return it before the summer Solstice. The kids encountered monsters, other gods, and the Furies all which seemed to be no challenge for this group of kids which became the best of friends. Now I’m not going to tell you the ending of this book because you can read it for yourself but it’s amazing how three unlikely eople can come together to achieve great things. This book was very exciting once I started reading it, I could not put it down. This book obviously is fiction and is kind of contradictory to Christian beliefs as in more than one God so I wouldn’t recommend the book because of that; but if you can keep in mind that it is just a story it is a extremely exciting book .

Celebrity Endorsement And Its Impact On Sales

Celebrity Endorsement And Its Impact On Sales Results show that celebrity endorsement has a large impact on purchase intention and is infact a causal factor based on the data obtained through this research. All three factors are said to positively affect purchase intention and the results are magnified when all three factors are present. It is seen that the most significant impact is that of physical attractiveness if taken in isolation and the most significant impact is that of celebrity / brand congruence when all three factors are taken into account. What this means is that without physical attractiveness, the impact of the other two factors is negated (in the absence of physical attractiveness, purchase intention will not increase) but the presence of physical attractiveness alone does not have a significant impact on purchase intention. Thus physical attractiveness is an important first step but it is not the most important reason for increase in purchase intention. That belongs to brand / celebrity congruence, which is consistent with previous studies on the subject matter: Choose celebrities which have a good image fit with the brand, otherwise the impact of the celebrity endorsement is minimal. The author concludes by stating that all three are important factors in making an impact on purchase intention through advertisement and thus when choosing a celebrity endorser, all three factors must be taken into account. Celebrity Endorsement and its Impact on Sales Jain (2011) proposes that the increase in celebrity endorsement in the subcontinent in recent years, despite the rising costs is due to the increase in media coverage in the area and the increase in hero worship as well. This has been outlined as the major reasons for increase in persuasiveness of celebrities, which in turn has resulted in an increase in their demand by corporations to endorse their respective brands. The research documents the impact of celebrity endorsement with a focus on the subcontinent, making it pertinent to this study. It is queried as to whether the relationship is always positive or whether there can be negative consequences as well. It is noted that for most brands, the focus has shifted from creating awareness and bringing attention towards their brands to a more contemporary approach, which is to create positive associations within the minds of the consumers and to capture a share of mind, share of heart, share of wallet and share of spirit. This is the essence of branding in todays world and as such, all marketing and advertising actions that are conducted are done so with this end goal in mind. The study researches the idea that celebrity endorsement leads to fulfillment of such goals or are they successful only in capturing the attention of the consumer and creating awareness without moving the consumer to the next stage. Celebrities are thought of as a link between the brand and the consumer and help to ease the process of purchase intention and thus it is imperative that the best celebrity be chosen, the one that is right for the brand and has the potential to create the maximum impact on sales as well as brand equity. As pointed out by other studies, endorsement helps brands to deal with clutter and that is the major reason to use celebrities, instead of everyday men and women in advertisement. One of the major decision criteria which helps corporations choose a celebrity is known as the Q-Rating. This Q rating helps brands to select a celebrity based on the rating that they have with the consumers. This rating is derived, based on a number of criteria but essentially boils down to two: who known is the celebrity and how liked is the celebrity. These two criteria form the backbone of the Q Rating system that helps corporations choose which celebrity is the best fit for their brand. The impact of celebrity endorsement is said to be based on 10 criteria, with the greater the score of the celebrity in each criteria, the greater the impact on sales and purchase intention. Celebrity / Target Market Match: How strongly target market associates itself with the celebrity in question. Celebrity Values: The link between the values of the celebrity and the values of the target audience, thus creating a link for the consumers with the brand. Cost of Celebrity: The cost of the celebrity is generally an indication of the popularity of the celebrity and the higher the cost, the higher the popularity, thus the greater the chance of the celebrity persuading consumers. However the cost should always be compared to the added benefit and the go ahead should only be given if its established that there is sufficient benefit from the increase in cost. Regional Appeal: Different regions may have different appeals within a country and if a product is to be sold throughout the country, it is best to choose a celebrity with relative universal appeal. Celebrity Product Match: The celebrity should be seen as having an image fit with the brand itself, as it is one of the key factors when trying to increase sales. Celebrity Controversy Risk: The greater the chances that the celebrity may be involved in controversy, the lesser the chances that he or she would have a positive long term impact on sales and thus should be avoided. Popularity: The greater the popularity, the greater the chances of brand recall and thus they have a high cost. It should be noted that in order to save cost, popularity should not be forgone. Availability: The best celebrities may not be available due to other endorsement commitments or there is a conflict of interest due to them endorsing a rival brand. In such a case, it is best to move on and choose the next best alternative. Attractiveness: Attractiveness helps celebrities be more likeable and to connect more with the target market and as such this is an important attribute to look for in a celebrity. Credibility: This helps the consumers to trust what the celebrity is saying and to pay more attention to him or her and what he or she is endorsing. This research is important as it looks at the factors within the partnership of a celebrity and a corporation and how they increase or decrease their impact on the impact of celebrity endorsement on sales and as such helps to decide how and when celebrities should be chosen as endorsers. Impact of celebrity Endorsement on Overall Brand In order to select a celebrity for a given product, there should be an optimal match between celebrity and brand image. Here are some parameters which should be considered: (Katyal, 2010): Celebritys personal character is not controversial Personal character fits with the image of the product / brand Cost of hiring the celebrity is worth the output Is there any controversy risk attached after the ad campaigns launched Celebritys popularity Is the celebritys appeal local or regional and does it fit with the appeal of the product in terms of region Celebritys overall credibility Is the celebrity him or herself a brand user? What is celebrity profession? Does it matches to have a natural match to the product and appeal to the consumers. For example, celebrity figure from sport is natural to promote sports related stuff and footwear. What values celebrity is associated with the product? If a celebrity is put in a role to propagate the human service cause does he/she be social worker or figure. Does target audience want to believe in the celebrity for the target product to be advertised or message to be conveyed. After advent of television, cable television, and internet, advertisement industry got revolutionized. New trends and format were introduced for rapid and technical way to impress the public and numerous items, products and services became the household names. Television though invented in 1920s became commercial medium in 1950s. This happen when a price of the television sets began to approach affordable range of average person. Print and Radio had to take back seat to give a way to the new technologies. Now the commercials could be broadcasted with sight, sound, and motion. First time in the history advertisers saw huge potential of multimedia technologies which could give higher gains in sales and profits provided right tools and ideas were selected. Cable television channel introduced channels like MTV for young music lovers, ESPN for sports enthusiasts and Food Networks for people with love of cooking. These new channels were attractive and fun for advertisers who wish to target certain audience for example; entertainment, sports, or food (Sample, 2010). Celebrities in Advertising Personal in marketing have used celebrities in commercials, print campaigns and promotions and other seller techniques for years. It has worked in the past because it was executed properly. However, use of celebrities to grab viewers attention to eventually make sales depends on proper celebrity casting. The right selection of star to pitch the product will mean that the buyers can relate to that person the person a buyer would want to believe in. It is not as simple as you think it is because in many cases the right celebrity is not always affordable. On the flip side, the right celebrity is not always the most expensive one either. Above all else, the most important resides in considering whether the celebrity you select is right for your campaign and take the process from there. Another key factors that one must take into account is the fact that advertisers should understand the basic premise of hiring the celebrity and making it clear to him what is required and the nature of the exact role of the celebrity. If this is successful, companies may retain the celebrity for other products of their brand, making the celebrity more of a brand ambassador than a product endorser. Celebrities can be seen as a marketing vehicle that will likely to continue in the near future. As long as there are new stars being introduced into our entertainment arenas there will be no shortage of talent to fill the need. Though, doing the selection and positioning right is the biggest challenge but if done correctly it can translate into better response and higher sales volume. The equity effect of endorsement by celebrities: A conceptual framework The purpose of this study was create a framework which may be later used to organize and guide future research into how celebrity product endorsement creates equity for both the endorsed product-brand and the endorsing celebrity. The focus of Diana Senos study was how the celebrity as well as the brand could serve to increase equity for each other, essentially feeding off each others image to mutually benefit each other. It looked at the relationship between the endorser and the company and how a strategic fit could be achieved by utilizing the best fit of celebrity for the product to be endorsed. The central findings of the research state that celebrity endorsement is a form of co-branding and that both endorser image and brand image serve as mediators in the equity-creation process of celebrity product endorsement. Mobile brands connect with Pakistan Umair Naeem examines the relationship and industry effects of celebrity endorsement on the telecommunications sector. Umair states how the increase in competition has led cellular service providers to resort to differentiating their brands less on the basis of functionality and features and increasingly on the basis of emotional appeal and a certain message that is sent across. Celebrity endorsements are heavily used to drive home the emotional appeal and to personify the message that is being sent across. Using Mobilink as an example he states, Mobilinks sub-brand Indigo relied heavily on two factors toward establishing its brand equity: brand ambassadors that exuded style and sophistication, and a unique classy look that permeate all forms of its Indigo brand communication. Indigo used models such as Zainab Qayum, movie stars like Shaan, and popular musicians such as Strings to infuse style into its branding. It also played on the aspirations of young business professionals through the atmosphere and the locales of Indigos ads. He believes celebrity endorsement is currently necessary to differentiate the brands which are increasingly similar in features and thus celebrities help to personify the brands qualities. The naked truth of celebrity endorsement This research was conducted to understand how celebrity endorsement worked for retail outlets and retail stores in general, with a focus on Europes leading chain, J. Sainsbury. Thus The focus of the study is on using celebrity endorsements for retail outlets. Its emphasis is on fit between celebrity image and brand image. Specific cases are analyzed to evaluate the extent to which consumers associate themselves with the image that the given celebrity projects and how that, in turn affects their purchase behavior Sainsburys started using Jamie Oliver (a high profile television chef) for their advertisement campaign, who served to promote the companys grocery products. He was chosen as he was seen as the best fit for their brand. The case itself identifies the criteria that made the endorsement successful by conducting questionnaires, interviews, and focus group studies. It outlines the key elements along with how they were used in the campaign to create a sense of confidence amongst the consumers and thus creating a successful campaign. The overall extent to which the consumers associate themselves with the celebrity and his words is dissected. Impact of celebrity Endorsement on overall brand Endorsements are seen to be on the rise entailing a valid question posed to consumers. Is there a science behind the choice of the endorsers or is it just by the popularity measurement? Which precise reasons lead to impact on brands by using celebrity endorsement? A thorough study of the paper streamlined a 14 point model which can be referred to as a blueprint criterion by brand managers for capitalizing on the celebrity resource through 360 degree brand communication and can also be used in selection of celebrities. The model was projected as the foundation brick on the impact of celebrity endorsement in paper. Our study revealed that 14 factors of the model and the effects of celebrity endorsement are proportional. Success of a brand is determined through celebrity endorsement which is accumulative of the following 14 attributes. If the below parameters score is higher, the chances of getting close to the desired impact are greater. The winner stories of celebrity endorsement are promotions which reflect a fine fit between the brand and the 360 degree advertising. And a decent example of one such story is of Fardeen Khan and Provogue. In the apparel market, Provogues positioning is of a young, active, party-going, attention-grabbing brand and so is Fardeen Khan. The union between the two has had a massive impact and brand managers have utilized this endorsement through 360 degree dimension as noted earlier. Moreover, the marketing/advertising firms should identify the symbolic properties of the sought after product first, as also proposed by the transfer model. Thereafter, consultation of host celebrities is appropriate to assure their similar traits with the product. Finally, after sorting out budget and availability constraints, the suitable celebrity has to be chosen as a representation of symbolic brand properties. The chosen celebrity will have some meanings associated with him/her which will not be suitable for the product. Consequently, only salient features excluding unwanted meanings should be captured and taken care of.Also, advertisements should also be structured in way to highlight the essential similarities between celebrity and the product. When it comes to subtlety, depth and power in delivering meanings celebrities are much nuanced compared to anonymous models. Celebrities also offer demographic information, configurations of range of personality and lifestyle meanings very thoroughly. Their persona evokes meanings with greater clarity. Furthermore, celebrities through repeated performance on public stage create their personalized meanings which can be passed into advertisements, through meaning transfer process. For instance Preity Zinta is perceived as a fun-loving, vivacious and modern Indian woman who can be translated into brand campaign with similar characteristics. In conclusion, the fit between celebrity traits and brand positions and its attributes determine the success. Celebrity endorsements Marketers need to be aware of the impact of using celebrities in commercials, promotions and print campaigns because it works if done properly. If business are about to make an effective advertisement, it must be attention-grabbing to its consumers and therefore most of them uses celebrities as endorsers. According to the article of Katyal S. (2008), celebrities serves the purpose of getting viewers attention; but proper choice of celebrity determines whether it translates into a sale and product image is delivered precisely. Selecting the right star to enhance the image of your product means finding the person to whom your consumers can relate to, meaning the person your consumer wants to believe in. Sometimes the selection of the right star for your product is not that daunting, until you realise that in many cases affordability is in question with the right celebrity. Essentially due to familiarity with stars, brands are normally endorsed by celebrities who make them enormously attractive to consumers. But anyone who thinks seriously about branding soon realises that there are basically two kinds of strong brands: those that are focused and those that are diversified. Significance of branding with celebrity endorsements is complicated to estimate in the present cluttered media industry and consumer markets. Electronic media branding including television will be of continuing interest and importance even with its idiosyncrasies in consumer payment and brand definition. There are three explanatory reasons for this; firstly a strong brand identity is crucial to producing audiences in a multichannel environment which is an environment that is becoming more and more crowded as television converts to digital delivery. Perhaps it is the only means of gaining a place in a viewers/ users channel repertoire. Secondly, brands are important for businesses to expand its markets. Extensions of brand marry an established brand to a new service as a means of establishing immediate market credibility. Besides that the third aspect explains, branding with the use of celebrities in which it is necessary to leverage corporate assets in order to open new markets. These markets may be related to the present business of a branded entity (e.g., ESPN Magazine, CBS Sportsline website), or if not separate they may be unrelated (e.g., logo apparel and other merchandise, Fox Sports restaurant/bars). With the traditional advertiser supported model of television under increasing pressure, television providers, and especially broadcasters, are constantly looking for new revenue streams to continue enhancing brand image and generate sales extensively. All in all, the power of an endorsement by a celebrity depends on the relevance of the celebrity to the product. For example, if Oprah was promoting a book about an issue particularly relevant to women then she is most likely to be effective. A famous chef can endorse a cook book or a famous fitness celebrity can certify an exercise book. If the buyer believes that the celebrity brings an unusual insight or twist, they would be more interested. In the case of skin whitening products, Lucida-ds and [Met] Tathione should carefully assess their endorsers to avoid business campaign failure in terms wrong brand perceptions and ultimate sale drop. Therefore, it is important to consider the conformity of the product and the alignment of both celebrity and brand attribute to be a market winner. Chapter V: Research Study Design Research Objectives Objectives to be analysed should be crisp and clear in order to observe the effectiveness of the decision for celebrity endorsement. Apart from the economic interests of celebrity endorsements (e.g. rise in total revenue/market share), it involves several psychological objectives. Such as an increased knowledge of the brand name, a more clear representation of brand/product characteristics by consumers, enriched attitude towards the ad, towards the brand and lastly, increased purchase intentions. Celebrity endorsement attributes that increase consumer purchase intention Celebrity attributes that are of most importance when analyzing effectiveness of endorsement Impact of celebrity attributes on brand positioning Effects of multiple celebrity endorsement on brand image Effects of celebrity endorsement on brand equity Factors that affect the consumers willingness to purchase a product or service when endorsed by a celebrity? Research Question: What celebrity attributes affect purchase behavior of Lowe Raufs clients? Hypothesis Celebrity endorsement has a significant / insignificant impact on consumer purchase behavior H0= Celebrity endorsement does not have a significant impact on consumer purchase behavior H1= Celebrity endorsement has a significant impact on consumer purchase behavior. Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework has been designed based on the literature review on studies based on this topic. It has been identified through these studies that the following variables combine to form the essence of celebrity endorsement and together, they affect purchase intention. [Source: Chabo Dimed et. al (2005). Celebrity endorsement-Hidden factors to success, Journal of Advertising pp. 298-301] Relevant Variables Variable Article Constitutive definition Operational Definition Attractiveness (Independent) Celebrity endorsements- Hidden factors to success The likeability of the celebrity associated with a product or service with regard to the glamour of the celebrity. Q 17, 18, 19, 20 21 Purchase Intention (Dependent) Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Consumer Buying Behavior and Brand Building The ways in which a consumer interacts in accordance with the advertisement strategies run by a company for its product or service. Q12, 13 15 Brand celebrity Fit (Independent) Impact of celebrity endorsements on brands It explains how closely the personality and image of the celebrity matches the positioning of brand. Q 26, 27 ,28 29 Brand Recall (Independent) Advertisement and Promotion It explains how the consumer recognizes the brand with the celebrity who endorses the product or service. Q7, 8, 9, 10 11 Likeability (Independent) Impact of celebrity advertisement on customers brand perception It explains how the charm or glamour of the celebrity affects the sales of the brand. Q 24 25 Trustworthiness (Independent) Celebrity endorsements- Hidden factors to success The celebritys history with the consumers develops a level of trust between the two parties and this is what trustworthiness explains here. Q 22 23 [Source: Chabo Dimed et. al (2005). Celebrity endorsement-Hidden factors to success, Journal of Advertising pp. 298-301] Research Methodology This section outlines and elaborates on the research and how it was conducted. It covers the details of the research design, methodology for collecting the data, population, questionnaire development and data analysis. The aim of the paper is to figure out how celebrity or endorsements affect brands. The basic idea is to equip ourselves with additional research on the phenomenon of consumer response with respect to celebrity endorsed brands; this makes the research a basic research. Since the objective is to find how celebrity endorsements affect brands, this research is termed causal in nature. Data Type The bulk of this study revolves around quantitative data due to the fact that there is greater chance of bias in qualitative data as well as the fact that that numeric data is easier to analyze and understand. Data may be clearly measured and hence this serves as the major portion of the analysis. Quantitative data has been obtained through questionnaires, filled up by employees of Lowe Rauf as well as the final consumers so that both perspectives are covered. Qualitative data is in the form of interviews, two of which are conducted; one with the GM of the Lahore division and another, a joint interview with the account managers of Nestle and Mitchells. Population The study is based on understanding how consumers purchase intention is affected in the wake of celebrity endorsement. Since the study is limited to Lahore, the overall population sample would be equal users in Lahore, which equates to 4,695,600 (based on local census). Sampling Procedure Convenience, non-probability sampling is used for the questionnaire, based on the ease of access and availability of resources for the researcher. The final sample for the questionnaire consists of 30 users (16 male, 14 female) with varying ages, income brackets and occupations. For the interview, as stated, Anwar Kabir (GM Lahore branch) and the two account managers (Haris Habib and Zakria Fawad) are interviewed, based on convenience as well as relevant experience, working within the industry and actually hiring celebrities. Sampling Frame For the purpose of this research, the list of elements upon which the sample is selected from the population includes the fact that they should be easily accessible to the researcher (as convenience sampling is used). The other element of is that at least 50% of the sample should fall into the SEC B income bracket. This is because research shows this class to be the most frequent users of these products. For the interview, the major element (apart from convenience) is that the persons should be experienced in terms of the celebrity endorsement process and must have actually worked on campaigns to select celebrities based on different factors. Data Collection Procedure This research is based on the primary data collection approach. Questionnaires are used for collecting data. Personally administered questionnaires have been used. They were distributed to a total of 30 people of different ages, occupation and income; requiring them to fill a total of 30 questions each. Once the questionnaires were filled they were collected. The anonymity and confidentiality of the respondents and their responses has been ensured and data was analyzed at an aggregate level only. Close ended questions are used in the questionnaire which helps the respondents to make quick decisions to choose among the several alternative before them (Sekaran, 2000). The nature of the questionnaire has also helped the researcher to code the information easily for subsequent analysis. Likert-style rating scale was used; it consists of subsequent options: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree. Different statements were made in the questions and respondents were asked the degree as to what they agree or disagree upon. Questionnaire Development The questionnaire itself was kept simple and basic to ensure clarity and reduce bias. The purpose was to gather data from the selected population sample with regards to the topic. The questionnaire consisted of two parts, the first section contained six questions seeking information about the respondents age, gender, income, marital status, education and occupation. The second section contained questions that were based on information regarding the variables identified in the first chapter, this section itself consisting of five sub-sections; brand recognition and recall, purchase intention, endorser credibility and trustworthiness, endorser attractiveness likeability and image fit. The information attained would be used to analyze the findings and further the study. [Questionnaire attached in Appendix 1] Respondent Profile Data collection from the questionnaires shows that the respondent is a single 18-28 year male student with an income of 30,000-40,000. The other type of respondent is an 18-28 year old housewife with kids and income of 30,000-40,000. [Graphical representations of respondent demographics in Appendix 2] Data Analysis Procedure Once all the data is compiled, it is transferred to SPSS. This is done to understand how purchase intention is affected by the variables outlined in the theoretical framework. Values in the questionnaire are changed to numeric form so that data is quantified. Questions with the Likert-scale rating are given numeric forms, with 1 representing strongly disagree to 5 representing strongly agree. Using this method, the data is input into the software and a regression model is created, along with descriptive statistics and frequency tables. Chapter VI: Results Findings Interview Findings There were two interviews conducted within the Lowe Rauf agency, the first was with the general manager, Anwar Kabir and the second was with Zakria Fawad, the account service maanger. The interviews revealed that it is necessary to prioritize the needs of the firm as well as the agency in light of the budget allotted to the advertisement itself and the portion of the budget available to hire a spokesperson. Since the ideal spokesperson may not be within budget or may not be available due to other reasons, it is imperative that the importance of the key celebrity endorsers attributes be ranked and measured in terms of the impact on purchase intention of the relevant consumer. There were five key attributes that were thought to be important by the Lowe Rauf management, which were: attractiveness, likability, brand fit, trust worthiness and recognition. The order of their importance however is very subjective and it is believed that a more objective means to rank these and other relevant variables, would serve to make better and more informed judgments as to the importance of each variable as per the needs of the client. Hence it becomes important to conduct a regression analysis and quantify the impact of each variable on the purchase intention of consumers within the target customer category. Purchase intention = 0.0461095 + 0.353232* brand recognition and recall + 0.351173* trustworthiness + 0.133718* attractiveness 0.0495677* image fit + 0.21128* likeability The model tested has a coefficient of determina