The marketing strategies of Sony and Samsung

Executive summary This paper examines the marketing strategies employed by two electronic companies Sony and Samsung. The industry background gives an overview of the electronics industry in terns of market segment and regional stakeholders in manufacturing. Both companies background are summarised and an insight about their areas of operations and size of their businesses in terms of sales and product development is given.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The marketing strategies of Sony and Samsung specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More An analysis on strategic marketing and planning on both companies follows with a somewhat in-depth analysis of macro and micro environmental factor such as competition and economic factors being tackled. There is a SWOT analysis on each company highlighting their strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats based on their operations and positions in different markets. Additionally there is an analysis on target marketing, segmentation and position generally and as applied to each company. Finally, there are recommendations on the way forward for the companies and those that deal in the same products. Introduction The 21st century has been characterised by unprecedented advances in technology. The global electronic industry is so dynamic to an extent that technologies become â€Å"obsolete† even before they penetrate all the market segments that they were initially meant for. American and Japanese had for a long time dominated the global technology sector. However, companies from rising economies such as China and Korea have perfected the technologies that exist while coming up with innovative electronic products. The result has been increased competition and saturation of the market that has seen technology pioneers like Hewlet Packard pushed from the top spot. To compete for and maintain the market niches, companies have had to come up with innovativ e marketing ways that in order to ensure long-term market survival. This paper will analyse marketing theory and practice as applied today through a comparison of two electronic companies; Sony and Samsung. There will be in-depth analysis on the ways the two companies have integrated marketing theory with company activities to curve new market niches while maintaining current ones the backdrop of increased competition globally. The Samsung group of companies is among the largest electronics corporations that has a global consumer base and numerous affiliate businesses. Since its first investment initiative in 1939, the company has transcended various industries in search of an effective and market aggressive industry. The electronics initiative came in late 1960s with several related branches in electronic devises mechanics and telecommunication devices.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Sony Corporation on the other hand is a conglomerate of several media and electronic companies that specialize in the electronic business unit and the entertainment industry as a whole. Since the 1945 initiative following the invention of the transistor the company has diversified its investments it both mechanical and telecommunication sub segments (Chang, 2011, 90). Industry background The global electronic industry is vibrant with a growth rate matched by only a few sectors. In 2008, the industry was estimated to be worth 1.2 trillion Euros. The world production per application sector in the industry by the same year included 6% for home appliances, 15% for audio video, 23% for data processing, 25% for telecoms, 7% for aerospace and defence, 8% for automotive and 16% for industrial and mechanical. In terms of world production per region, china was ranked the highest with 27%, followed by Europe with 21%, North America with 20%, other Asia Pacific with 15%, Japan with 13% and the rest of the world with 4% (Drummond, et al. 2007, p. 67). The above figures are represented in a graphical format below. World production per application sector Source: Sony Vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants. London: Mcmillan Publishers. Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The marketing strategies of Sony and Samsung specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More World production per region 2008 Source: Sony Vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants. London: McMillan Publishers. The industry like any other has been affected by the global financial crisis through financial instability in terms of currency fluctuation and the credit crunch. There is also growing competition from China whose products are perceived by consumers to be affordable compared to any other in the world. Company background Sony Corporation is part of the world’s fifth largest media conglomerate Son y Group with total assets worth over $86billion and headquartered in Minato Japan. Sony Group operates six business segments including consumer products and services group, financial services, music and picture, professional and Sony Ericsson which the cell phone unit of the group. The group is also involved in financial and internet services. The group has manufacturing and operations network serving the world market. According to (Chang, 2011, 78), almost half of the company’s annual production takes place in Japan. Computers, digital cameras, television sets and memory sticks are among the products manufactured in Japan. It’s important to note that over 60% of all the production that took place in Japan was destined for other regional markets worldwide. The rest of Asia excluding China and Japan, Europe and Americas accounted for slightly over 35% in annual production. The graph below shows the total annual sales and distribution by geographical regions in the year 2009. Sales and distribution in 2009 (sales in 000,000)Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Source: Sony Vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants. London: Mcmillan Publishers. Samsung on the other hand is a conglomerate like Sony Group but headquartered in Samsung Town in Seoul South Korea. The multinational conglomerate operates a series of affiliated business touching on industries such as electronics, ship building and engineering, insurance and hospitality. However, Samsung is known more for its electronic products which include the cell phones and television sets, smart phones, home appliances, slimmer panels and 3D experience. In the year 2010, the company posted a net income of $13 billion. The table below shows some of the company’s electronic products and market share. Product Global Market share % DRAM 40.4 Digital Camera 11.8 LCD Monitor 18.0 Hard Disk Drive 9.0 Television sets (LDC, PDP, CRT, LED) 17.2 Cellphones 21.0 Lithium-ion Battery 18.7 Source: Chang, S. (2011). Sony Vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants. London: Mcmillan Publishers. Strategic marketing and planning Both companies fall belong to the category of multinational corporations. In there level strategic marketing and planning must incorporate the elements of hierarchical or enterprise strategy. The hierarchical structure incorporates the corporate level, business unit level and the functional or departmental levels of enterprise strategy. Both companies display a highly defined corporate hierarchical structure that is very specific and that is aimed at dealing with prevailing market competition. Microenvironment forces The technology industry in which Samsung and Sony Operate in is competitive and only innovative marketing can guarantee long-term survival. Marketing of the electronic products produced by both companies is shaped by demographics, economic and political factors. In demographic factors, the companies have to consider the demographic trends of the target markets they want to venture into. The size, dens ity, location, gender and occupations of the target markets affect the marketing of electronic products. For instance, the gadgets like the Samsung Galaxy tab can only be marketed to young people and people in business. It’s highly unlikely that older people say baby boomers are likely to buy the product. Additionally, different sections of the population have different occupations which dictate their income and way of life. People in business are likely to buy the Galaxy tab compared to farmers. While marketing, the companies consider the economic factor which more or less refers to the economic strength of the target market. Further to that marketing managers of the two companies will likely consider the purchasing power of the people in potential markets. For instance the gadgets are likely to do better in the US, Europe and Japan and some parts of Asia owing to the high purchasing power of their populations. Furthermore, the above markets are more industrialised unlike se ctions of the developing world where the populations still practice subsistence economy. The above conditions dictate how people spend their money which in turn influences marketing decisions of the electronic companies. Political forces include all government policies and legislations that regulate business transactions in particular territory. In some territories, some gadgets which may be manufactured by the above electronic companies may not be sold to some sections of the population. Additionally, different governments have different policies for instance on taxation which may affect pricing of electronic gadgets. The marketing of both the Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000 LCD TV and the Samsung LE40A656 LCD TV can be affected by the above factors. Microenvironment forces These are the internal forces that affect the marketing of the electronic companies above. They are forces that the companies can easily alter to suit their marketing approaches (Wilson, S. Gilliga, 2005, p. 88). Both Sony and Samsung have diverse ranges of products that are much differentiated. Though they are both located in Asia, some microenvironment forces under which they operate dictate their marketing approaches that are unique in their own ways. This section will analyse both companies in relation to competition, consumer bases and market intermediaries. Competition is a big factor in marketing of electronics. The intensity of the competition determines the amount of resources and tactics used. Despite Samsung’s success in producing LCD panels, it faces competition from Sony and more closely LG, another Korean electronics maker. In 2008 fro instance, LG had a market share of 25.8% compared to 26.2% of Samsung in the same year. Sony Bravia is currently the top selling LCD television brand in the US. However, it faces growing competition form Samsung and LG which have the majority global market share. Another factor that influences the marketing approaches of the two companies has b een the consumer bases. In their marketing the companies have concentrated on reinforcing the value of their products to the consumers. The assumption among the electronics makers has been that the skinny the TV is the more appealing it is to consumers. In 2009, Sony fronted the Bravia to the consumers as the world’s skinniest TV in an apparent challenge to Samsung and JVC’s models that were skinnier. Since then the competition between the two has shifted to picture quality and visual characteristics like 3D images that consumers value more. Both Sony and Samsung have adapted different marketing approaches as far as market intermediaries are concerned. Market intermediaries’ help in product penetration where the company is unlikely to achieve its targets in the short tem were it to do it alone. Sony has been the market longer than Samsung and has therefore managed to establish a wider network of regional offices that spearhead marketing compared to Samsung. Thou gh Samsung is adopting the same approach, it has a large network of intermediaries who aid in its marketing. Swot Analysis Sony has dominated the electronics industry for a long time. Samsung has however matched the innovation and marketing strategies of the Japanese rival by exploiting its competitor’s weaknesses. A swot analysis of both companies puts into perspective the position they are in right now. In terms of strengths Sony has a diversified business operations machine that guarantees stable revenue. Additionally, it has a strong brand that has played a crucial role in its gaining acceptance. Furthermore, it has a diversified client base spanning many geographical places effectively reducing business risks. In terms of opportunities, the company has undertaken reorganization, which is likely to contribute to its savings. Also, there has been a focus on emerging economies which is likely to contribute to long-term growth of the company. The partnership with FIFA is ano ther opportunity if well utilised will enhance corporate value. The company experiences weaknesses in the high cost of manufacturing that in the long-run will lead to lower margins. The threats to its progress include the unstable international exchange rates that may affect its margins and the long-lasting impacts of the economic slowdown. Samsung on the other hand has a very strong advantage when it comes to technology. The company’s investment in advanced technology has enabled it crush competition from market leaders. Additionally, its investment in human resources and product design also form part of its strengths. Samsung has however not created niche markets like its rival Sony Corp. Its target on the mass market and the low pricing strategy can be considered a weakness because customers are likely to consider them low quality. Furthermore, some of the company’s products have been reviewed as not being user friendly. There are however many opportunities the comp any can exploit. The company has a head start in the mobile telephony through the introduction of low priced and user friendly cell phones. Further variation of its products is also another opportunity that Samsung can exploit to increase its market share. The biggest threat the company is facing is competition from other electronic manufacturers like Sony and LG, and Panasonic and Nokia. Market segmentation Effective marketing takes into account different segmentation variables when dividing the market into target segments (Reed, 2006, p. 43). There may be many segments depending on the nature of the market and the products on offer. However, the most common variables include benefit variable and demographic variable. Benefit variable deal with the needs and benefits expected by customers. Demographic variables on the other hand define the characteristics of the target customers and potential clients. Variables like gender, age and occupation are critical in market segmentation. So ny and Samsung have numerous products that are suited for different markets based on their use and need. In terms of the market segments the products under discussion from both companies are targeted at the same markets. The Sony Brava KDL-40W4000 LCD TV and the Samsung LE40A656 LCD TV are both targeted at middle class and high end customers in the regions where the two companies operate. Target Markets Both the Sony Brava KDL-40W4000 LCD TV and the Samsung LE40A656 LCD TV are targeted at the upper middle class and upper class signets of the population in the areas where the two companies operate. Also targeted, are working male and female consumers, men and women in their late twenties and seniors. They above groups are the only ones likely to afford the prices imposed on the products. The above characteristics fit into the variables that were discussed earlier as shown in the table below. Variable Characteristics Demographic Males (mostly), seniors, high end families, young p eople from their 20’s, Benefits High spending, varied in taste, stable income Targeting strategy Targeting strategies can be classified as differentiated, undifferentiated and concentrated (Palley, 2000, p. 54). Differentiated targeting strategies include different promotional messages each conveying different product benefits. Undifferentiated targeting strategies on the other hand involve sending of one promotional message to about the benefits of the product to the market. Concentrated targeting strategies on their part carry messages that communicate product benefits to specific segments of the consumer base. Many businesses choose a target strategy based on the benefits they expect from the market, the market segment they are tying to reach and the costs of the passing the message to the target market. Sony Corp. uses all the above targeting strategies because compared to Samsung; it has curved clear market niches. Samsung on the other hand mostly uses differentiate d targeting because its marketing mostly targets the mass market. Samsung is yet to carve its niche market hence the need for concentrated targeting is low. Positioning strategy In the market, different companies use different positioning strategies. They include, price and quality, use or application of the product, product class, competitors (McDonald Wilson, 2011, p. 90). In product attributes, business use one or few of the products attributes through which they popularise it to the consumers. In pricing and quality, companies use varying prices and qualities to attract different classes of consumers. The quality can be superior or lower quality both of which will cost differently. The use or application on the other is used when companies position their products to suit the habits and chores that the target population engages in. in competitor positioning, some companies engage in direct and purposeful comparison of their products to similar ones in the market to gain entry. S amsung has engaged in the pricing positioning where its products including the Samsung LE40A656 LCD TV are low costing compared to similar products from Sony. Both firms have however perfected the quality positioning strategy where every time they emphasise every little modification that adds to the comfort that consumers are interested. Recommendations Given the dynamism in the electronic technology, companies are only assured of survival through investment in research and technology. There is need to focus on diversification because there are all indications that gadgets market may be saturated given the fast development of electronic products. References Chang, S. (2011). Sony Vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants. London: McMillan Publishers. McDonald, M. Wilson, H. (2011). Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them. NY: Infobase Publications. Palley, N. (2000). How to develop a strategic marketing plan: a step by step guide. NY: McGraw Hill. Reed, P. (2006). Strategic Marketing Planning. London: Sage Publications. Wilson, S. Gilliga, C. (2005). Strategic marketing management: planning, implementation and control. NY: Jones Bartlette Publishers. This report on The marketing strategies of Sony and Samsung was written and submitted by user Kenny Hartman to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Semantics Pragmatics Essays

Semantics Pragmatics Essays Semantics Pragmatics Essay Semantics Pragmatics Essay Essay Topic: Invisible Man SEMANTICS PRAGMATICS Analysis of Two Texts, 1500 WORD Linguistics is the science of a language. Linguists depend on the use of certain aspects in order to analyse, describe and explain a human language; these aspects include semantics and pragmatics. Semantics can be defined as the study of meaning of lexical words and expressions independently of context. Where pragmatics is the process of recognising the invisible meaning of lexical items and expressions; taking into account the speakers/ addressees intention, the status of hearer/ receiver and the actual situation. This paper will explain the process we, as humans usually follow to understand a certain text or utterance. This explanation would be achieved through the analysis of two journal articles from semantics and pragmatics perspective, taking into account a range of techniques associated with each of the two concepts including: Semantics Aspects: Synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, prototypes, homophones and homonyms, polysemy and ambiguity. Pragmatics Aspects: Deixis and Distance, reference and inference, conversational implicature, anaphoric and cataphoric reference, presupposition, entailment, direct and indirect speech acts and speech events, cultural context and cross cultural pragmatics, conversational analysis and background knowledge, denotation and connotation meaning, the four maxims and hedges. Analysing Article One We will begin by observing the semantic and pragmatic features in article 1 being Men are sulks say surveys . This article is taken from the hot topics section of the popular msn website. The main topic of this article is a medical concept being flu/cold, where the unspecified writer of this article discusses the reaction of men, compared to women when it comes to having flu. The article also lists a number of readers comments on the subject topic. As a whole, article one is rich with lexical items that belong to the medical lexical field, such as cold, flu, Panadol, tablets, sick, suffer, diseases, chicken pox, depression, doctor, coughs, headache etc. The extensive use of these terms throughout the article was a necessity since the main topic is about a medical condition. Another lexical field was elaborated in this article being the family relationships such as mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, children etc. Antonymy or the use of two lexical items that represent the opposite meaning appear in this article such as men and women, males and females, wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, vent and defend etc. The use of these terms in this article is more likely for the purpose of comparison. Most of these antonyms are relational opposites; these opposites indicate two ends of a relationship between persons. Also there were synonymous sense relations between few lexical items in the text for example, husband and hubby, males and men, females and women. These lexical items have the same meaning, however they are not absolute synonyms because the terms males and females are more general than the terms men and women because the first set could refer to a larger group of people, being all males/females. Another non-absolute synonyms are the terms hubby and husband, where the word hubby is the more colloquial term for husband. Homonymy also occurs in this article through the use of the term food in the phrase here is a little food for thought shown in comment 1. The term food here even though it has the same phonological and written form of the term food which means the nutrients eaten by human or animals for the purpose of staying alive. However, in this context food for thought can be expressed as a positive idea or piece of information given from the writer to the reader to enhance the knowledge of the reader. In comment 2 the expression wouldn’t lift a finger has a homonymous sense relation because such expression could be interpreted literally as not lifting a finger, where in this context this expression means that the writers husband failed to help her with the housework even by doing little things. Pragmatically speaking, verbs like love in comment 1 love the way everyone gets emotive about men forms an expressive speech act because the writer or the addressee is expressing his feelings. There is also a referential relationship between some expressions, for example in comment 2 in the first phrase being â€Å"Last week, hubby came home with flu. I also had â€Å"it†. The expression â€Å"It† in this context is an example of anaphora meaning that the â€Å" It† here refers back to an already introduced entity, being the â€Å"flu† in this case. Also based on the pragmatic analysis of article 1, the lexeme sympathy which occurred in the first paragraph of the actual article to seek sympathy for their ailment from their partners has a different denotative meaning than that of the writers intention because the most direct meaning of the this lexeme is associated with the feelings and emotions of the sympathy that needs to be paid when someone passes away. Where in this context the term sympathy means the need to be looked after. Another pragmatic expression is used in comment 5 where the writer said a man that would rather chew his arms then complain, the writer used this expressions in order to convey the idea that her dad has the ability to put up with the discomfort associated with flu/cold. Analysing Article Two Article two is called â€Å"Choosing Babys Gender, it is originated from the same website as article one and most properly written by the same author, however the commentators are different. This article discusses the controversial issue of gender detection of baby’s and the selective termination. The writer then asks the question â€Å"Do you think parents should be able to choose their baby’s gender? then it lists few comments of the readers, answering that question, some agreeing and others disagreeing with the subject process. The expression turning their back in comment 2 has a pragmatic meaning in this context meaning giving up on, or rejecting something or someone. This expression has a negative connotation. Where the expression in comment 1 being I do understand where you are all coming from can pragmatically interpreted as I understand your point of view and not as the semantic meaning being I know the place where you all come from. The terms children, babies, boy, girl, child, all belong to the same semantic field of young humans. The words boy and girl form an absolute antonyms because they express absolute oppositeness; where the terms parent and child are relational opposites because its oppositeness indicates two ends of a relationship between persons. Also the gradable pairs healthy and disabled in comment 3 have an antonymous sense relationship because their oppositeness is a question of degree. The lexical items abortion and termination have a synonymous sense relationship because both terms have the same meaning; however the term abortion is the more specialised term for such process. The denotative meaning of the expression so coldly used in comment 2, is usually associated with temperature degree cold, however in this context it means â€Å"in a uncaring manner† or â€Å"not giving the subject topic the concern it deserves†. Semantically speaking the term sad in the title of comment 3 poses an ambiguity because sad could have two meanings one is distressing or heartbreaking, the second meaning is the adjective meaning upset or unhappy†. In this context, the term sad means distressing or heartbreaking. Through the analysis of the two texts, it became quite clear that they share many similarities as they both are medical articles. In terms of language use, they both include many terms of the slang English particularly, in the comments section. The use of this everyday/colloquial language in both texts contributed in making the articles more objectives and convincing to the reader. Overall both articles were rich in terms and expressions that could be analysed semantically and pragmatically; however, we observed only a number of them due the limitation of word number of this essay. On a different subject, the two articles did not tell us much about the author/s, because the writer/s of both texts were mainly providing facts and asking questions about the subject topic. However, the author of article one seem to have a humorous and sarcastic personality because of the word choice in some sentences for example mighty men. The use of this term here with its connotative meaning indicates that the writer is being sarcastic Even though article one had more terms and expressions that could be analysed from the semantic and pragmatic perspective, article two on the other hand is considered to be of a greater importance due to the issues raised in it, as the topic of â€Å"choosing baby gender and deciding on abortion† seems to be of more importance and interest than â€Å"mens reaction to flu†. REFERENCES: 1-Jackson, Howard, Words and their meaning, Longman Inc (1988),New York. 2-Grundy,Peter, Doing Pragmatics 2nd Edition (2000), London. 3-Finegan, E Blair D Collins P Language, its structure and use 4th

Physicans Assistant Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physicans Assistant - Research Paper Example They may also prescribe certain medications. In some establishments, a PA is responsible for managerial duties, such as ordering medical supplies or equipment and supervising medical technicians and assistants (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). A rough average suggests that the PAs work 40 hours a week (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). This seems quite normal, but the working conditions are quite stressful for them. They have to walk, stand and do certain routines again and again, which causes a lot of fatigue. Also, their work hours span through nights, weekends and holidays, and they have to remain stand by on call at all times (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). This dictates personality requirements for PAs, such as emotional stability, compassion, care, sympathy, and having a big heart. They have to be good communicators and above all, they must be able to work normally around injured and ill people, while still maintaining a high degree to empathy for such people (Field, 2010). Physician assistants are highly qualified in their fields and the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Association of Physician Assistant Programs, and National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, Inc. are the major unions in this regard. To be a certified PA, one should pass a certified examination after graduation from an accredited institute, which gives them a certification of Physician Assistant-Certified (Field, 2010). Educational degrees in this field range from associate degrees to bachelors and masters level. Many colleges offer these courses, like Gannon University, King’s College and others. Mostly these programs are around two years. Students must also go through clinical experience in a vast array of areas including family medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, inpatient and ambulatory medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, geriatrics, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and ambulatory psychiatry. Improvement prospects for physician

Law and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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How Pizza Hut Expand Their ICT Technology Information Technology Essay

How Pizza Hut Expand Their ICT Technology Information Technology Essay Thorough research of their ict system on store level rather than doing it on higher level to get in touch with customers and staff need, because the main reason for keep improving their systems is to get more customers and to get more sales. There are still some flaws in their system. Problems that needs sorting System doesnt update automatically if it does it takes really long time. Keep changing the functions of their systems every two months. Not enough training for staff. Conclusion Pizza hut has seen many changes, good and bad during its duration of the business. But they knew as long as their marketing is up to certain standard they will pull through with every challenge they face in marketing, they have an opportunity to improve their marketing style with the help of Ict. There is still a question mark over the technology that pizza hut uses. A time will come when they have think about changing their strategy and how they view their ict development. In order to keep up with todays environment. Objectives To find out how pizza hut, expand their ict technology in marketing and how it help them topple their competitors The purpose of this paper is to explore the role that ICT use in marketing plays in the processes of product innovation, as an element that strengthens the cooperation and communication among agents within the innovation project, reducing the difficulties to innovation and enhancing the development of differentiated products. Findings Two ideas stand out from the critical analysis of ict use in marketing. First, Intensive ICT use in marketing makes the company more innovative, as it shows that its usage breaks down difficulty to innovation and speeds up processes that in turn become more efficient. Second, Increasing ICT use in marketing encourages company tendency to act as a team with and join together particular agents within the business environment in the development of the innovation process, improving the amount of adaptation of the new product to market demands. BACKGROUND Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 by brothers Dan and Frank Carney in their hometown of Kansas. By 1972, with 314 stores nationwide, Pizza Hut went public on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1978, Pizza Hut was acquired by PepsiCo, who later also bought KFC and Taco Bell. In 1997, the three restaurant chains were spun off into Tricon, and in 2001 joined with Long John Silvers and AW Restaurants to become Yum! Brands INTRODUCTION With annual sales of more than  £300 million, selling pizza and pasta is big business for Pizza Hut. With customers facing an ever-increasing choice of restaurants, all offering a variety of foods and competitively priced meals, Pizza Hut must remain flexible and customer focused to retain its market leading position. New product developments and continued growth of its 600 outlets are just two ways in which the company stays ahead. Pizza Hut also recognises the importance of IT to support the Business and invests in technology both to support its operations and to provide management information.   Benefits of ICT With the new system in place, Pizza Huts goal of improving the overall effectiveness of its crew has been achieved. Customers are now served more quickly than before; especially during peak times such as lunch when they have only limited time available. Pizza Hut can currently provide its main food servers with a mobile computer, while other personnel carry out supporting tasks, such as preparing drinks and serving dishes. Food servers with a PDA are now able to be much closer to customers and be of assistance when needed, keeping customers happy and satisfied. ICT SUPPORT COMPANY FOR PIZZA HUT   Since 1992 Pizza Hut has relied upon Sopra Group to provide daily support and strategic management services for their key financial and operational systems. By outsourcing the support and management of their main IT systems, Pizza Hut has noted definite signs of cost saving. Pizza Hut has renewed agreement on several occasions to get services from them due to the specialist skills and value for money provided. Since taking responsibility for Pizza Huts IT operations, Sopra Group also combined day to day systems support with development of new applications and strategic .consultancy. The Sopra Group provide technical and business skills to develop Pizza Huts Data Warehouse. The Data Warehouse holds details of food sales throughout the outlets and enables the restaurant chains business managers to analyse customer demands and preference to target special promotions and offers. ICT Managers remarks With Sopra Group we have access to a much wider technical knowledge base. We have the reassurance that for detailed and complex questions and programming requirements, we can call Sopra Group, freeing us to focus on the business. With their technical know-how and experience of managing our systems, we have confidence that the consultants can handle such a complex project. What does company cover? Sopras department doesnt just cover the head office its responsible for all the systems across all the restaurants too. From carrying out PC support, they are also covers all sorts of IT projects from setting up through to delivery. This might include looking at the processes surrounding bank reconciliations, maintaining pizza huts infrastructure or developing the company intranet as a business device, SYSTEMS THEY USE MICROS/EPSON PA962 PDA   TOUCH SCREEN MONITORS DNA/ONLINE ORDERING Before implementing its new wireless system, order-taking was rather time consuming and could lead to mistakes such as incorrect orders being served to customers. The food servers used to take handwritten orders while often also preparing and serving drinks at the customers table. Only after serving the table was food server able to deliver the handwritten order to the kitchen. And because these orders were often quickly written down, this could result in an order being wrongly made by the kitchen staff. In order for taking hand written order it was taking up more time was the fact that the cashier was required to key the orders into the system when customers were checking out. This procedure could also result in wrong items being entered, potentially resulting in a loss of business or a poor level of customer satisfaction. The new solution made it possible to take orders at the table using Unitechs PA962 wireless terminal. With the use of wireless communication, orders are sent from the PA962 via an intermediate server to the POS systems, as well as to the different work stations such as bar and kitchen for preparing appetizers and main courses. Each work station has its own network printer for printing the assigned order.   As everyone knows pizza hut is leading with continuous menu innovation and different type of pizzas. The system pizza hut was using since 1980 was showing was showing sign of age especially in its ability to do in store work properly and helping management decision making, thats why they had to change it to bring It up to date. To get an advantage over their rivals, they approached quite a lot of system providers with 6 short listed to provide them the system they can be comfortable with. At the end they decided to go for micros Fidelio. But there were some aspect that they had to change in order to fulfil that agreement they had with pizza hut. By 2005 all pizza hut delivery stores were using micros as their system and all the new restaurants. DNA/ONLINE ORDERING DNA is currently used to service 370 Pizza Hut restaurants across the UK. By utilizing DNAs report functions, the Pizza Hut marketing team has access to management information, which is also shared with other departments such as marketing and business development. Intranet Intranet is a secure way of communication between the head office and store level rather than compromising their security by using internet. Pizza hut intranet is very useful where you can find all the standards, contact details, new developments on marketing and plans for future. All the training of the pizza hut is on intranet rather then sending it by post they just post it on intranet so everyone can benefit from it. IMPORTANCE OF ICT IN MARKETING   As the growing demands of business and furious competition between competitors heats up everyone is trying to get an edge to persuade customers that they are value for money. In that kind of scenario ict plays a major role, because everyones busy in their life thats why fast food business is booming in recession as well. Customers dont want to spend really long on phones whilst the order takers take really long to process their order. Thats why an up to date and fast system requires satisfying customers need. ONE STOP FOR ALL Here are some examples that how pizzas hut is using their system to their full advantage. Scheduling/forecasting Determine peak and off peak season Balanced score card Leaflet distribution Performance management Product forecasting

Advertisement for Ghost Creek Golf Course :: Advertising Marketing

Ghost Creek, A Great Place to Play The July 4, 1998 issue of Golfweek magazine contains an advertisement about a well-known golf course in Cornelius, Oregon. The golf course is called Ghost Creek and the owners’ claim of policy is that they want people to come and play their golf course. The owners’ use a beautiful picture of the course to entice the reader to come and play the golf course. The advertisement uses claims of both fact and value, to further the claim of policy as well as offering supports and warrants to give credibility to the claim of policy. To further Ghost Creek’s claim of policy in the advertisement, the owners offer many claims of fact. One claim of fact that is offered by the advertisement is that the magazine, Golf Digest, chose Ghost Creek to be the best new public golf course for the year, 1992. Likewise, another credible golf magazine, Golf Magazine, ranked Ghost Creek 13th out of the top 100 one can play for the year, 1998. Furthermore, many very prestigious golf tournaments have been played on Ghost Creek, including the Nike Tour Championship in 1993 and 1994 and also the 1996 United States Amateur Championship, which was won by the great Tiger Woods. These claims of fact, as one can, see are used to further Ghost Creek’s claim of policy, which is to come and play a great championship golf course. Once more to further Ghost Creek’s claim of policy in the advertisement, the owners offer not only claims of fact, but also many claims of value. One claim of value Ghost Creek offers is just the sheer beauty of the golf course, as seen in the picture of the advertisement. This claim of value lets the reader feel as if he or she is there in real life. Another claim of value the golf course offers is that Tiger Woods has played and won a major tournament there, the 1996 U.S. Amateur Championship. This claim of value provides the reader with knowledge that one of the great pros in the game today has played there. Many readers would want to come and play a golf course where one of the best has played and won. Other claims of value that the advertisement entails are how relaxing, still, and quiet it is at Ghost Creek.