Exchange as a Basis of Social Life

Exchange as a Basis of Social Life Why, and how, have anthropologists argued that exchange is the basis of social life? Exchange is an act of giving something to somebody or doing something for somebody and receiving something in return.[1] According to the Encyclopaedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology, exchange is the transfer of things between social and actors.[2] Things can be human or animal, material or immaterial, words or things. The actors can be individuals, groups, or being such as gods and spirits.[3] In wide interpretation, trade and barter are examples of some kinds of exchange. In this essay, I assume that the gift-exchange is the basis of social life. From the 18th and 19th century, anthropologists became more interested in the topic of exchange. In the past century, there is a growing concern on the complex societies, i.e. the West. It leads to a more critical investigation for the anthropologists on exchange in West, when anthropologists such as Gregory discovered that exchange is linked to economy. By now, exchange is a universal activity. Moreover, anthropologists realized exchange is central to all peoples lives. Mauss stated that, exchange is a total social phenomenon.[4] In the following, I will discuss why anthropologists argued that exchange is the basis of social life. Exchange and Reciprocity The ideological pure gift is very rare in primitive societies. In most of the time, it is a moral to return the gift to the giver. Parry (1986) take the point that the gift is always am Indian gift, which means an equivalent term in return is required.[5] Parry took this point from his investigation on the gift contains some part of the spiritual essence of the donor. And this constrains the recipient to make a return.[6] Thus, we can see that the exchange is related to reciprocity. According to Mauss, gift are the primitive analogue if the social contract, then they clearly carry a social load which in centralized politics is assumed by the state.[7] This is the reason why anthropologists argue exchange is the basis of social life. Let us take the classic example of gift-exchange: the Maori hau. Logically, the hau explains why gifts are repaid. Mauss traces different forms of exchange in order to make out the relation between exchange and reciprocity with the social life. In this essay I will trace different form if In this essay, I will discuss about different types of gift-exchange in different types of society, ranging from tribal societies, i.e. the Trobrainders and Kabre, to the modern daily lives exchange, i.e. Christmas gift exchange and garage sale exchange. These rituals shows how anthropologist argue the statement with the observation or fieldwork The Trobrianders Kula During Malinowskis fieldwork in Trobriand, he clearly examined the essentials of the Kula for Trobrianders and other Melanesia islands in Papua New Guinea. The Kula is a form of intertribal exchange between the Melanesia Islands. It is different from the Oceanic form of exchange. The Kula is based primarily upon the circulation of two articles of high values, but of no real use. The gifts are carried in a circular route which covers miles away over many communities inhabiting a wide ring of islands. All the main transaction in the Kula is public and ceremonial, and it is carried out according to its definite rules. One of the major characteristics of the Kula exchange is that the two items are travelling in different directions: the necklaces (soulava) travel in the direction of clock hand; while the armshells (mwali) in opposite direction. According to Malinowski (1920), both articles never stop for any length of time in the hands of any owner; they constantly move, constantly meeti ng and being exchanged.[8] Kula is essential for the Melanesian because of its sociological function. Sociologically, Kula creates partnership for a lifelong relationship. It is based on a fixed and permanent partnership and relationship which binds people from different tribes into couple some thousands of individuals. As Malinowski observed, the partnership implies various mutual duties and privileges, and constitutes a type of inter-tribal relationship on an enormous scale.[9] Malinowski stated that two Kula partners have to Kula with one another and exchange other incidentally; they behave as friends, and have a number of mutual duties and obligations, which vary with the distance between their villages and with their reciprocal status.[10] He also mentioned that the Kula partnership is one of the special bonds which unite two men into one o the standing relations of mutual exchange of gifts and services so characteristics of these natives.[11] There is a network of relationships in the Kula ring which men know and exchange with each other. In some situation, they will meet in the inter-tribal meetings. Thus, Malinowski pointed out that men are bound together by one common passion for Kula exchange and also, many minor ties and interests. What keeps the relationship long-lasting is the reciprocity of gifts to the giver in the Kula ring. It is expected that the receiver will give back a fair and full value of gift to the giver. Similarly, a fine article must be replaced by the one with equivalent value, not by several minor ones. Gift economy in Kabre In Exchange (1999), Piot explore the understandings about persons, hierarchy and agency that operate in the exchange context in the Kabre society. Same as the Trobrianders, people in Kabre are expected receiver will have to return the gift to the giver. In society, especially in Piots situation he could not understand French when he first came to Kabre gift-giving is a kind of surrogate language. From his experience, Piot suggested that the gifts were attempts to communicate, to bridge the gap between us, to express relationship.[12] He realized that the gift-giving is a type of moral inquiry, which is an interrogation of the other.[13] Despite, there are various forms for exchange in the Kabre society, all forms of exchange are motivated by the practical need of one of the parties.[14] There is a desure to establish social relations behind the Kabre exchange. They are likely to begin ?kp?nt?r? with another person through exchange. Thus, all the exchange in Kabre society is to do with relationships as with utilities. Moreover, through further exchange of items with greater value or quantity, the relationship grows. It is a great sign of friendship. Sometimes, when the relationship of two families grows bigger, there will be an arrangement of marriage so that the relationship will not be broken. If this works, then there will be another marriage in the next generation and so on. As a result, the relationship between the two families will last forever. Economically, Piot argued that the Kabre gift exchange system generates the increased involvement in the wage and commodity sector. He pointed out that by allowing labours to participate more fully in the gift-giving by making money, social relations will then be expanded.[15] Piot take the point that persons use things to gain access to persons rather than that they use persons to gain access to thing.[16] Piot also claims that any gift given establishes a relationship between two persons, hence giving is always tied up with control, power and the appropriation of an other.[17] In the Kabre, exchange does not only form friendships. In the meantime, it forms another basis of social life the formation of marriage, kinship groups and affinity. Gifts Exchange in Christmas Now, let us look at how modern anthropologists argued the statement through their observation of peoples behaviour in the West, capitalist societies. The exchange of gifts is very popular in many parts of the world. In the following, I take in the account that exchange takes place with a generalized medium of exchange, i.e. money. Thus, in order to facilitate trade, barter give way away to selling (C-M), and then the money is then used to buy other commodities (M-C).[18] Carrier examined peoples mindset on exchanging Christmas gifts and he found that it does related to their social relations. The heightening sociality of Christmas highlights the importance of exchanging of gifts, and it reflected peoples Christmas shopping behaviour to the basis of social life. According to Caplow, parents and young children exchange gifts in an unequal value and quantity. In most of the time, the gifts from the parents to their young children have more in quantity and also in value. There is no expe ctation of equivalent return in this relationship. Whereas, for gift exchange between the spouses, there will be an active concern on the gifts are approximate equal in value.[19] Carrier (1993:58) suggested that it is more likely for people to show their affection to their family within a close kin by exchanging Christmas present. As the relationship become more distant, people are less likely to show their affectionate. Rather, it would be a more alienated giving and marks the relations which will be fairly impersonal utilitarian.[20] As mentioned above, apart from exchanging Christmas gifts in Christmas Eves feast, shopping for Christmas gifts is also a highlight for the exchange and it also maintain the basis of social life. Carrier (1993:63) takes the point that the range of social relations will be greater than normal when purchasing for the items. He suggested that this would be an annual ritual to convert commodities into gifts. This ritual allows us to celebrate and recreate personal relations with the anonymous objects available to us.[21] Moreover, Boxing Day allows merchants to celebrate the hierarchical relations outside their households. Seemingly, Christmas is just exchanging Christmas gifts between family and friends. In reality, through exchanging Christmas gifts, it celebrates relations with family, and also those who are distinct from relation in the outside world. Carrier (1993:69) take the point that Christmas is also a reunion of families sanctified and chastened by tender memories and associat ions; and let the social intercourse of friends, with pleasant reminiscence, renew the ties if affection and strengthen the bonds of kindly feeling.[22] Garage sales is American society Some anthropologists look at peoples daily life activities in the West to argue that exchange is the basis of social life. Similar to Christmas gifts exchange, most of the commodity exchange in the West belongs to the category sell-in-order-to-buy in peasant markets which money act as the generalize medium of exchange, i.e. C-M-C. Herrmann looked at the US garage sale exchange culture in order to investigate the social relationship built between the buyer and seller. Herrmann (1997:915) suggested that garage sale exchange allows the neighbours in the neighbourhood come to know each other, as the neighbors are attracted by informal open invitation to the public to stop by and look over the garage sale goods.[23] Moreover, Herrmann (1997:915) also take the point that some neighbourhood garage sale takes place in order to attract the neighbor out of their houses for social interaction. Furthermore, exchange in garage gift generates gift relations. According to Stone Age Economics by Sha lins (1974: 193-194; Gregory (1992:926)), exchange between family members or close kins usually belongs to generalized reciprocity. Thus, in garage sale exchange, the items are given to generalize others. By giving inexpensive garage as a gift, personal networks will then be solidified. In this case, social relations value more than profits. Aside from bringing social interaction and relationships, garage sale ethos also includes friendliness and social egalitarian. Garage sale provides the participants the sense of justice. Low price is the hallmark of garage sales exchange. Thus, a just price for an object is constructed through exchange.[24] Besides, Herrmann (1997:915) bring up the point that social inequalities are reproduced in the garage sales exchange, but it this social inequalities will be muted by the face-to-face egalitarian. This is because social markers such as gender, status, races could act as the factor affecting the transaction of garage sale exchange.[25] Thus, we can see that exchange shows the social basis of the society. Bibliography Carrier, James (1993): The Rituals of Christmas Giving, in Unwrapping Christmas by Miller, D. (ed), Oxford, United kingdom: Clarendon Press, pp.55-74 Carrier, James (1996): Exchange, in Encyclopaedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology by Barnard, Alan and Spencer, Jonathan (1996), USA and Canada: Routledge, pp. 218-221 Drucker, Philip: The Potlatch, in Tribal and Peasant Economies by Dalton, George (1967), Austin, USA: University of Texas Press, pp.481-493 Gregory, C.A.: Exchange and Reciprocity, in Comparison Encyclopaedia to Anthropology by Ingold, Tim (1994), London, United Kingdom: Routledge, pp. 911-939 Herrman, Gretchen M. (1997): Gift or Commodity: What Changes Hands in the U.S. Garage Sale?, American Ethnologist Vol. 24. No. 4 (Nov., 1997), Blackwell Publishing, pp.910-930 Hornby, A S (2000): Exchange, in Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary of Current English, New York, USA: Oxford University Press, pp. 433 Malinowski, Brownislaw (1920): Kula: The Circulating Exchange of Valuables in the Archipelagos of Eastern New Guinea, in Tribal and Peasant Economics by Dalton George (1967), Austin, USA: University of Texas Press, pp. 171-184 Malinowski, Brownislaw (1920): Tribal Economics in the Trobriands, in Tribal and Peasant Economies by Dalton George (1967), Austin, USA: University of Texas Press, pp.185-223 Malinowski, Brownislaw (1922): The essentials of the Kula, in Argonauts of the Western Pacific, London, United Kingfom: Routledge, pp. 81-104 Mauss, Marcel (1970) [1954]: The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies, London, United Kingdom: Cohen West Parry, Jonathan (1986): The Gift. The Indian Gift and the Indian Gift', in Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Vol. 21. No. 3 (Sept., 1986), pp. 453-473 Piot, Charles (1999): Exchange, in Remotely global: village modernity in West Africa, Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press, pp. 52-75 Shalins, Marshall (1974): The Spirit of the Gift, in Stone Age Economics, Chicago, USA: Aldine-Atherton, pp.149-183 Shalins, Marshall (1974): On the Sociology of Primitive Exchange, in Stone Age Economics, Chicago, USA: Aldine-Atherton, pp. 185-275 Weiner, Annette B. (1988): Introduction, in The Trobrainders of Papua New Guinea, New York, USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publication, pp. 1-15 Weiner, Annette B. (1988): The Trobrainders: Past and Present, in The Trobrainders of Papua New Guinea, New York, USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publication, pp. 17-31 Weiner, Annette B. (1988): Marriage and the Politics of Yams, in The Trobrainders of Papua New Guinea, New York, USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publication, pp. 81-96 Weiner, Annette B. (1988): Men Working for Women, in The Trobrainders of Papua New Guinea, New York, USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publication, pp. 111-123 Weiner, Annette B. (1988): Kula and the Search for Fame, in The Trobrainders of Papua New Guinea, New York, USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publication, pp. 139-157 Hornby (2000:433) Carrier (1996:218) Carrier (1996:218) Gregory (1994:911) Parry (1986:454) Parry (1986:456) Parry (1986:467) Malinowski (1920) Malinowski (1922:85) Malinowski (1922:91) Malinowski (1922:91) Piot (1999:54) Piot (1999:54) Piot (1999:56) Piot (1999:73) Piot (1999:62) Piot (1999:70) Gregory (1992:912) It is one of the categories of production-of-exchange, i.e. commodity exchange Karl Marx developed. This type of commodity of exchange is identified as selling-in-order-to-buy in the peasant markets. Carrier (1993:55) Carrier(1993:58) Carrier (1993:63) Carrier (1993:96) Herrmann (1997:915) Herrmann (1997:916) Herrmann (1997:915)

Causes of Childcare Policies, Initiatives and Laws

Causes of Childcare Policies, Initiatives and Laws 1. Introduction Childhood, the ten memorable years that fall between infancy and the onset of adolescence probably constitutes the most exciting period of a normal human life. Most men and women have the fondest memories of their childhood years, replete with a million discoveries, of new smells, sights, sounds, touches, and other delightful experiences, of times of safety, comfort, and security. While this is possibly true of most children, in rich and poor societies alike, for many others the world is different; it is unfriendly, hostile, unwelcoming and extremely difficult. The worst affected are those who grow up in poverty and deprivation, or in environments of parental conflict, substance abuse, homelessness, and domestic violence. Very distressingly, childhood problems exist not only in underdeveloped and chronically poor societies, but also in ample measure in richer and advanced countries, like the UK, the USA, and other West European nations. Childhood is a time of phenomenal growth, in all areas of human development, physical, social, emotional, and intellectual. Growth and development of children involves the meeting of many diverse needs, in areas like nutrition, accommodation, regulated activity, health and medical care, cleanliness, hygiene, and sanitation, as well as in areas that involve emotional, social and intellectual growth. Thousands of children in the UK grow up in environments and surroundings that are inadequate, in greater or lesser degree, for proper development; inadequacies that are caused by factors like broken homes, divorced parents, single parenting, poverty, deprivation, domestic violence, substance abuse and child abuse. British society has always been concerned about the proper upbringing of its children and its role in the building of national character. The centuries old saying about the battle of Waterloo being won on the playing fields of Eton is a reminder of the preoccupation of the British with proper upbringing of their young. Recent years have seen increasing concern about improving conditions for the development of children, and have led to a number of governmental initiatives that aim to change the scope and ambit of public services committed to helping and improving this area. This essay aims to examine the origin and status of these initiatives, as well as their likely impact, both positive and negative in meeting the developmental needs of children. 2. Commentary Recent times have been ones of intense social change. The period that commenced after the closing of the Second World War has seen widespread social restructuring, caused by a multitude of factors like the splintering of families, the practice of children moving out of parental homes at relatively early ages, increasing divorce rates, sharp boosts in the numbers of working women, the greater incidence of single parenting, and the absence of grandparents in normal family life. These various reasons have quite often led to parents being inadequately informed, or even otherwise, being unable to satisfy the developmental needs of children. While inadequacies like these are common in normal families, they become far more complicated and result in great inequities upon children in environments involving poverty, deprivation, homelessness, substance abuse, domestic violence and child abuse. Increased immigration and the quiet and gradual formation of a multicultural, multiethnic, and multir eligious society have also led to the development of a number of social segments with different levels of affluence, education and ability. All these factors contribute to the challenges faced by society and government in providing all children with a level playing field and in satisfying their developmental needs. The British social structure has possessed, for many years, public infrastructure responsible for providing financial, physical, medical and scholastic support to children, more so for children from disturbed and difficult backgrounds, living in their natural domestic backgrounds, as well as in places like foster homes and institutions. Various governmental agencies like the department of health, the NHS, and local authorities, work with the help of paid and voluntary social workers to ensure assessment of needs and appropriate action. While the level and efficacy of the support provided to children had always been a source of concern in the past for most citizens, disturbed by occasional media reports of the unsatisfactory state of affairs, matters came to a head with the occurrence of two deaths, 13 year old Aliyah Ismail, in 1989, and 8 year old Victoria Climbie in 2000. Both Aliyah and Victoria, children of immigrants met horrific deaths, despite the full knowledge and involvemen t of social workers in their cases. Aliyah, in and out of several foster homes and institutions, died of a methadone overdose in a decrepit building in Camden Town, whereas Victoria Climbie died after receiving severe physical injuries from her aunt, who was then her carer, and her male companion. At the time of death, her body bore marks of more than 120 separate injuries. The resultant media uproar and several inquiries, commissioned by local bodies and the government, and conducted by eminent and qualified experts, laid the blame for the episodes upon the inadequate working of the social care infrastructure. Aliyah moved more than 60 times, between relatives, homes, and institutions, in the few years she was in care. (Brindle, 1999) The Blackburn report, commissioned by the Harrow local council, focussed on her distressing life, under the country’s programme for children in care, and largely indicted the functioning of the social care system. Victoria Climbie’s death caused even greater anguish and led to a number of investigations by Lord Laming at the specific instance of the government. The investigations and the ensuing report, which laid bare the functioning of the agencies involved in Victoria’s care, revealed that social workers were fully aware of Victoria’s condition and ignored twelve separate occasions to give h er protection and relief, led to widespread anguish, a national resolve to take better care of the country’s young, and finally to a number of initiatives aimed to ensure better care and development of children living in the UK. The key message running through the report is that individual failings, poor standards and ineffective systems are the consequence of a failure in leadership. Senior managers in all agencies, and elected members, are responsible, and thus accountable for this failure. Lord Laming refers to the principle failure to protect Victoria was as a result of widespread organisational malaise. (The Victoria Climbie Enquiry, 2003) While Lord Laming’s report catalysed governmental and public action in the last three years, the issue of addressing children’s needs adequately had first engaged lawmakers nearly twenty years back, when deliberations on the issue led to the enactment of The Children Act, 1989. The legislation, which came into effect in 1993 aimed to radically change the existing approach to meet the needs of children by (a) making children’s welfare a priority, (b) recognising that children grow up best in their families, whenever possible, (c) ensuring the duty of local authorities to provide services for children and families in need, (d) promoting partnership between children, parents, and local authorities, improving the way courts deal with children, and (e) protecting the rights of children. (Children Act 1989) Various child support initiatives owe their origins to the 1989 legislation. A further flurry of activity occurred after the publication of the Kennedy Report in 1989, and the Laming Report in 2003, on the deficiencies that existed in areas of health, education, and social support for all children, especially for those who live in difficult circumstances, either in their domestic environments, or with others. The publication of these reports, discussions in the media and various public forums, and governmental initiatives led to the preparation and publication of the Green Paper â€Å"Every Child Matters† in 2003, which outlined a new approach to the well being of children from birth to 19 and aimed to achieve 5 desired outcomes, namely (a) be healthy, (b) stay safe, (c) enjoy and achieve, (d) make a positive contribution and (e) achieve economic well being. (Every child matters: change for children, 2007) The enactment of The Children Act 2004 and initiatives in various areas aim to transform children’s services by increasing opportunities and reducing risk, as far as possible. The department of health, the department of education, the NHS, and local authorities will work in tandem to achieve this objective. All local authorities now need to work with partners, especially schools, and the NHS, to locate the needs of children and take appropriate action. A number of successive documents detail the approach required by these authorities. Three important initiatives expected to play important roles in the furtherance of child welfare objectives are the Children and Young People’s Plan (CYP), the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and the National Services Framework (NSF) The NSF for children, published in September 2004, the first such effort in he world, determines standards for children’s health and social services for children, young people and pregnant women, as well as the coordination of these services with education. It is a key delivery mechanism of the â€Å"be healthy† outcome of the â€Å"Every Child Matters† programme and aims to bring about a fundamental change in these services by attempting ensure that their design and delivery focus on the ascertained needs of children and their families. The programme, scheduled to run for ten years, expects to achieve targeted standards for ensuring fair, high quality and integrated health and social care from pregnancy, right through to adulthood. (National Service Framework Documents, 2006) The standards are divided into three parts, part one focussing on services for children and young people, part two dealing with particular groups of children, and part three with maternity services. While full implementation could take upto ten years for implementation, the framework plans to increasingly assess the NHS and local authorities on the quality of their services and the progress achieved in meeting the standards. (National Service Framework Documents, 2006) Criticism of the National Service Framework has ranged from the use of exhaustive recording for surveillance purposes, to issues like over insitutionalisation and consequent dilution of medical care, and the impracticality of cooperative working on such large scales. The conceptualisation and implementation of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF is one of the distinguishing elements of the overarching â€Å"Every Child Matters† initiative. Truly ambitious in its scope, the CAF aims to enable all people working with children, young people and their families, to evaluate distinct needs of different children and families. Once the CAF is fully in use, children’s centres or schools will arrange for most assessments, and will thereby help in identifying children with additional needs before they become serious concerns. Situations that could possibly need the use of CAF include poor nutrition or ill health, substance misuse, anxiety or depression, problematic housing, poor attendance or exclusion from school, overt parental conflict, lack of parental support, disruptive or anti social behaviour, and involvement, or the risk of involvement, in offences. The CAF will obviously not be suitable for the majority of children who make normal p rogress through the universally available services. However, it could really help in identifying the needs of many troubled children at stages where corrective action and appropriate support could change future outcomes very positively. (Common Assessment Framework, 2007) The Children and Young People programme aims to reduce underachievement and improve life chances of children through a set of measures that include taking measures for extended schools, extended early years, looked after children and vulnerable young adults, youth, child protection and children with special needs and disabilities. The programme plans to further educational development and improve health, well being and social inclusion through integrated delivery of support and services. The extended schools concept forms the core of the CYP package by providing activities that essentially look after children for greater hours and effectively reduce the load on parents. Extended Schools will provide activities based on their particular circumstances and needs, but taken from a ‘menu’ which will include breakfast clubs, after-school study support and after-school youth, sport and leisure activities; programmes for parents and community use of schools. The focus will be on supporting learning, creativity and healthy lifestyles, including tackling obesity in children. (Children and Young People Funding Package, 2006) The chief criticisms of the CYP programme focus on the excessive local planning and decision-making, as well as political initiatives that revolve around doing things to young people rather than giving them, and when they are too young, their parents â€Å"the freedom, responsibility and tools to do things for themselves.† (Warpole, 2004) The importance of engaging young people more effectively to participate in all activities is thought to be important by many researchers. 3. Conclusion The UK is going through an epochal change in the development of its young. The planned changes, if successfully implemented, could well result in the creation of a much more competent, tolerant and well adjusted society. The enactment of the Children Bill of 2004, and the slew of initiatives, which apart from the discussed issues, also include the formation of Children’s Trusts, and the Sure Start programme, aim to take the benefits of health, housing, education, social and emotional support, to every child in the nation. Delivered through cooperative inter agency working and focussed on the needs of children and their families, the initiatives include precautionary measures to locate children with problematic needs that need to be addressed early enough in life. While the advantages of the initiatives are enormous, and painstakingly designed to help millions of children, the aim of delivering all these services, through state and local agencies, raises concerns that could wel l turn out to be important. State agencies are notorious for evolving into bureaucratic, system driven, and uncaring, irrespective institutions, of country, society or work ethic of the people. The UK has had its own unhappy experiences with state controlled corporations, as well as with the NHS. The idea of the state, albeit with a certain extent of private participation, taking over a major portion of the responsibility of bringing up children could be fraught with dangers that may arise out of improper and inadequate implementation. It needs remembering that the Aliyah Ismail and Victoria Climbie incidents happened not because of the absence of state support, but despite it. Excessive state control also leads to unnecessary documentation, possibilities of surveillance, and the need for a control and audit mechanism, all of which work against the main objectives of programmes under implementation. Now that the programmes are under way, the challenge will come in their implementation, and in ensuring that they meet their objectives. Bibliography Brindle, D, 1999, Drug death girl shuttled among carers, the Guardian, Retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/Story/0,,201042,00.html Children Act, 1989, Retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.yjb.gov.uk/en-gb/practitioners/Accommodation/LegislationandResponsibilities/ChildrenAct1989/ Children in Care: now and then, 2000, BBC News, Retrieved April 30, 2007 from news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/642288.stm Child Development Chart book, 2004, The Commonwealth Fund, retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=237483 Children are unbeatable: alliance, 2007, Retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.childrenareunbeatable.org.uk/pdfs/actionsheetedm606jan07.pdf Children and young people funding package, 2006, Department of education, Retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.deni.gov.uk/index/21-pupils_parents-pg/children-and-young-people-funding-package.htm Common assessment Framework, 2007, Every child matters, Retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/caf/ Christensen, P. OBrien, M. (Eds.)., 2002, Children in the City: Home, Neighborhood, and Community. London: Routledge. Every child matters: Change for children, 2007, National literacy trust, retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.literacytrust.org.uk/socialinclusion/youngpeople/greenpaper.html Hallett, C. Prout, A. (Eds.). (2003). Hearing the Voices of Children: Social Policy for a New Century. New York: Routledge. Hocutt, A. M., Mckinney, J. D., Montague, M., 2002, The Impact of Managed Care on Efforts to Prevent Development of Serious Emotional Disburbance in Young Children. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 13(1), 51+. Jacobs, J. E. Klaczynski, P. A. (Eds.)., 2005, The Development of Judgment and Decision Making in Children and Adolescents. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. National Service Framework for children, young people and maternity services, 2007, Department for health, Retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGEsiteId=enssTargetNodeId=566ssDoc Reeves, R., 2003, The Battle for Childhood: We All Love Children; Even Politicians Do. Yet We Are in Danger of Taking from Them Everything That Is Most Precious Freedom, Health and Happiness. New Statesman, 132, 18+. The Victoria Climbie Enquiry, 2003, Retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk Warpole, K, 2005, play, participation and potential, groundwork, Retrieved April 30, 2007 from www.groundwork.org.uk/upload/publications/publication11.pdf

Biography of Frederick Douglass Essay examples -- Informative Essay, B

Frederick Douglass was a combative African American slave born the year of 1818 in Tuckahoe, Maryland who fought his slave breaker during an unfair dispute and beat him. He demonstrated how a man was turned into a slave since birth then how a slave was turned into a man. As a rebellious runaway slave that later became known as the greatest abolitionists in history believed in his liberty more than his own life. Not only was he one of the most scholarly and effective orators but he also became revolutionary. As one of the best-known black leaders in the nineteenth-century he was asked to deliver a speech, â€Å"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July† to celebrate America’s independence from Britain. As an American slave he delivered this speech with an emotional content against America. His speech was seen as hypocrisy by not keeping up with the Declaration of Independence. However, as a former slave he was deprived from liberty for many years, which, makes America hypo critical by asking him to speak about liberty to the United States. Douglass rhetorically tells America, â€Å"Who so stolid and selfish that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation’s jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? I am not that man† (Douglass, 255) to make them see his point of view as a former slave talking about liberty. On July 5, 1852 Frederick Douglass was orating to America where he proclaimed â€Å"July fourth to be the bitterest reminder of America’s failed promise† (Douglass, 247). During this time the 1850 compromise was passed through congress where the Mason and Dixon line was established because of the controversy between the North and South. Some important parts were the 3/5th compromise in which a ... ...y,† demonstrates that they do not follow what they worship to the fullest. He is using the religious aspect of African Diaspora to demonstrate his point that liberty should be extended to all citizens including African American. Another part of African Diaspora is the study of back to Africa, which was mentioned by Martin Robinson Delany. Delany and Douglass had two opposing view of Africans living in the U.S. Frederick Douglass believed in mainstream ideas and that America can one day end slavery and welcome them as citizens. On the other hand, Delany believed that was not possible because they needed a county of their own. Both views were part of African Diaspora as well as religion which all unite to make one movement for people of African Descent dispersed all over the world. Works Cited "what to the slave, is the fourth of July" (1852), pp. 246-268

colombia Essay -- essays research papers fc

Violence in modern Colombia takes place in many forms. The three major categories are crime, guerrilla activities, and attacks committed by drug traffickers. Violence has become so widespread and common in Colombia that many people have now become numb to it. The Colombian economy has also benefited from the illicit drug trade; however violent it may be. During the 1970s, Colombia became well known, as one of the world’s most important drug processing, production, and distribution centers for marijuana and cocaine. The shrubs and plants from which both drugs are derived from and processed has been well known in Colombia for centuries, but until the 1970s drug refiners and traffickers had not taken full advantage. The chewing of coca leaves was very well known in the South American Inca Empire in the 11th century. The Incas, the Colombian Chibchas and other local ethnic groups have always attributed mythical and religious power to the bush and to the alkaloids that were extracted by its leaves by chewing on them. The existence of a drug, cocaine, which could be chemically extracted from large volumes of leaves was not discovered until 1884 by an Austrian ophthalmologist. Marijuana is a drug extracted from hemp, a plant from which coarse fibers are also obtained for the manufacture of cloth, cordage, and sacking. The development of marijuana in Colombia took place in the mid 1940s during the administration of President Mariano Ospina Perez. The government at this time imported various fibers producing species from different parts of the world in an attempt to improve the postwar textile industry. The imported fiber plant included cannabis sativa (hemp) from Asia, and jute and sisal from Mexico. The Ministry of Agriculture was distributing these plants throughout the countryside of Colombia, and peasants and farmers were encouraged to plant them. During this same period, the consumption of marijuana was beginning to become a problem among the Bohemians in Medellin. As a result of this increasing drug problem, especially among the Bohemian members of the middle and upper class, on March 11, 1946, the Ospina administration passed the nation’s first anti-drug law, Decree No. 896. This law prohibited the cultivation, distribution, and sale of coca and marijuana, and ruled that all local and regional governments had to destroy all coca and marijuana plantatio... ... the drug cartels have a hold over the country, the economy continues to stay stable, even with the illegal drug money. Bibliography Bibliography Belov, D. â€Å"Drug Problems of Colombia,† International Affairs, Vol. 44 (Nov. 1998) pp. 125-129. Boudon, Lawrence. â€Å"Guerillas and the State,† Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 28 (May 1996), pp. 279-297. Chepesiak, Ron. â€Å"Narco Paralysis in Colombia,† New Leader, Vol. 80 (Jan. 1997), pp. 6-10. Knoester, Mark. â€Å"War in Colombia,† Social Justice, Vol. 25 (Nov. 1998) pp. 85-109. Maullin, Richard L. Soldiers, Guerillas, and Politics in Colombia (Lexington, Massachusetts, 1973) pp. 84-109. Oquist, Paul. Violence, Conflict, and Politics in Colombia (New York, 1980) pp.108-129. Osterling, Jorge P. Democracy in Colombia: Clientist Politics and Guerilla Warfare (New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1989) pp. 261-300. Posada-Carbo, Eduardo. Colombia: The Politics of Reforming the State (New York, 1998) pp. 111-125. Richani, Nazih. â€Å"War Systems in Colombia,† Journal of Interamerican studies and World Affairs, Vol. 39 (Summer 1997), pp. 37-81. Steiner, Roberto. â€Å"Colombian Income from the Drug Trade,† World Development, Vol. 26 (June 1998), pp. 1013-1031.

The Occupation of Japan During 2nd World War

The occupation of Japan was, from start to finish, an American operation. General Douglans MacArthur, sole supreme commander of the Allied Power was in charge. The Americans had insufficient men to make a military government of Japan possible; so t hey decided to act through the existing Japanese gobernment. General Mac Arthur became, except in name, dictator of Japan. He imposed his will on Japan. Demilitarization was speedily carried out, demobilization of the former imperial forces was complet ed by early 1946. Japan was extensively fire bomded during the second world war. The stench of sewer gas, rotting garbage, and the acrid smell of ashes and scorched debris pervaded the air. The Japanese people had to live in the damp, and col d of the concrete buildings, because they were the only ones left. Little remained of the vulnerable wooden frame, tile roof dwelling lived in by most Japanese. When the first signs of winter set in, the occupation forces immediately took over all the s team-heated buildings. The Japanese were out in the cold in the first post war winter fuel was very hard to find, a family was considered lucky if they had a small barely glowing charcoal brazier to huddle around. That next summer in random spots new ho uses were built, each house was standardized at 216 square feet, and required 2400 board feet of material in order to be built. A master plan for a modernistic city had been drafted, but it was cast aside because of the lack of time before the next winter. The thousands of people who lived in railroad stations and public parks needed housing. All the Japanese heard was democracy from the Americans. All they cared about was food. General MacAruther asked the government to send food, when they refus ed he sent another telegram that said, â€Å"Send me food, or send me bullets.† American troops were forbidden to eat local food, as to keep from cutting from cutting into the sparse local supply. No food was was brought in expressly for the Japanese durning the first six months after the American presence there. Herbert Hoover, serving as chairman of a special presidential advisory committee, recommended minimum imports to Japan of 870,000 tons of food to be distributed in different urban areas. Fi sh, the source of so much of the protein in the Japanese diet, were no longer available in adequate quantities because the fishing fleet, particularly the large vessels, had been badly decimated by the war and because the U.S.S.R. closed off the fishing g rounds in the north. The most important aspect of the democratization policy was the adoption of a new constitution and its supporting legislation. When the Japanese government proved too confused or too reluctant to come up with a constitutional reform that satisfied MacArthur, he had his own staff draft a new constitution in February 1946. This, with only minor changes, was then adopted by the Japanese government in the form of an imperial amendment to the 1889 constitution and went into effect on May 3, 1947. The new Constitution was a perfection of the British parliamentary form of government that the Japanese had been moving toward in the 1920s. Supreme political power was assigned to the Diet. Cabinets were made responsible to the Diet by having the prime minister elected by the lower house. The House of Peers was replaced by an elected House of Councillors. The judicial system was made as independent of executive interference as possible, and a newly created supreme court was given the power to review the constitutionality of laws. Local governments were given greatly increased powers. The Emperor was reduced to being a symbol of the unity of the nation. Japanese began to see him in person. He went to hospitals, schools, mines, industrial plants; he broke ground for public buildings and snipped tape at the opening of gates and highways. He was steered here and there, shown things, and kept muttering, â€Å"Ah so, ah so.† People started to call him â€Å"Ah-so-san.† Suddenly the puybli c began to take this shy, ill-at-ease man to their hearts. They saw in him something of their own conqured selves, force to do what was alien to them. In 1948, in a newspaper poll, Emperior Hirohito was voted the most popular man in Japan. Civil li berties were emphasized, women were given full equality with men. Article 13 and 19 in the new Constitution, prohibits discrimination in political, economic, and social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status, or family origen. This is one of the most explicitly progressive statements on human rights anywhere in law. Gerneral Douglas MacArthur emerged as a radical feminist because he was â€Å"convinced that the place of women in Japan must be brought to a level consistent with that of women in the western democracies.† So the Japanese women got their equal rights amendment long before a concerted effort was made to obtain one in America. Compulsory education was extened to nine years, efforts were made to make education more a traning in thinking than in rote memory, and the school system above the six elementary grades was revised to conform to the American pattern. This last mechanical change produced great confusion and dissatisfaction but became so entrenched that it could not be re vised even after the Americans departed. Japan†s agriculture was the quickest of national activities to recover because of land reform. The Australians came up with the best plan. It was basis was this: There were to be no absentee landlards. A person who actually worked the land could own up to 7.5 arcers. Anyone living in a village near by could keep 2.5 acres. Larger plots of land, exceeding these limits, were bought up by the government and sold on easy terms to former tenants. Within two years 2 million tenants became landowners. The American occupation immediately gained not only a large constituency, for the new owners had a vested interest in preserving the change, but also a psychological momentum for other changes they wanted to ini tiate. The American labor policy in Japan had a double goal: to encourage the growth of democratic unions while keeping them free of communists. Union organization was used as a balance to the power of management. To the surprise of the American authorties, this movement took a decidedly more radical turn. In the desperate economic conditions of early postwar Japan, there was little room for successful bargaining over wages, and many labor unions instead made a bid to take over industry and o perate it in their own behalf. Moreover large numbers of workers in Japan were government employees, such as railroad workers and teachers, whose wages were set not by management but by the government. Direct political action therefore seemed more meani ngful to these people than wage bargaining. The Japanese unions called for a general strike on February 1, 1947. MacArthur warned the union leadership that he would not countenace a nationwide strike. The strike leaders yieled to MacArthur†s will. The re after the political appeal of radical labor action appeared to wane. The Americans wanted to disband the great Zaibatsu trust as a means of reducing Japan†s war-making potential. There were about 15 Zaibatsu families such as – Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Yasuda, and Sumitomo. The Zaibatsu controled the industry of Japan. MacArthur†s liaison men pressured the Diet into passing the Deconcentration Law in December 1947. In the eyes of most Japanese this law was designed to cripple Japanese business and i ndustry forever. The first step in breaking up the Zaibatsu was to spread their ownership out among the people and to prevent the old owners from ever again exercising control. The stocks of all the key holding companies were to be sold to the public. Friends of the old Zaibatsu bought the stock. In the long run the Zaibatsu were not exactly destroyed, but a few were weakened and others underwent a considerable shuffle. The initial period of the occupation from 1945 to 1948 was marked by reform, the second phase was one of stabilization. Greater attention was given to improvement of the economy. Japan was a heavy expense to the United States. The ordered breakup of the Zaibatsu was slowed down. The union movement continued to grow, to the ult imate benefit of the worker. Unremitting pressure on employers brought swelling wages, which meant the steady expansion of Japan domestic consumer market. This market was a major reason for Japan†s subsequent economic boom. Another boom to the economy was the Korean War which proved to be a blessing in disguise. Japan became the main staging area for military action in Korea and went on a war boom economy with out having to fight in or pay for a war. The treaty of peace with Japan was signed at San Francisco in September 1951 by Japan, the United States, and forty-seven other nations. The Soviet Union refused to sign it. The treaty went into effect in April 1952, officially terminating the United States military occupation and restoring full independence. What is extraordinary in the Occupation and its aftermath was the insignificance of the unpleasant. For the Japanese, the nobility of American ideals and the essential benignity of the American presence assuaged much of the bitterness and anguish of defeat. For the Americans, the joys of promoting peace and democracy triumphed over the attendant fustrations and grievances. Consequently, the Occupation served to lay down a substantial capital of good will on which both America and Jap an would draw in the years ahead.

Marketing a & W

Executive Summary A&W Restaurants, Inc. is a chain of fast-food restaurants that specialize in root beer and root beer floats. It is the first fast food restaurant in Singapore and expansion was fast in the early nineties, but in 2003, A&W’s Singapore operations came to an end. Many Singaporeans grew up eating A&W, and that is one reason why many people are protesting for it to make a comeback in Singapore. Hence, our campaign will draw an emotional appeal, focusing on the theme, â€Å"Bringing back the good old memories†.Based on this central theme, this report covers the Public Relations, Sales Promotions, Personal Selling, Direct Marketing and Budget proposed for the nature of our campaign. A survey was conducted and given out to 80 random applicants to find out more about what they think of the organisation. Online research was also done to examine some of the risks or problems faced in the marketplace, its potential, competition, unique selling advantages and A&Wâ €™s current positioning. Lastly, we have come up with creative strategies to enhance the advertising campaign. Bringing back the good old times† focuses on the old days so we will mainly be using traditional media to stay consistent to our theme. As many youngsters these days use social media to connect, we will also be using a few online methods to stay connected to the new generation. Lastly, putting into consideration the aspects of our personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and advertising costs, the proposed costing for the total campaign will be approximately $137,707. IMC Objectives * AdvertisingTo bring back A&W to Singapore by creating brand awareness through focussing on our central theme, â€Å"Bringing back the good old days† and to create the likeability of amongst 80% of our target audience. * Public Relations To create interest and maintain positive image for A&W by drawing as much publicity as possible, and gain huge exposure to reach ou t to our target audience with 30% additional publicity. * Sales promotion Uses price, coupons to help drive and increase attendance by 30% and to also encourage brand switching.Increase consumption and A&W’s sales by at least 3% and to add at least 5% to overall market share by 2015. Agency Introduction Based in Singapore, APG Advertising Pte Ltd was established in 1996 providing a comprehensive range of services. We take the task of understanding the business and propose attractive promotions or campaigns, tailored to your specific industry and budget. We also help clients and our teams put more creativity into campaign planning and capable of handling a variety of advertising for business of different natures.Our teams of professionals, armed with expert knowledge of current trends in the market, embark on providing refreshing marketing ideas to kick start your businesses. We service to not only the local market, but also have our global networks, particularly to Asia, such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. APG Advertising Agency possesses skilled employees who have combined experience of over 25 years servicing to the local and international industry. We are a fully accredited service agency.We have run print ads, bus advertisements, MRT advertisements, radio/television commercials, point of sales ads, marketing brochures, brand building and have even created websites. Some of the big firms who have used our services include Bank of China, Maybank, Hyflux, Serta, etc. Accreditations from well-known Institutions * Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Singapore (4As) * Institute of Advertising, Singapore (IAS) * Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) * MediaCorp Singapore Group (MCS) Various Campaigns (Pls refer to Appendix) * Aberdeen * Realstar * Singapore International (Motor Show) * Natas TravelBackground Research Client’s Background A&W Restaurants, Inc. was established in 1919 in Lodi, California, United States. It is a chain of fast-food restaurants that specialize in root beer and root beer floats. The name A&W came about from the surname of the initials Roy W. Allen and Frank Wright. Hence, started the company’s humble beginnings, as A&W. The first fast food restaurant in Singapore was not McDonald’s or KFC, it was A&W. The chain’s expansion was fast in the early nineties, but in the late nineties, the branch at Singapore Zoo closed down, leaving Singapore with seven outlets remaining in 2002.A year later, A&W’s Singapore operations came to an end after shutting down their last outlet at Hougang Heartland Mall. Being the first fast food restaurant in Singapore, A&W left a huge impact on many Singaporeans as they grew up eating A&W. Long before MacDonald, KFC and Burger King came into the picture, it was the most favourite among the teens. It was seen to be â€Å"cool† hanging out in A&W restaurant. Whether it was an easy takeaway (A&W drive through), i ndulging in fast food, or giving a good treat to pamper oneself, A&W was always there. Hence, many Singaporeans yearn for A&W to make a comeback.On Facebook, there are many pages created by fans, called â€Å"Like to bring back A&W in Singapore†, â€Å"Bring back A&W restaurant in Singapore† and many other pages that support A&W into coming back to Singapore. The pages have over 18,000 likes and every now and then, fans would post comments on the wall asking when they are making a comeback or why have they left. Whenever Singaporeans visit Malaysia or Batam, the first thing they think of is to visit the nearest A&W restaurant as well. This shows evidence that A&W has left a huge impression despite drowning due to intense competition.Demand is undoubtedly high and the memories A&W created for its customers is so strong that people are protesting for it to come back until today. Situation Analysis Problems/Risks faced in the Marketplace a) Problems * Viewed as â€Å"Unh ealthy Junk Food† Being a fast food restaurant chain, A&W is perceived as unhealthy and customers may see it as â€Å"just another fast food restaurant†. Because their menu contains fatty food such as Burger, Chicken, Hot Dogs, French Fries, Nuggets, Ice Cream, Milkshakes etc, it may turn customers off as they do not provide a variety of healthy alternative options.Being a family oriented restaurant, it is important that A&W first convince adults or parents to choose their dining experience to be at A&W because they are the ones that have the buying power to bring their children to the restaurant. Hence, if adults or parents are convinced that the food offered by A&W is generally unhealthy or simply seen as â€Å"junk food†, they will not consider bringing their family to dine there regularly, unless for rare treats. * Considered relatively small compared to competitors In 2003, A&W was acquired by YUM! Brands.Currently for A&W, there are over 1,200 restaurants i ncluding 350 international stores in 16 countries and territories. Comparing this figure to other YUM! ’s flagship stores, KFC has about 17,000 restaurants worldwide. McDonald’s has over 34,000 stores worldwide, while Subway has 35,000 locations around the world. With contrast to the other competitors, A&W is relatively small. b) Risks * Of being shut down due to fierce competitions In 1966, A&W launched their first business at Dunearn Road, near the former University of Singapore’s Bukit Timah Campus.The chain was expanding fast, but due to fierce competitions from other fast food competitors, it eventually closed down in 2003. Thus, it is a risk to bring back A&W to Singapore as it has been shut down previously due to intense competition. * Of having inability to handle high cost due to small size Given A&W’s size, there is a risk of the company not being able to handle the high cost as compared to competitors. Because they are relatively small in compa rison to other fast food chain outlets, food inventory, logistics, transportation and other cost may come in as an issue while for ompetitors it is not an issue as they already have many outlets spread in Singapore. Potential The first A&W store opened in Singapore in 1966. Back then, people were more conservative and health conscious which led to one of the reasons why A&W closed down in Singapore in the early 2000s. However, times have changed. Singaporeans these days are much affluent than they used to be. The younger generation is more career-oriented and this leads to more people eating out as they often work overtime. In the current fast-paced society, demand for more  convenient meals is also increasing.Although awareness of the importance of proper diet increased, fast-food, snacks and soft-drink  consumption is also still on the rise. Wendy’s was first in Singapore during the 1980s. Not long before their opening, Wendy’s faced the same issue as A&W due to intense competition and as a result, collapsed and shut down their outlet which was operating at Far East Plaza and Parkway Parade. However, in 2009, the US fast chain reopened in Singapore at Lau Pa Sat in the Central Business District. Since then, they have grown and just recently opened their 11th restaurant at Jurong East MRT Station.Therefore, despite failing in the earlier years, they manage to make a successful comeback and A&W should perhaps make a comeback too. Wendy’s comeback shows evidence that there is potential in the rise of fast food chain outlets. Competition AW operates in the product category of fast food sandwich chains, which is highly competitive and developed. Today,  the three giants in the local fast-food business are McDonald's,  Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King, with McDonald's leading the pack. A&W simply cannot compete with the thousands of stores their rivals have world-wide.Although AW does not have the number of units or financial res ources that some of its competitors have now, they do have good brand recognition since they bring about childhood memories to Singaporeans. (i) MacDonald The number of people who thronged  MacDonald’s first outlet opening was so large;  a world record was set for serving the world's highest volume of hamburgers in a single day. Today, McDonald has over 120 restaurants across the island serve 1. 2 million customers every week. Around 9,000 employees keep the McDonald's restaurants running ship-shape.The popular chain is well-known for its Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, and Chicken McNuggets. Most of the outlets are free-standing units offering dine-in and drive-through service. Today one can  find a McDonald's restaurant  in almost every corner of the island and over 40 operating as 24hours stores. About 80% of the restaurants are run by franchisees or affiliates. (ii) Burger King BURGER KING commenced operations in Singapore since 1982 through the opening of its first r estaurant at Peninsula Plaza. Over the years, Burger King Singapore Pte. Ltd. perates more than 40 restaurants in Singapore where customers across the island city can enjoy the great and healthy flame-grilled taste of their products. Providing customers with a great dining experience in the areas of convenience, excellent service and friendly surroundings is and also for the wide and unique menu options is what Burger King achieved. In addition to its popular Whopper sandwich, the chain offers a selection of burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, and breakfast items, along with beverages, desserts, and sides. (iii) KFCKFC is the leader in the chicken segment in the Singapore Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry. There are over 15,000  KFC  outlets in 105 countries and territories around the world. Upon entering every KFC outlets, one will be captivated by the chicken’s aroma. At KFC, they offer high quality and great tasting food in a popular array of complete meals such as Daily Savers Meals, Snackers and Family Feast that enable the whole family to share a fun and satisfying experience with all the affordability and convenience of a fast food restaurant.The popular chain is well known for its fried chicken and its various incarnations – chicken burgers, drumlets, nuggets, ‘popcorn' chicken. The chicken comes in various flavours – original, spicy, crispy. Unique Selling Advantages * World’s No. 1 Root Beer A;W Root Beer is the world's number one selling root beer float and is still mixed fresh daily and sold at hundreds of A&W restaurants. Customers dine at A&W to enjoy their signature products like root beers floats, deep fried cheese curds  and waffles. Long Heritage When people talk about A&W in Singapore, they think of the past and memories because it is the first fast food restaurant in Singapore. Hence, the history behind A&W is a unique selling point as people will always remember A&W as they grew up eating it. Till now, they are still making memories and All American Food. Having a strong history over the brand A&W, is what other competitors can’t achieved. Current Positioning Over the years, A&W has position themselves as a childhood fast food brand.Some positioning strategy that A&W has adopted will be emotional, functional and promotional. The emotional positioning strongly taps into boomers’ memories of their youth at A&W, with the objective of creating smiles and reminisce. The functional positioning focuses on the simple indulgence of a great burger just like it was in 1956. The promotional positioning reflects great value for a premium product. A&W focus their efforts on baby boomers— a market virtually ignored by the other fast-food chains.This group, born between 1946 and 1964, grew up with A&W drive-ins. The brand truly represents their youth and the simple joys that came along with it. We want to bring back memories of these boomers having countless â€Å" firsts† at A&W growing up: their first trip to a fast-food restaurant, â€Å"graduating† to their first Teen Burger, going out on their first date, driving their first car— these were all very important and rich memories. It was clear that A&W is one of the few brands that have the right to align themselves with these milestones in boomers’ lives.We feel that the current positioning is strong and we believe it would work out for our objectives of our campaign. This insight became the basis for an important element of our campaign. IMC Strategies Overall Theme/Big Idea To bring back the fast food chain that Singaporeans grew up loving, focussing on our central theme, â€Å"Bringing back the good old days†. * Creative Direction The advertising appeal that we would use to attract the attention of consumers will be through emotional appeal because emotional appeal will be easier for us to relate our BIG IDEA and campaign to our target group.The way our big idea will be conveyed to consumers will be through slice of life execution as it is able to portray a real life situation that consumers may face daily. As our big idea is to bring back the good old times to consumer who patronize A&W on their re-opening, our advertising video will be about a man who had a hard time at work as his job pile stacks higher and higher but when he walk into A&W and drink their signature root beer float, flash back of the good times he had appeared in his brain making his frown and stressful face to turn into a wide smile, enjoying the moment.Public Relations * Publicity Vehicles Vehicle wraps is one of the most cost efficient advertising tools. Because we believe they have the ability to generate more advertising impressions than any other advertising medium available, we will be hiring three trucks to drive around high traffic areas such as Orchard Road to showcase that A&W is coming back to Singapore. We will feature our theme, â€Å"Bringing back the good old memories near you† to bring awareness to consumers that A&W is returning. Inside the truck, it will contain mini cans of A&W that we will be selling to the public.For every can purchased at $1, customers will get a free A&W balloon to show support for wanting to bring A&W back to Singapore. * Community Activities With the proceeds earned from the mini canned drinks, we will be donating 50% of the proceeds to poor families with low income. Since A&W is a family restaurant, we want to show the importance of family. Thus, A&W will donate proceeds of the earnings to people who deserve it to show our welfare and concern, and to show the community that A&W cares about the society. Sales PromotionThere are various sales promotional tools that A&W can make use of to introduce their come-back in Singapore and so to stimulate trial, repeat or larger purchases. To suit our â€Å"old school† theme campaign, we have decided to make use of 4 different sales promotional tools and they are namely coupons, contests/sweepstakes, price-off deal and frequency programs. Coupons will be distributed using social media website such as Facebook and twitter. A picture of the coupon will be posted on the official Facebook page of A&W and this coupon can be printed and will entitle them to 2 different benefits.On the day of the opening, consumers will be able to enjoy 10% off their total bill instantly upon flashing the coupon and after doing so, a bounce back coupons printed in black and white using old school design will also be given to these consumers in order to encourage repeat purchase. The reason of combining this 2 different method is because of our â€Å"old school† theme. Since our theme focuses on bringing back childhood memories of the consumers, it would be more appropriate if we can make use of traditional marketing method.However, we will be using a small part of social media as it has become increasingly popular among teenagers these day s that make it a much easier and cost-efficient way to reach out to our consumers. However, this promotion will only be valid for a month to introduce the comeback of A&W. Our price-off deals includes set meals which will be available at all times. Since our target audiences are families and our marketing idea is to bring back childhood memories, family set meals is definitely a must-have in our menu.A frequency program will also be combined together with a contest to encourage consumers to try out all the different product that is available on the menu. A frequency card will be issued on your first alacarte purchase and 10 different stamps would need to be collected in order to enjoy the benefit and so to participate in the contest. These 10 collectible stamps represent the different alacarte items; a stamp will be rewarded for each alacarte items being purchased. Collect all 10 different stamps and it will entitle customers to redeem a free â€Å"set meal of the week†.Upon redemption, personal data will need to be filled in at the back of the card to redeem their prizes. This can also be reference for our customer database. Personal Selling For our campaign, we will be having staffs going around the event areas to serve and answer any enquiries by our audience. For example, our staffs will explain to them the main objectives of this campaign and the main reason in bringing back A&W. These will actually nature relationships with customers by understanding their needs and demands. Not only that, we can solve their doubts and recommend ways to satisfy them.Also, our mascots will be going around interacting and bonding with the customers. Customers can take pictures with our mascots or even talk to it. After our campaign, more customers would be informed and will patronize our stores. This will actually brings popularity and publicity for A&W. Direct Marketing & Online Communication Flyers will be distributed to the public around neighbourhood and town ar eas. This will help increase the awareness of consumers that are shopping or staying nearby, giving them a heads-up of what’s going on around them.To ensure that these Flyers will not be treated as junk mail, a free ice-cream coupon will be attached to it. However, consumers can only redeem the free ice cream upon purchasing a set meal. Though our main focus is to publicize re-launching of A&W using outdoor, however there is also a need to use new media to reach out to the younger group of consumers who have not heard of A&W before. We will plan to reach out to them through the means of social media platforms such as facebook and twitter.We will post pictures about during A&W store renovation and what are the varieties of food that A&W will be offering to keep them updated and excited to A&W’s countdown. We will also set up a local A&W website so that the younger generations can find out more about us through this means of platform. Media Strategy & Media Mix (a) Adver tising Campaign With the results that we have obtained through our surveys, we have decided to come out with an advertising campaign for A&W with the objective of letting A&W bring back childhood memories and happiness back to our target audience.Our campaign tag line will be â€Å"A&W, bringing back the good old times. † This advertising campaign is to promote brand recall to our target audience that A&W is back to serve them their favourite Signature Root Beer Float, Curly Fries and their other specialties. We have decided to use local advertising as our aim is to bring A&W back to Singapore. Since our campaign objective and big idea is to bring back old memories, we will be using traditional media such as outdoor posters of media class and media vehicle as well to advertise on A&W will be coming back to Singapore.Media class is a broad category of media such as broadcast, print, outdoor, interactive and etc. Out of all these, we will be choosing outdoor prints advertisemen ts as many people are expecting to see A&W advertisements at outdoor places. Media vehicles will be at bus stops, train stations and even on buses. Thus, for bus stops, we will be having a simple advert of A&W's logo and campaign theme with a digital countdown system at the bottom of the poster, stating how many more days to A;W's re-opening.For train stations, we have decided to have our advert to be paste at Toa Payoh station as it is a district located in the central region of Singapore with many housing estates and facilities around them. Hence, it would be great for us to put our advertisements there as it is not that expensive compared to placing it at orchard and Toa Payoh is more of a family oriented place. So, it would be a win-win situation for us as not only could we save money but we would be able to reach out to our target audience which is families as well.Lastly, for buses, we have decided to check a few buses to have A&W's advertisement on them while inside of the bu s will have mini advertisement posters hanging on the poles where anybody who takes it will be given a 20% off when purchasing from A;W when they re-open in Singapore. Another media class that we will be choosing is television channels. As for the media vehicles will be television channels such as Channel 8 and Channel 5. The reason why we have chose these 2 channels is because people are expecting to see our advertisements on TV and Channel 5 ; 8 audience are mostly families.Hence, it matches with our target audience. Continuity scheduling technique will be used to re-reach to our target audience so that we can arouse more attention from the public. The television advertisement that we will be coming out with will be more family oriented, focusing on our theme of bringing back the good old times. There will be approximately 4 parts of the scene which depicts how A;W will bring back the good old times to consumers from the new technology world. It will also show howA;W will release their stressful life after visiting A;W where flashback of good old memories made their day a better one. Every week one scene will be played and at the end of the 4 weeks, it will be also the day where A;W re-open in Singapore. Though there are downsides of selecting these media tools such as high production cost and short exposure time but we are confident that with the correct location for our posters to be placed up at and with interesting television advertisement, we will be able to gain the response that we are targeting to achieve. b) Marketing Mix Strategies Product: People remember A;W for their unique root beer float over the years till now. Today, it has franchise locations throughout much of the world, serving a typical fast food menu of hamburgers and French fries, as well as hot dogs. One would be able to enjoy the unique and quality food served in A;W outlets at the same time creating/recalling memories of the past times at A;W. Not only that, A;W packaging colors of brown, white, orange and yellow also left an impactful impressions to their customers.Place: The place of our campaign will be all around Singapore but putting more focus at Toa Payoh as we are planning to re-open the A;W outlet there. The reason why we choose Toa Payoh is due to the high traffic flow of families around that area. They have many facilities like Safra, Swimming Complex, library, movie theatre and neighbourhood schools which would attract many school kids and families who visit Toa Payoh for their variety of facilities over there. Hence the selection of the location where our main campaign location will be along with the big poster of A;W reopening paste on the train station of Toa Payoh.Price: The price of A;W standard food combos will be approximately from $5 to $8. Prices are stated based on analysis of other competitors price and cost of product. Besides standard food combos which includes main course and their signature root beer float, A;W will also sell ala car t items such as their curly fries, burgers and others. Regular curly fries will be set at $2 will large curly fries will be $3. For their regular signature root beer float will be $2. 95 while large signature root beer float will be $3. 5 and jumbo signature root beer float for two will be charged at $4. 95. Promotion: During the campaign period, customers who visit A;W with the mini advertisement that they took from the busses will be entitled to a 20% discount on standard food combos purchased or a total bill of $5 and above. This promotion will last one month from the day of reopening of A;W at Toa Payoh. The promotion is created to attract the crowd back to A;W and also attention of the public. Campaign Budget | Description| Quantity| Duration| Pay rate| Total| Public Relations| | 1. | Trucks| 3| 3 hrs| $150/day| $450| 2. | Drivers (3hrs/day)| 3| 3 hrs| $15/hr| $135| 3. | Workers| 6| 3 hrs| $6/hr| $108| 4. | Donations| | | | $150| | Sales Promotion| | 5. | Printing of Coupons| 5 0,000| | | $1000| 6. | Coupon Value(Digital Coupon)| 50,000| | | $25,000| 7. | Production of Frequency Card| 50,000| | | $3000| | Direct Marketing| | 8. | Production of Flyers| 100,000| | | $2500| 9. | Flyer Distributor| 5 | 10 hours| $6/hr| $300| 10. | Mascot| 1| 8 hours| $8/hr| $64| | Advertising| | 1. | Poster Space: Toa Payoh MRT Station | 1| 2. 5 weeks| | $15,000| 12. | Poster Space: All Toa Payoh Bus Stops| | 2. 5 weeks| | $10,000| 13. | Advertising: Comfort Delgro| | 2. 5 weeks| | $8,000| 14. | Print Productions for posters etc. | | | | $30,000| 15. | TV commercial (15seconds)AirTime on Channel 8| 3 slots/day| 2 weeks| $500/time slot $1500/day| $21,000| 16. | TV commercial (15seconds)AirTime on Channel 5| 3 slots/day| 2 weeks| $500/time slot $1500/day| $21,000| | Total| $137,707| Round-Up Budget| $150,000| Marketing a & W Executive Summary A&W Restaurants, Inc. is a chain of fast-food restaurants that specialize in root beer and root beer floats. It is the first fast food restaurant in Singapore and expansion was fast in the early nineties, but in 2003, A&W’s Singapore operations came to an end. Many Singaporeans grew up eating A&W, and that is one reason why many people are protesting for it to make a comeback in Singapore. Hence, our campaign will draw an emotional appeal, focusing on the theme, â€Å"Bringing back the good old memories†.Based on this central theme, this report covers the Public Relations, Sales Promotions, Personal Selling, Direct Marketing and Budget proposed for the nature of our campaign. A survey was conducted and given out to 80 random applicants to find out more about what they think of the organisation. Online research was also done to examine some of the risks or problems faced in the marketplace, its potential, competition, unique selling advantages and A&Wâ €™s current positioning. Lastly, we have come up with creative strategies to enhance the advertising campaign. Bringing back the good old times† focuses on the old days so we will mainly be using traditional media to stay consistent to our theme. As many youngsters these days use social media to connect, we will also be using a few online methods to stay connected to the new generation. Lastly, putting into consideration the aspects of our personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and advertising costs, the proposed costing for the total campaign will be approximately $137,707. IMC Objectives * AdvertisingTo bring back A&W to Singapore by creating brand awareness through focussing on our central theme, â€Å"Bringing back the good old days† and to create the likeability of amongst 80% of our target audience. * Public Relations To create interest and maintain positive image for A&W by drawing as much publicity as possible, and gain huge exposure to reach ou t to our target audience with 30% additional publicity. * Sales promotion Uses price, coupons to help drive and increase attendance by 30% and to also encourage brand switching.Increase consumption and A&W’s sales by at least 3% and to add at least 5% to overall market share by 2015. Agency Introduction Based in Singapore, APG Advertising Pte Ltd was established in 1996 providing a comprehensive range of services. We take the task of understanding the business and propose attractive promotions or campaigns, tailored to your specific industry and budget. We also help clients and our teams put more creativity into campaign planning and capable of handling a variety of advertising for business of different natures.Our teams of professionals, armed with expert knowledge of current trends in the market, embark on providing refreshing marketing ideas to kick start your businesses. We service to not only the local market, but also have our global networks, particularly to Asia, such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. APG Advertising Agency possesses skilled employees who have combined experience of over 25 years servicing to the local and international industry. We are a fully accredited service agency.We have run print ads, bus advertisements, MRT advertisements, radio/television commercials, point of sales ads, marketing brochures, brand building and have even created websites. Some of the big firms who have used our services include Bank of China, Maybank, Hyflux, Serta, etc. Accreditations from well-known Institutions * Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Singapore (4As) * Institute of Advertising, Singapore (IAS) * Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) * MediaCorp Singapore Group (MCS) Various Campaigns (Pls refer to Appendix) * Aberdeen * Realstar * Singapore International (Motor Show) * Natas TravelBackground Research Client’s Background A&W Restaurants, Inc. was established in 1919 in Lodi, California, United States. It is a chain of fast-food restaurants that specialize in root beer and root beer floats. The name A&W came about from the surname of the initials Roy W. Allen and Frank Wright. Hence, started the company’s humble beginnings, as A&W. The first fast food restaurant in Singapore was not McDonald’s or KFC, it was A&W. The chain’s expansion was fast in the early nineties, but in the late nineties, the branch at Singapore Zoo closed down, leaving Singapore with seven outlets remaining in 2002.A year later, A&W’s Singapore operations came to an end after shutting down their last outlet at Hougang Heartland Mall. Being the first fast food restaurant in Singapore, A&W left a huge impact on many Singaporeans as they grew up eating A&W. Long before MacDonald, KFC and Burger King came into the picture, it was the most favourite among the teens. It was seen to be â€Å"cool† hanging out in A&W restaurant. Whether it was an easy takeaway (A&W drive through), i ndulging in fast food, or giving a good treat to pamper oneself, A&W was always there. Hence, many Singaporeans yearn for A&W to make a comeback.On Facebook, there are many pages created by fans, called â€Å"Like to bring back A&W in Singapore†, â€Å"Bring back A&W restaurant in Singapore† and many other pages that support A&W into coming back to Singapore. The pages have over 18,000 likes and every now and then, fans would post comments on the wall asking when they are making a comeback or why have they left. Whenever Singaporeans visit Malaysia or Batam, the first thing they think of is to visit the nearest A&W restaurant as well. This shows evidence that A&W has left a huge impression despite drowning due to intense competition.Demand is undoubtedly high and the memories A&W created for its customers is so strong that people are protesting for it to come back until today. Situation Analysis Problems/Risks faced in the Marketplace a) Problems * Viewed as â€Å"Unh ealthy Junk Food† Being a fast food restaurant chain, A&W is perceived as unhealthy and customers may see it as â€Å"just another fast food restaurant†. Because their menu contains fatty food such as Burger, Chicken, Hot Dogs, French Fries, Nuggets, Ice Cream, Milkshakes etc, it may turn customers off as they do not provide a variety of healthy alternative options.Being a family oriented restaurant, it is important that A&W first convince adults or parents to choose their dining experience to be at A&W because they are the ones that have the buying power to bring their children to the restaurant. Hence, if adults or parents are convinced that the food offered by A&W is generally unhealthy or simply seen as â€Å"junk food†, they will not consider bringing their family to dine there regularly, unless for rare treats. * Considered relatively small compared to competitors In 2003, A&W was acquired by YUM! Brands.Currently for A&W, there are over 1,200 restaurants i ncluding 350 international stores in 16 countries and territories. Comparing this figure to other YUM! ’s flagship stores, KFC has about 17,000 restaurants worldwide. McDonald’s has over 34,000 stores worldwide, while Subway has 35,000 locations around the world. With contrast to the other competitors, A&W is relatively small. b) Risks * Of being shut down due to fierce competitions In 1966, A&W launched their first business at Dunearn Road, near the former University of Singapore’s Bukit Timah Campus.The chain was expanding fast, but due to fierce competitions from other fast food competitors, it eventually closed down in 2003. Thus, it is a risk to bring back A&W to Singapore as it has been shut down previously due to intense competition. * Of having inability to handle high cost due to small size Given A&W’s size, there is a risk of the company not being able to handle the high cost as compared to competitors. Because they are relatively small in compa rison to other fast food chain outlets, food inventory, logistics, transportation and other cost may come in as an issue while for ompetitors it is not an issue as they already have many outlets spread in Singapore. Potential The first A&W store opened in Singapore in 1966. Back then, people were more conservative and health conscious which led to one of the reasons why A&W closed down in Singapore in the early 2000s. However, times have changed. Singaporeans these days are much affluent than they used to be. The younger generation is more career-oriented and this leads to more people eating out as they often work overtime. In the current fast-paced society, demand for more  convenient meals is also increasing.Although awareness of the importance of proper diet increased, fast-food, snacks and soft-drink  consumption is also still on the rise. Wendy’s was first in Singapore during the 1980s. Not long before their opening, Wendy’s faced the same issue as A&W due to intense competition and as a result, collapsed and shut down their outlet which was operating at Far East Plaza and Parkway Parade. However, in 2009, the US fast chain reopened in Singapore at Lau Pa Sat in the Central Business District. Since then, they have grown and just recently opened their 11th restaurant at Jurong East MRT Station.Therefore, despite failing in the earlier years, they manage to make a successful comeback and A&W should perhaps make a comeback too. Wendy’s comeback shows evidence that there is potential in the rise of fast food chain outlets. Competition AW operates in the product category of fast food sandwich chains, which is highly competitive and developed. Today,  the three giants in the local fast-food business are McDonald's,  Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King, with McDonald's leading the pack. A&W simply cannot compete with the thousands of stores their rivals have world-wide.Although AW does not have the number of units or financial res ources that some of its competitors have now, they do have good brand recognition since they bring about childhood memories to Singaporeans. (i) MacDonald The number of people who thronged  MacDonald’s first outlet opening was so large;  a world record was set for serving the world's highest volume of hamburgers in a single day. Today, McDonald has over 120 restaurants across the island serve 1. 2 million customers every week. Around 9,000 employees keep the McDonald's restaurants running ship-shape.The popular chain is well-known for its Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, and Chicken McNuggets. Most of the outlets are free-standing units offering dine-in and drive-through service. Today one can  find a McDonald's restaurant  in almost every corner of the island and over 40 operating as 24hours stores. About 80% of the restaurants are run by franchisees or affiliates. (ii) Burger King BURGER KING commenced operations in Singapore since 1982 through the opening of its first r estaurant at Peninsula Plaza. Over the years, Burger King Singapore Pte. Ltd. perates more than 40 restaurants in Singapore where customers across the island city can enjoy the great and healthy flame-grilled taste of their products. Providing customers with a great dining experience in the areas of convenience, excellent service and friendly surroundings is and also for the wide and unique menu options is what Burger King achieved. In addition to its popular Whopper sandwich, the chain offers a selection of burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, and breakfast items, along with beverages, desserts, and sides. (iii) KFCKFC is the leader in the chicken segment in the Singapore Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry. There are over 15,000  KFC  outlets in 105 countries and territories around the world. Upon entering every KFC outlets, one will be captivated by the chicken’s aroma. At KFC, they offer high quality and great tasting food in a popular array of complete meals such as Daily Savers Meals, Snackers and Family Feast that enable the whole family to share a fun and satisfying experience with all the affordability and convenience of a fast food restaurant.The popular chain is well known for its fried chicken and its various incarnations – chicken burgers, drumlets, nuggets, ‘popcorn' chicken. The chicken comes in various flavours – original, spicy, crispy. Unique Selling Advantages * World’s No. 1 Root Beer A;W Root Beer is the world's number one selling root beer float and is still mixed fresh daily and sold at hundreds of A&W restaurants. Customers dine at A&W to enjoy their signature products like root beers floats, deep fried cheese curds  and waffles. Long Heritage When people talk about A&W in Singapore, they think of the past and memories because it is the first fast food restaurant in Singapore. Hence, the history behind A&W is a unique selling point as people will always remember A&W as they grew up eating it. Till now, they are still making memories and All American Food. Having a strong history over the brand A&W, is what other competitors can’t achieved. Current Positioning Over the years, A&W has position themselves as a childhood fast food brand.Some positioning strategy that A&W has adopted will be emotional, functional and promotional. The emotional positioning strongly taps into boomers’ memories of their youth at A&W, with the objective of creating smiles and reminisce. The functional positioning focuses on the simple indulgence of a great burger just like it was in 1956. The promotional positioning reflects great value for a premium product. A&W focus their efforts on baby boomers— a market virtually ignored by the other fast-food chains.This group, born between 1946 and 1964, grew up with A&W drive-ins. The brand truly represents their youth and the simple joys that came along with it. We want to bring back memories of these boomers having countless â€Å" firsts† at A&W growing up: their first trip to a fast-food restaurant, â€Å"graduating† to their first Teen Burger, going out on their first date, driving their first car— these were all very important and rich memories. It was clear that A&W is one of the few brands that have the right to align themselves with these milestones in boomers’ lives.We feel that the current positioning is strong and we believe it would work out for our objectives of our campaign. This insight became the basis for an important element of our campaign. IMC Strategies Overall Theme/Big Idea To bring back the fast food chain that Singaporeans grew up loving, focussing on our central theme, â€Å"Bringing back the good old days†. * Creative Direction The advertising appeal that we would use to attract the attention of consumers will be through emotional appeal because emotional appeal will be easier for us to relate our BIG IDEA and campaign to our target group.The way our big idea will be conveyed to consumers will be through slice of life execution as it is able to portray a real life situation that consumers may face daily. As our big idea is to bring back the good old times to consumer who patronize A&W on their re-opening, our advertising video will be about a man who had a hard time at work as his job pile stacks higher and higher but when he walk into A&W and drink their signature root beer float, flash back of the good times he had appeared in his brain making his frown and stressful face to turn into a wide smile, enjoying the moment.Public Relations * Publicity Vehicles Vehicle wraps is one of the most cost efficient advertising tools. Because we believe they have the ability to generate more advertising impressions than any other advertising medium available, we will be hiring three trucks to drive around high traffic areas such as Orchard Road to showcase that A&W is coming back to Singapore. We will feature our theme, â€Å"Bringing back the good old memories near you† to bring awareness to consumers that A&W is returning. Inside the truck, it will contain mini cans of A&W that we will be selling to the public.For every can purchased at $1, customers will get a free A&W balloon to show support for wanting to bring A&W back to Singapore. * Community Activities With the proceeds earned from the mini canned drinks, we will be donating 50% of the proceeds to poor families with low income. Since A&W is a family restaurant, we want to show the importance of family. Thus, A&W will donate proceeds of the earnings to people who deserve it to show our welfare and concern, and to show the community that A&W cares about the society. Sales PromotionThere are various sales promotional tools that A&W can make use of to introduce their come-back in Singapore and so to stimulate trial, repeat or larger purchases. To suit our â€Å"old school† theme campaign, we have decided to make use of 4 different sales promotional tools and they are namely coupons, contests/sweepstakes, price-off deal and frequency programs. Coupons will be distributed using social media website such as Facebook and twitter. A picture of the coupon will be posted on the official Facebook page of A&W and this coupon can be printed and will entitle them to 2 different benefits.On the day of the opening, consumers will be able to enjoy 10% off their total bill instantly upon flashing the coupon and after doing so, a bounce back coupons printed in black and white using old school design will also be given to these consumers in order to encourage repeat purchase. The reason of combining this 2 different method is because of our â€Å"old school† theme. Since our theme focuses on bringing back childhood memories of the consumers, it would be more appropriate if we can make use of traditional marketing method.However, we will be using a small part of social media as it has become increasingly popular among teenagers these day s that make it a much easier and cost-efficient way to reach out to our consumers. However, this promotion will only be valid for a month to introduce the comeback of A&W. Our price-off deals includes set meals which will be available at all times. Since our target audiences are families and our marketing idea is to bring back childhood memories, family set meals is definitely a must-have in our menu.A frequency program will also be combined together with a contest to encourage consumers to try out all the different product that is available on the menu. A frequency card will be issued on your first alacarte purchase and 10 different stamps would need to be collected in order to enjoy the benefit and so to participate in the contest. These 10 collectible stamps represent the different alacarte items; a stamp will be rewarded for each alacarte items being purchased. Collect all 10 different stamps and it will entitle customers to redeem a free â€Å"set meal of the week†.Upon redemption, personal data will need to be filled in at the back of the card to redeem their prizes. This can also be reference for our customer database. Personal Selling For our campaign, we will be having staffs going around the event areas to serve and answer any enquiries by our audience. For example, our staffs will explain to them the main objectives of this campaign and the main reason in bringing back A&W. These will actually nature relationships with customers by understanding their needs and demands. Not only that, we can solve their doubts and recommend ways to satisfy them.Also, our mascots will be going around interacting and bonding with the customers. Customers can take pictures with our mascots or even talk to it. After our campaign, more customers would be informed and will patronize our stores. This will actually brings popularity and publicity for A&W. Direct Marketing & Online Communication Flyers will be distributed to the public around neighbourhood and town ar eas. This will help increase the awareness of consumers that are shopping or staying nearby, giving them a heads-up of what’s going on around them.To ensure that these Flyers will not be treated as junk mail, a free ice-cream coupon will be attached to it. However, consumers can only redeem the free ice cream upon purchasing a set meal. Though our main focus is to publicize re-launching of A&W using outdoor, however there is also a need to use new media to reach out to the younger group of consumers who have not heard of A&W before. We will plan to reach out to them through the means of social media platforms such as facebook and twitter.We will post pictures about during A&W store renovation and what are the varieties of food that A&W will be offering to keep them updated and excited to A&W’s countdown. We will also set up a local A&W website so that the younger generations can find out more about us through this means of platform. Media Strategy & Media Mix (a) Adver tising Campaign With the results that we have obtained through our surveys, we have decided to come out with an advertising campaign for A&W with the objective of letting A&W bring back childhood memories and happiness back to our target audience.Our campaign tag line will be â€Å"A&W, bringing back the good old times. † This advertising campaign is to promote brand recall to our target audience that A&W is back to serve them their favourite Signature Root Beer Float, Curly Fries and their other specialties. We have decided to use local advertising as our aim is to bring A&W back to Singapore. Since our campaign objective and big idea is to bring back old memories, we will be using traditional media such as outdoor posters of media class and media vehicle as well to advertise on A&W will be coming back to Singapore.Media class is a broad category of media such as broadcast, print, outdoor, interactive and etc. Out of all these, we will be choosing outdoor prints advertisemen ts as many people are expecting to see A&W advertisements at outdoor places. Media vehicles will be at bus stops, train stations and even on buses. Thus, for bus stops, we will be having a simple advert of A&W's logo and campaign theme with a digital countdown system at the bottom of the poster, stating how many more days to A;W's re-opening.For train stations, we have decided to have our advert to be paste at Toa Payoh station as it is a district located in the central region of Singapore with many housing estates and facilities around them. Hence, it would be great for us to put our advertisements there as it is not that expensive compared to placing it at orchard and Toa Payoh is more of a family oriented place. So, it would be a win-win situation for us as not only could we save money but we would be able to reach out to our target audience which is families as well.Lastly, for buses, we have decided to check a few buses to have A&W's advertisement on them while inside of the bu s will have mini advertisement posters hanging on the poles where anybody who takes it will be given a 20% off when purchasing from A;W when they re-open in Singapore. Another media class that we will be choosing is television channels. As for the media vehicles will be television channels such as Channel 8 and Channel 5. The reason why we have chose these 2 channels is because people are expecting to see our advertisements on TV and Channel 5 ; 8 audience are mostly families.Hence, it matches with our target audience. Continuity scheduling technique will be used to re-reach to our target audience so that we can arouse more attention from the public. The television advertisement that we will be coming out with will be more family oriented, focusing on our theme of bringing back the good old times. There will be approximately 4 parts of the scene which depicts how A;W will bring back the good old times to consumers from the new technology world. It will also show howA;W will release their stressful life after visiting A;W where flashback of good old memories made their day a better one. Every week one scene will be played and at the end of the 4 weeks, it will be also the day where A;W re-open in Singapore. Though there are downsides of selecting these media tools such as high production cost and short exposure time but we are confident that with the correct location for our posters to be placed up at and with interesting television advertisement, we will be able to gain the response that we are targeting to achieve. b) Marketing Mix Strategies Product: People remember A;W for their unique root beer float over the years till now. Today, it has franchise locations throughout much of the world, serving a typical fast food menu of hamburgers and French fries, as well as hot dogs. One would be able to enjoy the unique and quality food served in A;W outlets at the same time creating/recalling memories of the past times at A;W. Not only that, A;W packaging colors of brown, white, orange and yellow also left an impactful impressions to their customers.Place: The place of our campaign will be all around Singapore but putting more focus at Toa Payoh as we are planning to re-open the A;W outlet there. The reason why we choose Toa Payoh is due to the high traffic flow of families around that area. They have many facilities like Safra, Swimming Complex, library, movie theatre and neighbourhood schools which would attract many school kids and families who visit Toa Payoh for their variety of facilities over there. Hence the selection of the location where our main campaign location will be along with the big poster of A;W reopening paste on the train station of Toa Payoh.Price: The price of A;W standard food combos will be approximately from $5 to $8. Prices are stated based on analysis of other competitors price and cost of product. Besides standard food combos which includes main course and their signature root beer float, A;W will also sell ala car t items such as their curly fries, burgers and others. Regular curly fries will be set at $2 will large curly fries will be $3. For their regular signature root beer float will be $2. 95 while large signature root beer float will be $3. 5 and jumbo signature root beer float for two will be charged at $4. 95. Promotion: During the campaign period, customers who visit A;W with the mini advertisement that they took from the busses will be entitled to a 20% discount on standard food combos purchased or a total bill of $5 and above. This promotion will last one month from the day of reopening of A;W at Toa Payoh. The promotion is created to attract the crowd back to A;W and also attention of the public. Campaign Budget | Description| Quantity| Duration| Pay rate| Total| Public Relations| | 1. | Trucks| 3| 3 hrs| $150/day| $450| 2. | Drivers (3hrs/day)| 3| 3 hrs| $15/hr| $135| 3. | Workers| 6| 3 hrs| $6/hr| $108| 4. | Donations| | | | $150| | Sales Promotion| | 5. | Printing of Coupons| 5 0,000| | | $1000| 6. | Coupon Value(Digital Coupon)| 50,000| | | $25,000| 7. | Production of Frequency Card| 50,000| | | $3000| | Direct Marketing| | 8. | Production of Flyers| 100,000| | | $2500| 9. | Flyer Distributor| 5 | 10 hours| $6/hr| $300| 10. | Mascot| 1| 8 hours| $8/hr| $64| | Advertising| | 1. | Poster Space: Toa Payoh MRT Station | 1| 2. 5 weeks| | $15,000| 12. | Poster Space: All Toa Payoh Bus Stops| | 2. 5 weeks| | $10,000| 13. | Advertising: Comfort Delgro| | 2. 5 weeks| | $8,000| 14. | Print Productions for posters etc. | | | | $30,000| 15. | TV commercial (15seconds)AirTime on Channel 8| 3 slots/day| 2 weeks| $500/time slot $1500/day| $21,000| 16. | TV commercial (15seconds)AirTime on Channel 5| 3 slots/day| 2 weeks| $500/time slot $1500/day| $21,000| | Total| $137,707| Round-Up Budget| $150,000|