Showing posts with label Introduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Introduction. Show all posts

Introduction Of The Town Malacca History Essay

 


There is a popular story on how the town Malacca was found by Prince was out hunting one day and while resting under a tree, one of his dogs cornered a mouse-deer or 'pelandok'.


The mouse-deer in its defence attacked the dog and even forced it into the river-water. Parameswara was so taken up by the courage of the mouse-deer that he decided on the spot to found a city on the ground he was sitting on. Thus, Melaka or Malacca was born. Many claimed that the prince took this name from the 'Melaka' tree that was shading him.


Melaka was founded by Parameswara (or Raja Iskandar) the last Malay ruler of Temasik (ancient Singapore) in 1396 when he and his followers retreated up the straits to Muar, then to Sungai Ujung before settling at Bertam near the estuary of Melaka River.


Finding the place of strategic location, he decided to make a permanent settlement there, naming it "Melaka" after the name of the tree he leaned against


The Melaka Sultanate occupies a special position in the history of Malaysia. Its inauguration marked the beginning of the emergence of a new Malay empire. The birthplace of the Malay Sultanates and Malaysia's historic city, Melaka provided the stage on which the Portuguese, Dutch and English played out their roles in shaping the history.


Melaka emerged as a strong maritime trading state under the industrious Parameswara and his chiefs. Melaka also began to be noticed by Muslim traders from West Asia and India, who until that period, had been concentrating their activities in Aru, Pedir and Pasai en-route to the East, especially China. Because of its strategic location straddling the Straits of Melaka, it thrived as a port-of-call and a centre of entrepot trade with ships and merchants from China, Japan, India, Arab and South Africa.


In 1511, it fell to the hands of the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch in 1641 after a fierce battle. In 1795, Melaka was given to the British to prevent it falling to the French when the Netherlands was captured during the Napoleonic Wars. It was returned to the Dutch in 1818 under the treaty of Vienna but was later exchanged by the British for Bangkahulu, Sumatra. From 1826 onwards, the British East India Company along with Singapore and Penang governed it, under the Straits Settlement administration in Calcutta.


The Dutch, who held Melaka for over a century, left many fine buildings marking their heritage. The most imposing relic of the Dutch period is the Stadthuys, a strikingly pink town hall which is today the oldest Dutch building in the Far East. Right next to it stands the bright red Christ Church, constructed with pink bricks imported from Holland and covered with local red lacerite. Today, these buildings together with the ruins of the Portuguese built A Famosa and St. Paul's Church are the most prominent reminders of the Europeans' presence in Melaka.


After World War II, anti-colonial sentiment bred in the country among the nationalists, the result of which was the proclamation of Independence by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Malaysia's first Prime Minister, at the Padang Pahlawan (Warrior's Field) at Bandar Hilir, Melaka on 20 February 1956


Melaka road map - via the North-South Highway


Melaka is located on the Western Coast of Peninsular Malaysia facing the Straits of Melaka, about 147 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur and 245 kilometers from Singpore. Melaka is actually found sandwiched between the states of Negeri Sembilan and Johor. It can be reached by excellent roads from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Internally it is serviced by a very good network of roads leading to all the historical places of interest. It covers and area of 658 square kilometers and is divided into three districts namely Alor Gajah, Melaka Tengah and Jasin.


Malacca has a population of 648,000 as of 2001. The population comprises: Malays: 50%; Chinese: 40%; Indians, including the Chitty people: a sizeable minority; Kristang, people with partial Portuguese ancestry: a small community. The major towns of Malacca are Malacca Town, Alor Gajah, Masjid Tanah, Jasin, Merlimau, Pulau Sebang and Ayer Keroh.


Malacca is well-known for its baba & nyonya style spicy cooking which normally gets served with rich coconut milk. There are numerous specialist baba & nyonya restaurants in town and the suburb area where they serve the mouth watering food, not only known to be the best in Malacca, but in the South East Asia region too. The baba-nyonya food is not the only delicacies around, there's the "satay celup" (Satay stick with raw meat/Vegas dipped in hot boiling satay sauce for cooking), "ikan bakar" which literally means barbecue fish served in grilled aluminium foil or banana leaf heavily marinated with spices that tingle the senses. Not forgetting the odd looking chicken ball rice (a rice pudding shaped like a golf ball) which you dip with chilly to consume its wholesome goodness. Also there's another local favourite - the oyster omelette served in stir fried egg, spring onions and sweet or spicy paste.


For the more adventurous and able to withstand spicy food, there's the portuguese village with a few specialty "tongue burning" dishes, the dishes that will get your stomach growling whole night after a heavy meal.


There's also a restaurant behind some obscure back lane which serves the soft-shell crab, yes !!!! ... a crab dish that you can eat the flesh together with the shell intact. This place has limited seating and one needs to book 3 days in advance to reserve a place.


The "Cin-Cau", a kind of dark grass jelly drink which has a cooling effect is popularly served at restaurants. For that icy-cool feeling, indulge in the "ice kacang" , a refreshment made of shaved ice with red beans, nuts, jelly etc.


Also not forgetting the "cendol", a kind a pandan flavoured jelly served in coconut milk. Someone even improvise on the "cendol" and invented the "durian" flavoured cendol. This is extremely popular with the local tourist but the aroma maybe a bit too pungent for overseas visitors.


There are many variation for cendol desserts offered, one of the best was the shaved ice red bean paste cendol in rich coconut milk. It's served in a small stall with barely 5 tables and every weekend afternoon, folks are literally queuing up to get a seat at the stall. The cost? Only a mere RM 1.


Another local favourite is the "Bubur Cha Cha, a sweet dessert made from steamed sweet potatoes, yam, white beans, tapioca jelly in coconut milk.


A Famosa, or "The Famous" in Portuguese, is among the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Asia. Once part of a mighty fortress, this tiny gate (called the Porta de Santiago) is all that is left of a once-mighty fortress. In 1511 a Portuguese fleet arrived under the command of Alfonso de Albequerque. His forces attacked and successfully defeated the armies of the native Sultanate. Moving quickly to consolidate his gains, Albequerque had the fortress built around a natural hill near the sea. Albequerque believed that Melaka would become an important port linking Portugal to the spice trade from China. At his time other Portuguese were establishing outposts in such places as Macau, China and Goa, India in order to create a string of friendly ports for ships heading to China and returning home to Portugal.


Air Keroh lies about 15 km east of Melaka Town, a tourist complex with hotels, golf courses, recreational forest, a zoo, a reptile park, butterfly farm, crocodile farm, aquarium, Mini Malaysia and Mini Asean.


Bukit China is situated southeast of Malacca Town, about 148 metres above sea level and covers an area of 42 hectares.


There are more than 12,500 graves on Bukit China including approximately 20 Muslim tombs. The existence of these Muslim tombs has made this Chinese cemetery all the more special and unique. Bukit China is also believed to be the oldest and largest traditional Chinese cemetery outside China. According to our records, there were also graves of Kapitans and early Chinese immigrants on the hill long before the hill was purchased from the Dutch Government in 1685 by Capitan Lee Wei King and donated to the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple as a burial ground for the Chinese community in Malacca.


The oldest tomb, more than three centuries old, is a double burial. The tomb of Mr. & Mrs. Huang Wei-Hung (situated near the basketball court of SRJK Pay Fong III) was built in the second year of Tian Hee of Ming Dynasty (1622). The weather had taken a heavy toll on the tomb, and in 1933 Cheng Hoon Teng Temple had undertaken to repair it. A stone inscription was erected to mark it. The tomb was again restored in 2001.


Bukit China Bukit China


Since the British rule until today, there had been several attempts to acquire Bukit China for road widening, land reclamation and development purposes. However, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, which is responsible for the management of the hill, had strongly opposed these attempts. With the support of the general public, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple managed to preserve Bukit China. Bukit China is the place where early traders from China were buried.


It was stated on the stone steles that many of the Chinese traders came to this country with high expectations for success in trade. Sadly, some died before fulfilling their ambitions. Since their families did not travel with them, there was no one to pray for their souls. As such, prayers were initiated by the Chinese Kapitans for them. However, these were always hampered by strong winds and heavy rainfalls because there was no proper shelter.


Cheng Hoon Teng's Temple


Cheng Hoon Teng is a premier historical monument that has survived the ravages of time. It remains the finest of Chinese temples in Malaysia – a fact underscored by an UNESCO award for outstanding architectural restoration. The temple ranks among the most significant in Southeast Asia, being central to the spiritual aspirations of the Chinese community in historic Malacca.


This site is dedicated to the vision of Cheng Hoon Teng’s founders and the determination of its devotees to preserve their unique bastion of culture and heritage.


Christ Church


Situated near Jalan Laksamana and Jalan Gereja in Melaka city. 


This is a churh built in 1753 by Dutch to commemorate a century of their rule. It is reputed as the oldest protestant church in Malaysia. It is now an Anglican Church. The building shows the ingenuity of the Dutch architectural world. The beams were constructed from cutting and carving from a single tree and have no joints. The hand-made pews dated back some 200 years. The altar is a beautiful piece of the 'Last Supper' done in glazed tiles.


Gadek Hot Spring


Located in the District of Alor Gajah, approximately 30 km away from Malacca. It was believed that local villagers discovered the hot spring in the forest after watching some English soldiers settled around the spring. After the war, visitors from far and wide discovered that the hot spring had strong healing elements unlike many that they had encountered before. Today visitors can enjoy the spa pool or the "Soak In Pool" for those seeking therapeutic cure for skin ailments. A restuarant and playground is made available to provide additional attractions for visitors. An ideal spot for family outing.


Hang Jebat’s Mausoleum


Hang Jebat's Mausoleum


Hang Jebat was the champion of justice who died a tragic death. Hang Jebat was unceremoniously killed by Hang Tuah in a duel of honour that lasted 3 days and 3 nights. He ran amuck after suffering a fatal wound from Hang Tuah's dagger 'Keris Taming Sari.' In the name of justice to avenge the Sultan's hasty punishment against Hang Tuah for a crime he didn't commit. Hang Jebat was accused by Hang Tuah of 'derhaka' (contumacy). The duel between two of Malacca's most prominent knights has left a permanent question as to the moral behind Hang Jebat's aberrant reaction against authority and the conventions by which Hang Tuah exercised his conduct as a loyal subject of the Sultan.


Jonker Street


A definite haven for antique collectors and bargain hunters. Authentic artifacts and relics. some dating as far back as 300 years, can be found among a host of interesting collectibles, each with its own history and mystery. Jalan Hang Jebat, formerly known as Jonker Street, is known worldwide among famous antique collectors as one of the best places to hunt and bargain for antiques.


Melaka's Sultanate Palace


Malacca Sultanate Palace is an exquisite piece of Malay architecture and is a replica of the original 15th century palace of Malacca's extinct Sultanate. The palace is built based on sketches found in the ancient Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals). This wooden replica of the Sultan's palace houses the Malacca Cultural Museum.


Facing the palace is the Historic City Memorial Garden. An intriguing monument to commemorate the declaration of Malacca as a Historic City is the showpiece of this garden. The monument is topped with a replica of a Malay royal headdress, a symbol of Malaysians' allegiance to the throne. 


Resourceless Malacca with a Iand area of only 1,638 sq. metres practises a two-pronged development via industrialisation and tourism.


The state started inviting over foreign investors in the early 7Os and since then has met with commendable success. By end of 1997, the state had registered a total investment of over RM16 bil., leading to over 80,000 job opportunities.


There are now 23 industrial estates with nearly 500 factories coming from the United States, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and also Singapore.


Their products range from rubber gloves to sophisticated weaponry components and from footwear to computer parts.


The state is also keen on the development of small-scale industries and to accommodate these, a number of estates have been earmarked for them. The Tanjung Kling and Batu Berendam areas are Free Trade Zones where imported materials used in manufacture are tax-free.


Current projections include developing Malacca into a manufacturing haven to help achieve developed country status by 2020.Over 140 acres in Pegoh, Alor Gajah, have been earmarked for the automotive industry for the production of defence trucks by DRH-Hicom.


This industry is expected to provide opportunities for supporting industries, like mould and die, metal stamping, plastic injection, alternators and many others.


ANTIQUE SHOPS AND THE MODERN SHOPPING MALLS


Malacca is truly an antique shopper's paradise. Many artifacts and authentic antique items are available at more than 15 antique shops lining the busy streets of Jonker Street, affectionately known as the "street of antiques" and is well known among the international antique collectors. The street is named Jalan Hang Jebat today. Along the streets, one can find houses built in the 17th century, still standing strong and housing generations of Malaccans.


The streets are very narrow and most are converted into one-way streets. Most of the houses are very spacious, has an air-well and occupies up to 50 metres in length. It's along these streets one will find the unmistakable historical charm that is uniquely Malacca. Apart from antique shops, one can also find a few art galleries and some antique furniture shops that cater to international visitors.


Opposite the padang Pahlawan, within a short walking distance from the Dutch square is the largest shopping mall in Malacca - The Mahkota Parade. Its modern facilites and well-managed shop fronts (over 150 of them) offer visitors the comfort and luxury of shopping for just about everything under the sun "under one roof".


There are over 30 stalls in the food courts, numerous fast food chains, restaurants and even ice cream parlours to satisfy the youngest and toughest of shoppers. For entertainment, there's also a cineplex for viewing the latest movies, family video games arcade,. spa and a 30 lane spanking new bowling complex.


Introduction of financial and monetary system


The Malaysian financial system has emerged stronger and more diversified and competitive since the Asian financial crisis. And that is because The Malaysian financial landscape has undergone continuous transformation in the last decade, driven by financial liberalization and consolidation, economic transformation, technological advancements and more discerning consumers.


The Malaysian economy was flourishing prior to the crisis, with strong broad-based economic growth amidst low and stable inflation. Growth in gross domestic product averaged 8% for eight consecutive years, with low unemployment and high domestic savings. Coupled with a strong fiscal surplus and low foreign indebtedness, Malaysia’s economic fundamentals were relatively strong. The banking sector was also at its strongest position following periods of regulatory enhancements. At the time, Malaysia had already complied with 22 of the 25 Bank for International Settlements Core Principles. These developments attracted the influx of capital flows, prompting the government to introduce


Measures to prevent further overheating in the economy and address the vulnerabilities that emerged. Despite the strong fundamentals and responses of the government, the country was hit by the crisis through contagion. When all that happens the government is the one to take responsibilities on what to do.


Financial systems are crucial to the allocation of resources in a modern economy but They seeks the efficient allocation of resources among savers and borrowers. A healthy financial system requires, among other things, efficient and solvent financial intermediaries, efficient and deep markets, and a legal framework that defines clearly the rights and obligations of all agents involved.and the function of financial system is that; Financial systems help inform your organization’s planningand action plans. Financial systems also help you track and manage the resources required to successfully complete your work. These tips provide basic practices you will need to build financial sustainability in your organization.


Other reasons why developing financial systems are important include:


Financial systems and capacity help the organization to make sound decisions based on cash flow and available resources


Monitoring funds, or comparing actual income and expenses versus budgeted amounts, helps managers ensure that the necessary funds are in place to complete an activity


Most governments require that registered, charitable organizations create accounts that track income and expenses


Funders require reports that demonstrate that grants were used for intended purposes


Establishing financial controls and clear accounting procedures help ensure that funds are used for intended purposes


Transparency, clear planning and realistic projections contributes to the credibility of the organization.


FINANCIAL CONTROLS AND MONITORING


Accounting Records


Financial Planning


Financial Monitoring and Reporting


Governing Board


Internal Control


Establish a process that records every financial transaction by maintaining paper files, an


electronic database, and copying all records in a virtual library. Your organization needs to be able to demonstrate what funds were received and how funds were spent. A system should also be developed to track donations from individuals to keep donors updated of the organization’s progress or to solicit annual and repeat contributions. A separate accounting system should be developed for funding from foundations with the original proposal and budget, dates of receipt of funds, notes on allowable expenditures, and reporting requirements so that you can respond to funders’ requests for financial records or in case of audits.


Financial planning converts your organization’s objectives into a budget. The budget serves as a critical planning guide for your staff and governing board. It is a public record for funders of how you intend to spend the funds received. Financial planning allows you to review your organization, examining successes and challenges in the past. Planning also enables you to make projections and set targets, informing strategies for future success.


Drawing from the information in the accounting records, your organization can create internal reports that help monitor progress by comparing budgets to actual expenses. Frequent reviews and monitoring allows the governing board and staff to measure your organization’s progress and helps inform decisionmaking about the organization’s or a project’s future. Internal reports, sometimes called management reports, allow you to be forward thinking as you assess the financial status of the organization and what will be needed to realize your goals. Accounting records are also the source for creating external financial reports that demonstrate to funders and other stakeholders how funds have been spent. Funders may require financial reports at the completion of the project or periodically during the project’s implementation.


A governing board, whether comprised by a board of directors or leadership from the community, serves as stewards of an organization’s resources. Governing boards should participate in approving budgets, financial monitoring and reviews, and agree upon and ensure that internal controls are implemented. The board treasurer who has skills in accounting should be the lead person in working with the staff in ensuring financial accountability


Controls are organizational practices that help safeguard your assets and ensure that money is being handled properly. Controls help detect errors in accounting, prevent fraud or theft, and help support the people responsible for handling your organization’s finances. Employing financial systems that help build checks and balances, support your program planning ability, and increase your success with budgeting and assessing progress in programming, can significantly advance an organization’s capacity to begin thinking about long-term plans and financial sustainability.


Financia markets include the following;


Debt markets- Debt markets are physical and virtual forums and sets of rules that allow investors, issuers, and intermediaries to perform issuance, placement, distribution, and trading operations with the debt instruments registered in the National Securities Registry. Debt instruments are also known as fixed-rate instruments since they promise the holder a fixed cash flow and payments that are determined in accordance with a specified, pre-established formula.


Stock markets- Stock markets are physical and virtual forums and sets of rules that allow investors, issuers, and intermediaries to perform issuance, placement, distribution, and trading operations with the shares registered in the National Securities Registry


Derivatives- Through a derivatives market, participants enter into contracts with instruments whose value is derived or contingent upon the value of another asset or other assets, known as the underlying asset or assets. The key purpose of a derivatives market is to provide financial hedging or investment instruments in order to foster adequate risk management.


Foreign exchange- On a foreign exchange market, buyers and sellers trade foreign currency. The volume of foreign currency transactions determines the daily prices of various currencies , and the exchange rate with respect to the national currency.


Set of mechanisms by which a government provides money in a country's economy. It usually consists of a mint,central bank, and commercial banks OR is anything that is a ccepted as a standard of value and measure of wealth in a particular region.


http://www.monetarysystem.com/images/person.png


E-BankSupport- E- BankSupport furnishes the infrastructure services necessary to set up and maintain Monetary System applications. Through strategic relationships with vendors and software developers, E- BankSupport keeps users productive, systems humming and bank clients moving forward and equipped with the hardware and programs required for competition in this digital world. Multiple dimensions of product support are available to all participants in the Monetary System Network, including remote control digital diagnostics and systems repair.


E-BankDocs- E-BankDocs permits you to selectively grant access to privileged information to lawyers, accountants, regulators and consultants as required. Just set up their user privileges and walk away.  E- BankDocs can help speed these reviews to completion, and keep these people out of your office as much as possible.


E-BankForms- E- BankForms is our brilliant document creation application that can have anyone creating on-line forms in minutes. Choose from a wide variety of formatting options. Add, delete, or change the layout of a questionnaire with a couple mouse clicks.  Designating recipients of the data you collect is as simple as adding an email address. Publish your forms on-line instantly, without resorting to special purpose software. Get the jump on your competition with instant notifications of on-line responses. E- BankForms can add whole new dimensions to your marketing, sales, mortgage processing and administrative operations.  


Employ-E-Room- Employ-E-Room adapts the Monetary System’s capabilities to the needs of employee’s. Keep a comprehensive file of all your personnel forms on-line, and download or print hard copies on-demand and anywhere. Configure them for on-line completion and keep the information you get back safe from prying eyes. Store your policy statements in a place where employees can readily consult them, and managers can easily update them. Post employee directories and get rid of that hard copy phone book. Empoy-E-Room puts it all in reach.


E-Board- The core of the Monetary System is E-Board. This powerhouse application brings boardroom management to the E-age. It’s never been so easy to build and organize an electronic filing cabinet for your official records.  Store minutes, financials and reports in an electronic bank vault accessible only to your Board and designated staff members. E-Boards built-in communications functionality ensures that information gets information to the people who need it faster, and at lower costs. Authorized users can send bulletins, schedule meetings and retrieve important files and documentation themselves, without assistance, postage or wait time.


Available networking functions let you extend E-Board’s utility to the Boardroom itself, and give you even more control over paper flow. Download material to your   laptop computers for complete portability. Link units together for dynamic, paperless presentations. Update information in real time across the table or across the state.



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Introduction Of British Cuisine History Essay

 


British cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Historically, British cuisine means "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavour, rather than disguise it." However, British cuisine has absorbed the cultural influence of those that have settled in Britain, producing hybrid dishes, such as the South Asian chicken tikka masala, hailed as "Britain's true national dish".


Sunday roast consisting of roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and Yorkshire pudding


Vilified as "unimaginative and heavy", British cuisine has traditionally been limited in its international recognition to the full breakfast and the Christmas dinner. However, Celtic agriculture and animal breeding produced a wide variety of foodstuffs for indigenous Celts and Britons. Anglo-Saxon England developed meat and savoury herb stewing techniques before the practice became common in Europe. The Norman conquest introduced exotic spices into England in the Middle Ages. The British Empire facilitated a knowledge of India's elaborate food tradition of "strong, penetrating spices and herbs". Food rationing policies, put in place by the British government during wartime periods of the 20th century, are said to have been the stimulus for British cuisine's poor international reputation.


British dishes include fish and chips, the Sunday roast, steak and kidney pie, and bangers and mash. British cuisine has several national and regional varieties, including English, Scottish and Welsh cuisine, which each have developed their own regional or local dishes, many of which are geographically indicated foods such as Cheshire cheese, the Yorkshire pudding, Arbroath Smokier, and Welsh cakes.


1 History


2 Modern British cuisine


3 Varieties


3.1 Anglo-Indian cuisine


3.2 English cuisine


3.3 Gibraltarian cuisine


3.4 Northern Irish cuisine


3.5 Scottish cuisine


3.6 Welsh cuisine


5 curing (food preservation)


5.1 Chemical actions


5.1.1 Salt


5.1.2 Sugar


5.1.3 Nitrates and nitrites


5.1.4 Smoke


5.2 History


5.3 Some cured food products


6 Salt cured meat


7 Bacon


8 Pork


9 curing storage vegetables


10 References


Romano-British agriculture, highly fertile soils and advanced animal breeding produced a wide variety of very high quality foodstuffs for indigenous Romano-British people. Anglo-Saxon England developed meat and savoury herb stewing techniques and the Norman conquest reintroduced exotic spices and continental influences back into Great Britain in the Middle Ages as maritime Britain became a major player in the transcontinental spice trade for many centuries after. Following the Protestant Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries "plain and robust" food remained the mainstay of the British diet, reflecting tastes which are still shared with neighbouring north European countries and traditional North American Cuisine. In the 18th and 19th centuries, as the Colonial British Empire began to be influenced by India's elaborate food tradition of "strong, penetrating spices and herbs", the United Kingdom developed a worldwide reputation for the quality of British beef and pedigree bulls were exported to form the bloodline of major modern beef herds in the New World.


Fish and chips, a popular take-away food of the United Kingdom.


During the World Wars of the 20th century difficulties of food supply were countered by official measures which included rationing. The problem was worse in the second World War and the Ministry of Food was established to address the problems. See Rationing in the United Kingdom during and after World War II. Due to the economic problems following the war rationing continued for some years afterwards. Food rationing policies, put in place by the British government during wartime periods of the 20th century, are often claimed as the stimulus for the decline of British cuisine in the twentieth century.


In common with many advanced economies, rapid urbanisation and the early industrialisation of food production as well as female emancipation have resulted in a highly modern consumer society with reduced connection to the rural environment and adherence to traditional household roles. Consequently food security has increasingly become a major popular concern. Concerns over the quality and nutritional value of industrialised food production led to the creation of the Soil Association in 1946. Its principles of organic farming are now widely promoted and accepted as an essential element of contemporary food culture by many sections of the UK population, and animal welfare in farming is amongst the most advanced in the world. The last half of the 20th century saw an increase in the availability of a greater range of good quality fresh products and greater willingness by many sections of the British population to vary their diets and select dishes from other cultures such as those of Italy and India.


Modern British (or New British) cuisine is a style of British cooking which fully emerged in the late 1970s, and has become increasingly popular. It uses high-quality local ingredients, preparing them in ways which combine traditional British recipes with modern innovations, and has an affinity with the Slow Food movement.


It is not generally a nostalgic movement, although there are some efforts to re-introduce pre-twentieth-century recipes. Ingredients not native to the islands, particularly herbs and spices, are frequently added to traditional dishes (echoing the highly spiced nature of much British food in the medieval era).


The custom of afternoon tea and scones has its origins in Imperial Britain.


Much Modern British cooking also draws heavily on influences from Mediterranean cuisines, and more recently, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. The traditional influence of northern and central European cuisines is significant but fading.


The Modern British style of cooking emerged as a response to the depressing food rationing that persisted for several years after the Second World War, along with restrictions on foreign currency exchange, making travel difficult. A hunger for exotic cooking was satisfied by writers such as Elizabeth David, who from 1950 produced evocative books whose recipes (mostly French and Mediterranean) were then often impossible to produce in Britain, where even olive oil could only normally be found in chemists rather than food stores. By the 1960s foreign holidays, and foreign-style restaurants in Britain, further widened the popularity of foreign cuisine. Recent Modern British cuisine has been very much influenced and popularised by TV chefs, all also writing books, such as Fanny Cradock, Robert Carrier, Delia Smith, Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, alongside the Food Programme, made by BBC Radio 4.


Anglo-Indian cuisine is the often distinct cuisine of the Anglo-Indian community in both Britain and India.


Some Anglo-Indian dishes involve traditional British cuisine, such as roast beef, with cloves, red chillies, and other Indian spices. Fish or meat is often cooked in curry form with Indian vegetables. Anglo-Indian food often involves use of coconut, yogurt and almonds. Roasts and curries, rice dishes, and breads all have a distinctive flavour.


Some well-known Anglo-Indian dishes are salted beef tongue, kedgeree, fish rissoles, and mulligatawny. The cuisine's sweetmeats include seasonal favourites like the "kul-kuls" and "rose-cookies" traditionally made at Christmas time. There is also a great deal of innovation to be seen in their soups, entrees, side dishes, sauces and salads.


Some early restaurants in England served Anglo-Indian food, such as Veeraswamy in Regent Street, London, and their sister restaurant, Chutney Mary. They have however, largely reverted to the standard Indian dishes that are better known to the British public.


The term is also used for the Indian dishes adapted during the British Raj in India, some of which later became fashionable in Britain.


The British also introduced some European foods to India which are still eaten now, such as beetroot.


The fusion cuisine between Indian ingredients or spices and British ingredients – such as bread, bacon and baked beans – is also known as Brit Indi cuisine. This term was popularised by Manju Malhi.


English cuisine is shaped by the climate of England, its island geography and its history. The latter includes interactions with other European countries, and the importing of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China and southern Asia during the time of the British Empire and as a result of immigration.


This article is part of the series:


Gibraltarian cuisine is the result of a long relationship between the Andalucian Spaniards and the British, as well as the many foreigners who made Gibraltar their home over the past three centuries. The culinary influences include those from Malta, Genoa, Portugal, Andalusia and England. This marriage of tastes has given Gibraltar an eclectic mix of Mediterranean and British cuisine.


Below are some examples of typical Gibraltarian dishes.


Pasta


Rosto


Fideos al horno


Bread


Savoury


Calentita


Panissa


Sweet


Bollo de hornasso


Pan dulce


Meat


Rolitos


Pastries


Japonesa


Irish cuisine is a style of cooking originating from Ireland or developed by Irish people. It evolved from centuries of social and political change. The cuisine takes its influence from the crops grown and animals farmed in its temperate climate. The introduction of the potato in the second half of the sixteenth century heavily influenced cuisine thereafter. Irish beef is exported worldwide and renowned for its high quality. Representative Irish dishes are Irish stew, bacon and cabbage, boxty, coddle, and colcannon.


Scottish cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with Scotland. It shares much with British cuisine, but has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own. Traditional Scottish dishes such as haggis and shortbread exist alongside international foodstuffs brought about by migration. Scotland is known for the high quality of its beef, potatoes and oats. In addition to foodstuffs, Scotland produces a variety of whiskies.


Welsh cuisine has influenced, and been influenced by, other British cuisine. Although both beef and dairy cattle are raised widely, especially in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Wales is best known for its sheep, and thus lamb is the meat traditionally associated with Welsh cooking.


Bacon and kippers


Northern European countries generally have a tradition of salting, smoking, pickling and otherwise preserving foods. Kippers, bloaters, ham, and bacon are some of the varieties of preserved meat and fish known in England. Onions, cabbage and some other vegetables may be pickled. Smoked cheese is not common or traditional, although apple-wood smoked cheddar has become available in many supermarkets.[citation needed] Meats other than pork are generally not cured. The "three breakfasts a day" principle can be implemented by eating bacon sandwiches at any time. (In parts of northern England these have local names such as "bacon sarnies" or "bacon butties".)


Sandwiches


England can claim to have given the world the word "sandwich", although the eponymous John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich was not the first to add a filling to bread. Fillings such as pickled relishes and Gentleman's Relish could also be considered distinctively English. Common types of sandwich are ham, cheese, salad and non-traditional forms such as the "ploughman's lunch" (cheese and pickle).


Curing refers to various food preservation and flavouring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, sugar, nitrates or nitrite. Many curing processes also involve smoking.


The chemical actions of curing are highly complex with slow reactions of proteins and fats through autolysis and oxidation. These reactions can be driven by auto-oxidation alone though it is typically accompanied by enzymes in the curing food as well as beneficial fungi and bacteria.


To enable these slow curing reactions and prevent rapid decomposition through rotting, water is extracted from the food and the food is made inhospitable to micro-organisms. This is usually done by applying salt and a combination of other ingredients to cure the food.


Table salt, which consists primarily of sodium chloride, is the most important ingredient for curing food and is used in relatively large quantities. Salt kills and inhibits the growth of microorganisms by drawing water out of the cells of both microbe and food alike through osmosis. Concentrations of salt up to 20% are required to kill most species of unwanted bacteria.


Once properly salted, the food's interior contains enough salt to exert osmotic pressures that prevent or retard the growth of many undesirable microbes.


Although often used in curing to give a pleasant taste, sugar can also be used to encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria such as those of the Lactobacillus genus. Dextrose or sucrose that is used in this fashion ferments the food.


As the unwanted bacterial growth is delayed, the salt tolerant lactobacillus out competes them and further prevents their growth by generating an acidic environment (around 4.5 pH) through production of lactic acid. This inhibits the growth of other microbes and accounts for the tangy flavour of some cured products.


Nytrosyl-heme


Nitrates and nitrites not only help kill bacteria, but also produce a characteristic flavour and give meat a pink or red colour.


The use of Nitrates in food preservation is controversial, though, due to the potential for the formation of nitrosamines when the preserved food is cooked at high temperature. The usage of either compound is therefore carefully regulated; for example, in the United States, the concentration of Nitrates and Nitrites is generally limited to 200 ppm or lower. However, they are considered irreplaceable in the prevention of botulinum poisoning from consumption of dry-cured sausages by preventing spore germination.


A 2007 study by Columbia University suggests a link between eating cured meats and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nitrites were posited as a possible cause.


Although more frequently used for flavor than preservation, smoke is an antimicrobial and antioxidant. The smoke particles adhere to the outer surfaces of food, inhibiting bacterial growth and oxidation.


The practice of curing meat was widespread among historical civilizations, as a safeguard against wasting food and the possibility of a poor harvest. Although a salt-rich diet is currently implicated in risk for heart disease, in the past food shortage was the greater problem.


Salt cod, which was air-dried in cool northern Europe, was a civilization-changing food product, in that a bountiful but perishable food supply could be converted to a form that allowed for wide travel and thus exploration. Salted meat was widely used as a food source on ships during the Age of Sail, as it is non-perishable and easily stored. Eric Newby wrote that salted meats constituted the majority of shipboard diet even as late as his cruise aboard Moshulu (which lacked any refrigeration) in 1938.


Salted meat and fish are commonly eaten as a staple of the diet in North Africa, Southern China and in the Arctic.


Cured animal products:


Beef


Biltong


Corned beef


Bresaola


Tapa


Lomo


Pork


Ham


Prosciutto


Jambon de Bayonne


Jamón serrano


Jinhua ham


Coppa


Capicola


Lardon


Bacon and Pancetta


Elenski but


Sausage


Salami


Pepperoni


Chorizo


Linguiça


Chinese Sausage (lap cheung)


Fish


Anchovy


Salt cod


Lox (salmon)


Pickled herring


Cured vegetable products:


Tofu


Sauerkraut


Kimchi


Pickled cucumbers


Pickled beets


Olive (fruit)


A bagel containing salt beef and mustard


A packet of salted fish sold in a Singapore supermarket


Salt-cured meat or salted meat, for example bacon and kippered herring, is meat or fish preserved or cured with salt. Salting, either with dry salt or brine, was the only widely available method of preserving food until the 19th century.


Salt inhibits the growth of micro organisms by drawing water out of microbial cells through osmosis. Concentrations of salt up to 20% are required to kill most species of unwanted bacteria. Smoking, often used in the process of curing meat, adds chemicals to the surface of meat that reduce the concentration of salt required.


Salted meat and fish are a staple of the diet in North Africa, Southern China, and in the Arctic. Salted meat was a staple of the mariner's diet in the Age of Sail. It was stored in barrels, and often had to last for months spent out of sight of land. The basic Royal Navy diet consisted of salted beef, salted pork, ship's biscuit, and oatmeal, supplemented with smaller quantities of peas, cheese and butter. [1] Even in 1938, Eric Newby found the diet on the tall ship Moshulu to consist almost entirely of salted meat. Moshulu's lack of refrigeration left little choice as the ship made voyages which could exceed 100 days passage between ports.


Salt beef in the UK and Commonwealth as a cured and boiled foodstuff is sometimes known as corned beef elsewhere, though traditional salt beef is different in taste and preparation. The use of the term corned comes from the fact that the Middle English word corn could refer to grains of salt as well as cereal grains.


Uncooked pork belly bacon strips


Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured in a brine or in a dry packing, both containing large amounts of salt; the result is fresh bacon (also green bacon). Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months (usually in cold air), boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating. Boiled bacon is ready to eat, as is some smoked bacon, but either may be cooked further before eating.


Meat from other animals, such as beef, lamb, chicken, goat, or turkey, may also be cut, cured, or otherwise prepared to resemble bacon, and may even be referred to as "bacon". Such use is common in areas with significant Jewish and Muslim populations. The USDA defines bacon as "the cured belly of a swine carcass"; other cuts and characteristics must be separately qualified (e.g., "smoked pork loin bacon"). For safety, bacon must be treated for trichinella, a parasitic roundworm which can be destroyed by heating, freezing, drying, or smoking.


Pork tenderloin served French-style


Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig (Sus domesticus), which is eaten in many countries. The word pork denotes specifically the fresh meat of the pig, but it is often mistakenly used as an all-inclusive term which includes cured, smoked, or processed meats (ham, bacon, prosciutto, etc.) It is one of the most-commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC.


Pork is eaten in various forms, including cooked (as roast pork), cured (some hams, including the Italian prosciutto) or smoked or a combination of these methods (other hams, gammon, bacon or Pancetta). It is also a common ingredient of sausages. Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, many from pork. Pork is a taboo food item in Islam and Judaism, and its consumption is forbidden in some sects of these two religions.


Some of your storage vegetables need to be cured before storage; some don't.  If you cure vegetables that don't need to be cured, they'll rot.  And if you don't cure vegetables that do need to be cured, they'll rot too.  Time for a good list!


Beet


none


Cabbage


none


Carrot


none


Garlic


1 - 2 weeks in a warm, dry place


Onion


2 - 3 weeks in a warm, dry place


Parsnip


none


Potato


2 weeks at 50 - 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 95% humidity (slightly warmer than a root cellar)


Sweet Potato


2 weeks at 80 - 85 degrees Fahrenheit (dry)


Turnip


none


Winter Squash (including Pumpkins)


2 weeks in a warm, dry place.  (Don't cure acorn squash!)


Curing serves a couple of purposes.  In all crops except white potatoes, a primary purpose is to dry the vegetable up so that it won't rot in storage.  White and sweet potatoes and winter squashes develop a hard skin during curing that will protect the crop during storage.


The cheapest and easiest method come up with for curing vegetables is to lay them out on some old window screens by the side of the road. the first screen on four cinderblocks, cover the screen with drying vegetables, then put bricks on the four corners of the frame to let put another screen on top for a second drying layer.  The trick is to get good air circulation all the way around your vegetables, so don't pile the roots on top of each other. 


People with more space will get away with drying their vegetables inside, but our trailer just isn't big enough to handle that type of operation.  Instead, Harvest my crops a bit earlier than other folks might and put drying racks under a tarp or roof outside to cure storage vegetables before the frost hits.



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Introduction Of The Brand For Products Marketing Essay

With the increasingly intense competition in the services sector, differentiating brands is very tedious and costly. This study presents the customers’ perceptions of brand equity in the case of the hotels, as strong brands would undeniably be the surrogates when the “company offers no fabric to touch, no trousers to try on, no watermelons or apples to scrutinize, no automobile to test-drive,” (Berry, 2000).

Thus the following discussion would be about branding services since there has been minimal inquiry upon it and has evolved as a major component of marketing strategy.

Every company is making the most of its fundamental assets they possess- the brand- may help them attain goals profitably in the long run. The challenge is to comprehend how consumers perceive the brand since organizations have not really come up to a coherent terminology.

According to the world’s standard marketing textbook, written by Philip Kotler (1984), a brand is “…a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.”

This definition considers the identification aspect of the brand as a sign and as label of differentiation from competitors. The rationale behind is correct as it has to do with consumer perception stressing on the supplier’s recognition to make a purchase.

Ambler and Styles (1996, p.10) put forward a refined definition of brand taking into account the intangibility and variability characteristics of services:

“…the promise of the bundle of attributes that someone buys…the attributes that make up a brand may be real or illusory, rational or emotional, tangible or invisible.”

In the “Power of the Brand” by Scott M. Davis (2000) argues that “a brand is made up of three things: what a company sells, what a company does, and what a company is. A brand represents a set of promises. It implies trust, consistency and a defined set of expectations.”

Service branding is crucial for an organization’s competitive advantage, emphasizing on Wood (2000) refined definition of brand that focus mostly on the consumer’s benefits:

“[…] a brand is a mechanism for achieving competitive advantage for firms, through differentiation (purpose). The attributes that differentiate a brand provide the customer with satisfaction and benefits for which they are willing to pay (mechanism).”

However, it did not match with the intense growth of the services sector but increased competition has made service companies realize of its fundamental nature (Chernatony & McDonald, 2003).

In the context of services, the company itself is the prime and meaningful brand compared to branding goods. Initially the focal point was on product preferably than services as such there has been minimal inquiry on how to brand a service. Much of the study has converged to service quality, service failures and customer evaluation of service in the marketing domain (O’ Cass & Grace, 2004).

According to Davis (2000), branding services merges the activities undertaken by a company from the customer’s point of view. Also, it is critical to apply branding in the service arena underpinning that services are intangible in nature for consumers to assess the quality. Service brand is eventually a promise of future satisfaction that customers believe in the invisible purchase (Berry, 2000).

Dobree and Page (1990) postulated five phases for branding services successfully:

building a brand proposition

overcoming internal barriers

measuring delivery against the proposition

continual improvement

expansion

Service branding comprises of multiple interfaces, as opposed to product branding. This involves the contact between the customers and the diverse staff across the service companies, thus resulting in the distinct experiences with the brand (Mc Donald et al, 2001)

The overall conception of branding goods and services is similar but the discrepancy lies in the execution of the product and service brand. Services have a number of distinctive characteristics including intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity of quality and perishability (Jones et al, 2002).

Service branding is predominantly unlike that make service traits distinguish from physical goods and they depend much on the employees’ actions and mind set. In this project, the primary aspect impacting on the uniqueness of services is intangibility that is explored to build up successful service brands.

According to Rowley (1997), the objectives of service branding can be classified into the following categories:

to boost sales

to sustain or improve market share

to create a competitive edge

to inform and educate the market

to develop promotional efficiency

It should be noted that services branding might contribute to the attainment of any of these objectives, but it is vital to identify where the main concerns should lie. Moreover, the above-named objectives are not exhaustive as different organizations have diverse objectives.

According to Berry et al (1991), a service brand should possess, if not all, of these attributes:

Distinction. The brand name instantly recognizes the quality of service provided with a means to differentiate it from others.

Relevance. The brand name communicates both the nature of the service or identifies a trait

Memorability. The brand name can be understood, utilized and remembered easily; changing its brevity and simplicity into an asset.

Flexibility. The brand name allows probable growth so far including the current services provided.

Alternatively, Rowley (1997) proposes that service brand names should be simple for customers to say, spell and remember. In similar vein to Berry et al (1991), the brand names should be distinctive. Therefore, service brands are more than just names, which is a blend of all the elements that reflect the intangible nature of the services.

Services cannot be felt, tasted, touched or seen in contrast to goods, making them difficult to grasp mentally. Nevertheless, the existence of some tangible features helps consumers in general to evaluate the services fully. In the ambit of services, the company itself is presented as the brand to make the service more tangible. Studies show that consumers do not require additional information relating to an organization product and services since they are content to presume that well known companies have the exceptional service (Chernatony & Mc Donald, 2003).

Service branding must be made tangible to provide positive perceptions among customers to deal with intangible offerings, as often the service brands run the risk of being perceived as commodities. For instance, physical aspects such as employee attire, interior decoration and the tune played to customers on hold are effective ways to make brands tangible.

From the evaluation spectrum adapted by Zeithaml & Bitner (1996), service companies need to assess their services to allow consumers’ judge their service brand well. The level of difficulty in evaluation often depends on whether consumers are evaluating a search, experience or credence attribute of a service.

Search qualities-identifiable features like colour, smell, feel, price among others that can be judged by consumers before purchase. Word of mouth (WOM) is an effective tool for communication that persuades consumers to suggest the brand mostly to others.

Experience qualities- discerning attributes such as fun, taste and purchase satisfaction that can be best realized only during or after the consumption experience. As such, presentation of service facilities helps consumers to make a viable judgement of the purchase of the brand.

Credence qualities- characteristics that consumers lack to entirely assess the services, yet after consumption to compare the outcome expectations. For instance, service brand need to demonstrate the need to offer the brand attributes artistically through a strong message of trust.

According to Krishnan & Hartline (2001), most services are dominated by experience and credence qualities preferably than search attributes. Therefore, customers are able to assess the service features only during or after the consumption experience. Availability of information can by no means substitute the actual experience for services that are elevated in experience attributes such as a hotel stay (Fung So & King, 2009). Conversely, it has been argued that the presence of search attributes facilitates to tangibilize the service, thereby making the purchase less risky for the customers.

Branding services can also be an effectual means to hint to customers that the organization has devised a particular service offering that is special and deserving of its own name. Branding has obviously become a competitive tool for services. In addition, it helps to make the abstract nature of services more existing (Keller, 2003).

It is indeed fundamental to consider the methods to create successful brands in the services sector. As such, Doyle (1990) postulated four elements of strong branding but their significance in the service domain is not in doubt.

Prioritize quality

Service brands give the customers an indication of the service quality of the organization. High quality helps to create a competitive edge, thereby leading to scale economies. Most importantly, brands reside in the minds of the customers because of the past experience with the quality service.

Offer superior service

Service firms aims at offering exceptional service with regards to differentiating their offering with competitors. The bond between the brand and the customer is based on trust and loyalty with implicit understanding. Only if they derive satisfaction from the superior service, they will take full advantage from it otherwise, switch to another brand with high service levels.

Get there first

The importance here is to reach the customers’ mind set before the entrant of competitors, which is eventually to grasp the market first. This can be done thru’ the creation of rational structures that help customers to categorize the information about the firm’s services, thereby simplifying their decision making.

Be different

The offerings in the service sector are particularly similar but the opportunities to offer the customer something distinctive and special is being exploited by organizations. Moreover, the service brand must be the overall promise projected into the market and the experience delivered and both have to be aligned so it is the customer’s total experience of the organization. Therefore, the need for efficient control of differentiation in services paradigm is essential.

According to Mc Donald et al. (2001), service brands can be built up thru’ a fairly related process to product branding:

establishment of clear brand aims

description of clear positioning; and

choice of apt values

In the context of services, there have been over dependence on the traditional FMCG branding approach. But, the emergence of services branding literature by few scholars has shifted the focus from tangibles to intangibles with a more unbiased perspective.

As a result, the FMCG paradigm was customized with the need to ensure an absolute communication between the customer and the service organization, taking into account its specific nature:

Brand differentiation .Service marketers strive to distinguish their brands thru’ unique selling proposition, thereby building up lasting relationships with customers.

Consumer motivation. Customers are hesitant to switch between service brands because they see the disparities as minor, whereby customer loyalty is difficult to retain.

This chapter provides an overview of service branding. It started with some brief definitions of brand perceived by different scholars. Explanation was given to make clear of the evolving concept of branding in the context of services. It also highlights the objectives of service branding and the characteristics the service names should possess. It also provides emphasis on how to tangibilize the service brand together with the elements for building up successful service brands. The chapter ends with the notion of the modification of the FMCG model in the service companies. Having overviewed service branding, the next chapter deals with the brand equity that eventually relates to the Service Branding Model (Berry, 2000).

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the various economics associated with the brand equity concept. Building brand equity is considered to be the cornerstone of an organization’s success.

It should be noted that, referring to the previous chapter, service branding goes in line with the development of brand equity in the context of services. Thus the following discussion would be about brand equity relating to the Service Branding Model (Berry, 2000).

Brand equity has achieved much attention during the recent years. The commonly accepted definition of brand equity is the “added value endowed by the brand to the product” (Farquhar 1989). It is a primary tool that customers use to seek information about a purchase, like quality.

Aaker (1991) has considered brand equity and its contribution to value by defining brand equity as “the sets of assets (and liabilities) linked to a brand’s name and symbol that adds the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm’s customer”. This explores the fundamental nature of brand equity (Lemon et al, 2001) as customer’s subjective and intangible assessment of the brand, above and beyond its perceived value.

Keller (1993) overlooked the behavioral aspect and delineated brand equity as “the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand”. Alternatively, brand equity has been operationalized by scholars like Blackston (1995) and Lassar et al (1995).

The challenge for hotel industry to gain higher brand equity lies upon “tangiblizing the intangible hotel experience” that customers confide in the invisible purchase (Kayaman & Arasli, 2007).

According to Prasad and Dev (2000), attitudes and perceptions, whether positive or negative, are likely to persuade a customer from choosing a hotel brand, which eventually represents brand equity. As such, they proposed a numerical brand equity index with the aim to help hotel companies capitalize on their brand value. It helps to scrutinize the modifications in brand equity through the use of brand performance and brand awareness as indicators.

Referring to Aaker’s (1991) definition of brand equity- a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand- he grouped the major assets of brand equity model into five components of consumer-related bases that he describes as “brand equity drivers”: brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand associations and other proprietary brand assets such as patents and channel relationships.

According to Chen (2001), brand association is the underlying asset for creating strong brand equity. The reasons behind are:

Brand awareness is not adequate enough to build up strong brand equity though it is a vital driver. A powerful service brand requires more knowledge as compared to a weak brand.

The remaining brand equity dimensions increase brand loyalty. The perceived quality and the brand name help customers to buy and impinge on the satisfaction, thereby leading to brand loyalty. But, sometimes customers do not really think while buying a hotel brand, leading to the exclusion of brand loyalty from the brand equity concept.

Brand awareness is the primary step in building brand equity through the ability to recognize the strength of the brand in the customer’s mind. Social marketers try hard to build this equity through brand awareness that impact on the consumers’ brand choices (Xu & Chan, 2010).

Moreover, recognition and recall are much more than indicators for remembering a hotel brand. Brand recognition is merely to recollect a past experience with that particular brand whilst brand recall is to remember the brand when the service class is mentioned (Aaker, 1996). Little information is adequate enough for customers to know a brand that will eventually elicit a positive response.

Consumers perceive the quality of the offering with an association of the hotel brand development. This association drives the quality of the service delivery, thus fostering long term success.

Perceived quality is the only amongst the brand associations that drive financial performance. In the hotel industry, quality is regarded as the foremost values in the mission statement that depict the authentic hospitality experience. Customers judge an organization performance mainly through the quality of experience. Only if the perceived quality improves, then the customers’ perceptions of the hotel brand trigger a favorable response towards brand loyalty (Aaker, 1996).

Occasionally, brands fail to build up equity without loyalty (Aaker, 2001). Brand loyalty is developed and enhanced through the creation of brand associations that make the brand an important element of the target’s self-image.

Brand loyalty is the determining aspect that boosts the loyalty -building programs of hotel companies. In order to achieve higher brand equity, there is primary need to develop and maintain a positive relationship thru’ customer loyalty. This will ultimately drive the financial performance of the organization, as the costs for attracting new customers are superior to the costs of retaining the potential customers (Xu & Chan, 2010).

According to Aaker (1991, p.109)), a brand association is referred to “anything linked in the memory to a brand”. For instance, the associated link could be the country of origin, organization, competitor or others. He categorized brand associations into eleven types, including “product attributes, intangibles, customer benefits, relative price, use/application, user/ customer, celebrity/person, lifestyle/personality, product class, competitors and country/geographic area.” Brand associations lead customers to describe fully what actually the hotel brand implies to them (Kim et al, 2003).

Three principal perspectives have been adopted in an attempt to understand brand equity. These distinct stances are financial perspective, customer perspective and a combination of both perspectives.

For this study, we will focus on the customer based perspective as it investigates brand equity at the consumer level. The customer based perspective explores brand equity at the consumer level, taking into account the importance of customers as both stakeholders of the organization and target of marketing communications (Xu & Chan, 2010).

It includes the two concepts of brand strength and brand value. Brand strength emphasizes on the perceptions and behaviors that consumers gain from the brand benefits whilst brand value regards the outcome of management capability in financial terms to influence the brand strength for proceeds (Kim et al, 2003).

Brand equity from the customer perspective reflects positivity when customers respond favorably to the degree of marketing activity such as advertising and word of mouth communication. Moreover, customer based brand equity drives financial returns to an organization (Lassar et al, 1995).

Muller (1998) proposed 3 critical points that a service brand should focus so as to build up equity:

Excellent quality products and services

Performance of service delivery; and

Formation of a symbolic and reminiscent image

Aaker‘s (1991) brand equity model has been criticized for minimal clue as to what marketing mix elements should be espoused by hotel managers to develop brand equity but it simplifies the process of measuring the concept of brand equity.

Specifically, Keller (1993) postulated a knowledge- based framework that depicted brands from consumers’ perspective based on two components:

Brand awareness

Brand image

Brand awareness is a crucial step for building up brand equity as it helps customers to identify the particular brand under any conditions. Customers must be aware and be familiar with the offering. Brand image can be referred to as perceptions residing in the minds of the consumers. However, Keller’s (1993) model may not be relevant in the context of services as they are more important to manufactured goods (So & King, 2009).

In the light of the fundamental nature of brand equity, Berry (2000) proposed a different approach - Service Branding Model- to measure brand equity in the services sector. The model helps to explore the relationship between service customers and the brand (O’ Cass & Grace, 2003).

Recognizing the significance of brand development in the services sector, Berry (2000) has postulated a distinct framework – Service Branding Model – depicting the service brand from the customer’s standpoint in the formation of service brand equity. Similarly, Berry (2000) supports Keller (1993) approach that brand equity is influenced by both brand awareness and brand image (brand meaning) (O’Cass & Grace, 2003).

Customer’s experience with the brand is an essential aspect of the service branding model. This underpins the argument of Berry (2000) that customer’s experience with the brand has primary impact on brand meaning and that brand meaning then has primary impact on brand equity.

The service branding model demonstrates the relationships between the six key components namely; brand equity, brand awareness, brand meaning, company’s presented brand, external brand communications and customer experience with company. The relationships between the constructs are illustrated by both dotted lines (secondary impact) and bold lines (primary impact).

Source: Berry (2000)

The primary source of brand awareness, the ability for customers to identify and remember the brand endowed with an indication is the company’s presented brand, i.e. the organization controlled communications. It is the communications that sell the company’s uniqueness and purpose thru’ advertising or promotional materials, service amenities, physical air of service providers, company name and logo.

The next main construct in the service branding model is the external brand communications that have secondary influence on the brand awareness. It refers to the information that customers gather about the service brand which is basically unrestrained by the company. Word of mouth (WOM) communications and publicity are the nearly common types of external brand communications.

Word of mouth (WOM) communications are familiar in the context of services due to their intangible nature, thereby influencing highly in the purchase decision. Publicity can impact not only brand awareness but also brand meaning that ultimately help in brand development (Berry 2000). External brand communications are characterized by the dotted- line link to brand awareness and brand meaning as compared to the bold- line effect of the presented brand on brand awareness.

Alternatively, brand meaning is primarily determined by customer experience with company. Such service experience depends mostly on the brand activities that are internal to the company such as the dealing with the servicescape, supporting the uniform behavior of employees and making sure of the significance of the core service offered by the company. Brand meaning refers to the perceptions of a particular brand from a customer’s perspective. This is because the services sector are labor- intensive, and the human touch plays a vital role in developing the brand thru’ exceptional service. Therefore, customer experience is a crucial element in the model as it depicts the primary impact on brand meaning while company’s presented brand and external brand communications show secondary influence (So & King, 2009).

Customer’s experience with company is more dominant than the company’s presented brand and external brand communications. As such, a presented brand can only generate brand awareness with the existing customers but service experiences differ. Negative experience with a particular service provider will discourage customer’s repeat visit no matter how much advertising. In order to reduce advertising costs with the purpose of attracting new customers, there is the need to retain the existing customers by providing positive service encounters. The source of the experience is the locus of brand formation where the service organization is itself the brand.

Therefore, the Service Branding Model is concluded to be the most appropriate framework to date in exploring brand equity in the hotel services. In order to measure the six constructs in the Berry’s (2000) model, a sample comprising of hotel customers that have direct experience with the hotel brands are required in determining the brand equity. To facilitate this validation, the model is used as a conceptual framework upon which the research hypotheses are developed in the research methodology chapter.

This chapter depicts an apercu of the components and concept of brand equity. It deals with conflicting definitions of brand equity. The different elements of brand equity are also discussed in details. Emphasis is as well given on the brand equity approach from the customer’s perspective. Besides, this chapter deals with the essential Service Branding Model (Berry, 2000) and the relationship between the various constructs. After having reviewed the literature on the brand equity, the following chapter deals with the research methodology of the study.



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Introduction To Consumerism Through Branding Identity Marketing Essay

Consumerism has played a big role in economy and society of the present time. Consumerism is one of the main aspects that have helped the economy to have a good growth. Conspicuous consumption has also taken over the society where people are trying to classify themselves to a certain social status. Hence, branding identities has become one of the approaches used for marketing in the industry.

For this project, we are to propose a design to supply the demand required in Singapore. From the research that has been done, Singaporeans have a strong habit of eating out and therefore there will always be a demand for the food service industry. The proposal for the project would be of a restaurant targeted at the middle-upper class. The decision is supported by a chart that has shown the annual income derived from a restaurant has been at a constant growth despite of the economy crisis. This is because people who usually go to the restaurants come from the middle-upper range with a more stable financial power.

It is common in the modern days for people to take leisure in the place where they eat. This can be considered as consumerism in the service industry as well. Branding identities comes to place as the present society does measure one’s social status from the place where they eat. In order to have a wholesome package of good branding of the restaurant, interior space design plays an important role to predetermine a proper identity for both the restaurant and the future customers. In the direction of proposing a potential scheme, a critical thought has been set for good site selection and design program.

Consumerism is defined as followed by

1. The state of an advanced industrial society in which a lot of goods are bought and sold

2. Disapproving when too much attention is given to buying and owning things

(dictionary.cambridge.org)

3. Protection of the rights of consumers

(www.collinslanguage.com/results.aspx)

Consumerism is understood as an action where people purchase goods more than necessary. It has been around ever since the first civilisation. However, it got popular during the Industrial Revolution period, when goods are produced in an affordable price and therefore were able to reach a wider range of people, promoting consumerism internationally.

Since then and still growing till now, consumerism has been a tool for people to feel content by the purchase and owning the goods. This is also a media for people to determine, or at least attempt to, mark their status in the society.

As for the latter issue, consumerism has brought a positive effect on the economy. Therefore, it plays an important role in the financial system. It is the main factor of how the economy can have a good cycle. If people only purchase the essential goods, the economy will suffer and it will affect the stability of a country. Hence, consumerism is important to boost the economy. Moreover, consumerism is also one of the means of how people can get exposed to new technology and advancement.

However, consumerism has its disadvantages too. Although it is advantageous at encouraging a good economy cycle, consumerism means more usage of materials in the industry. This has been affecting the environment as it causes more wastage. Furthermore, the industries contributed to the pollution as well. There will always be an effect after an action; and on the environmental aspect, consumerism has caused an ecological imbalance and global warming.

Some actions have been taken to respond to the latter. More environmentally friendly and sustainable design has emerged. The society is also encouraged to take part in the action by having environmentally friendly habits, such as reducing the usage of plastic bags and such.

In the present context, consumerism is not just about selling the physical manufactured good but also the image or the branding of the product itself as well. It is an act for psychological satisfaction for the consumer. This leads to the fact that branding identities has been used by the manufacturers or producers to make the most of it as a strategy to get more people to be loyal or have a sense of belonging to the brand itself. Physical or functional attraction of the goods is no longer the key factors to attract buyers. “A transaction is like a one-night stand,” said a book titled Emotional Branding in which it means that there is only one business deal in a transaction. However, what the producers want are consumers that will keep using their products. They are trying to imply the contemporary branding by generating or promoting relationship between the consumers and the products (or the brand) through advertising and marketing (branding) in order to make people come back for more in the future. The old economy used to be focused on producing the manufactured goods itself. However, the economy strategy towards consumerism has changed. The new economy is now giving more attention towards creating brands or making the items more appealing psychologically to the targeted market.

Branded lifestyles, to some degree, have become substitute identities. It creates an identity that we develop by our own preference, and has the tendency to replace our original identity, such as traditional and cultural aspects. This view has been supported by Benjamin R Barber in his book titled Consumed (2007, Page 167).

Consumerism can also be applied to the service industry. One of them is the F&B industry where people look for good eating place that does not provide only fine food but also good quality of service and environment. In Singapore, the demand for the food service industry is high as there is a strong habit of Singaporeans to eat out. It is also considered as lifestyle, especially for the middle-upper market. Singapore has been considered as a high-end playground, shown by the emergence of the casino (fig 1.1), the F1 tournament (fig 1.2) and such. It has developed as a world gourmet destination as well.

1.1 Singapore Integrated Resort 1.2 Formula 1 in Singapore 2008

As my approach, good branding identities would be of a useful tool to be implied to promote a restaurant and bring it to success. Branding identities is part of the lifestyle. It is common nowadays to consider the place of someone to eat or hang out; as a benchmark for the social status of that person. Therefore, branding the restaurant has become one of substantial elements to attract the targeted market customers to come back again and again. Branding a restaurant would be more towards the image and marketing of the restaurant in which preferably an in-context and appealing whole package. Therefore, branding the restaurant needs to be done thoughtfully, considering all the supporting aspects to be part of the image of the restaurant. In the modern days, good eating place does not supply good quality food only but also the environment that it provides as well as the atmosphere or the ambiance that has been the main intention of the interior designer to be projected for the customers to feel and experience while they are enjoying the food and the service presented. Therefore, spatial elements do hold a significant role in creating a good branding image to attract the right crowd of the people from the targeted market.

Singapore is a city with a busy high-paced lifestyle where the stress level is considered high. A psychological research written in the book of John T. Haworth has shown that stress should be tackled with leisure in order to be able to live a healthy lifestyle (1997, page 138-141). Leisure can be both passive and active. The focus of passive leisure would be to deal with the emotion while active leisure is to be targeted at problem solving. Social support is considered as active leisure. Another study has shown that only personal social circles can help in dealing with stress related problems, social connection from either work or school usually are not efficient in doing so (Bolger and Eckenrode, 1991). Therefore, social leisure is an important reasoning of why people get together.

The proposal for this project would be of a restaurant targeted at the middle-upper market society. The main objective of the restaurant would be to provide a place where people can have a place to be away from the high-paced city lifestyle and have a relaxed moment at the restaurant. Clifford Pier is the ideal place for the design intention as it is a waterfront in which water has always been considered as a calming natural element. The location of the site itself is very supportive as well because it is secluded and tranquil but still placed at the heart of the busy area of the city, right at the hot developing area, Marina Bay.

Clifford Pier used to function as a port where people took ferries to go to the near islands. It operated from 1933-2006 and now conserved as a historical building. The issue that needs to be solved for this project is that as a historical place, Clifford Pier’s original value for being a jetty has been neglected. Since Clifford Pier is a transit place that had been operating for such a long period, it had somehow captured the memories of the growth of Singapore. I believe that people who were around when Clifford Pier was still functioning as a port and actually made use of it in the past will be missing it dearly as it holds some of their memories. Therefore, Clifford Pier is precious enough to be revived with its essence being infused in the design so that it can be used again for people to either have a nostalgic time and/or have a good meal with great conversation. The restaurant that is intended to be created at Clifford Pier is a Tapas Bar where it serves small-serving food, hence promoting more interaction between the consumers so that they are not too engrossed with just enjoying the meal but also to make them able to have time to appreciate both the food and the surrounding such as the interior space and the great panoramic scenery of Marina Bay and The Integrated Resort. This will also promote more interaction with the other party that they are spending time with as this is one of the main intentions for the place being a place to relax, have a social leisure time and breaking away from daily pressure. This contributed to the main design intention to create a restaurant space that is both doing justice to the site by appreciating its original value as well as being comfortable and appealing to the future users of the space (for example, the customers of the restaurant and the employee).

The idea of the restaurant would be of the revival of Clifford Pier’s soul in which the concept is derived from the nature of the function of the pier itself for being a place where people come and go to take the ferry service. Hence, the concept or keyword used to promote the creative design process is ‘interlink’. Interlink is used in the sense of Clifford Pier was a place where people departed and arrived from and to other islands. Although the boats and ferries were the ones that transported people from one place to another but Clifford Pier is the physical stationary connector of the whole journey as it is the gathering point for the people.

There was not much interaction between the people and the space in the past as most of them did not hang out at the pier. This project would be about encouraging more interaction and connection between the user to the space and within the spaces itself as well. Hence, the concept for the project is to create interlinked space. The interlinked space would be to promote interaction from various aspects. It will be between the spaces within the site, the spaces and users; as well as between the people themselves.

An interlinked space is shown in the space planning through curvy lines. Spatially, the interaction between the spaces within the capacity is shown through the circles of spaces that are connected by the lines that resulted in the curvy lines. Clifford Pier was built in the Art Deco style, designed with arches for both its exterior and interior. The beams of the building have been replaced with graceful concrete arched trusses. Hence, the curvy lines are a response to the feminine nature of the original architectural structure.

Interaction between the spaces and users would be interlinked through visual connection. The users of the space would have the ability to enjoy a visual interaction not only within the dining spaces itself but also to the service areas such as the open kitchen and storages. Different levels of spaces and non-solid room divider are used to promote such interaction (Fig 2.1).

2.1 View of the dining area with visual interaction with another space

The type of restaurant that would be infused to the site is Tapas Bar. Tapa is a Spanish style of food serving that comes in small portion. It is a social food where the intention of the servings is to promote interaction between the consumers. Therefore, tapas bar is suitable to be implied in the restaurant as its intention is communicative with the objective of design which is to provide a place to hang out and break away from the hustle bustle of the busy life in Singapore. This interaction between the users of the space can be encouraged through the visibility between the spaces.

In conclusion, consumerism will help in promoting the success of the restaurant. This is because in the present time, branding identity in the society is a strong point to get consumers from the middle-upper class to be attracted to the restaurant in which interior design plays an important role within the whole package. An in-context design can be a great support for the latter as it gives more value not just for the new restaurant but also to the site itself as its essence of the original function of Clifford Pier as a port is infused to the new function that is designed at the site.



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Introduction To Blue Ocean Strategy Simulation Marketing Essay

Before entering Blue round 3, the biggest problem faced by the product that it was priced too high for the audiences it was supposed to be targeting. The reason being, through Blue Box, we attempted to add in as many features as possible to attract various non – customers. Due to this, the cost of production increased, which in turn drove up the final pricing of the product. Due to extensive built – in product features added in the first blue round itself, the price of the product could not be reduced and the production level was also way more than the sales expected in order to attain achieve a production X price value that could sustain the product through the year.

Ptah’s strategy through blue rounds 1 and 2 was to establish a sustainable USP that could attract audiences mainly from the ‘sports loving’ category. Exer – gaming being our biggest investment, Blue Box had other features like multiplayer capabilities, etc. Some more features were added targeting the parents group. However, by trying to expanding the distribution of the product in the first few runs itself, the pricing of the product became extremely high. The marketing budget too did not match the level of distribution. These factors brought down the sales every year spirally, and as a result, there was a drastic fall in the stock price index.

Team Ptah realised that among all blue ocean offerings, Blue Box had a higher market share value, sales value and highest returns. Hence, the strategy we tried to employ for round 3 is not to lose the existing market share and build upon it and try to consolidate the Stock Price Index value above 700 by the end of the year 2016, by offering properly planned and targeted services and delivery competing factors.

Fig1: Market shares and Market sales value at the end of Blue Round 2

The obvious goal of this round was to drive up the sales without changing the existing price of the product. This could be done only by increasing the value offerings on the product. The size of the sales force was also reduced to focus more on delivering value first, rather than improving reach.

Service offerings:

The major service offerings added to Blue Box this year were ‘Ease of Repair’ and ‘Warranty Offer’. Ease of repair was added at level 4, wherein the customer would not have to worry about not having a console when it is damaged, as the company would provide him / her a replacement until the damaged console is fixed.

However, other service offerings like extended warranties and loyalty cards, rewards, etc., were not provided this year as we decided that this ease of repair offering, although a bit expensive, would be a unique selling point for the Blue Box. The mistake made in this case was not anticipating the competition’s choices which were mainly in the direction of providing extended warranties and loyalty cards, apart from having a very valuable warranty offer. With almost the entire market offering these services, Blue Box suffered as the audiences were expecting a similar level of service from it. Also, being highly priced, the sales of Blue Box also took a beating.

Delivery offerings:

At the point of sale, we thought that it is essential for the customer to have a good understanding of the product being offered and hence, we decided that the best delivery offering we could add to the product was to have informed salespersons at the POS, informing and communicating the message of the company and the features of the product to the potential customers. Introducing this offering at level 4, we wanted to ensure the customer gets the correct and desired information relevant to the product from the salesperson or a representative of the company itself. No other company had this feature at this level.

However, the competition decided to use attractive deals and price promotion offers to attract the customer. These were features the team felt was not necessary at this point of time, but again was mistaken because the entire competition brought out these same offerings at almost the same levels.

Result: The service and delivery offerings were not satisfactory enough to attract customers and hence, the sales took a dip this year.

Due to a project implemented for the red box unit, the COGS value for the red box offering was continually reducing. Also, the reduced sales force further reduced the COGS value giving opportunity to increase the value of the product even further. The strategy for this year was not to have a ‘follow the crowd’ mentality with respect to the competition, but create a unique place for the product in the market by offering a service in an avenue that has not yet been properly explored by the competitors. There was no change in the sales force and marketing budget.

Service offerings:

No changes were made in the service offerings this year as we anticipated more potential in the delivery offerings. Also, due to a drastic fall in sales in the previous year, we were working with a very limited budget. An addition in service offerings would mean to reduce either the sales force or the marketing spends which could again affect the total sales in the year.

Delivery offerings:

Dedicated stores were launched this year for the Blue Boxes at the level 3. A competitor, shiny station already had dedicated stores for itself, but their products were priced much higher and this, we felt was where we could establish Blue Box with a unique selling proposition. A decent store with refreshment facilities and comparatively lower priced products than Shiny Station could give Blue Box a push in the market, on which we could consolidate and build upon in the final year. Also, a new distribution pattern was also introduced wherein, the product was displayed in other locations like pubs, sport stores, etc., with trained spokespersons explaining its features. A trial and return offer was also introduced at a low level.

Result: Though still not reaching customer expectations, these new offerings did convert more sales in favour of Blue Box this year. There was a modest surge of sales and interest in the market for Blue Box, which is exactly what the strategy intended to do, especially in tight – budget circumstances.

Encouraged by the slight surge in sales, we decided to continue keeping the price constant and add in more offerings with the product that could attract more customers and consolidate Blue Box’s position on top of the Blue Ocean competitors. There was no major change made in the already existing offerings, and also the sales force and marketing spends remained the same.

Service Offerings:

An Entertainment Assistant offering was added to the Blue Box bundle at level 2. The rationale behind this was that the competition did not yet introduce this feature with any of their products and this addition could greatly benefit the overall offering package of Blue Box.

Delivery Offerings:

The first decision made in the delivery offering section was to finally introduce Deals and Price Promotion packages at the same level as the competitors. A guide to online services was also offered this year to further consolidate on the already prevalent online gaming feature present in the product. We believed that the Deals and Price Promotion offering, prevalent among almost all competing products, coupled with the other new offerings would definitely make the product stand out clearly in the market and push sales to a much higher scale, especially when the price of the product remained the same.

Result: The sales of Blue Box increased to a record 5 year high and consolidating itself as the market leader among other blue ocean products. The final Share Price Index for Blue Buddies at the end of the simulation was 716. The market share by unit was 24% and the market share by value was 21%

Leo Burnett is one of the oldest and most successful ad agencies in the world. Its rise to success was associated with the inherent American and family feeling brought about in its communication, which was not prevalent in ads by other agencies which were making sophisticated and therefore, confusing advertisements that lost hold of the customers. Simplicity, a good understanding of the company – customer relationship that was required to be established and a good imagination, together, brought about some of the most memorable advertising campaigns and icons like the Marlboro Man, Pillsbury Doughboy and Tony the Tiger.

The online advertising space today is the fastest growing medium for brand communication. It is also the easiest medium to target specific customers without incurring large costs with the help of social networking. In Europe and North America, every major advertising campaign is accompanied by a very well designed website containing every detail of the campaign, explaining the significance of the brand communication for the target audience and offering games,attractive prizes and contest opportunities. Examples of such sites are: http://www.nespresso.com/variations/ and the Tippex youtube campaign (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ba1BqJ4S2M). The entire idea of such websites is to engage the customer and give the customer easy tools to share the communication with his friends and colleagues through the digital medium.

In India, there is still a huge fixation on television and print as the biggest advertising media. According to my strategy, Leo Burnett needs to establish a department specifically designed to create and maintain campaign websites for every campaign they undertake before any other established Indian agency does so to gain the first mover advantage and attract more and more brands to the digital medium.

Eliminate: Outsourcing the website design to another web design outfit

Reduce: Reduce cost of hiring new graphic designers by training in – house creative designers

Raise: Quality of internet advertising to international standards

Create: Working conditions and training modules to develop the standards of internet advertising

micromax-mobiles-logo.png

Though the blue ocean strategy to be presented in this assignment can be meant to be used for the Indian cellular phone industry as a whole, the example of the MICROMAX Q55 Bling Phone brand has been used to give clarity and direction to this strategy.

As a brand focussed to create and deliver products that is, at the same time, both innovative and moderately priced, Micromax has rapidly gained popularity and market share in the cluttered Indian cellular market which already include established international brands like Nokia and Motorola, along with many local brands like Maxx mobile and Onida. With a brand promise - “Nothing like anything!”, its products and pricing together aim to ‘bowl over’ the Indian consumer.

The brand has a youthful feel to its communication, though its products are usable by people of all ages. Its product portfolio currently includes –

G4 Gamolution phone

With motion sensor gaming like Wii

X1i Marathon Battery phone

With 30 days standby time & 17 days Talk time

X235 With Universal Remote

Control TV, DVD, AC with your phone

X600 Gravity Sensor Dual SIM phone

Change networks with a flip

Q55 Bling phone

First women’s phone with a swivel form and Swarovski navigation keys

The Q55 Bling is the first mobile phone targeted at the female audience exclusively. Its brand is built on the beauty and exclusivity of the product design. With no other female – exclusive mobile phone present in the current market, Bling has a lot of potential to consolidate its position as the best mobile phone for the ladies.

Women usually have a high independent streak and would prefer owning something that other women do not have. Hence, a device as important as a mobile phone should also reflect this individuality in its features and style. Micromax can exploit this characteristic for Bling by developing customisable mobile phones. Similar to the service Dell provides to its customer, Micromax could allow its customers to customise their Bling to their requirements.

The customisation could range from the features of the phone to its outer design and styling. The features could include selecting applications, games, type of camera and speakers, etc, while the styling lets the customer choose the colour of the phone or even allow putting a picture of their choice on the phone body. Through this, the customer feels the satisfaction of owning a phone exclusively created for her and will also provide an emotional attachment with the phone. The customisation options could be provided on Bling’s website and the completed product could be delivered to the customer’s home. The pricing of the product would depend, naturally, on the extent of customisation.

This concept could later be extended to other products, not necessarily targeted at the female audience. For example, the MTV phone could be another product on which customisation could be done. Today’s youth too has a high degree of individuality and this again can be leveraged on a brand that has always been representing youth – MTV.

This product may have a high aspirational value attached to it, and hence, care should be taken to see that the product is affordable as Micromax is all about providing innovative mobile solutions to the masses, and hence, it should not enter the niche segment.

Eliminate: Cost of unsold goods are eliminated as the phones are made – to - order. Cost of excess inventory, extra shelf space and an extensive distribution network is also eliminated.

Reduce: In – store personnel can be reduced as most of the orders or customisation is done online or through mail order forms.

Raise: The options and features that can be added to the phone should be increased in order to give the customer a wide range of choices. These features should be raised to a level that the final product is almost unique and the customer finds an emotional connect established with the phone.

Create: A web portal that provides the features with minute details and specifications in order to guide the customer to exactly what he / she wants the phone to be like. A home delivery service can also be added to eliminate the need of the customer getting out of home to buy a cell phone.

Though customisation is an old concept, its utilisation in mobile phones could open up a whole new blue ocean especially with the 3G spectrum opening up in India with the falling price of cellular communication. Customisation, I believe, would be a very unique way for driving saliency and preference to a mobile phone.



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