DOES POSITIONING HAVE A PLACE IN THE MINDS OF OUR STUDENTS?

Positioning is one of the most powerful marketing concepts. At the beginning, the meaning of positioning was rather limited, focusing on the concept of reputation. Then it became ”the place a brand occupies in the mind of its target audience”. Under this meaning , many companies have implemented the concept of positioning as a part of their everyday marketing activities. Nowadays, positioning is being used as a tool for explaining how consumers relate to foreign countries. The concept of positioning is simply to important to be ignored, but does it have a place in our students minds? This paper aims to determine whether we have an evolution or an involution in this matter.marketing, positioning, marketing research

Destination brand positioning slogans - towards the development of a set of accountability criteria

A significant gap in the tourism and travel literature exists in the area of tourism destination branding. While interest in applications of brand theory to practise in tourism is increasing, there is a paucity of published research in the literature to guide destination marketing organisations (DMOs). In particular there have been few reported analyses of destination brand positioning slogans, which represent the interface between brand identity and brand image. Brand positioning is an inherently complex process, exacerbated for DMOs by the politics of decision making. DMOs must somehow capture the essence of a multi-attributed destination community in a succinct and focused positioning slogan, in a way that is both meaningful to the target audience and effectively differentiates the destination from the myriad of competitors offering the same features. Based on a review of the brand positioning literature and an examination of destination slogans used in the USA, Australia and New Zealand, the paper proposes a set of slogan criteria by which a DMO’s marketing manager, political appointees and advertising agency could be held accountable to stakeholders

Apparatus for precision focussing and positioning of a beam waist on a target

The invention relates to optical focussing apparatus and, more particularly, to optical apparatus for focussing a highly collimated Gaussian beam which provides independent and fine control over the focus waist diameter, the focus position both along the beam axis and transverse to the beam, and the focus angle. A beam focussing and positioning apparatus provides focussing and positioning for the waist of a waisted beam at a desired location on a target such as an optical fiber. The apparatus includes a first lens, having a focal plane f sub 1, disposed in the path of an incoming beam and a second lens, having a focal plane f sub 2 and being spaced downstream from the first lens by a distance at least equal to f sub 1 + 10 f sub 2, which cooperates with the first lens to focus the waist of the beam on the target. A rotatable optical device, disposed upstream of the first lens, adjusts the angular orientation of the beam waist. The transverse position of the first lens relative to the axis of the beam is varied to control the transverse position of the beam waist relative to the target (a fiber optic as shown) while the relative axial positions of the lenses are varied to control the diameter of the beam waist and to control the axial position of the beam waist. Mechanical controllers C sub 1, C sub 2, C sub 3, C sub 4, and C sub 5 control the elements of the optical system. How seven adjustments can be made to correctly couple a laser beam into an optical fiber is illustrated. Prior art systems employing optical techniques to couple a laser beam into an optical fiber or other target simply do not provide the seven necessary adjustments. The closest known prior art, a Newport coupler, provides only two of the seven required adjustments

Efficient AoA-based wireless indoor localization for hospital outpatients using mobile devices

The motivation of this work is to help outpatients find their corresponding departments or clinics, thus, it needs to provide indoor positioning services with a room-level accuracy. Unlike wireless outdoor localization that is dominated by the global positioning system (GPS), wireless indoor localization is still an open issue. Many different schemes are being developed to meet the increasing demand for indoor localization services. In this paper, we investigated the AoA-based wireless indoor localization for outpatients’ wayfinding in a hospital, where Wi-Fi access points (APs) are deployed, in line, on the ceiling. The target position can be determined by a mobile device, like a smartphone, through an efficient geometric calculation with two known APs coordinates and the angles of the incident radios. All possible positions in which the target may appear have been comprehensively investigated, and the corresponding solutions were proven to be the same. Experimental results show that localization error was less than 2.5 m, about 80% of the time, which can satisfy the outpatients’ requirements for wayfinding

MARKET SEGMENTATION PRACTICES OF RETAIL CROP INPUT FIRMS

While market segmentation and the associated idea of target marketing are not new, there are questions about how the strategy of market segmentation and target marketing is being used in retail agribusiness firms. Previous research has demonstrated that distinct groups of farmers/customers exist (Alexander). However, retail crop input firms tend to be of modest size and are geographically bound. Both lack of resources and confinement to a specific geographic market present challenges for successful implementation of a market segmentation/target marketing strategy (Stolp). In this study, market segmentation/target marketing practices were explored in two types of crop input retailers: independently owned and operated firms (9 firms) and agricultural cooperatives (11 firms). A number of questions related to market segmentation/target marketing strategy were assessed via a web-based survey and telephone interviews. Referencing Best's seven-step framework, market segmentation is compared and contrasted by firm type; gaps in market segmentation strategy execution are identified; and challenges to implementing a market segmentation strategy are considered. Results show that market segmentation/target marketing was employed by 85% of the crop input retailers in the sample. Key gaps identified in market segmentation strategy execution include measuring market segment attractiveness; evaluating market segment profitability; developing a product-price positioning strategy for a tailored offering; expanding the positioning strategy to include promotional and sales elements of the marketing-mix; and evaluating the progress/success with each target market segment. Addressing these key gaps will aid industry professionals as they work to serve the needs of a continuously evolving farmer/customer base.market segmentation, target marketing, crop inputs, distribution channel, retailer

A TARGET CONSUMER PROFILE AND POSITIONING FOR PROMOTION OF A NEW LOCALLY BRANDED BEEF PRODUCT

This research examines the consumer profile and positioning for a new locally branded beef product. The research involves 413 beef consumers in California. The target consumers for the new locally branded beef product are approximately one-third of beef consumers in the local area. They are older, married, and from higher dual-income households. The target consumers for the new locally branded beef product are likely to have purchased other branded beef products. Approximately one-half of the beef consumers indicated that they make their meat purchase decisions in the store. The characteristics of beef that are important to the consumers when purchasing beef are price, quality, and appearance of the beef. Therefore, competitive pricing, packaging that highlights the product, and point of purchase material that focuses on the brand concept are very important to the positioning and marketing of the new branded beef product.Consumer/Household Economics,