Loreals New Product Development Strategy Marketing Essay

Loreals New Product Development Strategy Marketing Essay This report is based on LOreals new product development strategy and the way they have successfully managed to achieve considerable market shares through consistent RD efforts. The case continues with an insight into LOreals innovations that have been a success among the diverse segments of the global market. LOreal has not only followed a comprehensive, long term RD strategy that has resulted in creating innovative break through products like Fructis, but it has also tried to maintain its balance between RD and marketing interface. Company overview LOreal UK is the Groups fourth largest subsidiary in Europe and fifth in the world and has been present in the UK for 75 years. Also A significant player in the UK cosmetics market, turnover in 2006 reached  £626 million and 67% of women in the UK use one or more LOreal product. Approximately 170 million units were produced at the Llantrisant factory in 2006 and nearly 70% of the factory output is exported. overseas Recent investments have included a biological waste water treatment plant and more efficient heating, ventilation and lighting systems.The new distribution centre adjacent to the factory covers an area of over 18,000m2 and can house up to 10 million products and 300 people are employed at the factory. 25% of the permanent staff has worked for LOreal for over 20 years. (www.loreal.co.uk) Introduction Innovation is the most crucial stage for a company and it carries significant risk in the context of product failures that might occur right after their launch in the market. The product failure rate can be as low as 30% and as high as 90% in this regard. (Antil, J.1988). The global market is characterised by different taste patterns of consumers. Therefore in the face of rapidly changing consumer tastes, technology and competition, companies should continuously provide the global market with new products that satisfy all segments of the market. This requires systematic Research Development and innovation by companies in order to create successful products that have a considerable market demand. In the case of LOreal, the company has always tried to be innovating through their RD efforts. The case sites the example of LOreals Feria range that was exclusively innovated for Asian people. Product innovation is a complex task and it requires careful planning by the company based on the above mentioned factors. Today the global market is a fiercely competitive environment in which the important target for companies is to capture increasing returns to scale while minimizing / lowering costs of production with great speed and flexibility (Kotabe, 1990). LOreal as an international chain tries to achieve these targets through its consistent RD innovations in order to create products that are marketable throughout all international market. LOreals RD innovation expends about 20% more for new product development as compared to its competitors such as Procter Gamble and Unilever, occupying number one position in the market. Why is new innovation so important for a company like LOreal LOreal is a well established company in fashion business and in order to maintain its superior standing in the global market, it has to concentrate on the strategies it employs for innovation. The speed at which fashion markets change is very high, with very short product life cycles. Many fashion items have product cycles as short as half a year, or even a few weeks. Consumers preferences depend on the season, on the social and cultural environment and on the effects of previous marketing communication for fashion items or substitute products (Mintel, 2005). Responding in a timely way to these changing demands is vital for success. Moreover, without new products, firms will certainly be at a stand still And Research also highlights that early entry of new products can result in competitive advantage and long term market dominance. The characteristics of the fashion industry require companies to make strategic choices about factors such as quality, speed, technology, price and flexibility: these factors define the positioning of a company (Abell, 1993). Drawing upon the information provided in the case study, it can be suggested that LOreal operates in the top end of the fashion market with clear market positioning. LOreals targeted market segments can be characterised as fashion trend-setters, and these are the customers in the high and medium segments. They demand products with innovative styles, with top-level quality by scientists and designers that have built the reputation of powerful brands. It should be noticed that firms that operate in the mass segment which targets fashion followers tend to imitate the high performing products of top brands like LOreal and therefore the competitive advantage of top brands recedes over time, making product lifecycle short. Given the high quality expected of its products and the short product life cycle prevailing in fashion, LOreal has adopted a vertical integration, which afforded it a full control of quality and operations (Erica Stefania, 2004). Therefore, innovation is a critical and complex process that has a direct impact on the companys prestige, which justifies the importance of such developments. Therefore LOreal has to come up with such innovations that not only appeal to the various segments of the global market, but also enhance the companys position once they penetrate the market. hence LOreal would have to invest heavily in the launch of new products and be confident about the effectiveness, marketability and practicality of these products.. Moreover, successful innovation is likely to earn LOreal a superior market share and turnover, increasing the value of the company. Also, LOreal has been a front line of fashion and in order to keep up with the expectations of its consumers, the company has to lay in line new formulas that are carefully researched and tested for their effectiveness. For e.g. when the Japanese people were tired of having black hair and required an alternative to western hair colours due to their poor results, LOreal came up with an effective new hair formula that first bleached their hair and then dyed them according to their desirable colour. Therefore it is clear that in order for a company like LOreal, operating in a volatile and turbulent fashion industry, to create a sustainable competitive advantage should have a fast innovative product development cycle. Because LOreal tries to grab the maximum market share through the introduction of innovative products that are not only different but also cater to the different segments of the international market. Problems of managing Innovation and has LOreal solved these problems In order to launch new products successfully, companies like LOreal have to spend a great deal of time and energy in research and development. Thinking profitable/effective new ideas and implementing them are the core issues to be addressed and in this regard LOreals RD performs the task of coming up with successful innovations while the implementation lies in the hands of how these innovations are marketed. If LOreal launches a new product that cannot be marketed effectively, the RD efforts would be marked as inefficient and useless. Before launching or marketing any new product locally or internationally, a company has to be sure that its innovation would be differentiated from other products and is based on consumers preferences. Such ideas are most likely initiated by marketing and then RD takes over the task. Once the RD process is complete, the launch of new product requires the companys scientists/engineers to observe the market reality and employ different ways of marketing their product. Any negligence in this context would not only result in product failures once they are launched, but would also harm the companys image. For companies like LOreal which continue to thrive on innovation because good ties between marketing and RD to perform their activities during the process of launching innovative products in the global market. However, reality appears a bit complex because studies have shown that RD and marketing tend to have different perceptions and interpretations of the characteristics of a new product, particularly in terms of its technical innovation and the extent to which it affects the established consumption patterns. In reality, marketing perceives a more critical role of a new product for positioning in a market segment than RD. Also marketing perceives a higher degree of customization of individual products than RD. Wang and von Tunzelmann (1997) However, the need for long-term innovation always exists and the scientists need to be given some independence to design new formulas that are not unveiled unless desired. The different views of innovation-marketing are influenced by their different personality, cultural background, time orientation, ambiguity, tolerance and level of detail of language used (Griffin and Hauser, 1996). Therefore for companies like LOreal the innovation-marketing interface needs to be managed in such a way that it satisfies both the needs of innovation as well as marketing. According to a study conducted by Wang in 1997 the innovation and marketing functions were found to have collaborated in accomplishing tasks in three areas. * Conceptual development, identifying and evaluating relevant information * Strategic development, market positioning and product differentiation * Implementation, Internal and external communication. For LOreal these three functions are an important consideration in the process of innovation without which innovations might involve a high degree of risk, resulting in product failures. Once the concept for new product is developed through thorough research, LOreal focuses on identifying its target market segments for effective market positioning followed by laying a much greater emphasis on differentiating its products from its competitors like Procter Gamble and Unilever. Therefore it has to maintain a careful balance between creative innovation-marketing. An important link also exists between the innovation-marketing management. For instance, a strong mismatch between what is desired by customers and what is developed by LOreal would reduce the companys ability to predict market response to its new product. This would result in a reduced level of confidence on the effectiveness of marketing (Shankar, 1999). Therefore, in this context, a clear understanding of customer needs would be helpful in determining a companys innovation timing. This means that by effective management of innovation and marketing interfaces, firms can come up with better strategies both in terms of resource allocation and entry timing. It has been seen that most companies that spend great deal of time and effort on innovation to come up with new ideas, have created such products that resulted in a technological break-through, captivating a huge market share. In case of LOreal, the company has been spending a lot on its innovation department, (spending about 20% greater than its competitors). LOreal employs 2500 chemists, biologists, pharmacists and the companys RD aims to deliver 2000 new ideas to its marketers in order to launch 2000 new products annually. It not only has to develop successful ideas, but also find a perfect marketing strategy that addresses the target markets for the new products, their positioning, sales, market share and profit goals at initial stages. It therefore tries to maintain the balance between creative innovation marketing. The company not only analyzes the marketability of its new products but also tests its effectiveness through its careful innovation process. For e.g. when the marketers desired a fruit based shampoo for the European market, LOreals RD took over the task and it took the company 10 years to come up with Fructis, which captured LOreal a 28% share in the European market alone. This was, in fact, a result of the long term RD efforts of the company and LOreal tries to follow a three-level strategy for efficient management of innovation to marketing interface. Also the company launched a sun lotion exclusively for children, the Ambre Solaire Childrens Sun Lotion, which took three years for its launch and development. Therefore LOreal has tried to solve most of the problems resulting from an imbalanced innovation-marketing interface and needs to lay a greater emphasis on satisfying the individual needs of innovation and marketing respectively. It needs to continue by having a clear focus of the technological innovations and fashion trends. LOreal takes on the new product development screening task during its innovation phase when the company evaluates ideas generated from its own advanced research and whatever is being done externally (outside the company). LOreal makes sure that in order to boost the excitement of its products among consumers it needs to evaluate the effectiveness of its new formulas and offer a clear benefit to the consumers in order to get it accepted by the masses. It was this new product development screening process that resulted in the launch of Ambre Solaire childrens sun lotion by LOreal after three years of full research, thus, coming up with a formula that offered maximum protection to childrens delicate skin that instilled the confidence of their parents in the new product. LOreal has tried to launch its products which are characterized by these thorough screening processes, and it has succeeded to a considerable extent. However, during the screening process LOreal also needs to make sure that its new product developments are consistent with the companys objectives, that they are feasible in terms of product design and are suitable for the identified target markets. CONCLUSION After analysing this case in great detail, both in terms of marketing literature and practical application, it can be undersood that global companies like LOreal have to keep in line with the technological changes as they bring about marked product or process design transformations. Innovation plays a significant role in this regard, without which any new formula/idea is unable to be processed into a tangible new product. This requires professional scientists/engineers to be hired by companies and LOreal expends a great deal on hiring such professionals who can come up with effective, innovative and marketable ideas. The need to respond quickly to the dynamic global market forces requires companies to integrate rapidly to the perceptions and needs of both product developers and potential consumers Therefore, in todays fierce global competition, it is tough to differentiate. products and companies are required to have sufficient knowledge about their target markets/segments locally as well as internationally. Therefore product screening is another important process that needs to be carried out by companies in order to have a closer look at competitive products and evaluate their own product demand and LOreal seems to stand out in this regard as it employs professionals who carefully monitor competitors products in great detail. All this needs to be synchronized with an effective marketing strategy that is in balance with innovation functions of the company, which eventually builds up new products image in the various targeted segments, hence, boosting the companys prestige. It is not easy to gain customer satisfaction without long term effort.

Should the British Media Be Allowed to Publish Private Photos of the Royal Family or Should Their Privacy Be Protected?

Title: Should the British media be allowed to publish private photos of the Royal family or should their privacy be protected? With the development of science and technology, the media is also developing rapidly, from the original newspaper, broadcast, TV to today's Internet, mobile phone, electronic magazines and so on. There is no doubt that is progress, indeed, the media provides a lot of convenience to our life, for example: we needn’t go out and know what happened all over the world; if any place was hit by disaster, only through the media dissemination for help, friends from all over the world would lend a hand immediately.However, everything has two sides and the media is no exception. As we know, media is too transparent to make our life sometimes no privacy, especially some public figures’ life and feelings are always exposed. This essay will examine whether the British media should be allowed to publish private photos of the Royal family or should their privac y be protected? Firstly, I think private photos should be protected. Privacy has been defined as the `right of individuals to control the collection and use of personal information about themselves. ‘(Mason, 1986).And privacy is a fundamental right recognized in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It means that everyone should be equal and their privacy should be protected. Some laws and regulations, which are in the field of personal privacy protection, are also being found. For example, ‘there is comprehensive protection for privacy, potential civil and criminal liability, and human rights protection under the European Convention on Human Rights. ’ (Gilbert, 2012). So it is obvious that Western people will pay more attention to the privacy protection.Even avoid asking about their age, income, and marital status. They often use ‘nose into people's private life,’ to say people who asked such questions  with contempt. Therefore, publishing private photo without individual's permission is an unlawful behavior. Secondly, the British royal family belongs to public figure, not ordinary person. And ‘the members of the Royal Family support The Queen in her many State and national duties, as well as carrying out important work in the areas of public and charitable service, and helping to strengthen national unity and stability. (The role of the Royal Family, 2007). That means members of the Royal family are able to recognize and participate in community and local events in every part of the UK, from the opening of new buildings to celebrations or acts of commemoration. Therefore, Royal Family plays a positive and gracious role in British society. However, there are some British royal family private photos were published in the public, and those photos have a negative effect on Royal family’s image. Some people suggested that those behaviors are actually invaded Royal family’s privacy.But there are some people said that the British royal family is the public figures, and their photos should not belong to infringement. But I have to say that when they got back home to have a meal, sleep and make friends, etc, they also just an ordinary people, who are same as all of people’s life. Therefore, the British media should not publish the photos of the Royal family. Then the other side of this issue would be discussed in the following. That is Royal family were born in an unusual family, destined to their life would be revealed by the media.In other words, our world is fairness, they can enjoy the supreme honor; they can receive ten thousand people’ respect and admiration; they can enjoy the most luxurious life, etc. However, their private life is facing constantly exposure and revelation. Some of common things just connect with them that will be focused on, and will become the hot topic in public to talk about. In fact, some of their private photos should publish, because public figures should be actively influenced people and accept the supervision of the people.Some of photos can reflect their personal life, and their positive image can inspire the next generation. In contrast, some negative images or some bad way of life should not publish. Because those pictures would influence the images of the Royal family in people’s mind, especially have a negative effect on children. Therefore, private photos of the Royal family should be allowed to publish. All in all, according to the discussion of this issue from two aspects, I think no one opinion is absolutely right. Although the British Royal family is public figure, they also common persons; their privacy should also be protected by the law.Everyone has the right to protect their own privacy and the media should not just for benefits or media value to exposure everything regardless of privacy of people. In contrast, their identity particularity cause that they were born by all the atten tion. And their behavior always to a large extent affects to young people's behavior, so the media should expose a part of their privacy to the public so that they set a good image to the public, whilst, it is requires that the public figures also should be attention their behavior particular in the public. Reference:R. O. Mason (1986), Four ethical issues of the information age, MIS Quarterly, 10 (1) pp. 4–12. (Accessed: 19 October 2012) Gilbert, D (September 14, 2012) After Diana: How can intimate royal snaps be published in France? CNN, [Online]. Available: http://www. cnn. co. uk/2012/09/14/world/europe/france-privacy-law-qa/index. html (Accessed: 19 October 2012) The official website of The British Monarchy, (2007), the role of the Royal Family. [Online]. Available: http://www. royal. gov. uk/MonarchUK/HowtheMonarchyworks/TheroleoftheRoyalFamily. aspx [Online]. Available:

The Debate Over Toulmin Essay Topics

The Debate Over Toulmin Essay Topics Writing an essay is a great means of developing your communication and research abilities. Proposal essays are typical in company and science classes and professions, but are also practical for a variety of distinct disciplines. Thus, it's important to read corresponding formatting guide. It is an impossible task to produce the powerful, persuasive paper or speech without understanding how to compose a great argumentative essay. Your essay needs to have a logical conclusion. In a nutshell, an argument essay has to be logical from starting to end. Essay writing per se is no simple endeavor to do. Moral argumentative essay topics are a few of the simplest to get carried away with. Every argumentative essay should depend on a topic that may be debated. Writing an argumentative essay can at times be confusing since you don't necessarily understand how to compose a convincing argument. Writing a persuasive, argumentative essay can be challenging, and at times it can find a little confusing. The Basics of Toulmin Essay Topics To put it simply, a proposal essay identifies an issue and suggests a remedy to that issue. The range of paragraphs equals the number of arguments. The 3 methods of argument structure have similarities in addition to differences. An argumentative essay example will reveal the should possess some important components which make it better in the practice of convincing. One of the greatest methods to change anybody's mind is with an emotional investment. The first thing you're likely to have to do is to pick a topic that has more than one clear side. If you really need to get individuals to find things your way, you want to convince them with evidence and facts. The issue is that everybody's interpretation of what makes a great society differs. Toulmin arguments consider the intricate nature of the majority of situations. In order to genuinely convince readers of your perspective, the argumentative essay must also check at the opposing views. Remember that it is based more on facts as opposed to emotion. Any very good task finishes with a good conclusion and the very best examples of the argumentative essay will arrive in with a conclusion which has an overview of all of the points together with a gist of the evidences provided. What to Expect From Toulmin Essay Topics? When it has to do with writing an argumentative essay, the most crucial issue to do is to select a topic and an argument you may really get behind. A great method to tell if your topics is an argument topic is to see whether you can debate your topic wo rking with the info you find. To begin with, you will select a subject of interest. When you are requested to select a great topic for your argument, start with something you're acquainted with. It is essential to decide on a great topic so as to compose a fantastic paper. If you're in a college and wish to compose an argumentative essay, you should select a subject of high importance. The student should investigate a topic, evaluate evidence, collect, generate, and set a standpoint on the subject in a powerful and concise way. Inspiration to make your own advertising or media argumentative essay topics isn't tough to discover. An argumentative essay requires you to choose a topic and have a position on it. Deciding on an emotional topic is also an excellent idea. Professional essay writers at 5staressays can help you, in the event you're looking for specialists to guide you. You spend a good deal of education on writing argumentative essays. While working on an argumentative essay, you must collect all time-tested sources to show your awareness of a specific matter. Besides general knowledge you have regarding this issue, you won't mind dedicating some opportunity to research, writing procedure, and other things essential for the high-quality essay. The cost of an essay is dependent upon the quantity of effort the writer has to exert. You may continue to keep your argumentative essays for your upcoming job portfolio in case they're highly graded. It is crucial to check reviews about essay writing services in order to be confident they can deliver your task before the deadline. The Toulmin System, an important facet of a well-planned paper, ought to be studied carefully.

The DaVitas Strategy and Reinforcement of Culture and Values Free Essay Example, 750 words

According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that in order to be successful in his quest for transformation, Thiry, the C. E.O of DaVita had to lay emphasis on values and culture. The reason for this is simple and open; since values define what we are or stand for; it is prudent to employ some particular values in the quest for change. Culture, on the other hand, determines what we become in terms of our livelihood and way of doing things. For this reason, Thiry had to focus heavily on culture and its ability to cause change. By laying emphasis on employee team player attitude and loyalty towards the company, Thiry was certain that as teammates they could achieve the transformation easily and quickly. Additionally, the culture of one for all, all for one made the teammates feel responsible and owed to each other. This had the effect of cementing the bond between employees and this way they can achieve their goal together and faster. It is imperative to note that wo rkplace culture and values dictate the way activities run by any firm. We will write a custom essay sample on The DaVitas Strategy and Reinforcement of Culture and Values or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page These strategies guided the behavior and the Company s beliefs. Among other reinforcement, measures were the university s way of ensuring uniformity in comprehending, communication, methods of management and development of leadership skills. According to DaVita s organizational culture, management is vital and thereby need to ensure the right thing happens, create lasting relationships, and lay emphasis on execution. Moreover, the absolute definition of purpose, relentless push for success, unquestioned accountability, and celebration of success remain true to their values and culture.