Marketing Strategy for Zoo

Marketing Strategy for Zoo Introduction Malaysia has many tourist attraction places. Zoo is a place where captive wild animals and extinct animals are kept and exhibited to visitors. It brings strange and fascinating animals from far and near to the tourists. Zoo Negara literally is the National Zoo in Malaysia. It was officially opened to public in 14 Nov 1963 by our first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. This zoological park is located in Ulu Klang near Taman Melawati on the north-east of Kuala Lumpur which covers 110 acres of land. The National Zoo is managed by the Malaysian Zoological Society (MZS), a non-government organization. The zoo has a total of over 5137 animals from 459 species of mammals, bird, reptiles, amphibians and fish. With the time passing by, the zoo has transformed itself into an open-concept zoo with 90% of its animals are kept in spacious exhibits with having natural landscape. Another 10% of our animals are from the African and American continent. The National Zoo is 46 years now. They are wor king to make sure the old zoo concept is changed entirely and trying move forward as a well known zoo around the world. When the National Zoo has arisen as a well known zoo around the world, it will have a higher reputation and it attracts more tourists. (http://www.zoonegara.org.my/zoo.html). The Role of Marketing Marketing plays an important role within most of the organization and the society. It is an essential department in whether the organizations operate as a non-profit or for profit business. Marketing is needed to attract customers to support the zoo, raising awareness and donations. Marketing also acts as a communication between the organization and the public. It is a way of conveying the messages and changes the behavior of the people to have a better environment in the society. The purpose of marketing is to improve the perception of the society towards the zoo and transform it into a recognizable zoo worldwide. Marketing mix is a set of tools that management used to influence sales (Kotler, 2003). The 4Ps is a traditional method which is product, price, place and promotion. Product can be anything to be offered to a market for sales including services that can satisfy a customers needs and wants (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). The national zoo has 5137 animals from 459 species of m ammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and fishes (Zoo Negara, 2009). They had been trying to keep up with the other zoos by buying or accepting animals from across the world. The recent arrival of new animal is a male giraffe. The variety of different animals and species is what differentiate them from other local zoos. There are a few factors that affect price setting. The zoo needs to consider about competitors, the cost of running it and their objectives. Customers tend to go to the cheaper and money saving places. The zoo offers cheaper rates for the locals comparing to foreigners, groups, senior citizen and the schools. Place as defined by Kotler and Armstrong (2006) is a set of independent organizations involved in the process of making a product available for the customers. The national zoo was known as â€Å"Zoo in the Jungle† as it was located 8miles from the city and said it was too far (Zoo Negara, 2007). However, this location had been developed and a new city has b een born. People had found it an ease to go as public transports is available. Promotion is defined as sales promotion, advertising, personal selling, public relations and direct marketing (Borden, 1984). The zoo had been trying to attract more customers to increase the revenue to support the zoo. They have Savannah Walk and Zoo Negara Bear Complex to host personal functions such as birthdays and family day. They have a special Valentines Day promotion and the zoo was included in the governments program of promoting the country. Social In 2007, Zoo Negara had1608 schools which is about 78400 students to visit. The zoo is a good example place to educate those students to know more about animal knowledge. This large making profit zoo has to upgrade their system and provide more services to comply with the increasing demand. The zoo does provide guided tour on the zoo tram and this support by college and university volunteer to give more understanding for those students. This service is free of charge. Zoo Negara also has an aquarium named Akuarium Tunku Abdul Rahman (ATAR). It is one of the oldest public aquariums in this country. It provides different type of animal information to the student and the public. Zoo not only has indoor activity, they are also co-operating with external marketing team name Global Soft Marketing to organize events in Selangor schools. They offer a wide variety of program such as talks, animal appearances, coloring contest and quiz. The education department continues to receive undergradua tes from institution of higher learning or university for their practical training in the zoo. The zoo is the place for them to do their undergraduate and post-graduate research thesis. This is more convenient for them as the zoo has many varieties of animals and the tools for it are available. The education department also has responsibility in organizing monthly seminar. They can invite universities and schools to attend these sponsored seminars which are open for public. Topics that have been covered in year 2007 include â€Å"The Global Amphibian Decline†, â€Å"Animal Management An Islamic Perspective†, â€Å"Save the Synchronous Fireflies†, â€Å"Hand Rearing of Hyenas† and many more. Zoo Negara has a Veterinary Hospital to take care of the animals and thus it gives the students great opportunity to do research from the lab. Economics Zoo Negaras income had increased significantly in year 2007, 10.49 million compare with 9.13 million in year 2006. It showed that the Zoo Negara contributed in improving the economics of the country and earning money for government. Besides that, they used manpower to upgrade their system or service. This will decrease the percentage of unemployment. Zoo Negara promotes Valentines Day celebration too where registered couples were taken for a visit around the zoo and then for a set dinner in the vicinity.This will attracts more visitors from foreign country to have this chance to experience the Valentines Day with a different and yet unique environment. This is one of the steps taken by the zoo management to increase the revenue and contribute to the countrys income. Besides that, Night Zoo also aids in improving the economic because of foreign visitor especially if the zoo co-operate with the travel company to create interesting tourists packages. Zoo Negara is included in the Progra m Zoom 2009, Malaysia. One of the reasons why are the zoo is included because it is an important heritage of Malaysia. It is getting famous as it is being promoted by the Government of Malaysia. This promotion comes with a name called Fun with Nature and also offers Zoo Negara loyalty card. Customer The zoo develops a certain target market, demographically, in terms of age, generation and occupation. The zoo now mainly markets itself to the younger generations or working families. Now the zoo has a purpose in their target markets, usually on younger generation (generation X, Y and Z), this is to educate them on the natural habitat of flora and fauna as they are the next in line to manage the community. In actual fact, younger generations bring a big impact in increasing the sales per annum of the Zoo. Without children and teenagers, parents might not even find the reason to pay a visit to the Zoo. A recent activity has begun attracting locals to the zoo, stated in the article http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/11/27/central/5109363sec=central . This article also stated that a survey was conducted due to a poor number of visitors in the year 2006. It was concluded that many local visitors found the entry fee of the zoo was too expensive. The recent price slash down to 50%, had a positive impact on the number of visitors. However, over 70% of the visitors are locals not foreigners. On the other hand, the Zoo has worked in conjunction with the KL HoHo Bus (Hop on and Hop off), this bus makes various stops at tourist destinations area around Kuala Lumpur including the Zoo Negara. The article also stated that ticket price has increased few months back, due to in lack of contributions from the government and sponsors. 80% of the ticket sales go straight into the zoos finances. Overall in terms of meeting customers needs, the zoo is not up to par yet. It only focuses on local visitors while casting the foreigners aside, special rates for visiting families and the ease of transportation should be implemented for both visitors. Visitors play an important role in the Zoos development. If there are lesser visitors, it will result in smaller turnover. When turnovers are smaller, funds might be insufficient to support and manage the Zoo. In event of this, the animals might not have enough to eat or they may not be able to do maintenance to attract more visitors. Competition Competitions among the other zoos located in Malaysia are rather steep. The Zoo Negara, Kuala Lumpur has a better location and in terms in size, it out beats the other zoos in Malaysia. As the Zoo Negara is the biggest zoo in Malaysia, so they are able to keep more species of animals compared to the other zoos, example the Zoo Malacca or the Zoo Taiping and Night Safari. A smaller zoo does bring an impact because they cannot compete with the other bigger zoos to care for more animals and also to cater to visitors need. Partnerships with other tourist attraction companies made a positive impact on the zoo. Such as the partnership with the Kuala Lumpur HoHo Double-decker bus, helps the locals and foreigners to access the zoo with ease, this scenario is stated in the article http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/11/27/central/5109363sec=central. Even though there is a price competition between the zoos in Malaysia are incomparable because the entry fee of Zoo Negara is pricie r than other the zoos, Zoo Negara still manages to attract tourists by conducting various activities such as zoo marathon, photo competitions and fishing competitions. This gives the zoo a leg ahead from the others, not only attracting youths but also adults. Zoo Negara manages to sustain its differentiation for a long period of time by coming up with packages and discounts while maintaining its position within the market which is stated in http://www.mymalaysiablog.com/malaysia-zoom-zoo-negara-and-visit-zoo-negara-year-2009/ . Therefore, prices of the tickets for sale have to be more reasonable to fulfil the requirements of visitors hence to lower impact brought to the zoo. References Philip Kotler, 2003, Marketing Insights From A to Z: 80 Concepts Every Manager Needs To Know, John Wiley Sons, USA Philip Kotler Gary Armstrong, 2004, Principles of Marketing, 10th Edition, Pearson Education, USA Philip Kotler Gary Amstrong, 2006, Principles of marketing, 11th Edition, Pearson International, USA Zoo Negara, 2007, A Journey Through Time, retrieved on 30th December 2009, from http://www.zoonegara.org.my/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Journeythroughtime.pdf Neil. H. Borden, 1984, The Concept of Marketing Mix, Journal of Advertising Research, 1 (9), 2-7. Zhin, C.M., (2009) ‘Special Discounts for Locals at Tourist Spots, The Star Online, 27th Nov. [Online] (Accessed : 20th Dec 2009) Available at :http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/11/27/central/5109363sec=central%20. Malaysia Zoom! Zoo Negara and Visit Zoo Negara Year 2009, (19th Jan 2009). [Online] (Accessed : 20th Dec 2009) Available at :http://www.mymalaysiablog.com/malaysia-zoom-zoo-negara-and-visit-zoo-negara-year-2009/

Ike Wister Turner

Ike Wister Turner came into this world on November 5, 1931. He was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk. He is most popularly known for his 1960s work with his then wife Tina Turner in the Ike & Tina Turner revue. As a teenager in high school he led his own music group, the Kings of Rhythm. He employed the group as his backing band for the rest of his life. His first recording, â€Å"Rocket 88† with the Kings of Rhythm credited as â€Å"Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats†, in 1951, is considered a possible contender for â€Å"first rock and roll song†. Relocating to St. Louis, Missouri in 1954, he built the Kings into one of the most renowned acts on the local club circuit. It was there he met singer Anna Mae Bullock, whom he married and renamed Tina Turner, forming the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which over the course of the sixties became a soul/rock crossover success. Throughout his career Turner won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for three others. Alongside his former wife, Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and in 2001 was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Allegations by Tina Turner in her autobiography of her abusive relationship with Turner and the film adaptation of this coupled with his cocaine addiction damaged Turner's career in the 1980s and 1990s. He claims to have spent more than $100,000 on coke in a two-month period in 1989 . Addicted to cocaine and crack for at least 15 years, â€Å"I was on a 15-year party,† he says. â€Å"This hole in my nose was so bad that when I would go to sleep, it would be hurtin' so much that I would be tryin' to get my hand up behind my eyeballs†¦ Pain. The first thing I'd want to do when I got up was get cocaine and put it in my nose. That would deaden the pain. † Turner was convicted of drug offenses, serving seventeen months in prison between July 1989 and 1991. He spent the rest of the 1990s free of his addiction. Near the end of his life, he returned to live performance as a front man and produced two albums returning to his blues roots, which were critically well received and award-winning. Turner has frequently been referred to as a ‘great innovator' of Rock and Roll by contemporaries such as Little Richard and Johnny Otis. Phil Alexander (then editor-in-chief of Mojo magazine) described Turner as ‘the cornerstone of modern day rock ‘n' roll'. He spent the 1990s free of his addiction, but relapsed in 2004. Ike Turner was found dead of an accidental cocaine over dead on December 12 2007 at his home in San Marcos in San Diego County.

Mcdonald’s in China

McDonald’s: Is China Lovin' it? Executive Summary This case studies McDonald’s’ business model as it develops to achieve success in the Chinese market. Issues addressed included how to retain McDonald’s’ image of cultural Americana, yet adapt to satisfy pallets and appeal to patrons in Chinese culture. 1. What is the purpose of conducting an external environmental analysis? What are the general environmental forces that could influence or have influenced McDonald’s development in China?The purpose of conducting an external environmental analysis is to obtain information on the forces outside of a company that will help to determine how the company will operate. A successful company cannot operate only in its internal environment and must be aware of the external factors that will further shape the business. Company strategies must take these factors into account in order to match their internal strengths and weaknesses with their external thr eats and opportunities. With McDonald’s expansion in China, external environmental factors did play a key role.One major environmental force came from American company KFC. KFC entered China in 1987 and it was important for McDonald’s to analyze the factors that had been successful and unsuccessful at KFC. Another environmental force that played a large role in McDonald’s growth in China was local Chinese quick service restaurants where customers could buy local cuisines such as noodles and dumplings. Other pertinent environmental factors that McDonald’s was forced to address in China were the effects of the growing middle class and a more affluent population.This lead to other types of local and foreign restaurants attempts to capitalize on this growing wealth, generating further competition. The external environment has also shown force by consumers demanding higher standards in the McDonald’s restaurants as well as resistance to the restaurantsà ¢â‚¬â„¢ high prices. Buyers’ desires also affected the external environment, which caused McDonald’s to increase operating hours to 24 hours, implement home delivery service and drive thrus in many location.Suppliers were integral elements of the external environment as well and McDonald’s grew to source 95% of their food from local growers and suppliers. 2. Based on the external environmental analysis, what are the opportunities and threats presented to McDonald’s operations in China? The external environmental analysis reveals several opportunities in China on which McDonald’s can capitalize. Annual per-capita disposable income has increased an average of 22. 18% for urban households and 64. 62% for rural households per year over the last 20 years.The general trend during this time has been movement from rural to urban population centers where disposable incomes are higher[i]. The increase in disposable incomes has helped contribute to the fast f ood industry boom. These trends promise to continue as the Chines economy evolves. Tier pricing can be leveraged to help McDonald’s reach customers of different income levels in locations at different levels of development. Additionally, as the Chinese economy continues to develop, improvements to local infrastructure may create opportunities for an improved supply chain.As of 2006, 95% of materials used by McDonald’s in China were locally sourced. McDonald’s will likely benefit as local suppliers employ more advanced technology and management processes. There are also untapped opportunities for franchising. China created the legal structure for foreign franchisors in 2004 and, as of February 2007, only one of the 879 McDonald’s restaurants in China was franchised while KFC, their largest competitor, franchised 37 of their 1700 restaurants. Increasing the number of franchisees will allow McDonald’s to expand to new locations while minimizing risk.I n addition to expanding their franchising operations, McDonald’s has opportunities to take advantage of changing Chinese preferences by expanding store innovations and local partnerships. Drive-thrus, 24-hour restaurants, delivery, and even more upscale casual dining restaurants may help the chain improve their appeal with young people as would further partnerships like that created with Taobao. com in 2007. Several threats were also revealed by the external analysis including intense competition in the Chinese fast food market from both foreign and local chains.McDonald’s was a relatively late entrant to the market allowing competitor KFC to enjoy first mover advantages. Because barriers to entry are relatively low several other foreign chains have expanded to China including Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, and Japan’s Mo’s Burgers and Ajisen Ramen. Local chains including Malan Noodles, Hong Kong’s Cafe de Coral, and Taiwan’s Dicos contribu te to an intensely competitive market. The threat of new entrants remains and, as Chinese industries become more advanced and familiar with Western management and operations practices, is significant.McDonald’s operations in China may also be threatened by new trends in the casual dining industry and rising expectations of customers who may be less willing to pay luxury prices for what they are learning many Americans consider a downscale product. Finally, increasing social criticism over health, environmental, and wage concerns will also pose a threat to McDonald’s in the future. 3. Discuss the five forces of the industry environment of McDonald’s China and comment on the competitiveness of the company in relation to each of these forces.Michael Diamond’s Five Forces Model of Competition includes the following forces: Existing competitive rivalry between suppliers: There are many fast food options in China. McDonald’s is the second largest fast fo od provider and their primary rival is Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Other competitors in China in the fast food industry include noodle and dumpling stalls. Local Chinese restaurants sell light and simple food such as noodles, dumplings, wantons, and steamed bread, which are all becoming part of the fast food culture in China. Rivalry is a strong competitive force.Threat of new market entrants: After numerous attempts in the 1990s by various local and regional Chinese fast food chains, some successful and some not so successful, many companies could not compete in this environment. In the mid-2000s, new market entrants into the Chinese fast food industry were U. S. -based Burger King, and Subway and Japan’s Mo’s Burger. Themed restaurants and Starbucks also entered the mix of new entrants. Although these new entrants offer a different experience, the growing middle class of China still wants McDonald’s to be a Western brand. The threat of new entrants is a mode rate competitive force.Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers do not have any switching costs. The buyers just simply go to a different fast food restaurant, a traditional Chinese meal served on communal plates, or cook at home. Buyers can purchase from several sellers. Buyers are a strong competitive force because they have a lot of leverage. McDonald’s has recognized this and has offered tiered pricing, altered their menu, trained their staff to ensure quality and consistency, and updated their decor. Power of suppliers: McDonald’s set up its own internal supply network to sell to both the domestic and export markets.Chinese partners created joint ventures with McDonald’s and strengthened McDonald’s supply chain. The supply chain created by McDonald’s has created 95% of the materials needed. It would be costly for McDonald’s to switch suppliers because of the joint venture that they entered into with their Chinese partners. This makes the supp liers a strong competitive force. Threat of Substitute Products: Many substitute products exist in the fast food arena. If you look at McDonald’s as a hamburger fast food restaurant, substitute products would be noodles, dumplings, sandwiches, chicken, and pizza.Traditional Chinese restaurants and home cooked meals are also substitutes to the McDonald’s hamburger. There is a vast array of substitute products available for the Chinese consumer. This makes substitute products a moderate competitive force. 4. What are the strategic groups in the fast-food industry in China? In which strategic group does McDonald’s China compete most in China. A strategic group as defined by Michael Porter is â€Å"a group of firms in an industry following the same or similar strategy along strategic dimensions†.In other words, a Strategic Group (SG) is a group of businesses that function in a similar way with respect to specialization and vertical integration. The strategic groups in the fast-food industry in China all have the following characteristics in common: fast food, efficient self-service, standardized servings and systems, less reliance on utensils, clean/comfortable atmosphere, and local menu additions. McDonald’s obviously excels at all of these characteristics world-wide and took it a step further by promoting the Western traditions by marketing the â€Å"Window to the West†.This particular type of western-influenced fast-food is the primary strategic group that McDonald’s competes in even today. Western-influenced fast food was not new when McDonald’s arrived on the scene as KFC arrived in 1987, a full five years ahead of McDonald’s. KFC did so well that their success lured McDonald’s and Pizza Hut to follow suit beginning in 1990. However, â€Å"fast-food† in China wasn’t new when KFC entered China as they had noodle and dumpling stalls. KFC, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut all want ed to capitalize on the rapidly-expanding middle-class economy in China with their new-found increasing disposable income.KFC was able to do this the best as their primary offering is chicken-based whereas both McDonald’s and Pizza Hut had to add local dishes to go along with their mostly-beef menu. All three of the western brands (KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut) were considered luxury-type restaurants and as such were able to charge higher prices as well. Fast forward to present times, according to William Mellor of the Bloomberg Markets Magazine[ii] we see that Yum! Brands now has 3,200 KFC’s and 500 Pizza Hut’s in China whereas McDonald’s is striving to get to 2,200 stores by 2013.As you can see, KFC and Pizza Hut are well ahead of McDonald’s in terms of penetrating the Chinese market but that isn’t deterring McDonald’s from moving forward. ———————– [i] Ko, Stephen. McDonal d’s: Is China Lovin’ It? Asia Case Research Centre. The University of Hong Kong. December 2, 2008. [ii] Mellor, William. McDonald’s No Match for KFC in China as Colonel Rules Fast Food, Bloomberg Markets Magazine. January 26, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011 from http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2011-01-26/mcdonald-s-no-match-for-kfc-in-china-where-colonel-sanders-rules-fast-food. html.

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