CAUSAL ANALYSIS ESSAY Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CAUSAL ANALYSIS - Essay Example It seemed like a trend among my peers to get married a few years after completing high school. My best friend and classmate in high school got married a few months after we had cleared high school. I was tempted to take the same path but took a different path eventually. I knew I needed to join college but also knew that I could study online. I met Jenny in junior high in my first year; she perfectly fitted what I termed as the girl of my dreams. We were in the same class but not the same stream. We were both chosen to represent our school in an inter-school competition. I am a generally introverted and so I decided to sit alone at the back of the bus. For most of the trip, I pondered about different things and tried to think of what the future held for me. At some point, I dosed off only to be woken up by this beautiful girl standing besides me. I thought I was dreaming at first as I raised my head for a split moment before and dosing off again. She went ahead and sat next to me and nudged me to wake up. I eventually did and she introduced herself to me. Through out the trip we engage in a positive and constructive chat. Jenny was every man’s or should I say every boy’s dream in school; she was a smart, sharp, eloquent, beautiful, and hardworking. She seemed to know everything about everything. She was outgoing and a favorite of every teacher for her intelligence. Many of the boys in school had tried to befriend her but felt belittled by her smartness and level of intelligence. Although everyone in school thought we were dating, it never got into my head that I was engaged in a serious relationship. Gradually, I realized we had so much in common and my reserved nature gradually became more accommodative of her. We had a normal relationship with normal challenges for a long time until one day she brought up the subject of marriage. Not that we had never discussed the subject before†¦ she only brought up the subject without mincing words. We made a

Human resource policies Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human resource policies - Case Study Example Our argument is that, in order to play a strategic role in the organization, the HR policies and practices that make up an organization's people strategy should reflect, reinforce, and support the organization's business aims and objectives. A strong linkage is needed between the overall vision of the organization that is held in the minds of the senior executives and the aims, objectives, and underlying philosophy of the organization's approach to managing people. This linkage will ensure that HR interventions can become a creator, and not an inhibitor, of sustained competitive advantage. This link between people strategy and business-unit strategy we term vertical alignment. Note, however that alignment suggests a much more fluid dynamic that allows for variation and flexibility. It is not a mechanistic "matching" exercise between business strategic objectives and people strategies; often, such matching is simply not feasible and, in any case, will act as a constraint. Instead, the process is evolving, based on an understanding of what the business's goals are, their people implications, and the translation of these into an overarching people strategy that can be used as a basis for detailed HR policies. Some core policy-setting, majority of decision-making and service provision is at the divisional and local level. There is limited shared services or automation, resulting in duplication across the business. Strategic goals: Cost control; divisional growth; market penetration. What this means for HR: HR services are closely aligned to divisional/local requirements resulting in variation in service offering across divisions. Challenges for HR - Evolution is driven by a 'powerful few'; - HQ has grown by adding management layers; - Corporate centre's role is to check what is proposed by divisions; - Centre not seen to add value. HR impact in a nutshell: Requires strong local HR capabilities. HR's response: Matthew Brearley, HR director, Vodafone says: "This definition is partly correct, but I feel HR's ability to influence is a blend of the organizational model and environment and personalities of people. We have a global framework but freedom to work in our territories. Do I have the ability to influence and make change - absolutely." Recruitment and Orientation At the global level, Corporate Responsibility (CR) is integrated into induction training for all new employees, through workshops that talk about the company's CR policies. All employees also receive the booklet on 'Passion for the World Around Us' that identifies the company's values and its commitment to the goals of CR. Vodafone conducts an annual employee survey that includes questions about whether the company is generating trust and adequately managing its environmental

Henry VIIIs Foreign Policy 1509-1524 Essay Example for Free

Henry VIIIs Foreign Policy 1509-1524 Essay How far do Sources 1, 2 and 3 suggest that Henry VIIIs Foreign Policy in the years 1509-1524 followed consistent aims? Source 1 agrees that Henrys did follow consistent aims and Henry VIII had one goal target in his foreign policy whilst sources 2 and 3 especially, argues that Henry but could not agree one goal to pursue involving foreign policy. Source 1 in particular claims that Henry poured much dedication and time into ensuring that England went to war against France. The king writes letters to the pope, the emperor and the Venetians declaring his steadfast intention and strong provision to wage war against France suggesting that Henry VIIIs main goal was to attack France as he repeats his exact intentions to three separate individuals. This is reiterated in source 2 as Henry VIII is described to be accompanied by 500 horsemen and 3000 foot soldiers during the Field of Cloth of Gold showing aggression and building tension between the two rivals suggesting that King Henry was keen in causing tension so that it will lead to waging a war against France. We can see King Henry strongly suggesting that he consistently wanted to defeat the French as he writes to the Venetians to try and disband the newly formed league between Venetia and France. As the Milanese ambassador is writing at the time these letters had been sent he carries alot of weight with Source 1 as it clearly states the purpose of the letters and they lead to one clear goal which is to invade France. Source 3 shows Cromwell trying to persuade Henry to go against his plans to take over France but to redirect his attentions to Scotland. Cromwell suggesting that Henry converts first and chief his whole intent and purpose suggests that Henry was so determine to wage war against France he did not think about other issues to do with his Foreign Policy and Cromwell needed to remind him of budding problems. However Source 3 also suggests that Henry was lenient in his decisions about foreign policies as, even though Cromwell at this time is trying to work his way into the inner council and was desperate to gain the attentions of the King, felt the King was not so desperate in going against France that he was able to suggest the King redirects his attention to Scotland whilst still pleasing the King and trying to achieve honour. Source 2 also suggests that the King was not so rivalled with France as a contemporary account shows that Henry pitched his marquee near where the French king had been staying, although this could be seen as showing off and is multifaceted it can also be seen as Henry trying to break down the existing barriers to focus on the celebration of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Overall, there is enough agreement in all three sources to suggest that Henry VIIIs foreign policy in the years 1509-1524 followed consistent aims. This is a view most strongly and optimistically supported by source 1, slightly confirmed by the accounts described in source 2 but largely denied by source 3.

The Creation Of The Oyster E System Information Technology Essay

The Creation Of The Oyster E System Information Technology Essay Introduction TfL is the body responsible for the majority of Londons transport systems. It manages London Buses, the Underground, the Docklands Light Rail (DLR) and Croydon Tramlink, Londons road network and traffic lights, traffic management and the congestion charging scheme. It runs London River Services and regulates taxis and the private hire trade. However, National rail services are not TfLs direct responsibility except some services in London (Mezghani, 2008). This paper aims to analyse TfLs Oyster ticketing system and provide a balanced assessment of its deployment, functionality and efficiency. Further, it would aim to propose recommendations pertaining to improving operability or scalability as the case may be. Oyster e-Ticketing System TfL was created in 2000 and is the integrated body responsible Londons transport system (TfL, 2010). Oyster was launched in 2003 with more than seven million Oyster cards operating in London since. Each week, fifty-seven million journeys are made using Oyster and more than 80 per cent of all bus and tube payments are now by Oyster card. TfL processes 10 million Oyster transactions a day whilst Barclaycard MasterCard processes 40 million transactions a day- half of the worlds credit card transactions (oyster-factsheet, 2010). This further elucidates the volume and importance of the Oysters operations. The Oyster card is a contactless transport smartcard which can store period tickets as well as Pre-Pay value which can be used to pay for individual fares. It encourages public transport use by reducing barriers to access, improving bus journey times and free staff from the ticket office as well as providing an integrated ticketing platform (Inglesant and Sasse, 2005). The aim of the Oyster (as of any other e-Ticketing system) is to have an open payment scheme which promotes inter-modality, inter-operability, inter-services (e-purse), parking and road pricing, customer relationship management (CRM), network monitoring and planning, secured access and individual safety (Mezghani, 2008). TfL Fare system There are a variety of tickets for both single rides and for periods of time over various modes of transportation. A capping system guarantees that an Oyster card user will be charged no more than the cheapest combinations of single tickets, travelcards and/or bus pass that cover all journeys made that day. The cap is based on modal choice, maximum zonal journey made on the Tube and time of day. A 50p discount is given where the price is capped at the travelcard or bus pass rate. Unlike paper daily travelcards, Oyster cards capped at travelcard rates are not valid on National Rail services other than those routes which accept Oyster Pay as you go. Concessionary fares exist for children, students, elderly and physically impaired people, as well as adults on some types of benefits (Mezghani, 2008). E-ticketing When discussing e-Ticketing systems, there are a few things which should be considered mandatory. These are: The fare levels and structure The ticketing spectrum The possibilities for integration The smartcard technology The interoperability issue The business case The business model The clearing mechanisms The exploitation of data However, due to the limitations of the scope of this paper only some factors will be discussed with relevance to the oyster ticketing system. Technology The Oyster card is a contactless smartcard, with a claimed proximity range of about 8  cm (3  inches). The card operates as a RFID  system and is compatible with ISO 14443A standards; although the Oyster readers can also read other types of cards including ISO14443B and Cubic Go-Cards. From its inception until January 2010, Oyster cards were based on NXP/Philips PhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , most commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics corporation. MiFare MIFAREMIFARE is the NXP Semiconductors -owned trademark of the reputedly most widely installed contactless smart card, or proximity card, technology in the world with over 1 billion smart card chips and 10 million reader modules sold standard 1k chips provided by Giesecke Devrient Giesecke DevrientGiesecke Devrient is a German company headquartered in Munich that provides banknote and securities printing, smart cards, and cash handling systems. , Gemalto and SchlumbergerSema. Since December 2009 all new Oyster cards were produced using the MiFare DESFire  chips. From February 2010 MiFare based Oyster cards were no longer issued to the public. DESFire cards are now widely used in transport smartcard systems (Absolute Astronomy, 2010). MiFare and DESFire chips, on which the Oyster card is based, are memory smartcards, meaning that they do not have any computing power of their own. They are activated only when they are in an electromagnetic field compatible with ISO14443A. The Oyster readers provide this electromagnetic field. The readers read information from the cards, carry out computation to check whether to allow travel and to assess the payable fare and write back information to the card. Some basic information about the MiFare or DESFire chip can be read by any ISO14443A compatible reader but further, Oyster specific information cannot be read without access to the encryption used for the Oyster system. While it has been suggested that a good reader could read personal details from quite a distance there has been no evidence of anyone being able to decrypt Oyster information. By design the cards do not carry any personal information, such as names, addresses, etc. (Mezghani, 2008). As a smartcard system, the Oyster card uses a distributed settlement framework. All transactions are settled between the card and reader alone. Readers transmit the transactions to the back office in batches but there is no need for this to be done in real time. The Oyster back office system acts mainly as a record of transactions that have been completed between cards and readers. This provides a high degree of resilience in the system (Absolute Astronomy, 2010). Memory The size of the dynamic memory on a smart card into which data can be written or changed is limited, at present, both by the cost of this kind of memory (EEPROM Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) and by the physical size of the memory chip within the cards processor. Many of the first generation read-write cards offer only a few hundred bytes of EEPROM. However, commercial cards with 4, 8 and reliably up to 64K bytes are now available- albeit at a cost. Cards with 100K bytes are also emerging. 2-4K bytes of memory is sufficient to store the financial balance and contract information, plus an auditable register of around 100 of the most recent transactions (containing information such as time, location, service, charge and final balance). However, the memory is really a function of what and how many applications the card is expected to support and this largely determines the unit cost of the card (Mezghani, 2008). Security The security of public transport systems against fraud relies on many components- which the smartcard is just one. Typically, to minimize costs, system integrators will chose a relatively cheap card and concentrate the security efforts in the back office (which also is the case with Oyster). Additional encryption on the card, transaction counters, and other methods recognized in cryptography are then required to make cloned cards useless, or at least to enable the back office detect fraud in case a card is compromised, and put it on a blacklist. Systems that work with online readers only (i.e., readers with a permanent link to the back office) are easier to protect than systems that have offline readers as well, for which real-time checks are not possible and blacklists cannot be updated as frequently (Mezghani, 2008). Mezghani (2008) recalls a presentation by Henryk Plà ¶tz and Karsten Nohl at the 24th Chaos Communication Congress in December 2007 which described a partial reverse-engineering of the algorithm used in the MiFare Classic chip, and potentially revealed some insecurities in the MiFare Classic security model, which resulted in people gaining access to transport facilities without charge. Integration In the context of fare collection, it is important to distinguish between tariff integration and ticket integration. It is important to note that integrated (multi-mode, multi-operator) fare schemes are initiatives taken or at least endorsed by transport authorities to make travel by public transport easy. Fare integration is treated differently on single tickets compared to season tickets. Single tickets tend to be mode-exclusive (e.g. surface transport vs. heavy rail) while season tickets are in most cases multi-modal. Besides, the more fare-setting is controlled by the authority, the higher fare integration becomes. E-ticketing makes ticketing integration easier to implement because it can manage a more complex fare system without necessarily harmonising amongst fares of different operators or modes. Each operator or mode keeps its own single fares and the smartcard acts as a unique means of payment. In addition, the system can include rules for transfer rights in order to be more attractive. Fares integration is no longer a pre-requisite to achieving seamless travel- this is the case with TfLs Oyster, Hong Kongs Octopus and Seouls T-Money (Mezghani, 2008). Mari (2008) in an article for computing.co.uk posed the question: Will poor integration derail smart tickets? With London 2012 in sight, its quite clear it would be very difficult for visitors to move about the country without a properly integrated ticketing system. Yes, the Oyster is focused on London and transportation for London. However, it is an opportunity to generate extra income via commissions and TfLs position is important as it is a leader in the smart e-Ticketing field. Interoperability The term interoperability can create confusion, since it can be defined in more than one way. Standardisation is an important concern in particular when it deals with interoperability. In this respect, several initiatives have been developed at national level in order to define interoperable standard specifications, e.g. ITSO standard in the UK and VDV Kernapplikations in Germany. They have jointly developed some basic concepts for European e-ticketing. A suite of three standards which serve as a generic framework has been published: a standard for data elements (EN 1545), a standard for a framework for interoperable ticketing (EN 15320, also known as IOPTA Interoperable Public Transport Application), and a basic standard for the functional interoperable fare management system architecture (ISO 24014-1, also known as IFM SA) which was additionally jointly developed with US and Japanese experts. According to IFM system architecture, there are four different levels of the interoperabil ity concept (Mezghani, 2008). This is believed to be a new gestalt in the field of smartcard e-Ticketing and will eventually become the modus operandi for all e-Ticketing technologies. Below is an illustration of the interoperable architecture applied to the Helsinki e-Ticketing system. Source: www.emta.com/IMG/pdf/EMTA-Ticketing.pdf Standardization ITSO started in 1998 and was incorporated in 2001. Its a company whose membership covers the width of the Transport arena; including transport operators (both bus and train operating companies), suppliers to the industry, local authorities and public transport executives. Supported by the Department for Transport, ITSO links with major transport industry organizations and established smartcard schemes in the UK and overseas. Having evolved from the initiative of various UK Passenger Transport Authorities who were concerned with  the lack of standards for interoperable smartcard ticketing,  ITSOs objective is to maintain and develop the ITSO Specification; to  operate and manage an interoperable smart media environment and  to facilitate and support development of interoperable smart ticketing schemes that comply with the ITSO Specification (ITSO, 2010). TfL has been working with the ITSO since 2006 and is currently expanding its interoperability through various products provided by the organization. ITSO supports the following Product Types: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP0: Private Application à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP2: Stored Value à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP3, 17: Loyalty à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP4, 5: Charge to Account à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP14, 16: Entitlement and ID à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP22, 23, 24: Pre-defined Tickets à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP25: Voucher à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP26: Tolling à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP27, 28, 29: Space-saving Tickets à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢TYP34: Transient Ticket The diagrams below illustrate the structure of the ITSO system and its benefits. ITSO System Overview. Source:www.ctst.com/CTST08/pdf/Hochfield.pdf ITSO stored value proposition Source: http://www.itso.org.uk/page45/About%20ITSO/ Weinstein (2009) elucidates the options Oyster has in expanding its scope and maintaining efficiency by stating the need to look outward; especially at other e-Ticketing systems around the world and learn from advancement in these systems or the transport schemes put in place. The EMV standard could be a path to inter-operability as it uses global networks that already exist and that work effectively every day for millions of purchases (Weinstein, 2009). Conclusion There are several reasons transport authorities introduce or re-model e-Ticketing systems. However, they do not have the same priorities. With EMV gradually gaining ground, Oyster is constantly striving to ease customer experience as well as strengthen its competitive advantage. However, the main focal point for the Oyster should be scalability. This ensures seamless integration when new technology is introduced and platform independence as a result of interoperability. It also aids data mining which serves as input for future modelling and design. Scalability should, above anything, be the primary focus of Oyster as it forecasts.

Pi and Richard Parker in Life of Pi Essay example -- Yann Martel

Pi gives two renditions of his 227 days on the ocean. His second version, instead of involving animals, claims that other survivors from the ship are present. Pi witnesses and takes part in cannibalism, going against his vegetarianism and human nature. Pi also commits murder in this adaptation of his story, killing his mother’s murderer, a reality that is hard for Pi to come to terms with. Since this event is easier for him to cope with if is not the one directly involved in the killing, he replaces himself with Richard Parker. Thus, as shown by Pi’s creation of others in order to suppress guilt, the mind can invent or distort memories in order to preserve one’s sanity and spiritual survival. The same mechanism of self preservation of the mind is shown in the movie Castaway (2000). In the movie, Chuck is the only survivor of a plane crash and he must survive a island. Humans cannot bear isolation. To cope with his loneliness, Chuck creates Wilson, a volleyball with a face drawn with blood, and treats Wilson as if he is an individual. To Chuck, Wilson is someone to engage in conversation with and a close friend. Wilson’s creation illustrates how humans will do anything to cope with loneliness, prevent insanity, and ultimately survive. â€Å"I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life,† (Martel, 203). On his trek, Pi faces a multitude of different fears and overcomes each one of them in order to survive. One of Pi’s greatest fears is Richard Parker, the deadly Bengal tiger. Pi realizes that he has to cope with Richard Parker, regardless of his natural fear, since they are in the lifeboat together. Pi cannot run away, he must take action. He states, â€Å"I couldn’t always be runnin... ...s, a group of stranded schoolboys show their need for each other’s company. The first thing the boys do is seek each other out once they arrive on the uninhabited island. The boys are young and cannot tend to their needs alone, thus it is necessary for them collaborate in order to survive. Within the group, a hierarchy of leadership is established. One person is viewed as their chief, someone of considerable wisdom and charisma to guide them. The main focus of their group is survival, however, there are two philosophies on how to survive within the group. This causes the group break into factions. Even though there are disagreements between individuals, they continue to stick together and form groups. This illustrates how collaboration between individuals is essential for survival in dire situations and how people will work together if their existence depends on it.

An Evaluation of My Writing :: How Have I Changed As A Writer

Over my career of schooling my writing has changed dramatically at times and very little at others. Through my years of schooling people have determined my main weaknesses and strengths that I should work on with my writing. My biggest weakness is writing introductions and conclusions they must be so complicated and require so much thought to be defined as good. I excel at writing body paragraphs and explaining all the facts that back up your main ideas though. In all my years of going to school I have had trouble writing introductions and conclusions for my papers. All of my teachers would tell me that you would want your introduction to flow and clearly start what you are going to talk about. When ever I would write an introduction it would never flow. It is always fairly choppy and I could not figure out how to smoothen it out. Now that I am in college people have told me to not summarize my paper in my introduction. This requires even more creativity and thought to create an introduction, which I can never seem to think of. This also applies to my conclusions as well on how they must be so complicated. When writing an introduction and or conclusion there are suppose to be all different techniques to help write them but I can never apply any of them to what I am writing so they rarely help me. Also depending on the class I am writing for determines how difficult it is for me to write an introduction and conclusion. For exampl e, English papers and philosophy papers usually give me a bit more trouble then history papers. I have learned from being in college that English and philosophy papers need to be much more elaborate and deep. When writing a history paper you must be direct and right to the point and that is what I seem to do best. It shows because my history paper grades are a bit higher then my philosophy and English papers. Where there are weaknesses there are also strengths and mine lie within the body paragraphs. I arrange my ideas well by using quotes about my subject and explaining them.

Cement Industry Essay

In today’s world of rapidly increasing competition, firms are selling goods and services through a variety of direct and indirect channels. In mass advertising, marketers are exploring new forms of communication, such as experimental, entertainment and viral marketing. Creative Advertising is the means to break clutter in such new forms – it helps Differentiation, Recognition, Recall and Persuasion in an effective manner. Creativity in advertising involves disciplined thinking and requires the creative person to think differently within specific constraints. The advertisement project is a complex exercise that that consumes a lot of effort, cost and time from different experts in the team which requires every part of the project process to be well-studied, documented and well planned. A lot of research needs to get conducted about the audience, product and media of the advertisement. Increasing sales is not the only goal of the advertising decision and could also involve introducing a new product, delivering the product message, etc. The most important aspect of the creative advertising process is the idea and the creative concept. Advertisers use different ways of thinking via several types of creative strategies to promote publicity, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. One such creative advertisement campaign is the Vodafone’s ZooZoo ads which caught the fancy of the consumers and helped the company develop its own entity in a splendid and innovative manner. The advertising landscape has experienced dramatic change over the past several years and as the advertising medium gradually shifts to the digital platform, agencies are finding new ways to connect with the customers and build their brands. This media confluence is one of the foremost challenges of creative advertising as the advertisers have to reinvent the mass message model, help consumers tell stories, play in an evolving arena and develop talent with creative vision. INTRODUCTION Advertising has long been viewed as a method of mass promotion in that a single message can reach a large number of people. But, this mass promotion approach presents problems since many exposed to an advertising message may not be within the marketer’s target market, and thus, may be an inefficient use of promotional funds. However, this is changing as new advertising technologies and the emergence of new media outlets offer more options for targeted advertising. Advertising also has a history of being considered a one-way form of marketing communication where the message receiver is not in position to immediately respond to the message. In fact, it is expected that over the next 10-20 years advertising will move away from a one-way communication model and become one that is highly interactive. Another characteristic that may change as advertising evolves is the view that advertising does not stimulate immediate demand for the product advertised. That is, customers cannot quickly purchase a product they see advertised. But as more media outlets allow customers to interact with the messages being delivered the ability of advertising to quickly stimulate demand will improve. It is estimated that worldwide spending on advertising exceeds (US) $400 billion. This level of spending supports thousands of companies and millions of jobs. In fact, in many countries most media outlets, such as television, radio and newspapers, would not be in business without revenue generated through the sale of advertising. Most organizations, large and small, that rely on marketing to create customer interest are engaged in consistent use of advertising to help meet marketing objectives. However not every advertisement achieves its objective as the consumer is subjected to innumerable ads daily in newspapers, television, billboards, websites, etc. Therefore those Ads which catch customer’s attention have something unique which makes then interesting and unforgettable. The majority of copywriters agree that creativity is extremely important in ads and it usually works more effectively in catching the interest of people/customer than all other techniques put together. The originality of the idea or ad makes it more recognizable and is able to beat the competition. Creativity is the marriage of imagination and execution, thinking and doing. Creativity in the context of today’s world is underpinned by the fact that almost anything is possible given technology and platform advances. Technology is changing behavior, but ideas and how we tell the stories are everything – this is how we influence behavior. It’s about the idea and the story, not simply the devices or technologies, which create great and enduring ideas and are the hallmark of Creative Advertisements. ABOUT ADVERTISING Definition of Advertising: Advertising is defined differently by different authorities and the institutions dealing with the subject of advertising. The American Marketing Association defines advertising as â€Å"the placement of announcements and persuasive messages in time or space purchased in any of the mass media by business firms, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and individuals who seek to inform and/ or persuade members of a particular target market or audience about their products, services, organizations, or ideas.† Purpose of Advertising: Through advertising, one can disseminate the message very effectively. Within few seconds the message can be disseminated to masses. The basic purpose of advertising for commercial advertisers is to identify and differentiate one product from another in order to persuade the consumer to buy that product in preference to another. Non-commercial advertisers (political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies) use advertising to educate people for their cause. Major Decisions before committing for any advertising campaign: Like other area of marketing management, decision-making is necessary in advertising. This relates to 5Ms – mission, money, message, media and measurement. Mission: What are the advertisement objectives? Decision in regard to mission is a basic one as other decisions are to be adjusted as per the mission or objective or purpose of advertising decided. It can be: Introduction of new product or service, or information about new features, repositioning of the brand or just reminder campaigns etc. Money: How much money to be spent. Advertising is costly and companies have to spend billions of dollars for this purpose. Advertising objectives determine the required budget. Message: What is the message to be sent? Positive results depend on message. It should be attractive and meaningful. It’s the job of the creative copywriters and artists. Message can be communicated by written words, pictures, slogans and so on. Media: What kind of media to be used. Selection of media depends upon cost, coverage, effectiveness and budget in hand. Wrong decision on media may make advertising ineffective and money spent will be wasted. The steps here are deciding on desired Reach, Frequency and Impact. Measure: How are the results to be determined? Evaluation of advertisement in order to judge its effectiveness. The post advertising sale is one major consideration. The other consideration is visibility of the advertisement. Steps involved in influencing customer decision: There is a very famous principle in ad world called as AIDA principle, which describes the steps that a prospective customer goes through before deciding to buy. AIDA stands for A- Awareness, I- Interest, D- desire and A- Action. Awareness – Ad should surprise the customer. Interest – This is usually where benefit phrases come heavily into play. Desire – Third step, customer realizes that product is good and beneficial. Action- The fourth stage occurs when the prospect decides to take Action and become a customer. HISTORY OF ADVERTISING History of ads can be traced back to 3000-4000 BC. There are signs that Romans used to announce gladiator fights by painting on the walls. Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters. Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Active advertising in print media started in late 19th century. 20th century has witnessed evolution of advertising through various media. The concept of creativity in advertising was not discussed much until the 1960s, when a sea change in the way of producing advertising transformed the field forever. The central feature of this Creative Revolution was that creativity came to be valued over the formulas and research that previously drove the production of ads. Creative teams, a mainstay of nearly all agencies since the 1960s, did not exist prior to that time. The reigning paradigm was reason the why advertising that spoke to consumers in terms of unique selling propositions (USPs). The Creative Revolution changed not only the ground rules for making advertising, but also the kinds of people who were recruited into the business. The preeminence of creativity over formulaic advertising was strongly articulated and the effect was to place creativity before the other services of an advertising agency – market research, media analysis, and other support functions. CREATIVE ADVERTISING To really stand out in the crowd, an ad concept has to be really out of the box, something that intrigues an audience or at least make them look twice. There is no second chance at making a good first impression. With both online and offline advertising you only have seconds to catch the attention of your consumers. If that doesn’t happen, your ad campaign is considered a failure. Today’s advertising message must be better planned, more imaginative, more entertaining and more rewarding to customers. Inclusion of creative ideas (original, novel, out of box and useful ideas) in the ad campaign is called creative advertising. Creative advertisements are made not only to sell the product but to entertain the target audience. Creativity in advertising does not arise in a vacuum; it requires a certain degree of both general knowledge and field-specific knowledge. This is clearly true if we think of creativity as a form of innovation – we cannot know what is novel without a sense of what is already known in any area. The ad’s impact depends not only on what it says, but often more important, how it says it – execution is decisive and this is the crux of Creative Advertising. TYPES OF CREATIVE STRATEGIES Creative Strategies are used in order to obtain consumer attention and provoke shoppers to purchase or use a specific product. Creative Strategies promote publicity, public relations, personal and sales promotion. Creative strategies are divided into three basic forms: Weak Strategies: Generic and Pre-emptive strategies describe the two weakest forms of advertising that were most popular through the 1940s. A generic strategy gives a product attribution. Consumers aren’t learning anything new about the product. It enhances the product in no other way. A pre-emptive strategy is a form of advertising that makes a generic claim stronger. Middle Strength Strategies: Unique positioning and Brand Image are the two types. This proves that something about your product is truly unique. This is commonly found when producers take an average product and add a new, unique element to it. In brand image, an advertiser is not trying to create rational thinking. This type of advertising strives to create emotion and give a brand a personality. A common way of doing this is by using a celebrity as a spokesperson. Strong Strategies: Affective and resonance advertising are the two types. Making people feel really good about a product is called affective advertising. This is difficult to do, but often humor and an honest character can make affective advertising possible. Resonance advertising is a way of identifying with consumers. If an advertiser can create a campaign that certain target markets identify with, then resonance advertising has been achieved. FUNDAMENTALS OF CREATIVE ADVERTISING The Fundamentals of Creative Advertising provides an understanding of how to create and produce ad campaigns. The focus is on the various media available, the thinking and planning behind the campaign, the creative brief, and the creative solution and execution of the ad campaign. Market research underpins virtually all of the decisions made at the campaign planning stage. Through market research both the client and the agency are better able to understand the marketplace, identify and profile the target audience, test their creative ideas, choose the most appropriate media form and, finally, evaluate the success of the campaign. The client will normally provide basic and initial research about the target market and audience in the client brief, which is then supplemented by research undertaken by the agency. Having received the brief from the client, the creative ad team must now take all the knowledge that they have and use it to develop a campaign that will meet the requirements of the brief. They need to look closely at all the information they have been given and understand what it really means. The creative ad team must also identify any gaps in their knowledge that can be filled through market research. The Creative Brief: Role of the brief: A creative ad team will transform a client brief into a creative brief. Together they will develop an advertising strategy based on the information supplied in the client brief and the supplementary research undertaken. The campaign strategy is then articulated in the creative brief, which is approved by the client. Developing the brief: Before the creative brief can be formulated, the objectives of the advertising campaign have to be identified, together with a strategy for achieving those objectives. It is important to remember that the advertising medium itself is only one part of the communication strategy, which in turn is part of the overall marketing strategy. As such, the broader marketing strategy has to be considered before the creative brief can be formulated. The Creative Concept: The creative team: At the heart of every successful advertising campaign is the creative concept. The task of having an original concept, and a range of ideas allied to this concept, is in the hands of the creative team. The best creative teams have the capacity to be both original and fluent when it comes to generating such ideas. In other words, it is not just about having a novel idea†¦it’s about having lots of them! Research and Familiarization: The way the creative brief is written and its content can be an important trigger for your ideas and will also provide an important point of focus in terms of advertising objectives; who you are talking to, what you want to say to them, and how you want them to respond. For this reason it is best to keep referring back to the brief every so often during the creative process to make sure that you are staying on track. Idea Generation (Ideation): The secret to having good ideas is to have lots of ideas to choose from. The more ideas, the greater the chance, that there will be few ‘winners’ among them. Quantity equals quality, so don’t hold back and pre-judge your ideas, just have lots of them – the wilder the better! Wild ideas may be unusable in their raw state, but they can provide a springboard to a better idea as they can help you to see things from a different perspective. Once the basic campaign concept for the advertisement has been formulated and agreed by the client, it’s down to the creative team to coordinate its execution. In traditional creative partnerships, the copywriter will write any body copy so that the message is conveyed in a punchy and memorable way, using the correct tone of voice to evoke the right mood or provoke the desired reaction. The art director will be responsible for ‘crafting’ the advertisements – making sure that they look visually strong and have a consistency of layout and composition across the campaign. Crucially, they must also exude and reflect the brand values. EXAMPLE OF A CREATIVE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Creative ad campaigns instill a sense of awe and marvel in the people they target. They cause us to stand back and wonder, â€Å"How did the brand even come up with that?† When a brand gets an ad campaign right, they stand out amongst the myriad of typical, hackneyed, and lackluster ads that bombard us daily. Just like the Vodafone ZooZoo ads. Vodafone is known for its unique advertisement campaign such as pug, happy to help service and the â€Å"ZooZoo† advertisement campaign. As Vodafone was a new brand in India, it had a challenging task to develop its own entity. The previous name of this Indian company was associated with a pug. Vodafone decided to come with a new persona for itself, so the people of the country can associate it with the company. The company came with a brilliant persona for itself, which was very apt for it, The â€Å"ZooZoo†. With 25 such commercials planned, releasing one a day, to sustain interest till the end of the IPL SEASON 2.HaritNagpal, chief marketing officer, Vodafone India explains, â€Å"†¦the brand was in need of an idea that would work doubly hard, as it was planning to spend some four months’ worth of marketing monies in one month†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ZooZoo are advertisement characters promoted by Vodafone during the Indian Premier League Season 2. O&M experimented with several characters and finally â€Å"ZooZoo† was born as a completely Indian concept. The name had to be catchy, funny and memorable, though the name actually never pops up in any of the communication. Zoozoos are white creatures with ballooned bodies and egg heads who were used to promote various value added services of Vodafone. Each ad used a story which was enacted by the Zoozoos. These ads though look animated are actually real humans in the ZooZoo costumes. The ZooZoo advertisements were created in South Africa by Ogilvy & Mather, an international advertising, marketing, and public relations agency and Nirvana Films. Ogilvy &Mather were asked by Vodafone to create a series of 3D advertisements which could be aired each day during the IPL Season 2. They spent near Rs. 30 million to make these advertisements. The campaign created the buzz both in the traditional media as well as in social networking sites like Face book and Twitter and video sharing website, YouTube. Zoozoos are part of a unique and innovative advertisement strategy aimed at outdoing the strategies of Vodafone’s competitors. By the means of ZooZoo, Vodafone has tried to represent an image of the urban common man who is the main drive force behind the increased usage of telecom & VAS services in the tele-communication industry. Through ZooZoo characters they have tried to showcase how the various offers by Vodafone can be useful for an urban common man. What Vodafone did was they projected the usage of their VAS services through various advertisements based on different themes as per the product (VAS) that they were offering. The various services offered by Vodafone such as chota recharge, group SMS service, busy alert service, fashion tips, recharge anywhere, bhakti songs, stock alert, voice SMS etc were shown to the viewers not by normal advertisement ways but through some funny & catchy ZooZoo ads which were successful in immediately drawing the attention of urban population including all age groups. Each of the advertisement was specific to one particular VAS service & revolved around the same to make the customer understand the service. Because of the uniqueness & attractiveness of these Zoozoos, Vodafone was able to draw the attention of the audiences quickly towards these ads which became soon very popular & thus the VAS offered by Vodafone. The success of ZooZoo is the success of minimalism and simplicity. As a part of a unique and innovative advertisement strategy which was being tried for the first time in India, the ZooZoo also generated tremendous mass appeal through the internet. The ZooZoo campaign has been able to generate a lot of curiosity among the viewers. The fan club of ZooZoo touched to several million and various interactive quizzes came up in these days as evident in the wallpapers and screensavers in the cell phones. All these transformed into a great viral marketing event. Another important advantage is that it involves very low cost in the implementation of the ZooZoo campaign and this amount as compared with the benefits it generated was infinitesimal. There is no celebrity required as a brand ambassador, unlike the campaigns being run by its competitors like Airtel and Idea, which resulted in a dual advantage. ZooZoo advertisements helped Vodafone increase its customer base by 3.8 % in the 1st quarter of 2010. The reason behind the Zoozoos becoming so famous is its familiarity with the cartoons which people used to watch as kids and invokes pleasant memories and fantastical world people used to live as children. It also does not produce bias of any kind (class, creed, religion etc) and hence this advertising strategy of Vodafone has been able to capture the imagination of millions across the country. The ad campaigns have given Vodafone a new look that will go a long way in further improving its brand image. The commercials have hit the Indian market like storm and will now probably go into history as one of the most brilliant advertising idea for the industry and the results it achieved are instructive for marketers and advertising agencies. Vodafone has benefited immensely from this campaign as the Zoozoos have become a brand in themselves. The creativity in the advertisement campaign caught the attention and fancy of the consumers, aroused curiosity, told stories and made people retell the story. In their remarks about the brand, the campaign achieved a remarkable success. We are all familiar with the standard measures of advertising effectiveness — memorability, message comprehension, persuasion and likeability. However, getting people to talk and discuss the advertising gives it a multiplier effect that helps to reach and impact more people than before. As the media gets more cluttered and expensive and viewers get cynical about the message, there is a need for advertising to be spoken about to make the brand and it’s messaging more impactful. It is not just traditional 360 degrees integrated communication by using multiple media to bombard the consumers with the message. Rather effective advertisement is all about developing creative content that naturally lends itself into being talked about and thus gets present in multiple media. CREATIVE ADVERTISING IN DIGITAL WORLD As consumers spend more time online, they have more control over traditional advertising vehicles, and chose to create and share their own content. As a result, some advertisers are evolving to a confluence culture where traditional methods of work must adapt to embrace the new reality of interactive content, emerging media, and production/consumption methods. Confluence culture thus suggests that agencies as units and the advertising profession as a whole face numerous challenges to their traditional ways of operation as they grow and morph and react to cultural shifts, particularly when it comes to creativity and ideas. Interactive creativity is built around engagement, and it recognizes that people are inherently social and look to create and maintain relations not only with other people but also with brands. Brand stories, both in traditional media and online, provide ways for advertisers to engage consumers more deeply with their brands. An engagement perspective changes the view of a brand from a transactional perspective, in which a brand addresses a transient need, to an interactional perspective, by which the brand story becomes part of a person’s own story about him or herself. The act of consuming media online has become synonymous with the act of producing media. Many online users are not content with accessing and viewing or listening to content from established sources; rather, they want to interact with message content by adding to it or repurposing it for new and different uses. Some traditionally closed models of information distribution (e.g., Web pages) therefore have given way to new, open models. These new systems, including the social media sites Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, enable consumers to distribute content that they create. Interactive creativity therefore involves providing consumers with the tools they need to be creative themselves. To promote its new line of coffees, McDonald’s developed a site where visitors could create their own coffee ring snowflakes. On the CNN site, consumers can select news headlines to make into t-shirts, branded with the CNN logo. In each of these settings, the brand becomes the base for the creative product, and the time spent on the sites during the creation process allows brand registration to occur. Participation suggests that brand stories actually are created and disseminated in a partnership between advertiser and consumer. Leaders in the confluence culture will be those creative strategists who have an understanding of all aspects of the advertising process and use creative skills to solve brand problems. These individuals-nimble, digital, and prepared for new challenges will be able to consider the stories people tell, craft resonant brand narratives, and help clients use these stories to connect people to brands in new and exciting ways. Agencies embracing the creative strategist approach will be poised to provide outstanding messages for clients, protect against economic downturns as clients embrace the value of such messages, and find even more innovative ways to communicate. CONCLUSION Creative Advertising comes with its own set of challenges, particularly when it comes to harnessing the power of creativity so that the message gets conveyed in an appropriate manner keeping the holistic vision of the brand into context. The real success of an ad campaign for its creativity can be measured by evaluating the sophistication level of below parameters: * Time and Space consumed * Superiority over competition * Distinguish Products * Influence customers * Was it Eye Catchy * Relate with the Values of Target Audiences Advertising is an exciting field and the industry is constantly changing to provide new challenges and creative problems to solve. The true test of creativity is the ability to adapt to change, and consistently find new and original solutions. Advertising is likely to play a crucial role in marketing products and services for the foreseeable future, but the opportunities offered by new technology and media provide a much broader canvas for advertisers and creative teams. REFERENCES 1. Marketing Management – Kotler, Keller, Koshy, Jha 2. Advertising in Rural India: Language, Marketing Communication, and Consumerism – Bhatia 3. What is Advertising? Advertising & Society Review 6, no. 3 (2005) 4. The fundamentals of Creative Advertising by Ken Burtenshaw, Nick Mahon & Caronine Banfot 5. Inclusive Branding by Klaus Schmidt & Chris Ludlon. 6. Zenith International Journal of Business Economics & Research 7. Rediff.com Business – The Magic of the Zoozoos 8. Wikipedia – Creative Strategies