Launching the BMW Z3 Roadster Essay Example for Free

Launching the BMW Z3 Roadster Essay BMW Z3 is the first BMW car which is being manufactured in North America which has not been a very big market [roughly around 16%] for BMW because of the inability of the American customer to associate with a foreign brand. Therefore the sales and marketing approach of BMW Z3 will lay the foundations of the future of BMW brand in America. Their phase I was a success, and they had two months between the launch and the product availability to further ingrain their brand image in the hearts of the Americans. So how to strengthen their brand campaign for the coming two months was their main concern. Brand symbol is an important aspect in the automobile industry as it is the brand image that drives the person to buy the automobile and defines the target market and therefore the revenues. This could be supported from the past: their shift in positioning from yuppie status to Ultimate Driving Vehicle led to a 18% increase in sales in one year. For BMW Z3 brand they wanted to preserve their reputation for driving performance but reposition their cars as stylish and fun to drive so that they settle into the minds and hearts of the American public and the vehicle becomes a cultural icon. With the plan of leveraging the excitement and enthusiasm of the customer base in a way that it will draw maximum attention and interest to the brand non-traditional marketing methods were chosen. These methods were more cost efficient because of the psychographic segmentation and delivered to a broader base which was the major intention of BMW. It was also different and unconventional which was what BMW wanted to associate with their unique brand. All their various marketing campaigns which included release of Golden Eye, in which their car was featured as Bonds car, screening in the Tonight Show, Central Park launch event, radio DJ program, Neiman Marcus Catalog Offer and the video were completed by November which were roaring success and helped in building the required brand image which were reinforced through the traditional media campaigning in December. These campaigns were successful as they were able to generate favorable product reviews and they also resulted in 9000 pre-bookings much higher than the expected 5000. As an asset a brand name has to be carefully managed so that its brand equity does not decrease. Therefore BMW will have to take up some brand building initiatives so that the brand name remains in the market. As they have got more than expected pre-orders which is going to strain their existing process there is no point in going for sales increasing marketing strategies. It should be related to customer satisfaction because if these customers become advocates for BMW Z3 they will be able to convince more prospects in their reference groups to become customers. Through these customers BMW can also get data regarding the various cultural, personal, social and psychological factors that drove them to buy BMW Z3 on which they could base their second phase of brand building events. So therefore in January their first initiatives should be to send survey forms and invites for an exclusive test run for the various customers who have placed orders. Then in the month of February have road shows throughout the country where the prospective buyers of the car will have a first hand feel of the car they are going to buy. This will help in building a market through customer referral and building a pull market for the car rather than a push market. Customers could also be given details of their car and the various facilities they get as a package along with the car so that can perceive a higher customer delivered value for their car. In addition the people who attend the promotion shows could be given t-shirts with the logo I have driven BMW 3Z to further increase the brand awareness and strengthen the IInd phase of branding. The car could also be taken out on long drives through the cities where there will be maximum visibility. The above brand campaigns will not be able to generate any leads in the present but will help in bringing twin advantage of brand recall and improving customer rating of the brand.

The Russian Avant Garde and the Bolshevik Revolution Essay -- Art Russ

The Russian Avant Garde and the Bolshevik Revolution The Russian Avant Garde began in Russia in about 1915 It was the year that Malevich revealed his Suprematist compositions that reduced painting to total abstraction. and rid the pictures of any reference whatsoever to the visual world. He is credited with being the first artist to do this; that is, forsake the visual world for a world of pure feeling and sensation. This was the first movement originated by Russians and the birth of several other Avant Garde movements. Probably the most popular piece at his 1915 exhibition was â€Å"BLACK SQUARE† (real name â€Å"suprematist composition†. It’s basically a black square on a slightly larger white square that forms a border around it. It was hung in the exhibition in the way an icon would be hung in a peasant’s home; ie top corner of the room. Malevich saw Suprematism as representing a yearning for space, an impulse to break free from the globe of the earth. It a spirit, a spirituality that went beyond anythin g before it. Among Malevich’s students and contemporaries were such names as El Lissitzsky, Alexsandr Rodchenko and Vladimir Tatlin who were, of course, to lead the Constructivist movement which started in the same year as Malevich’s exhibition. Tatlin had returned from studying art in Paris in 1913 where he had seen a series of relief constructions by Picasso. Tatlin became very interested in form and message rather than representation and so he himself made a series of constructions. They were in the same vein as Picasso, but they were framed within a space and jutted out of the picture plane into the space of the observer. They created a lot of interest and he coined the term Constructivism. Tatlin and Malevich, who had been ... ...er had a base. A few caved in and became correct thinkers. A few escaped to other countries in Europe. Some stayed in Europe and some ended up in America. They have developed and grown. Along with Gabo and Rothko and Kandinsky and numerous others, they are still having a profound influence on art. There were many parallels between the Russian Avant Garde and the two revolutions in 1915. The big difference between them in 2001, is that the art survives and grows stronger; while the other is seen for what it is, a pathetic pseudo despotism run, for a lot of years by a sociopathic mortophile. BIBLIOGRAPHY Russian Constructivism. Christina Lodder. Yale University Press. 1983. Art Spoke. Robert Atkins. Abbeville Press. 1993. Art and Revolution. John Berger. Pantheon Books. 1969. The Struggle for Utopia. Victor Margolin. University of Chicago Press. 1997.

Digital Fortress Chapter 20

La Clinica de Salud Publica was actually a converted elementary school and didn't much resemble a hospital at all. It was a long, one-story brick building with huge windows and a rusted swing set out back. Becker headed up the crumbling steps. Inside, it was dark and noisy. The waiting room was a line of folding metal chairs that ran the entire length of a long narrow corridor. A cardboard sign on a sawhorse read oficina with an arrow pointing down the hall. Becker walked the dimly lit corridor. It was like some sort of eerie set conjured up for a Hollywood horror flick. The air smelled of urine. The lights at the far end were blown out, and the last forty or fifty feet revealed nothing but muted silhouettes. A bleeding woman†¦ a young couple crying†¦ a little girl praying†¦ Becker reached the end of the darkened hall. The door to his left was slightly ajar, and he pushed it open. It was entirely empty except for an old, withered woman naked on a cot struggling with her bedpan. Lovely. Becker groaned. He closed the door. Where the hell is the office? Around a small dog-leg in the hall, Becker heard voices. He followed the sound and arrived at a translucent glass door that sounded as if a brawl were going on behind it. Reluctantly, Becker pushed the door open. The office. Mayhem. Just as he'd feared. The line was about ten people deep, everyone pushing and shouting. Spain was not known for its efficiency, and Becker knew he could be there all night waiting for discharge info on the Canadian. There was only one secretary behind the desk, and she was fending off disgruntled patients. Becker stood in the doorway a moment and pondered his options. There was a better way. â€Å"Con permiso!† an orderly shouted. A fast-rolling gurney sailed by. Becker spun out of the way and called after the orderly. â€Å"?Donde esta el telefono?† Without breaking stride, the man pointed to a set of double doors and disappeared around the corner. Becker walked over to the doors and pushed his way through. The room before him was enormous-an old gymnasium. The floor was a pale green and seemed to swim in and out of focus under the hum of the fluorescent lights. On the wall, a basketball hoop hung limply from its backboard. Scattered across the floor were a few dozen patients on low cots. In the far corner, just beneath a burned-out scoreboard, was an old pay phone. Becker hoped it worked. As he strode across the floor, he fumbled in his pocket for a coin. He found 75 pesetas in cinco-duros coins, change from the taxi-just enough for two local calls. He smiled politely to an exiting nurse and made his way to the phone. Scooping up the receiver, Becker dialed Directory Assistance. Thirty seconds later he had the number for the clinic's main office. Regardless of the country, it seemed there was one universal truth when it came to offices: Nobody could stand the sound of an unanswered phone. It didn't matter how many customers were waiting to be helped, the secretary would always drop what she was doing to pick up the phone. Becker punched the six-digit exchange. In a moment he'd have the clinic's office. There would undoubtedly be only one Canadian admitted today with a broken wrist and a concussion; his file would be easy to find. Becker knew the office would be hesitant to give out the man's name and discharge address to a total stranger, but he had a plan. The phone began to ring. Becker guessed five rings was all it would take. It took nineteen. â€Å"Clinica de Salud Publica,† barked the frantic secretary. Becker spoke in Spanish with a thick Franco-American accent. â€Å"This is David Becker. I'm with the Canadian Embassy. One of our citizens was treated by you today. I'd like his information such that the embassy can arrange to pay his fees.† â€Å"Fine,† the woman said. â€Å"I'll send it to the embassy on Monday.† â€Å"Actually,† Becker pressed, â€Å"it's important I get it immediately.† â€Å"Impossible,† the woman snapped. â€Å"We're very busy.† Becker sounded as official as possible. â€Å"It is an urgent matter. The man had a broken wrist and a head injury. He was treated sometime this morning. His file should be right on top.† Becker thickened the accent in his Spanish-just clear enough to convey his needs, just confusing enough to be exasperating. People had a way of bending the rules when they were exasperated. Instead of bending the rules, however, the woman cursed self-important North Americans and slammed down the phone. Becker frowned and hung up. Strikeout. The thought of waiting hours in line didn't thrill him; the clock was ticking-the old Canadian could be anywhere by now. Maybe he had decided to go back to Canada. Maybe he would sell the ring. Becker didn't have hours to wait in line. With renewed determination, Becker snatched up the receiver and redialed. He pressed the phone to his ear and leaned back against the wall. It began to ring. Becker gazed out into the room. One ring†¦ two rings†¦ three – A sudden surge of adrenaline coursed through his body. Becker wheeled and slammed the receiver back down into its cradle. Then he turned and stared back into the room in stunned silence. There on a cot, directly in front of him, propped up on a pile of old pillows, lay an elderly man with a clean white cast on his right wrist. Chapter 21 The American on Tokugen Numataka's private line sounded anxious. â€Å"Mr. Numataka-I only have a moment.† â€Å"Fine. I trust you have both pass-keys.† â€Å"There will be a small delay,† the American answered. â€Å"Unacceptable,† Numataka hissed. â€Å"You said I would have them by the end of today!† â€Å"There is one loose end.† â€Å"Is Tankado dead?† â€Å"Yes,† the voice said. â€Å"My man killed Mr. Tankado, but he failed to get the pass-key. Tankado gave it away before he died. To a tourist.† â€Å"Outrageous!† Numataka bellowed. â€Å"Then how can you promise me exclusive-â€Å" â€Å"Relax,† the American soothed. â€Å"You will have exclusive rights. That is my guarantee. As soon as the missing pass-key is found, Digital Fortress will be yours.† â€Å"But the pass-key could be copied!† â€Å"Anyone who has seen the key will be eliminated.† There was a long silence. Finally Numataka spoke. â€Å"Where is the key now?† â€Å"All you need to know is that it will be found.† â€Å"How can you be so certain?† â€Å"Because I am not the only one looking for it. American Intelligence has caught wind of the missing key. For obvious reasons they would like to prevent the release of Digital Fortress. They have sent a man to locate the key. His name is David Becker.† â€Å"How do you know this?† â€Å"That is irrelevant.† Numataka paused. â€Å"And if Mr. Becker locates the key?† â€Å"My man will take it from him.† â€Å"And after that?† â€Å"You needn't be concerned,† the American said coldly. â€Å"When Mr. Becker finds the key, he will be properly rewarded.†

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