Facebook used as an active marketing channel to expand customer base at a restaurant

The selected restaurant provides Cantonese style Chinese food. However, there has been a significant decrease in customers after opening day. The owner spent on newspaper promotion before opening day. The reality is that only a few people came. Therefore, the owner is looking for advice on the way of increasing his customer base and awareness. The project aims to demonstrate the value of using Facebook as a marketing channel to help a new Chinese restaurant promote itself to the public to increase profit and its customer base. The project gathered a total of 93 questionnaires and one interview by using mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative), followed by a theoretical review to show the owner that Facebook is the most effective channel to increase customer base and awareness. The results show that more than 95% of participants have social media and almost 92% of them have Facebook. 80% of participants agree that the restaurant should have a Facebook account so they can receive promotion and news. In conclusion, Facebook is the most effective and efficient channel to help the business get more attention from the public under the situation

How a Hamilton fast food restaurant can increase their brand awareness

Brand awareness is one of the most important marketing concepts in present times for gaining competitive advantage in an ever-increasing globalized market. For attracting consumers and increasing their purchase intentions, brand awareness is important as it increases knowledge of product offerings and other associated characteristics amongst consumers. The main intent of this research project is to study different ways in which local pizza stores in New Zealand can increase their brand awareness. For accomplishing this purpose, the research project will include a mixed approach where both qualitative and quantitative research methods have been opted. The qualitative method includes an in-depth interview with the manager of the fast food outlet, while the quantitative method includes utilization of survey questionnaires for attaining required information. As far as structure of the research project report is concerned, it will mainly include background of the research, aim and scope of the research, literature review, research methodology, and analysis of the attained data, collected from pie charts and bar graphs. Recommendations include that local pizza stores should exploit social media channels for increasing brand and product awareness

The Rock Concert Experience: The Self-Authentication Process and Wellbeing

The purpose of this research was to understand consumers’ experiences at rock concerts. Growth in the live concert industry over the past 20 years suggests that these experiences provide value that consumers cannot attain through other means. Music fans can stream rock music or watch concerts without cost, while concert tickets are often over $100 each. Marketers need to understand more about the value derived from the live rock concert experience. The researcher gathered data over a period of six months in 2013, utilising three data collection methods: 1) in-depth interviews with eight participants; 2) observation of nine rock concerts; and 3) analysis of responses to concert reviews on news website Stuff.co.nz. Constructivist Grounded Theory guided the research process: theoretical sampling, grounded theory coding, constant comparison, and memo-ing. Findings indicate that consumers derive enhanced wellbeing from attending rock concerts. Consumers want to repeat concert experiences to maintain or further enhance their wellbeing. This could explain why the live music industry is growing rapidly. Findings also indicate authenticity is an important value-providing process to rock concert consumers. Value occurs through two main processes: the co-created experience and the self-authentication process. The band, fans, and the venue co-create the rock concert experience, enabling hedonia and short-term happiness. Fans experience a rock concert as something extraordinary. The extraordinary experience is composed of a utopian atmosphere and a state of transcendence. Fans live out their fantasies of seeing their favourite bands perform, escape from everyday life, and have cathartic experiences. Fans also experience the rock concert as community. Through playing (e.g., dancing, drinking, singing, being in the mosh pit) with like-minded others, fans feel like they belong to a community. Secondly, via the self-authentication process, eudaimonia contributes to wellbeing through lasting meaning. By authenticating the band through its performance and the audience’s communal participation, fans authenticate the concert experience. Through authenticating the experience, and through their own activities in it, fans are able to self-authenticate. Consequently, rock concert experiences are important for the long-term wellbeing of avid rock music fans because they can validate their own identities as rock music fans. In summary, by responding to calls for research into rock concert consumption, this thesis ties together previously fragmented knowledge. The findings and resultant framework explain how hedonic happiness, eudaimonic meaning, extraordinary experiences, and a self-authentication process work together to create short-term and long-term wellbeing for avid rock music consumers. Moreover, the findings and framework suggest how authenticity appears to be a process towards the goal of enhanced wellbeing, rather than being a goal in itself as treated by most marketing scholars

Improving sales consistency

This research is done in order to find a feasible solution to improve sales consistency at a luxury goods store which has fluctuating demand throughout the year. This research is applicable to various stores. Mixed method research has been used in the form of surveys with a sample size of 80, and staff interviews with the assistant manager of the store. On the preliminary research it is clear that people choose to buy jewellery on special occasions and depending on discounts. The sale of jewellery is largely related to the mindset of people towards use of jewellery. A promotion strategy with related steps is to be implemented

Social and Affordable Housing in Thames-Coromandel District

A commissioned report into housing needs of the Thames Coromandel region. Prepared as part of a Research Office Voucher Project. The report examines housing conditions, as well as particularly vulnerable groups in the region in relation to housing

Performance Impact of Deflagration to Detonation Transition Enhancing Obstacles

A sub-model is developed to account for the drag and heat transfer enhancement resulting from deflagration-to-detonation (DDT) inducing obstacles commonly used in pulse detonation engines (PDE). The sub-model is incorporated as a source term in a time-accurate, quasi-onedimensional, CFD-based PDE simulation. The simulation and sub-model are then validated through comparison with a particular experiment in which limited DDT obstacle parameters were varied. The simulation is then used to examine the relative contributions from drag and heat transfer to the reduced thrust which is observed. It is found that heat transfer is far more significant than aerodynamic drag in this particular experiment

Smart CMOS mid-infrared sensor array.

We present a novel single-chip thermopile sensor array for mid-infrared room temperature imaging. The array is fabricated on a single complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) dielectric membrane, composed of single-crystal silicon (Si) p+ and n+ elements, and standard CMOS tungsten metal layers for thermopile cold junction heatsinking, significantly reducing the chip size and simplifying its processing. We demonstrate a 16×16 pixel device with 34 V/W responsivity and enhanced optical absorption in the 8-14 μm waveband, with a suitable performance for gesture recognition and people-counting applications. Our simple, low-cost sensor is an attractive on-chip array for a variety of applications in the mid-infrared spectral region

Peripheral blood derived mononuclear cells enhance the migration and chondrogenic differentiation of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells.

A major challenge in cartilage repair is the lack of chondrogenic cells migrating from healthy tissue into damaged areas and strategies to promote this should be developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of peripheral blood derived mononuclear cell (PBMC) stimulation on mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived from the infrapatellar fat pad of human OA knee. Cell migration was measured using an xCELLigence electronic migration chamber system in combination with scratch assays. Gene expression was quantified with stem cell PCR arrays and validated using quantitative real-time PCR (rtPCR). In both migration assays PBMCs increased MSC migration by comparison to control. In scratch assay the wound closure was 55% higher after 3 hours in the PBMC stimulated test group (P = 0.002), migration rate was 9 times faster (P = 0.008), and total MSC migration was 25 times higher after 24 hours (P = 0.014). Analysis of MSCs by PCR array demonstrated that PBMCs induced the upregulation of genes associated with chondrogenic differentiation over 15-fold. In conclusion, PBMCs increase both MSC migration and differentiation suggesting that they are an ideal candidate for inclusion in regenerative medicine therapies aimed at cartilage repair

Crosstalk Analysis of a CMOS Single Membrane Thermopile Detector Array.

We present a new experimental technique to characterise the crosstalk of a thermopile-based thermal imager, based on bi-directional electrical heating of thermopile elements. The new technique provides a significantly simpler and more reliable method to determine the crosstalk, compared to a more complex experimental setup with a laser source. The technique is used to characterise a novel single-chip array, fabricated on a single dielectric membrane. We propose a theoretical model to simulate the crosstalk, which shows good agreement with the experimental results. Our results allow a better understanding of the thermal effects in these devices, which are at the center of a rising market of industrial and consumer applications