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Description
Luxury is a sector of all global industry that has been proven sustainable, having flourished during global economic successes and withstood hardships across numerous decades. Consumers are drawn to luxury, both the physical and perceived value that luxury products offer. Luxury champagne tastes better, luxury vehicles are higher performing and luxury fashion reflects the highest quality designs. The belief in superior product is what keeps luxury relevant. However, it is the brand identity created on behalf of the firm behind a luxury brand that remains the vital component to develop and maintain its top-tier status. Luxury fashion firms are synonymous with their brand, the persona and user experience created driving all facets of creative and business execution. While product name and perceived value are contributors to global success, the evolution and maintenance of such status relies upon the consistency of brand identity. To begin, I will identify a criterion that differentiates luxury fashion (mega-brands) from mass-market and commercial fashion, as well as outline the components that comprise a luxury brand identity. After a clear understanding of the meaning of luxury is established, I will layout the process of how a brand identity is consistently communicated through the business cycle, from the initial creation and design process to the end point of the final sale stage. To further enrich the learning established, I will apply the developed concepts in a dissection of the top five luxury fashion firms, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci. Analyzing each mega-brand, I will evaluate how the company's brand identity has evolved over the course of the firm's heritage and analyze the current brand creative direction (brand identity, ethics and aesthetics). Understanding the brand's persona and image, I will highlight the physical representation through brand codes and symbols to support the firm's positioning as a thriving luxury empire. Lastly, I will interpret the company's latest advertising campaign, deconstructing the application of brand identity as well as the contribution the campaign provides to supporting firm success. Ultimately, after gaining sufficient understanding of what a successful luxury firm is comprised of, I will identify the shortcomings identified within the last firm evaluated, Gucci. I will examine the branding failures of the current state of Gucci, analyzing what contributed to its fall from top luxury brand status. Additionally, I will provide details regarding what measures are currently being taken to regain its superior status as well as provide my own recommendation to the firm. In summation, through the process of understanding successful luxury branding practices, I hope to have enriched not only my understanding of brand identity but have gained the ability to develop my own point of view, to suggest a branding path and measures to be taken to steer Gucci back on a track.
ContributorsGil, Alexandria Southwick (Author) / Peck, Sidnee (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Amy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
GEICO Insurance offers a wide range of insurance options to consumers nationwide. The company has experienced exponential growth over the past 15 years largely due to their low rates, ease of purchase, online business model, and their industry-revolutionizing approach to advertising these competitive advantages. Operating primarily within the enormous Property and Casualty sector of the insurance industry, GEICO faces extremely high levels of competition from many well-resourced companies. The most dangerous of which have begun to respond to GEICO's humorous, charming, and often detached advertising strategy through the employment of one of two general strategies; either imitating and attempting to improve upon GEICO's brand image and advertising practices, or else attacking it, insinuating that a company with this appeal does not truly care about its customers or its services. As GEICO has already solidified their low price point and ease of purchase in the minds of consumers, a tactical shift in response to competitive actions is now optimal. To avoid being labeled as a "cut-rate" insurance provider who cares little about the safety or well-being of their clients, and provides them with low quality insurance products and services; the following integrated marketing campaign is proposed. Spearheaded by the slogan "As long as you have GEICO, Things are looking up.", this campaign will focus on raising awareness of the plethora of customer service programs and initiatives already offered by GEICO that are unknown to the general public. The humorous, lighthearted appeal will remain, but the focus on highlighting customer service benefits and the high quality associated with GEICO's product will serve to shift the public perception of GEICO. As a result of this campaign, GEICO will appeal to a broader segment of the market, retain customers for longer period of time, raise awareness of their helpful customer service products and services, and differentiate themselves from the competition.
ContributorsGood, David Gregory (Author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
As a self-discrepancy arises between who an individual currently is and who they aspire to become, feelings of tension arise. Reactions to this stress are based on various personal beliefs. Our feelings of our potential to reach our desired state can be affected by our orientation of locus of control, or where we believe control is derived from within our life. In the present research, we examine how a person's locus of control--whether they are internal by attributing outcomes to their own actions or external believers that fate and chance drive their life outcomes--affects their reaction to a self-discrepancy in a domain that is important to them, and how this affects valuation of the products used in that domain. We found that while internals and externals behave similarly under feelings of high competence (baseline condition) when a self-discrepancy is not evident, reactions differed under the opposing condition of feeling less competent during their goal pursuit. Externals did not significantly change their belief in the product regardless of the condition (high vs. low competence) while internals took the defeat heavily by significantly decreasing their belief that the goal-related product would help them achieve their goals and decreased their willingness to pay for it.
ContributorsSweet, Megan Ruth (Author) / Samper, Adriana (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Amy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The purpose of our research was to develop recommendations and/or strategies for Company A's data center group in the context of the server CPU chip industry. We used data collected from the International Data Corporation (IDC) that was provided by our team coaches, and data that is accessible on the internet. As the server CPU industry expands and transitions to cloud computing, Company A's Data Center Group will need to expand their server CPU chip product mix to meet new demands of the cloud industry and to maintain high market share. Company A boasts leading performance with their x86 server chips and 95% market segment share. The cloud industry is dominated by seven companies Company A calls "The Super 7." These seven companies include: Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu. In the long run, the growing market share of the Super 7 could give them substantial buying power over Company A, which could lead to discounts and margin compression for Company A's main growth engine. Additionally, in the long-run, the substantial growth of the Super 7 could fuel the development of their own design teams and work towards making their own server chips internally, which would be detrimental to Company A's data center revenue. We first researched the server industry and key terminology relevant to our project. We narrowed our scope by focusing most on the cloud computing aspect of the server industry. We then researched what Company A has already been doing in the context of cloud computing and what they are currently doing to address the problem. Next, using our market analysis, we identified key areas we think Company A's data center group should focus on. Using the information available to us, we developed our strategies and recommendations that we think will help Company A's Data Center Group position themselves well in an extremely fast growing cloud computing industry.
ContributorsJurgenson, Alex (Co-author) / Nguyen, Duy (Co-author) / Kolder, Sean (Co-author) / Wang, Chenxi (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Tech2Learn, a privately owned tutoring company, serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade at its Phoenix location. The company's founding mission "is for every child to build individual competence and confidence in essential skills." It accomplishes this mission by providing a safe, fun, and engaging environment where children feel comfortable learning. In addition to tutoring in traditional subjects such as math and reading, Tech2Learn also offers a dyslexia reading lab, and a High School Placement Test prep course. The goal of this plan is to find a low cost and easy to manage way for Tech2Learn to market its services and encourage referrals. To achieve this goal, I conducted both an external and internal analysis. In order for Tech2Learn to remain competitive in the industry, it must be aware of trends such as the rapidly evolution of teaching technology, new government mandates on curriculum, and parents' desire to be involved in their children's education. While these trends create opportunities for growth, there are also threats that arise. One threat to Tech2Learn is a large number of competitors in the market. The company relies on its strengths of human capital and unique teaching approach to minimize these threats. The tactics and strategies recommended in this plan are intended to reduce the company's weaknesses. Specifically, tactical recommendations target Tech2Learn's digital presence through the creation of a Facebook page, consolidation of company owned web domains, and updating business information on both owned and earned online sites. Additionally, strategic suggestions aim to prepare Tech2Learn for future growth through the implementation of a formal training procedure, consideration of an additional office location, and differentiation through the early adoption of new technologies, such as virtual reality.
ContributorsCunningham, Sinead Bridget (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Giles, Bret (Committee member) / Cummings, Deborah (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
This project investigates how experiences colleges create for admitted students impact students' excitement for, satisfaction with, and likelihood to attend the college, analyzed by different subgroups, and how non-yielded students compare their college selection to W. P. Carey on various metrics. This study found that top admit students were less likely to attend, less satisfied, and less excited with the services offered than their counterparts and recommendations were made to improve the gap.
ContributorsGullo, Kelley (Co-author) / Dwosh, Bennett (Co-author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Olsen, Douglas (Committee member) / Desch, Timothy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis aims to enhance K-6 Education in the United States by developing recommendations for how technology is utilized in the classroom as a means to teach collaborative skills. By applying the technological capabilities we have today to the Common Core State Standards that are gradually being adopted and implemented, officials can improve the quality of education across the country and create classroom environments conducive to knowledge acquisition and skill development.
The research begins with the history of standards, starting with traditional outcome-based standards. It then delves into the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), which highlights the type of skills 21st century students are expected to develop and master by the time they enter college and careers. Next, it explores the hot topic of Education to this date: Common Core State Standards. In the midst of educational reform, these standards seek to add consistency across the nation in regards to what students should know at each grade level and also encourage teaching of the 21st century skills. This section briefly details the content of Common Core English Language Arts and Mathematics standards.
After summarizing P21 and Common Core, this report shifts into its focused 21st century skill: collaboration. As one of the 4 C’s that P21 and Common Core emphasize in their standards, it is imperative to research critical elements of collaboration as they relate to groups and teams of all ages. Even more specifically, collaboration is a practice that is becoming more and more standard in business across all industries, so it is a skill that is highly in demand for students to acquire. In regards to collaboration, Executive Vice President of Verizon, Bob Mudge, states, “companies are able to innovate much more quickly and even create solutions to problems that may not be prevalent issues yet” (Mudge 1). The standards expect that students will be prepared to collaborate in college and careers, so key elements of collaboration in those settings—in-person or virtual—need apply or be simplified to K-6 collaborative environments. This section also analyzes a case study experiment on young children about how technology functionality and design enables, encourages, or enforces collaboration.
Next, this thesis reviews three case studies that represent evolution in our understanding of technology’s role as a support system in teaching and learning collaboration. The first case study shows how simple handheld devices assisted in correcting weaknesses in a variety of collaborative and organizational skills. The second study utilizes interactive tabletop technology to realize the idea of tracking collaborative ability in real time through synchronized audio and touch recording. Finally, researchers assess the effectiveness of one student to one device (1:1) initiatives by gathering student-reported data before and after the program’s implementation, which largely speak to the direction of many schools’ technology strategies.
To supplement all of the secondary research above, the researcher of this thesis conducted interviews with nine K-6 teachers to gather their insights on collaboration and how they facilitate it. They explain how they use technology in their classroom to enhance the learning environment. Additionally, they give opinions on what could be done to make collaboration more easily taught and facilitated, as well as what would better develop their students’ collaborative skills.
The compilation of this information then leads to implications of what needs to be present, from a technology standpoint, to more effectively teach collaborative skills to our schoolchildren. This includes a brief industry analysis of a program that already exists, as well as recommendations for new technology that considers the research conducted throughout the paper. Another implication addressed centers on the instruction and facilitation of technology and the digital divide that can result from varying competency among teachers, which brings to light the need for proper technology development programs for educators.
The research begins with the history of standards, starting with traditional outcome-based standards. It then delves into the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), which highlights the type of skills 21st century students are expected to develop and master by the time they enter college and careers. Next, it explores the hot topic of Education to this date: Common Core State Standards. In the midst of educational reform, these standards seek to add consistency across the nation in regards to what students should know at each grade level and also encourage teaching of the 21st century skills. This section briefly details the content of Common Core English Language Arts and Mathematics standards.
After summarizing P21 and Common Core, this report shifts into its focused 21st century skill: collaboration. As one of the 4 C’s that P21 and Common Core emphasize in their standards, it is imperative to research critical elements of collaboration as they relate to groups and teams of all ages. Even more specifically, collaboration is a practice that is becoming more and more standard in business across all industries, so it is a skill that is highly in demand for students to acquire. In regards to collaboration, Executive Vice President of Verizon, Bob Mudge, states, “companies are able to innovate much more quickly and even create solutions to problems that may not be prevalent issues yet” (Mudge 1). The standards expect that students will be prepared to collaborate in college and careers, so key elements of collaboration in those settings—in-person or virtual—need apply or be simplified to K-6 collaborative environments. This section also analyzes a case study experiment on young children about how technology functionality and design enables, encourages, or enforces collaboration.
Next, this thesis reviews three case studies that represent evolution in our understanding of technology’s role as a support system in teaching and learning collaboration. The first case study shows how simple handheld devices assisted in correcting weaknesses in a variety of collaborative and organizational skills. The second study utilizes interactive tabletop technology to realize the idea of tracking collaborative ability in real time through synchronized audio and touch recording. Finally, researchers assess the effectiveness of one student to one device (1:1) initiatives by gathering student-reported data before and after the program’s implementation, which largely speak to the direction of many schools’ technology strategies.
To supplement all of the secondary research above, the researcher of this thesis conducted interviews with nine K-6 teachers to gather their insights on collaboration and how they facilitate it. They explain how they use technology in their classroom to enhance the learning environment. Additionally, they give opinions on what could be done to make collaboration more easily taught and facilitated, as well as what would better develop their students’ collaborative skills.
The compilation of this information then leads to implications of what needs to be present, from a technology standpoint, to more effectively teach collaborative skills to our schoolchildren. This includes a brief industry analysis of a program that already exists, as well as recommendations for new technology that considers the research conducted throughout the paper. Another implication addressed centers on the instruction and facilitation of technology and the digital divide that can result from varying competency among teachers, which brings to light the need for proper technology development programs for educators.
ContributorsPetrovich, Nicholas Hugh (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Lonnie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis will be to outline the different tactics involving social and digital media that film studios currently use to market their films. Before that is done, a brief history will be provided about the ways the film industry has promoted itself in the past, as well as a brief history of the development of social media. After the history is provided, the marketing tactics that studios use that involve digital and social media will be listed and explained. In addition to discussing the tactics used by studios, there will also be a discussion of the shifts that have occurred in the marketing of films at a strategic level. After the explanation of all the tactics mentioned, there will be an analysis of the ways two major Hollywood blockbusters, The Hunger Games and Gravity, used some of those tactics to promote themselves. Through all these sections, the reader will be able to comprehend how big of an impact social media has made on the film industry and understand exactly how it is used to promote films.
ContributorsRamirez, Alvaro R (Author) / Gruber, Diane (Thesis director) / Giles, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The focus shift towards Silicon Valley and similar ecosystems in the past decade, the recent boom in startups and entrepreneurship, and the resurgence of venture capital funding is fueling rapid advancement of modern technologies, such as software, biotechnology, and renewable energy. One facet of the growing entrepreneurial landscape features healthcare technology—a field of research centered upon various technical advances in medicine, software, and hardware. Trends in healthcare technology commercialization represent a promising opportunity for disruption in the healthcare industry. The integration of rapidly iterating software with medical research, timed perfectly with the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the boom of venture capital investment in both Big Data and mobile technology, has the healthcare technology primed for explosive growth over the next decade. Investment data indicates that strong public market activity in the past year will continue to fuel venture capital growth in both the biotechnology and digital health sectors, with the potential for multiple large exits by life sciences companies, more than even software, in the coming year.
ContributorsPatel, Nisarg (Co-author) / Yun, Kwanho (Co-author) / Wang, Xiao (Thesis director) / Marchant, Gary (Committee member) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Sustainability has been a growing topic since the 1970’s, but is truly taking shape today as society is beginning to understand the necessity of protecting our environment. Business organizations are following this ‘megatrend’ and are beginning to incorporate sustainable initiatives in their organizations from the inside out. The sports industry is no exception as they are extremely influential over the millions of fans that follow them, whom have a strong affiliation with their favorite team. The Arizona Diamondbacks understand this responsibility and seek to be a leader in their community by creating many sustainable initiatives within their organization and community. The current problem the organization faces, is that much of the community are not aware of their environmental commitment. This is in part due to a lack of marketing within the organization and to the Arizona valley. This project analyzes the sports industry’s commitment to sustainability and how the Arizona Diamondbacks compare to industry leaders. Included is a detailed marketing plan for the organization comprised of current initiatives and of new initiatives that the Diamondbacks could potentially carry out. The implementation of this proposal could deem extremely beneficial as it would strengthen their identity, unify their employees and engage fans, which will make them feel a deeper affiliation with the organization. The Diamondbacks have made a commitment to the environment, but it is time to deepen that commitment, set an example for people in the Valley and in turn, spark social change.
ContributorsBauman, Jillian (Co-author) / Hopson, Emma (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Kutz, Elana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05