Destination Branding - Application of Product Marketing Principles to Place Marketing in the ‘GREAT Britain – You’re Invited’ Marketing Campaign

With increasing competition, destinations are vying with each other to create a positive image and personality to gain a competitive advantage. Consumers today are better connected and well informed due to the online travel revolution. They play a more active role and technology players like Facebook are becoming a necessary partner for the travel industry. This high internet usage and increased interaction over social media changes the way branding and marketing is managed and executed. The power of branding can be seen across varied industries and the tourism sector is no different. So far there have been extensive research and studies about marketing principles and their application to tangible goods and intangible services. There has also been a growing interest in the application of these principles to successfully brand tourist destinations, regions, cities and in fact entire countries. This report looks at what has been published about branding a destination vis-à-vis branding a product; its complexity and limitations shall be explored on the basis of the nature of the industry and the current industry analysis. The importance of studying this particular topic was felt after carrying out a thorough industry analysis for the travel industry in UK, which provided insight into the current scenario and difficulties being faced by firms within the sector. In these times of economic instability it has become all the more competitive and essential for destinations to be branded in order to highlight their unique selling proposition; which could potentially attract more travellers and contribute positively towards the industry revenue stream as well as the region’s GDP. Since London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games, there has been a conscious effort and plan to utilise this globally popular event to showcase Britain as a favourable tourism and business destination. Various marketing plans have been put in place by the tourism bodies, with consistent support from the Prime Minister. The campaign launched towards achieving the desired destination branding has a simple proposition of ‘GREAT Britain – You’re Invited’. It has been designed to increase the number of travellers visiting the nation as well as build the aspiration value of travelling to the United Kingdom. Other concomitant effects of the resulting increase in visitors would obviously be purely economic with positive impacts on revenue and employment levels of the country. This particular marketing campaign will be analysed on the basis of the aforementioned literature review on the subject

Destination Branding - Application of Product Marketing Principles to Place Marketing in the ‘GREAT Britain – You’re Invited’ Marketing Campaign

With increasing competition, destinations are vying with each other to create a positive image and personality to gain a competitive advantage. Consumers today are better connected and well informed due to the online travel revolution. They play a more active role and technology players like Facebook are becoming a necessary partner for the travel industry. This high internet usage and increased interaction over social media changes the way branding and marketing is managed and executed. The power of branding can be seen across varied industries and the tourism sector is no different. So far there have been extensive research and studies about marketing principles and their application to tangible goods and intangible services. There has also been a growing interest in the application of these principles to successfully brand tourist destinations, regions, cities and in fact entire countries. This report looks at what has been published about branding a destination vis-à-vis branding a product; its complexity and limitations shall be explored on the basis of the nature of the industry and the current industry analysis. The importance of studying this particular topic was felt after carrying out a thorough industry analysis for the travel industry in UK, which provided insight into the current scenario and difficulties being faced by firms within the sector. In these times of economic instability it has become all the more competitive and essential for destinations to be branded in order to highlight their unique selling proposition; which could potentially attract more travellers and contribute positively towards the industry revenue stream as well as the region’s GDP. Since London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games, there has been a conscious effort and plan to utilise this globally popular event to showcase Britain as a favourable tourism and business destination. Various marketing plans have been put in place by the tourism bodies, with consistent support from the Prime Minister. The campaign launched towards achieving the desired destination branding has a simple proposition of ‘GREAT Britain – You’re Invited’. It has been designed to increase the number of travellers visiting the nation as well as build the aspiration value of travelling to the United Kingdom. Other concomitant effects of the resulting increase in visitors would obviously be purely economic with positive impacts on revenue and employment levels of the country. This particular marketing campaign will be analysed on the basis of the aforementioned literature review on the subject

Vertical Hydroponic Farming with Technology

The rising world population is posing threats to global   food security. The problem is more serious in urban areas where there is scarcity of farming land and water. Further, global  warming  is  making  it  more and more difficult to plant crops in  an  uncontrolled  environment. In  traditional soil based farming method,  farmers  require good quality of soil with natural minerals. Soil based farming consumes more resources such as water, fertilizers and space. It also requires  higher working  cost for tilling  and  removal  of  weeds.     Hydroponic  farming   is  a  soilless  urban   market gardening   technique  that  aims  at  providing  fresh   farm products,  at  low  costs mainly in urban areas. It has the potential of alleviating  food security challenges. However, this  practice  requires  constant  monitoring  of  the    farm environment.     Falling prices of advanced microcontroller boards and sensors is making it possible to control and monitor a farm without or with less human intervention.     And wireless sensing makes this even more convenient and less messier

Rarest variations of ectopic pregnancy: an obstetrician's dilemma

Ectopic pregnancy is an important cause of morbidity and mortality which has always proven to be a challenge to obstetricians. Increased usage of artificial reproductive techniques has not only increased tubal ectopic pregnancies but also other rarer forms of ectopic pregnancies. With newer diagnostic and therapeutic tools, chance of early detection and intervention has increased many fold. Conservative treatment options have also gained importance. Here we discuss 3 peculiar types of rare ectopic pregnancies-heterotopic pregnancy, caesarean scar ectopic pregnancy and rudimentary horn ectopic pregnancy- and their treatment options.

A rare case of spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in a pregnant female managed conservatively

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a rare syndrome, characterized by cystic enlargement of the ovaries and a fluid shift from the intravascular to the third space due to ovarian neo-angiogenesis and increased capillary permeability. It is generally iatrogenic, occurring due to administration of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) during assisted reproductive techniques. Spontaneous form of OHSS is so rare that is easy to confuse the diagnosis of spontaneous OHSS with other causes. Only few cases have been reported in literature where OHSS was seen without prior stimulation from any exogenous hormones. Here we present a case of spontaneous OHSS in a 30-year-old Indian female who was 5 weeks pregnant. Since there was no history of hormone stimulation before/during this pregnancy, ovarian carcinoma instead of OHSS was thought to be the primary diagnosis. There was presence of breathlessness, ascites and bilateral ovarian masses with raised CA-125. A battery of tests and investigations, the diagnosis of moderate OHSS was made after excluding all other causes. The patient was managed conservatively and her symptoms improved with time. Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is generally suspected strongly in patients undergoing infertility treatment whenever there is 3rd space accumulation of fluid or increase in number of follicles in ovary. However, rarely spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome can be considered as differential diagnosis in cases where no other causes can be found for presence of abdominal pain, nausea-vomiting, ascites, pleural effusion and enlargement of ovaries specially if the patient is pregnant. Due to increased vascular permeability in such cases along with extravascular loss of fluid, there is intravascular hypovolemia. If the diagnosis is missed, there may be risk of unnecessary interventions and morbidity in such patients. Strict monitoring of patient in hospital is required. In most cases of mild to moderate OHSS only conservative management is needed while in severe cases, intensive care unit (ICU) admission may be necessary

Study of maternal deaths with COVID-19 infection in a tertiary care centre

Background: COVID-19 has been a major speed braker not only for world economy and development but also for health sector. The susceptible population including elderly, co-morbid adults and pregnant females were likewise affected in both major COVID-19 waves in India. Association between COVID-19 cases and pregnancy has been studied throughout the world.COVID-19 is associated with substantial risk of morbidity and mortality in postpartum patients and their infants world-wide, compared with their not-infected pregnant counter-parts, especially if these individuals were symptomatic or have comorbidities.Methods: This single-centre prospective observational study, included all consecutive maternal mortalities with COVID-19 infection admitted to Lokmanya Tilak municipal medical college and general hospital (Mumbai, India), a tertiary referral hospital, from 1 April 2020, to June 2021.In this study, a total of 390 patients were included who were found COVID-19 positive during the study period and 17 patients who died during their admission in hospital. The relation of risk factors and demographics were studied for all the patients.Results: The COVID-19 related maternal mortality was more in women of age group 20-30 years (89%). Most women presented to our centre with complaints of fever, cough, cold or breathlessness (55.5%). Patients who succumbed to COVID-19 were mostly primiparous patients (52.9%) and died within 5 days of delivery (46%). 64% of patients died following 5 days of diagnosis of COVID-19.The co-morbidity present in most patients with COVID-19 associated maternal mortality was pre-eclampsia (31.5%). Most patients were referred with only 17% patients registered at our centre and the type of delay involved in management was mostly Type 1 and 2 (82.2%)Conclusions: Multi-centre retrospective analysis with larger population size is required in order for this to be statistically significant

A rare life-threatening rectus sheath haematoma in post lower segment cesarean section patient: a case report

Rectus sheath hematoma is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication following any major abdominal surgery. The nonspecific nature and lower incidence of this disorder may cause a delay in the diagnosis, and can often be misdiagnosed as a cause of acute abdomen. A rectus sheath hematoma consists of blood accumulating between the rectus abdominis muscle and the rectus sheath. It is most frequently due to a hemorrhage from the superior or inferior epigastric artery or any non-specific bleeder or a direct tear in the muscle itself. It has many specific risk factors such as local trauma, coagulopathies, anticoagulant use, severe coughing, hypertension, and peripheral vascular disease. In this case, the patient presented with rectus sheath hematoma following cesarean section on the 10th post-operative day. She presented with a history of fall followed by lower abdominal pain. Clinical suspicion and ultrasonography were used to confirm the diagnosis and the patient was managed with exploration and hematoma drainage. Its early diagnosis and management helped to prevent hazardous complications

A prospective study of maternal and fetal outcome in patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and COVID-19 infection in a tertiary care center

Background: During the current COVID-19 epidemic, managing pregnant patients is an issue. Pregnant women with coronavirus infection have an increased risk of miscarriage, preclampsia, caesarean delivery, and neonatal mortality. The additive effect of COVID-19 infection and preclampsia in pregnancy may affect the fetal and maternal outcome in a more complicated way. There have been only a few studies till now to observe the combined effect of both in pregnancy. Our study aims to observe and analyse the maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancy complicated by preclampsia and COVID-19 infection.Methods: This is a prospective study at a tertiary referral facility. This research included women with hypertension who were hospitalized for delivery and screened for SARS-RTPCR using a nasopharyngeal swab from April 2020 to September 30, 2021. The maternal and neonatal outcomes were studied and analyzed.Results: In our study of 65 women with COVID-19 infection and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, about 6 (9.2%) had eclampsia, 6 (9.2%) had abruptio placenta, 5 (7.6%) had DIC, 3 (4.6%) had HELLP, 2 (3.07%) had acute kidney injury, 2 (3.07%) had ARDS, and 1 (1.5%) had PRESS. 4 (6.1%) had chronic hypertension. Further, 12 (18.4%) of patients needed ICU admission with ventilatory support; about 5 (7.6%) was the rate of maternal deaths in our study. 43 (65%) of neonates were appropriate for gestational age, while 20 (32%) were low birth weight and 2 (3%) were extremely low birth weight. 45% of women with preclampsia develop complications.Conclusions: Our study concluded that complications from preclampsia are more common in women with COVID-19 infection, but a larger sample size is necessary for statistical significance