Case Study Big Skinny Essay

Online Marketing at Big Skinny The case study is about a wallet company name Big Skinny. One day the Big Skinny CEO, Kiril Alexandrov bicycled his way to work and his phone rang constantly. His marketing director and wife, Catherine Alexandrov had called and said that they had sold 4,000 wallets. The problem was that the online store had glitches and most of these wallets were given away for free. A few weeks earlier the two were promoting their wallets at the Harvard street fair and were successfully selling wallets. The street fair sales had made Kiril think of what the next step in expanding his brand would be. He decided to create an online store to further increase his revenue and company. Kiril returned to his office to ponder what he and his wife should do. Catherine proposed that they cancel the orders, just as Amazon, Dell, and others have done in the past with the same experience. He realized that there was nothing else to do and agreed that it was the only option to cancel the orders because they would be losing wallets for free. With his confidence shook on the Big Skinny’s online store, Kiril pondered his priorities and wondered what really should be the next step for Big Skinny. He asked, â€Å"Should Big Skinny concentrate on drawing new consumers to its website through search engines, or should it focus on engaging existing customers through social and interactive media? Alternatively, should Big Skinny hand off more of its web marketing to retail portals like Amazon and Buy.com?† A Product That Sells Itself? Wallets are generally preferred with lightweight and that can easily carry stuff like credit cards, cash and receipts along with other stuff. Thin wallets are considered better because it will always keep you safe from back pain. Wallets are often in need of replacement and people buy them as impulse purchase or as gifts since it is not a costly item and also does not require much information processing. Big Skinny has just launched world’s thinnest wallet and got good response from the market during various trade fairs it participate in. Conclusion For an online marketing campaign to be successful, it is important that people resource all their options and make sure they are capable of fulfilling whatever objectives and needs they have to be successful. Big Skinny has to make sure consumers are buying high-quality wallets from them. Wallets are a kind of purchase that has a high element of look and feel. People who recognize the brand and have owned it in the past are more likely to make a purchase and be confident about brand. This means online purchases would have more returning customers. For now Big Skinny should look at online retail as complimenting to their physical distribution through various channels. Question 2 Algorithmic search means most accurate result to the users query. Ranking high in a search will allow a site to reach consumers, whose search was related to the site’s product. The output of the algorithmic search would entirely depend upon the keywords chosen to be enlisted to the search engines. It is a listing of Big Skinny links in organic search results based on the proprietary ranking algorithms of search engines which usually factors of keywords, pages linking to the item, location, and etc. In Sponsored search advertising, advertisers are allowed to key in search words in sections for sponsored search. The main difference for the algorithmic search and sponsored search is those sponsored searches is more focused and give better results. Generally algorithmic searches are free but needs technical skills whereas sponsored are paid and can be easily incorporate provided right keywords are chosen. Question 3 Price An example of price would be how the website sells Big Skinny wallets for $20. This is pricing strategy because it utilizes the cheap and affordable price for a wallet, while also promoting the main quality of the wallet being skinny and slim. Many different affordable prices are listed on the website and very easily seen. Sales Promotion The Big Skinny website offers many different sales promotions. One is spending $50 to get free shipping anywhere in the country. This is a great promotion that can increase sales and promote people to spend $50 on their website in order to gain free shipping. Place The website also offers pop up shops coupons from the website that can be  used at pop up shops at certain regions and stores. This can be used as a Place marketing strategy because it focuses on a certain area or store and promotes marketing to that specific store. This emphasizes on shopping at a certain place or store. Product and Target Product can be illustrated by the fact that the website sells many different types of wallets. The website has many different wallets for men, women, and children. Within these genders classed wallets there are also many sub categories that the consumer can choose to look and purchase under.

German Expressionism Essay

German expressionism is one of the most fundamental movements of early cinema. With its basic foundation stemming from the creation of the Universum Film AG in 1917 by the German government, expressionism found a happy home in Germany until, arguably the late 1920s (Wolf). Expressionism changed the canvas of cinema with its technical innovations as well as its impact on Hollywood, not only with its borrowing of ideas, but with the emigration of German actors, writers, and directors to Hollywood, such as Murnau and his creation of Sunrise (Welsh, 98). American films at the same time as this movement in Germany were based in realism, with very distinct ideas of good and bad, comedy, and aesthetics. German film was seen as highly compound, with thick, perplexing stories that were more solicitous instead of being superficial. The notable works from this movement have been time tested references to the rise of cinema, and have been looked upon for reference in film genres in later years not only because of the innovation and place in history, but also for the overt artistic styling that has been difficult to match since. It seems as though German cinema, almost all together must be discussed in its own category. Just as French cinema, historically speaking, Germany has seemed to keep at least a somewhat independent cinema culture from that of Hollywood and its beginnings are either independent from Hollywood or influencing for the most part. Although its beginnings were earlier, â€Å"†¦the period roughly between 1897 and 1908, motion pictures in Germany had graduated from a side-show novelty to a fast developing form, if not of art, then certainly of popular entertainment† (Figge, 308). By 1909, however, hundreds of new cinemas were offering longer and more cohesive programs†, which laid the groundwork for the progressive technical explosion that was the Expressionist movement (Figgins, 308). Germany reached a height in silent cinema in the 1920s, the time after World War I (Wexman 38). This was a national time of crisis with most of the culpability of the Great War being put on Germany not only politically, but more enduringly and impactfully, economically; this created discord in the sociopolitical environment. Due to such social upheaval, film as seen as an expression of â€Å"counter activity† to the state of affairs in Germany (Wexman, 38). German expressionism is one of the more major film movements which helped mold the face of early cinema, and has had enduring impacts on the horror genre, film noir and is even seen trickling into modern day cinema. The innovations that came along with this movement are astounding, especially given the modicum of improvement in physical film itself, which one could argue, were brought about by the mass creative and artistic movement expressionism fundamentally is. Some of these technical aspects include a highly subjective and dynamic camera, design innovations including staging and set designs, and being the first movement to actually implement scripting of films (Dilman). Telltale signs of expressionism are the use of backlighting to create a sense of dimensionality and montage, and splicing the film together to make the story be more seamless and continuous, which was also a style used by the Soviet film movement (Figge, 313). Some of the indications of expressionism seem to be the anti-heroism, the complex philosophical and psychological plots and primarily urban settings. The scenes are intentionally shot to look staged, creating an alternate reality on screen with its highly geometric scapes, tilted stages, clashing vertical and horizontal lines and overshadowing. Indeed as Warm said, Expressionist film is art come to life (Wexman). Historical and mythological themes are very telling of this movement, as are abstract story lines that seem philosophically or psychologically provoking, fantastic ideas, and â€Å"careful visual patterns† (Wexman 40). Mythology obviously had an influence on Metropolis, as the machine in the film turns from robot into a pagan god, demanding the sacrifice of the workers. This constructs the notion that the machine is more important than the lives of the machinists, the way urban culture existed in the moment, machine is more important than man; progress is the most important idea in society, replacing a sense of community and order of nature. This idea of a crisis of modernity influenced many films in Germany throughout the 1920s. The idea of urban life being pitted against rural life is the subject of Sunrise, giving the audience the choice between the naive and desirable maternal figure in opposition to the fast, dark, evil â€Å"Vamp† woman from the city, embodying urban culture and its certain destruction of current livelihood. This again reiterates the theme of the unavoidable but unwanted nature of modern, urban life in opposition to the much-desired rural, complacently comfortable setting that was more trusting. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is seen as the height of expressionism (Welsh, 98). Without exaggerating, it is impossible to discuss expressionism without discussing Caligari, not just for the film advancements, but because it seems to be one of the most artistically set films of the time as well as being one of the truly first expressionist films to be made (although it is not the first), Caligari was, in an important sense, a blind alley for German films of this period, because it sought its identity outside the inherent possibilities of the film medium. In spite of the use of irises, medium shots, and crosscutting, it remains essentially theatrical†¦The point is significant, because at this time the question was being asked, ‘What can the movies do that the theatre can not do? ’ Caligari provided no clear answer to this challenge. (Figgins, 310-311) All of the characters are highly psychological, some being downright neurotic. This can be evidenced by the blurring of the lines of good and evil, the questioning of sanity and the feeling of helplessness of the main characters in the film, most notably, the Somnambulist who has absolutely no control over his doing. By being out of control, he can be seen as evading all of his worldly responsibilities, one can excuse his behavior (read: murdering of innocent townspeople) because it is not he who has the intention, but rather is being compelled into this anti-social behavior. With this in mind, it is easy to see expressionism being a symptomatic artistic release, emerging out of a post-war world turned upside down, where one must question their morals due to justification of war (especially because Germany was involved with unrestricted submarine warfare during World War I), and coming to terms with shouldering the majority of the responsibility for the casualties. Themes of expressionism carried over into Hollywood’s birth of the American horror genre of the 1930s, with it’s expressionist camera angles, movements, overly dramatic makeup and lighting, fantastic subjects and the feeling of chaos, a sense that the world in spinning out of control. Many of these themes have seemed to have lasting impacts, and were characteristic of many Alfred Hitchcock films. While Hitchcock favored tight scenes, he still preferred to give the audience a sense of unease with his camera movements, creatures, and most definitely, chaos. However, it is certain that Hitchcock is more characteristically modernist, with his angles and restoration of the disharmony of his films. Film Noir is another genre that seemingly stemmed out of expressionism. The use of stark contrasts of shadows and the obscurity of faces and landscapes is showing of expressionist qualities. The disorientation brought on by the camera direction style also echoes the disorientation, which was popular in the movement. The protagonists seem to be flawed, which is also a mirrored quality, exemplified by the main character in Sunrise, who has no issue initially with his infidelity or thoughts of murdering his wife to be able to be with the Vamp from the city. The urban settings of Noir films also seem to be reminiscent of German film themes of the 1920s (Naremore 12, 26). In fact, one might argue that Film Noir is basically expressionism revisited, keeping in line with most of the expressionist qualities, save the more stark landscapes and police themed-ness of the melodramas. Modern day directors still use themes and techniques associated with the Expressionist movement. Most notably and obviously would be the ever famous Tim Burton, where commonalities and homage exist heavily. For instance, it can be argued that Gotham City in Burton’s creation of Batman was modeled after the city in Metropolis, and his theme of the corrupt city is reminiscent of Sunrise. It is hard not to see the similarities of the character Edward from Edward Scissorhands and the somnambulist from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari from the inception of the character on the screen, in the major aspects. Most likely, expressionism will seep into cinema either subtly or overtly for many years to come. German expressionism can be seen as being the influencer of genres, groundbreaking creator of overly artistic production, and arguably the art of horror film. This movement itself has helped spawn the rise of other genres and movements, and has been looked upon for stylistic and creative (admittedly sometimes hyper-creative) reference in film genres in later years due to the innovation and canvas that was created in service of the period. Indeed, German expressionism is a major film movement which helped mold the face of early cinema, but one cannot contain the ideas and art that came from this movement into the years of the 1920s and 1930s as the impact it left is seen in many later genres and generations, the horror genre, film noir and modern day cinema.

Choose one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choose one - Essay Example There has been a lot of emphasis on empowerment of people, equality of rights, and eradication of racism from the society at all levels over the past few decades. This has made gay marriage one of the most debatable topics of the present age. â€Å"Fifty percent of Americans believe same-sex marriages should be recognized by law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages† (Newport). Anti-gay notions that have been an integral part of the conservative culture are being openly discussed and challenged now as these notions are being identified as racism and discrimination against the gay community. I personally believe that since religion has condemned gay marriage, and religion happens to be the fundamental source of knowledge of ethics for the mankind; gay marriage should remain illegal. Analysis of the Issue Proponents of the gay marriage say that it should be legalized because illegalization of gay marriage is a discrimination against the gay community. The Natio nal Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Executive Director, Rea Carey shared her views in these words, â€Å"Equal protection under the law is a foundational guarantee for all Americans, and denial of the right to marry flies in the face of this shared value† (Carey). ... Even some heterosexual people approve of gay marriages. While declaring that he approves of gay marriages in an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, President Barack Obama said, â€Å"I hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient [and that] for a lot of people, the word marriage was something that evokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth† (Obama cited in â€Å"JUST IN†). Opponents of the gay marriage primarily base their argument on the teachings of religion. Homosexuality has not only been condemned but has been described as a transgression of the limits imposed by God upon mankind in most of the religions in general and the Abrahamic religions in particular. George (Carey) refers to the gay marriage as a threat to the bond between the state and the church. In addition to religion, opponents of the gay marriage consider it an unnatural act since gay couples cannot produce children in the biological w ay. They either have to adopt children or live with the children they have had through previous heterosexual marriages. Opponents of the gay marriage also highlight the negative implications of the gay marriage on the psychology of children living with the gay couples, as well as upon the society particularly which suffers from a negative rate of population growth. Conclusion Legalization of gay marriage is an ethical controversy since it involves the right of a certain community i.e. gay community and its implications on their own lives, on the lives of people related to them, and the society at large. In most countries of the world, women outnumber men in population. On one hand, if gay marriages are legalized,

Legal and Ethical Aspecrts of Delivery Of Health and Social Care Essay

Legal and Ethical Aspecrts of Delivery Of Health and Social Care - Essay Example When handling patients suffering from terminal illnesses, it is my role to ensure that a patient can successfully manage the condition, experience reduced pain, and approach the end of life stages with a positive outlook. Although my intention is to help such patients, complications may occur because of the choices made by the patients. The case of Brian, who is 55 years old and declined to adopt the advice and the equipment presented by me presents an ethical dilemma for any nurse. In this paper, I will discuss Brian’s case study in detail, evaluating, and analysing the case study and presenting my final ethical decision. In addition, the paper will examine the utilitarian ethical principle and weigh it against the respect for autonomy in an effort to help Brian experience quality life despite his condition. Brian, aged 55 years suffers from multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a condition that presents adverse effects on an individual’s immune system. Specifically, the disease affects the protective sheath surrounding nerves. As a result, individuals suffering from the disease do not have a normal communication between the brain and the body. As the disease progresses, an individual’s nervous system may deteriorate badly. Usually, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis and patients with the disease have no other choice but to manage their condition. In the case of Brian, the disease has progressed to the level whereby he needs a wheelchair because he cannot walk (Dimond, 2011). Therefore, the disease has served to debilitate him compelling him to rely on my help and other social workers who help him to feed, wash, and get him out of bed occasionally. Worth noting is the fact that Brian does not have any carer at home because his wife suffers from Parkinson’s disease. Since Brian’s condition compels him to stay in bed or the wheelchair for many hours, he is subject to

Business Communication - how to become more effective within the Essay - 1

Business Communication - how to become more effective within the organization - Essay Example in today’s business environment ushered in by technology and globalization, which is characterized by dispersed work groups that operate away from the home office. The current vogue in such a flexible working arrangement has added to the difficulty of getting business communication right. As it is, there are already enough sociological and psychological factors that prevent business communication from going around the organization in the sense that it was intended. This paper thus discussed all the perceived shortcomings in communication practices that have made businesses falter, and subsequently explored the methods by which business communication can be made more effective for the immediate and long-term benefit of the organization. People in organizations spend over 75 percent of their time in an interpersonal situation (Van Acker, online). Thus, it is no surprise to find that at the root of a large number of organizational problems is poor communications. Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success whether it is at the interpersonal, inter-group, intra-group, organizational or external levels (How-to Books, online). For human communication to be high in quality or effective, it must take into account not only the choice of language but also the movement of vocal cords, the reception of sound and its translation into neural signals, syntactic and phonological processing (Hauser, 1996). Even facial expressions and gestures influence the quality and outcome of communication (How-to Books). As for the communication message, social psychologists give it three components: content, context and treatment. Content is the essence of what one person desires to communicate to another, whil e context is the way the communicator presents the content of his message to his audience. As for treatment, it is how communication is arranged and conducted by the speaker, which supports the content and context of the message. In a business

Critically consider the challenges and opportunities that social and Essay

Critically consider the challenges and opportunities that social and community enterprises face in their chase to affect social change - Essay Example In contrast to other socially/community-oriented organizations, social enterprise combines two important aspects: entrepreneurship and social-orientation. Even though the concept of social entrepreneurship is a relatively new, the number of social enterprises has increased substantially during the past decades (Nkala, 2009). Today there exist both threats and opportunities that social enterprises face with. The aim of this paper is to analyze what challenges and opportunities social and community enterprises face in their chase to affect social change. There exist many different interpretations of the concept of â€Å"social entrepreneurship†. Despite the variety of definitions of the term of social entrepreneurship, some researchers believe that more unified definition is still to be developed (Short, Moss, and Lumpkin, 2009). Bornstein and Davis (2010) define it is a process by which individuals transform or create institutions in order to solve or help to solve various social problems, including poverty, illiteracy, illness, environmental destruction, corruption, and human rights abuses. Thus, these organizations aim to improve life for many people and broader society. In order to achieve their mission, social enterprises undertake various commercial activities. Thus, the value of social enterprise is measured not only in terms of its contribution to social, environmental, or cultural life but also in terms of its financial sustainability (Social traders, 2011). There are identified three major categories of motivations for establishment of social enterprise. These categories include: employment; service innovation, and income generation. In terms of employment motivation, social enterprises provide employment opportunities, support and training for marginalized groups. These enterprises are also motivated by an opportunity to maintain or create services, which enable to satisfy economic or

Effective Leadership Styles for an Educational or Training Institution Essay

Effective Leadership Styles for an Educational or Training Institution - Essay Example A general definition would be that â€Å"a leader is someone who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal†. There are 3Ps that are related to the term â€Å"leader† and these are People, Purpose, and Person. A leader is a person that is deeply committed to the goal and s/he will try to achieve it even if nobody follows him/her. A leader is someone who has a personal vision and in order to achieve needs the help of others. The leader should communicate his/her vision in such a way that the followers will share it and the goal will become a common goal. The leader needs the trust of the followers. Some people are more effective than others at influencing people. This effectiveness has been attributed to leadership styles, persuasion skills and the personal attributes of the leader. A leader is someone that brings big changes and innovations, someone who has handled effectively big crises whereas a manager is someone who improves the effectiveness of an organization at a given place and at a controlled course. Coercive. This is the least effective since it erodes employees’ pride. The leader here creates terrifies and demeans the employees at the slightest misstep. As a style it can be used in emergency situations. Authoritative. The leader has a vision, s/he motivates people by showing them how their work fits in the vision of the organization. This approach fails when the leader has a team of experts but it is a style which is effective in most business situations. Affiliative. The leader focuses on strong emotional relations and then he receives the benefits i.e. employees loyalty. S/he offers positive feedback. As a style it is positive but it should be better used when the leader wants to improve communication and increase morale. Democratic.