Performing Arts in South Africa Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performing Arts in South Africa - Research Paper Example The fashion and performance night will be open for students, media, and culture, lifestyle and fashion enthusiasts. The event is free for students but tickets will be sold in reasonable amount to non-academicians. This fashion night will be very essential to create awareness on the visual and cultural heritage of South Africa. South African traditional dances are integral part of its history because these dances are expressions of all that life’s rich pageant has to offer (South African Traditional Culture 2011) On the other hand, the traditional clothing represents South Africas history that has left a legacy of traditional apparel as diverse as the people who have settled there (Warton n.d.)Acknowledging these different traditional cultures, both in clothing and dance rituals, gives the nation a giant leaps in recognizing this country’s rich national history†. The audience and participants will be basically budding designers coming from the Fashion Institute of Technology. This will include students, faculty, and staff and fashion show at the Marshall Hall of SUNY. The budding designers will take the challenge of producing short fashion production number inspired by South African traditional culture. This will improve the student’s creativity and will create awareness among this particular community as regards to the cultural heritage of South Africa among. One key message is that some fashion trends may have been influenced by the culture of this region. Furthermore, the students will further appreciate on maybe looking into the history of other countries as well and infusing every other country’s tradition on their designs. The fashion show must be coordinated with the faculty of FIT so the show may be incorporated as a partial fulfilment in their particular courses. Without the students and their designs, the program will not run. Note that this event

Comparing Classic Folktales Essay Example for Free

Comparing Classic Folktales Essay Before reading and writing were common practice; history was told in the form of legend; fiction was told in the form of myth; and lessons about life were taught to children through folktales and fables. Folktales not only served a role in teaching children, but often helped define the common themes of life in general for that particular culture. Most folktales have a specific message which they try to portray through symbolism, writing style, and plot. Many folktales from different cultures are very similar and present the same main ideas and messages. Today folktales are popular mostly as a way of teaching morals and life lessons. They are often compilations, or illustrated books made for children. Two popular folktales that are very similar are, Frans Timmerman’s, â€Å"The Frog and the Fox† and a story we all know, originally from the book, Aesop’s Fables, â€Å"The Tortoise and the Hare†. In the folktale, â€Å"The Tortoise and the Hare† Aesop masterfully demonstrates what we all consider to be a classic folktale. The story begins with a hare who makes boastful claims about how swift he is, and how no animals could run faster than he could. The hare teases a tortoise for his slowness; the tortoise, annoyed by the hare’s claims, agrees to a race that they plan the next day. The next morning the hare comes to the race half asleep and unprepared. Hare sees how slow tortoise is and decides to take a nap. When he awakes, he notices tortoise is only one third of the way through the course, and decides to have a quick breakfast. The meal made hare sleepy and seeing tortoise was not yet half done with the course, hare decided to take another quick nap. The hare oversleeps and tortoise wins the race against the boastful, overconfident hare. Aesop’s story can be related to by people all over the world and many cultures have adopted the story. Today it is pu blished in over thirty languages, and sells in bookstores worldwide. A lesser known American writer named Frans Timmerman has a remarkably similar story that was published in 1911. The story is about a frog, he is in the jungle minding his own business when a fox passes by. The fox makes fun of the frog because he is such a strange specimen; she asks how frog is able to move about with one long pair of legs, and one short one. The fox is very amused when frog tells her that he is the fastest frog in the whole jungle. The fox is almost insulted when frog thinks he can beat her in a race, and begins to boast about her speed and running skills. They plan to have the race the next day, and set up a course through the jungle. The next day the frog and the fox meet with a friend, duck, and get ready to race. When the race begins frog jumps onto the tail of fox and holds on while fox sprints as fast as she can. Fox does not notice the small frog on her tail and already believes she has won the race. As fox approaches the finish line, frog makes a mighty leap onto her back, and then across the finish line, just before fox makes it across. Fox says frog didn’t win but duck, as the referee, claims frog to be the winner as he had barely passed the finish line first. At the end fox accepts that she was outsmarted and realizes that her overconfidence was the root of her downfall. This story is not identical to the story in Aesop’s Fables, but has many of the same characteristics, as well as a similar overall message and symbolic meaning. Historians agree that Aesop’s Fables was written around 500 B.C. by a slave living in Greece. It was originally written in Greek; European versions were not printed until the early 1800’s. English versions were printed in the 1900’s, and it is likely this book was at least one inspiration to Frans Timmerman’s work. Timmerman’s book was released in 1911 just a few short years after English prints of Aesop’s Fables were available in the United States. Each story shares similar characteristics in plot, style, technique, and symbolism, but there are also more superficial similarities and differences. In both stories the authors choose to use animals as a form of symbolism to tell their story. Animals are commonly used as characters in folktale; however, the animals each author decides to use are very specific. Each author chooses animals that have traits and characteristics that are familiar to most people, regardless of age or education level. In Aesop’s folktale the animals used are a tortoise and a hare. In Timmerman’s story the animals used are a frog and a fox. When people think of a tortoise they generally have images of a very slow moving land creature. Similarly Timmerman’s character frog brings thoughts of a water dwelling species, clumsy and slow on land. The same idea spreads to the fox and the hare; both are considered to be quick and cunning species and the authors use them in this light. It is likely these animals were common where each story was written. These animals also share similar more transparent symbolic meaning. Although time, and simple cultural differences likely led to the different characters and context of the stories, they still share many similar traits in there symbolism and morals. Because the symbolism is easily identified, and the message is easily related to, nearly all people can apply this story to life. It is easy to see how nearly every culture has embraced a version of this story, or come up with a similar version of their own. Today Aesop’s Fables is printed in 31 languages. The tortoise is symbolic in Aesop’s story for a wise, slow moving, dedicated creature. He uses the tortoise to help portray the message that â€Å"slow and steady† can persevere over an overconfident, boastful opponent. Likewise, Timmerman chooses to use a frog, which sometimes symbolizes the same things as the tortoise in folktales and fables. A frog additionally represents transformation. The frog is shown in his story to be very intelligent and the message is that you can overcome a problem even when the odds are against you if you use your head. By using his intelligence he defeats the overconfident, boastful opponent. Timmerman decides to use a fox in his story as a quick, overconfident, somewhat ignorant character. He portrays the fox in this way as a symbol for this type of person, whom everyone has encountered at some point in their lives. Aesop similarly chooses a hare and uses the same technique of making the hare somewhat ignorant and cocky. Using this writing style effectively makes the fox and the hare the antagonist in the story without specifically portraying them as a â€Å"bad guy†. They further this technique by having these characters use condescending dialogue in the beginning of the story. Despite the two authors cultural differences, the human qualities of the characters are nearly portrayed identically. The writing style, and technique used by the authors helps us to identify with the characters. It also helps us identify personally with the plot. Both stories have plots that follow the same basic ideas. One animal is different physically from another, so naturally that animal thinks that he is superior the superior creature. They use animals that everyone would consider to be the obvious winners and losers in a race. They portray the animals in a unique way that gives them human qualities that we are familiar with. The underdog is considered the protagonist in these fables and both authors portray them as likely losers in a physical challenge. However, as the story unfolds the obvious winners change due to the negative human qualities the antagonists possess. The messages of the stories are both related to perseverance, and that sometimes being conceded and boastful about your skills can end in disaster. There is also the message that one should not judge others simply by how they look. There are many other interpretations of this story as well, and this just scratches the surface of the symbolism in the two folktales. The messages of the two stories are values that everyone can apply to their daily lives. When the stories reach their conclusions the readers are left with many options on how they choose to interpret the message. The theme of both stories are the same, however the differences allow them to be interpreted many ways. It is mostly agreed upon by literature experts that the message in â€Å"The Tortoise and the Hare† is that slow and steady wins the race, and taking your time to do things right the first time is worth it. The message in â€Å"The Fox and the Frog† the message is that it is sometimes better to work smarter, not harder. Both stories share the message that judging others by their appearance is not an intelligent thing to do. They also share the idea that being boastful and conceded can end in embarrassment.

Identification of Bacillus Coagulans from Agricultural Soil

Identification of Bacillus Coagulans from Agricultural Soil Introduction Soil is a common substance that is found almost everywhere in the world and is home to a diverse community of microorganisms, especially for bacteria. Bacteria are so common in soil that surface soil can be home to 108 to 109 bacterial cells per gram of dry soil (Prescott et al., 1999). This quantity of bacterium in soil, however, decreases deeper into the subsurface of the soil. There are small variations in bacterial quantity in subsurface layers, but the surface layer is always the most numerous in quantity (Weaver et al., 1994). This is because these bacteria prefer the smaller soil pores (2 to 6 ÃŽ ¼m in diameter) that are more commonly found in surface soil. This is likely a method to avoid being eaten by protozoa (Prescott et al., 1999). As small soil pores are common habitats for bacterium, and soils contain higher concentrations of CO2 and CO, with lower concentrations of O2, many of these bacteria have developed the ability to grow in microaerobic or anaerobic conditions (P rescott et al., 1999). Although bacterial quantity is plentiful in the surface layers, it is common to find relatively few bacteria of the same species. Rather, there is much variation in the species of bacterium cohabitating in these soil layers (Weaver et al., 1994). As a diversity of bacteria brings a diversity of metabolic pathways and nutrient fixation, this proves beneficial for plants and insects that live in the soil and rely upon the nutrients produced by these bacteria (Weaver et al., 1994). Through isolation, culturing, and testing of agricultural soil bacterium, this lab attempted to isolate and identify a single species of bacterium from agricultural soil. Methods A 10-2 dilution in distilled water was created using 1 g of agricultural soil. From this dilution, a TSA streak plate was made and incubated at 22Â °C for 48 hours and then chilled at 4Â °C until further analysis could be preformed (Egger 2010). From this streak plate, a single culture was chosen to be sub-cultured on a TSA streak plate and was incubated as above. This culture was also gram stained and observed under microscope. The bacterial cell dimensions were calculated and cell shape and arrangement were recorded. The bacterial subculture was then observed for colony morphology. Individual cells were then tested for starch hydrolysis, H2S reduction and motility, ammonification, nitrification, denitrification, oxygen tolerance, and for catalase production (Egger 2010). Further testing was then performed to determine optimal growth temperature, osmotic pressure, and pH. Temperature testing was done at 4, 22, 37, and 50Â °C; osmotic pressure testing done at 0, 0.5, 2, and 5% NaCl; and pH testing was done at pH 3, 5, 7, and 9 (Egger 2010). Data from tests were pooled and used to determine the possible identity of the unknown culture. Results The streak plate of dilute agricultural soil revealed a large quantity of different bacterial colonies varying in colour, shape, size, texture, and elevation. After isolation of a single bacterial culture, there was little to no variation in these characteristics. This single bacterial culture revealed a circular form with a flat elevation and a rough texture. The colour was observed to be clear to white in colour and translucent in appearance. Further observation under microscope revealed staphylobacillus approximately 40 ÃŽ ¼m in length. Gram staining and testing for starch hydrolysis, and nitrification all turned out positive, while testing for H2S reduction, motility, ammonification, and denitrification all proved negative, which is further outlined in Table 1. This bacterium was then determined to be a facultative anaerobe with an optimal temperature of 37Â °C, optimal pH of 7, and optimal osmotic pressure of 0.5% NaCl. It was also observed that there was little growth at 5% NaCl and reasonable growth at pH 5. Discussion As the bacterium isolated in this experiment was rod shaped, gram positive, and catalase producing, it is likely that this specific bacterium belongs to the genus Bacillus (Butler 1986). Determination of the specific species of Bacillus proved more difficult. As this bacterium was able to hydrolyse starch, was a facultative anaerobe, had an optimal growth temperature around 37Â °C, and an optimal pH around 7, the possibilities were narrowed to either Bacillus coagulans or Bacillus licheniformis (Butler 1986). Although B. licheniformis is common to most ground soils, there proved to be a few common factors that supported the greater plausibility of this specific bacterium to be B. coagulans. The isolated bacterium was unable to reduce nitrate to nitrite and was unable to grow significantly in a NaCl medium of 5%. As B. licheniformis is capable of reduction of nitrate to nitrite and growth in 5% NaCl medium, it is unlikely that this unknown bacterium was B. licheniformis (Butler 1986). It was also noted that the unknown bacterium was capable of growth at pH 5, which is a characteristic of B. coagulans (Butler 1986). Specifically, B. coagulans has been recorded as having an optimal pH of 6 and a minimum of 4.0-5.0 depending on specific stra ins (Butler 1986). In order to further verify that the unknown bacterium was B. coagulans, it would have been beneficial to test the bacteriums ability to hydrolyse casein and gelatine as B. coagulans cannot hydrolyse casein and gelatine while B. licheniformis can. It would also have been beneficial to further investigate growth in 7% and 10% NaCl to further verify the identity of B. coagulans if growth did not occur. Unfortunately, not all tests that were performed were useful in the identification of the specific species of the unknown bacterium. The tests were useful, however, in determining genus. As the genus Bacillus was reasonably simple to identify based on the rod shaped bacterium and catalase production, some of the tests, such as the test for H2S reduction were not as useful as others, such as the test for catalase production. If the unknown bacterium did prove to be B. coagulans, this would be an uncommon isolation as B. coagulans is not common in soil (Butler 1986). For this reason, there is little information recorded on B. coagulans ecological role in soil. It would be advised that further investigation into the ecological role of B. coagulans should be performed as, although uncommon, B. coagulans is still a soil bacterium and must therefore play an ecological role in soil. It may also be beneficial to further investigate B. coagulans as it is a common additive in medicated creams and antacids (Butler 1986). This is because of the possible pro-biotic benefits of B. coagulans in the gastrointestinal tract, although these benefit claims have been questioned as to their validity in recent years (De Vecchi and Drago 2006). There has also been a recent study that suggests that application of B. coagulans to arthritic joints may cause a decrease in pain and a reduction in disability of these joints. Althoug h, these are preliminary studies, and the function of this pain relief is unknown, there is significant reason to peruse B. coagulans as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (Mandel et al. 2010). Although the unknown bacterium is likely B. coagulans there were possible sources of error. A major source of error could have come from the gram staining process. There was a possibility that the stain was not rinsed with ethanol for long enough, which would have caused retention of the dye in the cell wall of the unknown bacterium. This would have lead to a false positive for gram staining. If this was true and the unknown bacterium was gram negative, this would indicate a possibly different genus and definitely different species. Although errors could have lead to misidentification of the unknown bacterium, based on the data collected, it is most likely that the unknown bacterium isolated was B. coagulans. There was no reason to believe that the isolated colony was contaminated with different species of bacteria, and testing lead to a conclusive identification of the unknown bacterium. From this it is reasonable to say that the objectives of this experiment were met.

Implications of the Dinosaur Heart Discovery :: Anthropology Essays Paleontology Papers

Implications of the Dinosaur Heart Discovery The article from Science News, â€Å"Telltale Dino Heart Hints at Warm Blood†, by Tina Hesman and the Journal article it was based on from Science, †Cardiovascular Evidence for an Intermediate or Higher Metabolic Rate in an Ornithischian Dinosaur†, by Paul Fisher and others both offer a new perspective on the topic to be discussed, however there are some key differences between the two articles. How the two articles differ will be discussed later on in the paper. Both of the articles discuss the finding of a heart in a dinosaur that when studied challenges a common belief about dinosaurs hearts. Now here is some background information on the dinosaur that is causing this stir because of its heart. The dinosaur is a Thescelosaurus, which means wonderful lizard. The average length of the Thescelosaurus is three to four meters, nine to twelve feet, long with an average weight of three-hundred kilograms, or about six hundred and sixty two pounds. They lived from the Campanian age to Maastrichtian age which are the later stages of the Cretaceous period. Another distinguishing physical feature of Willo is the bird-hips that the dinosaur has instead of the lizard hip. They have primarily been found in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. As far as their remains are concerned there is one complete skeleton, eight partial skeletons, elements, and teeth (Dinosauricon). Dinosaurs are often compared to and resemble modern day reptiles. Scientists will study how these modern day reptiles behave, look, act, and move to draw conclusions on how the dinosaurs would behave, look, act, and move. They also look at the intern make-up of the modern reptiles to predict how the dinosaurs internal make up would be. However, a recent discovery in South Dakota is stirring up some controversy (Hesman). While Mike Hammer was walking around a ranch in South Dakota he stumbled across a â€Å"big-eyed† dinosaur that he now refers to as Willo. The thing that caught his eye was the chest cavity of the dinosaur, upon further investigation he found a rock that was preserved in the curve of the dinosaur’s ribs, he was convinced that this rock was once a heart. Hammer then went on to take the dinosaur fossil in for a medical X-ray scan, this X-ray showed evidence that could change how we think about dinosaurs.

The Effect of Starch on the Activity of Amylase with Ph Variable

The Effect of Starch on the Activity of Amylase with pH Variable Lab Report, Fall 2011 East Tennessee State University Department of Biological Sciences By: Shelby Brackett Date Performed: October 10, 2011 Lab Instructor: Joseph Kusi Biology 1111, Section 018 Abstract Enzymes are very important in chemical reactions. They are used to speed up the reaction taking place. They act by binding to a specific substrate and form an enzyme-substrate complex that may put stress on chemical bonds of that substrate. In this experiment, we used the amylase as our enzyme and starch as our specific substrate.We then used a calorimeter to measure the absorbance of our samples with the variable of pH over set periods of time. Our results indicated that at three different pH levels, the absorbance level of our samples was not the same for each one. This proved my original hypothesis to be incorrect, as I was surprised to find that the last pH buffer had no effect on the absorbance. The first two pH bu ffers supported my hypothesis, however. The levels of our samples kept decreasing over time. As with every experiment, it should be repeated several times to make sure your results are accurate.Introduction Most chemical reactions must be catalyzed (sped up) by protein molecules called enzymes. Enzymes are biological catalysts that facilitate specific chemical reactions. Enzymes are three-dimensional globular proteins that fit snugly around the molecules they act on. This fit facilitates chemical reactions by stressing particular chemical bonds. The three-dimensional shape enables it to stabilize a temporary association between substrates-the molecules that will undergo the reaction. The enzyme also lowers the activation energy required for new bonds to form.The reaction thus proceeds much more quickly than it would without the enzyme. (Mason, 2011). The energy of activation is the energy needed to get the substrate to its transition state. KI (potassium iodide) is used to detect th e presence of starch when conducting these experiments. Another thing to consider when talking about enzymes is optimal conditions. These are a set of environmental conditions at which the enzyme works at its highest rate. Some of these environmental variables are pH, temperature, and salinity.Changes in pH may not only affect the shape of an enzyme but it may also change the shape or charge properties of the substrate so that either the substrate cannot bind to the active site or it cannot undergo catalysis. (The Effect of pH on Enzyme Activity, 2004). Increasing the temperature of an uncatalyzed reaction increases its rate because the additional heat increases random molecular movement. This motion can add stress to molecular bonds and affect the activation energy of a reaction. (Mason, 2011). When a substrate molecule is trying to bind to the active site, presence of salt could alter the rate of the reaction.In our experiment, we used the protein amylase. Amylase  is an enzyme that breaks down starch, converting it into sugar. Amylase  is found in human saliva, where it begins a chemical process in digestion with the hydrolysis of starch. It is also found in the pancreas. (Brady, 2003). We used the substrate starch with the variable, pH, to measure the absorbance of our samples using a calorimeter. My hypothesis was that at each different pH buffer, there would be more and more absorbance over time. Materials/Methods To execute this experiment, we did the following steps. First, you pipet 8ml of 0. % starch solution and 6ml of water into 3 test tubes and label them L, M, and H. Next, you add 1ml of pH4 buffer to L test tube; 1ml of pH7 buffer to test tube M; and 1ml of pH10 buffer to test tube H. Then pipet 2ml of water and add 3 drops of KI into 16 different test tubes (5 each behind the test tubes L, M, and H) and label them L? , M? , H? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦L? , M? , and H? and keep the remaining one for zeroing the calorimeter(reagent blank). Next remove 1ml of solution from L, M, and H to the test tubes L? , M? , and H? respectively. Measure their absorbance and record the values.Make sure to zero the calorimeter before every measurement. Next, pipet 1ml of amylase solution to L, M, and H (mix) and wait for 1 minute interval. Then, remove 1ml of L, M, and H into L? , M? , and H? respectively (mix) and measure the absorbance of the samples and record the values. Repeat this last step for the rest of the samples for the same time interval. Results The table and graph below represent the absorbance levels that we obtained from our experiment. Table 1 Time of measurement| Reaction 1 L (pH4)| Reaction 2M (pH7)| Reaction 3H (pH10)| Time: 0| 2. 0| 0. 85| 2. 00| 1| 1. 71| 0. 53| 2. 00| 2| 1. 46| 0. 06| 2. 00| 3| 1. 42| 0. 05| 2. 00| 4| 0. 97| 0. 00| 2. 00| Graph 1 Graph 2 Graph 3 Discussion In conclusion, the results from this experiment failed to support my hypothesis. My original hypothesis stated that at each different pH b uffer, there would be more and more absorbance over time. Our results show that at pH4 buffer the absorbance increased by causing our readings to go down at a steady pace. From starting at Time 0, the end reading was at 0. 97. This particular reaction supported my hypothesis.The next reaction with pH7 buffer also supported my hypothesis. There was also more absorbance over time intervals. Our numbers decreased but this time, at a faster pace. There was a jump from 0. 53 to 0. 06. This would cause me to believe that at pH7, this would be the optimal condition for enzyme activity for amylase. In the last reaction, I was surprised to find that there was no change at all. The pH10 buffer had no effect with the absorbance of our amylase-starch sample. This particular reaction failed to support my original hypothesis.So, in conclusion, using the enzyme amylase and the substrate, starch, we found that the effect of pH on this solution caused a steady absorbance for pH4, a fast absorbance a t pH7-which caused me to believe this is optimal pH, and no absorbance at pH10. Bibliography Brady, Matt. What is Amylase? 2003. 22 October 2011 . Mason, Kenneth A. , Jonathan B. Losos and Susan R. Singer. Biology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. The Effect of pH on Enzyme Activity. 2004. 22 October 2011 .

Marketing and Branding Coco Chanel The WritePass Journal

Marketing and Branding Coco Chanel 1.0 Introduction Marketing and Branding Coco Chanel ). 2.3 Brand performance 2.3.1 Applied marketing mix (4p’s) The performance of the brand in its industry could be made clear after reviewing the key elements of the marketing strategy employed for the promotion of the particular brand. In practice, emphasis is given to four of these elements, which as also known as 4Ps (Burrow, 2008). The particular elements constitute a quite known framework, the marketing mix (Burrow, 2008). The 4Ps included in the marketing mix refer to specific aspects of a marketing strategy. At the first level, reference is made to Product. The term Product, as part of the marketing mix, reflects not only an object, as a materialised element, but also the various characteristics of the object/ product, such as ‘value, packaging methods and materials and brand name’ (Lamb and McDaniel, 2011: 47). Place is the second element of marketing mix; the specific term denotes the geographical area in which the product is available or in which the product is planned to entry (Lamb and McDaniel, 2011). The term Place a lso reflects the means used by a firm for distributing its products internationally or locally (Fifield, 2008). The success of a product in a particular market is depended on the Promotion strategy used, i.e. on the means and the approaches employed for making the target consumers aware of the specific product (Satit et al., 2012). Finally, the Price of a product has to be decided taking into consideration various factors, such as the GDP in the target market, the market’s demographic characteristics/ average income and the status of the local economy (Lee, Cheng and Chen, 2008). If the marketing mix used in regard to a product is not appropriately planned, then target consumers would not be expected to buy the product. The relationship between the marketing mix and the consumer preferences is presented in Figure 3 (Appendices). On the other hand, marketing mix should be structured in such way so that it can respond to actual consumer needs, as these needs are reflected in th e 4Cs framework; the relationship between the two frameworks is presented in Figure 4 (Appendices). The issues highlighted above should be used when describing the marketing mix of Coco Channel. At the first level, in terms of its Product, the particular brand is characterised by exceptional quality (Ma, 2014). In fact, quality involves in all aspects of the brand’s product, meaning not only the materials of the products but also the materials used in the products’ packaging (Ma, 2014). For example, in the case of Chanel No.5 the uniqueness of the product was secured by employing an innovative name and by using a unique synthesis of aromas (Sicard, 2013). Also, the specific brand is related to a country well known for the quality of its cosmetics and clothing: France (Ma, 2014). The potentials of the brand to be expanded worldwide have been limited because of the following need: many of the brand’s products had to be supported by appropriate customer services schemes. Therefore, the selling points of the brand’s products are selected on the basis whether they can have a direct and close reference to France, as the source of these products (Ma, 2014). In regard to its Promotion strategy the specific brand can be characterised as unique: common marketing options are combined with less popular marketing approaches for attracting the consumers’ interest. For example, in its initial phase the marketing of Chanel No.5 has been based mostly on ‘word of mouth marketing’ (Sicard, 2013: 159). In addition, the advertisements related to the specific brand are likely to be included in media and press that are quite popular in the fashion industry, as for example ‘Elite and Vogue’ (Ma, 2014: 48). However, the high quality of the brand’s product has been secured by adopting high Prices, an approach which is considered as expected by which has set limits to the increase of the brand’s popularity (Ma, 2014). 2.3.2 Segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) For ensuring the effectiveness of a marketing strategy used for promoting a brand marketers need to develop three, key, activities: segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP). As part of marketing, Segmentation reflects the effort of marketers to divide a market into parts/ segments; each of these segments would refer to consumers with common characteristics, such as age, marital status and so on (Cant et al., 2009). By segmenting a market marketers are able to develop marketing strategies that would be welcomed by the target consumers (Cant et al., 2009). However, in order to respond to the expectations of marketers, segmentation needs to be following by targeting. In the context of marketing the term targeting is used for showing the identification of the market segments that will be addressed by a marketing strategy (Boone and Kurtz, 2013). For example, the decision to address only teenagers among the people living in the target market is an example of targeting. As for positio ning, the specific term is used for showing the effort of marketers ‘to place a product in the mind of consumers’ (Boone and Kurtz, 2013: 98). Different approaches are likely to be used by marketers to achieve positioning, as this activity can secure consumer loyalty (Boone and Kurtz, 2013). In the case of Chanel, STP could be achieved by using various approaches. For example, in regard to the particular brand market segmentation could be based on the views of consumers in regard to luxury products. This means that global market would be divided into parts based on the expected perceptions of consumers on luxury products; the evaluation of these perceptions could be based on luxury value as of its various dimensions (Figure 5, Appendices). The market segmentation for Coco Chanel could be also based, alternatively, on the frequency of use of luxury products (Ciornea, Pop and Bacila, 2012, Figure 6, Appendices). Targeting and positioning for the particular brand could be developed using similar criteria. More specifically, in regard to targeting the marketers of Coco Chanel should take into consideration the following fact: due to the high prices of its products the particular brand could not target all social groups, as could be developed using targeting. For example, tee nagers would not be an appropriate target group for the brand’s products. As of positioning also there are certain issues that should be addressed: so far the brand has become synonym of quality; also, since its appearance in the market the brand has been among the top brands in its industry. Therefore, the best approach for positioning this brand would emphasise on ‘product’s class and on price/ quality’ (Boone and Kurtz, 2013: 298). 2.3.3 Brand illustration When referring to brand illustration reference is made to the graphical elements used for presenting the brand to the public. For example, intensive colours could be used in a brand’s logo for attracting the attention of consumers (Shimp and Andrews, 2013). In addition, symbols that denote a particular characteristic of a brand could be employed for making the brand more attractive to the public (Kumar, 2009). In order for a brand’s illustration to be successful it should not follow common patterns, especially those related to the industry involved (Kumar, 2009). In any case, the logo of the brand has not necessarily to reflect the role of the brand in the industry but it needs to offer a view on the brand’s culture, as this culture would show to the public the values and ethics on which the creation of the brand has been based. The logo of Coco Channel is based entirely on the name of its creator. The design and the elements of the specific logo aim to show the close relationship between the brand and its creator’s values; simplicity is also another issue highlighted through the logo of the above brand (Figure 1, Appendices). From this point of view, it could be supported that the brand illustration used in the case of Coco Channel can be characterized as quite successful, promoting simplicity and showing the critical role of the brand’s creator in brand’s success. 2.3.4 Detail evaluation, critical perspective – SWOT analysis As with most business strategies the effectiveness of a firm’s branding decisions is usually decided after checking the characteristics of the brand involved; the performance of the brand in its market has also to be taken into consideration for deciding whether a brand has been successful or not (Davis, 2010). In the case of Coco Chanel the SWOT framework could be used for evaluating the brand’s performance. The Strengths of the particular brand are mostly related to its brand name and its relationship to quality (Carr, 2012). In fact, the specific brand has managed to establish a unique culture, a culture based on ‘the spirit of its creator’ (Kapferer, 2008: 252). In the context of this culture, high quality in clothing would be considered not as an exceptional condition but rather as part of daily life (Kapferer, 2008). The high expansion of the brand in the global market, as compared to other luxury brands, is another important strength of the brand (Ca rr, 2012). However, the brand has an important Weakness: the price of its product is quite high, not allowing a high percentage of consumers to buy the brand’s products (Carr, 2012). On the other hand, the particular brand meets all the requirements of a luxury brand (Figure 7, Figure 8, Appendices). This means that the specific brand has important Opportunities for future growth. Still, there is the problem of continuous recession. Economic turbulences in the global market could result to the limitation of profitability of luxury brands, a fact that would be a severe Threat for the particular brand (JWT, 2009). 2.4 Brand value The achievement of profit, at a pre-specified level, is the key target of a brand, at least for brands used in businesses (Larson, 2012). In this context, a business can significantly enhance its value using one or more brands (Larson, 2012). When having to estimate the value of the brand several issues can appear: the exact profit achieved by using a brand cannot be measured since the gain from employing a brand can result either in the short term or the long term. Also, this gain may not be always monetary; the improvement of a firm’s image in the market is an example (Davis, 2010). Therefore, for measuring the value of Coco Chanel, as a brand, a mixed model would be employed: the valuation framework used by ‘BrandFinance, an organisation based in UK’ (Davis, 2010: 44). The particular framework is based on the following method: a firm estimates the level of the sales it should achieve in the future, for securing profit; then ‘a royalty rate is set for achi eving the above target’ (Davis, 2010: 44). This royalty rate can be used for estimating the current value of the brand, which is the actual brand value (Davis, 2010). The measurement of the brand value using the BrandFinance framework is made clear through the diagram in Figure 9 (Appendices). 2.5 Importance of Coco Channel for the industry Since its introduction, the specific brand has achieved the following target: it has made luxury products more attractive to consumers. More specifically, in the 1920s, when the brand first appeared, women had to face the severe consequences of the World War I; widows were increased and the interest for high quality clothing was quite low (Siddiqui, 2014). The appearance in the market of the products of the particular brand, such as the ‘short black dress and the perfume Channel No.5’ (Siddiqui, 2014), introduced a new era for the relationship between consumers and the fashion industry. Since then, fashion products and luxury products have become quite attractive as this fact has been reflected to the radical expansion of luxury brands worldwide (Figure 2, Appendices). In addition, the particular brand managed to cover the gap between fashion and the other industries. Indeed, up to the appearance of the brand’s products in the market the hierarchy of importance as of the industrial activities worldwide had a standard format: manufacturing and transport industries were mostly valued, as of their potential to cover people’s needs (Kapferer, 2008). Since the introduction of the brand’s products in the market the perspectives for growth in regard to fashion and luxury products were made clear. Entrepreneurs worldwide were initiated to invest in the particular sectors, a fact that enhanced competition and kept quality standards high (Kapferer, 2008). 3.0 Conclusion The performance of Coco Chanel as a brand can be characterised as high. In fact, as proved through the analysis made above the particular brand is one of the most powerful in the global fashion industry. The position of the brand in the luxury sector is also significant, an achievement that denotes the brand’s potentials to achieve further growth. The establishment of a unique culture has been proved to be the approach through which the particular brand secured its success. Indeed, the creator of the brand, Coco Chanel, managed to convince the women in her era that style and quality should be parts of their life style. At the same time, through the particular brand the independency of style from complex forms was achieved: instead of emphasising on heavy and multi-coloured clothing Coco Chanel preferred to use simple lines and just two colours: white and black. This approach made the brand Coco Chanel to distinguish in consumers’ minds. A similar approach was followed i n regard to the other products of the brand: simplicity and innovation have been the key elements of the brand’s products up today. In this context, the success of the brand as revealed through the examination of all its aspects could be considered as expected. In the future, further growth could be achieved on the basis that brand’s culture would remain at the centre of the brand’s strategies. 4.0 References Boone, L. and Kurtz, D. (2013) Contemporary Marketing. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Burrow, J. (2008) Marketing. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Cant, M., Strydom, J., Jooste, C. and du Plessis, P. (2009) Marketing Management. 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