Marketing Analysis Report on Steinway Sons - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1672 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Memo #3: Steinway Sons Kerry Cramer MGT 321.2 Spring 2014 Steinway Sonsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ founder wanted to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“build the best piano possible and sell it with the lowest price consistent with qualityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . In doing so, they are now seen as the leader in the manufacturing of high quality Grand pianos. The company was able to prosper quickly, due to their technical superiority and their solid knowledge of their target market, value proposition, and competitive advantage. Target Market: Steinway Sonsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ target market consisted of two different segments of consumers, private and institutional. The Grand pianos were targeted to wealthy, affluent individuals in the United States, specifically to those with an income over $100,000 and aged 45 and older who were interested in music and looking for something to showcase their wealth. The pianos were also targeted towards musicians, who wanted the best quality instrumen ts. The second segment was institutions, like musical performance halls, hotels, and universities who also wanted the best of the best when it came to musical instruments. Value Proposition: Steinway Sons understands the importance of high quality, superior sounding Grand pianos that individuals and professional musicians alike could consistently count on for providing superior service. All Steinways are assembled by craft methods with little use of assembly-line technique with only the finest materials used and each one has its own unique features and sound. The award winning pianos are seen as being the best in the world and serve as a status symbol representing a high prestige among anyone that owns one. Competitors: Although Steinway Sons face increasing competition from Japanese piano manufacturers like Yamaha and Kawai, as well as U.S competitor, Baldwin, they have remained superior in the production of Grand pianos due to the durability of their product, their innovat ive cross-stringing technique, the high quality materials used, along with the extremely skilled labor who were employed throughout the production process. Unlike their competitors who utilized more automation processes when mass producing their pianos, Steinways were assembled by hand, making each piano unique and building only a limited number of handmade pianos. This allowed them to be able to command higher prices than their competition as well as maintaining the reputation of being the best in the world. Recommendations for Steinway Sons: Product: Steinwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s main product was the Grand piano which is handcrafted and typically takes around two years to produce. Due to the intricate and long process of producing the Grand pianos, the company was able to produce on average, only 3000 pianos in a given year. Steinway increased their product line to include Boston pianos, Limited Editions, and the Crown Jewel Collection. The Boston pianos were designed by Stei nway Sons but manufactured in Japan by Kawai. These pianos sold for about half of a Steinway Grand piano. The Limited Edition Collection was a specially-designed piano, marking the 140th anniversary. It was so successful that they decided to introduce a Limited Edition piano every two years. The Crown Jewel Collection were traditional Steinways that were finished in exotic woods like African pommele or East Indian rosewood and were sold at a premium price of 20-30% more than the traditional Steinways. Steinway is a strong and exclusive brand with a brand identity that majorly focuses on concert Grand pianos. They should continue production of these pianos and continue targeting musicians and musical institutions and universities, while also focusing on differentiating themselves from their competitors. If Steinway wants to keep producing Boston pianos, they should establish it as a different brand, differentiating it from the Steinway brand name. This needs to be clear to the customer that they are two different brands since it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make sense from a branding standpoint for Steinway to design Boston pianos. They should target the emerging Asian market with this piano, while improving the distribution network in these markets through dealers and then by opening their own stores. The Limited Edition pianos were highly successful and they should continue to produce those every two years as well as the Crown Jewel Collection. Steinway should also take advantage of the used piano market that is growing fast by offering trade-ins of used pianos on the purchase of new ones. They can then re-sell used pianos as well as new ones to increase their revenues. Price: Steinwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Grand pianos are at the premium end of the piano market in terms of quality and price. Retail prices in 1996 ranged from $30,000 to $111,000 in the United States. Many factors contributed to this high price. Steinway pianos were assembled by handcraf t methods with limited use of assembly-line techniques which caused the Grand piano to take around two years to manufacture. The piano consists of over 12,000 individual parts and the company had higher costs associated with high quality of raw materials used in the production. Steinway has never reduced their prices, and in keeping with their high quality product, they are able to command the highest prices in the industry, nearly double that of their competitor, Yamaha. In order for Steinway to be seen as a prestigious brand, they can never lower their prices or offer discounts. This would be seen as discounting the brand and would be bad for their brand image. In order to reach other individuals who may not be able to afford the high price of the Steinways, they should offer some kind of assistance or loans to aspiring musicians. Also, Steinway could target the middle class groups by providing low-interest financing options or payment plans so other customers who may not be able to afford the pianos, could pay it off over time. Place: Steinwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s products are sold to professional and amateur musicians, as well as orchestras and educational institutions, through its worldwide network of dealers. The majority of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Grand pianos were sold in the United States, through Steinwaysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ sales offices and a large network of independent dealers. Customers purchase Steinway pianos either through one of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s retail stores in cities like New York or London, or through independently owned dealerships. There is a huge, growing Asian market that Steinway has yet to target. Their competition, Yamaha and Kawai have already taken over this market. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s important for Steinway to enter this market with their Boston pianos to compete with Yamaha and Kawai, and then slowly introduce their high-end Steinway Grand pianos to this market. The Asian market is rife with indi viduals with high disposable income, who would be interested in owning a piano that comes with status and affluence from the United States. They should also look into expanding internationally, like the Middle East, specifically Dubai or Saudi Arabia which also has many individuals with high disposable income. In addition to expanding internationally, Steinway should think about establishing a better online and digital presence and experiment with selling their pianos online. This would open them up to a younger demographic who use the Internet more regularly to purchase products, especially higher-end products. Promotion: In the early years, Steinway promoted their brand by building a large factory in New York where two main Railroad cars passed by making thousands of people aware of the Steinway name. They also opened Steinway Hall, which served as New York Cityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s main concert hall. Steinway promoted its pianos with famous musicians using its à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…†œConcert and Artist Programà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  to attract top artists from around the world. In any given year, over 90% of all classical music concerts featured a piano soloist performing on a Steinway Grand piano. Steinwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s marketing messages must be consistent with what the brand stands for: affluence and prestige. Steinwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s advertising has highlighted that one does not buy, but invests in a Steinway, and that a Steinway piano is always made just a little bit better than necessary. Their advertising emphasizes family values, the contributions to art and music of Steinway Sons, and their technical excellence. The timeless excellence of Steinway has always been emphasized and ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s important for Steinway to keep up these marketing messages. Steinwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s brand name is so widely known and popular, that they do not need to do more brand promotion since people are already so familiar with it and what it stands for. S teinway should continue to use musicians who are loyal to the Steinway brand in helping promote their pianos. These musicians could help to promote to musical institutions or other aspiring musicians in the industry. In addition to relying on famous musicians for promotions, Steinway should look into developing business partnerships with hotels and other entertainment venues to display only Steinway pianos at their facilities. They should also venture into product placement with movies and TV shows, portraying the Steinways in films and on popular television shows. Non-musician celebrity endorsements could help them tap into consumers who are not familiar with the pianos, but want the prestige of owning something that other celebrities have. Steinway should also consider using other forms of promotion, like digital and online marketing to get the word out about their pianos. They should leverage social media and YouTube campaigns to target to a younger demographic who may not be ready to purchase one of their pianos yet, but will likely in the future. In conclusion, Steinway Sons should focus on the following recommendations. They should consider producing the Boston pianos under a different brand name separate from the Steinway name and start targeting the Asian market. They should continue to produce the Limited Edition and Crown Jewel Editions since they proved successful. Secondly, they should continue to command a high premium price over their competitors, but look into offering financing or payment plans for the middle class demographic, opening up their target market and the potential for more revenue. Thirdly, Steinway should expand internationally into the Asian and Middle Eastern markets to take advantage of an untapped growing market. Lastly, the company should experiment with different promotional avenues like product placement, social media, and celebrity endorsements. Reference Gourville, J Lassiter, J. (1999). Steinway Sons: Buying A Legend, (pp. 1-23). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Marketing Analysis Report on Steinway Sons" essay for you Create order

Theme Of Redemption And Good Country People By Flannery O...

Flannery O Connor s stories â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find†, and â€Å"Good Country People† both present very similar themes. Within these stories is the theme of redemption, and the way relationships affect the way people interact with each other seem to be a core issue she struggles with. Both stories have a protagonist that have to deal with some type of villain who has little to no belief, while their presence of faith that there is good in people gets them into the horrible situations that they find themselves in. She uses some of the same aspects in both stories in very different ways. The characters are a big part of her stories, the conflicts that arise in the story, and the symbolism that is used. This paper will explore how faith can lead us to have false hope and why it is important to remain aware. In both stories there are seemingly different protagonist. First there is Hulga. She is someone that rude, harsh, with Doctorate in Philosophy, and is appalled by the idea of love. Then you have a grandmother, who is always looking back on the old days and a slight sense of wonder. From what O Connor gives the reader in their descriptions, there is not much similarities happening. However, under the surface of these characters the reader can see that both characters are somewhat shallow and do not see this about themselves. Hulga, even though she is highly educated she is a believer in nothing, all she knows is what to say and when to say it. This becomes obvious whenShow MoreRelatedA Good Man By Flannery O Connor1795 Words   |  8 PagesJada Brandon 11-26-2015 English 261 Final exam A Good Man is Hard to find in this Story Considered as one of the best short story authors in her era, Flannery O Connor wrote many short stories before her death in 1964. A faithful Catholic, religion was a primary theme in her works; she wrote mostly about southern life with religious themes recurring in her work. One of her most famous stories was the 1955 short story A Good Man Is Hard to Find. The story depicts the heartless execution ofRead MoreEliot s The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock1777 Words   |  8 Pagesthe character T.S. Eliot creates in â€Å"Prufrock.† What aspects of early twentieth-century society does the speaker of T.S. Eliot’s â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† represent? â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† by T.S. Eliot is a poem about a man who is extremely insecure with himself. Prufrock, the main character, obviously has major insecurity issues especially when it comes to women. He is very awkward and does connect well with anyone in society. He is a very lonely character that shows

Hamlet

Hamlet- Inner Turmoil Essay Inner Turmoil Within the play Hamlet there exists many puns and phrases which have a double meaning. Little ploys on words which tend to add a bit of entertainment to the dialogue of the play. These forked tongue phrases are used by Shakespeare to cast an insight to the characters in the playto give them more depth and substance. However, most importantly these phrases cause the reader or audience to think. They are able to show a double meaning that not all people would pick up on, which is the purpose of the comments. Little is known about Shakespeares life, other than he was a great playwright whose works serve to meld literary casts for ages to come. This was his occupation, he wrote and directed plays to be performed. This was his sole form of income that we know of, it was his way of putting the bread on the table. If people did not like what Shakespeare wrote, then he would not earn any money. If the people didnt like what they saw, he became the starving artist. Shakespeare wrote these dialogues in such a manner as to entertain both the Nobility, as well as the peasants. The Shakespearean theater is a physical manifestation of how Shakespeare catered to more than one social class in his theatrical productions. These Shakespearean theaters has a unique construction, which had specific seats for the wealthy, and likewise, a designated separate standing section for the peasants. This definite separation of the classes is also evident in Shakespeares writing, in as such that the nobility of the productions speak in poetic iambic pentameter, where as the peasants speak in ordinary prose. Perhaps Shakespeare incorporated these double meanings to the lines of his characters with the intent that only a select amount of his audience were meant to hear it in either its double meaning, or its true meaning. However, even when the tragic hero Hamlets wordplay is intentional,it is not always clear as to what purpose he uses it. To confuse or to clarify? Or to control his own uncensored thoughts? The energy and turmoil of his mind brings words thronging into speech , stretching, over-turning and contorting their implications. Sometimes Hamlet has to struggle to use the simplest words repeatedly, as he tries to force meaning to flow in a single channel. To Ophelia, after he has encountered her in her loneliness, reading on a book, he repeats five times Get thee to a nunnery, varying the phrase very little, simply reiterating what was already said by changing get to go. This well known quote, to this day cannot be deciphered in its entirety, for nunnery is a place where nuns live, yet it is also a brothel. Hamlet seems to knowingly cast a shade of confusion into the minds of the audienceor is it in fact clarity within confusion. That is, the audience is able to better understand the thoughts and inner struggle of Hamlet via these conflicting terms. After Hamlet has visited his mother all alone in her closet and killed Polonius, after she has begged him to speak no more, and after his fathers ghost has reappeared, Hamlet repeats Good night five t imes, with still fewer changes in the phrase than Get thee to a nunnery and those among accompanying words only. So Hamlet seems to be struggling to contain his thoughts even by use of these simple words, rather than enforcing a single and simple message as a first reading of the text might suggest; and the words come to bear deeper, more ironic or more blatant meanings. It is from these phrases which even manage to confuse the complex mind of Hamlet that we begin to get a glimpse into the intentions of Hamlets mind, and seeing just exactly the way he ticks. .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 , .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 .postImageUrl , .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 , .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088:hover , .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088:visited , .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088:active { border:0!important; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088:active , .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088 .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u66757d963081f1065a76a473635a8088:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Tennessee EssayMuch of the dramatic action of this tragedy is within the head of Hamlet, and wordplay represents the amazing, contradictory, unsettled, mocking nature of that mind, as it is torn by disappointment and positive love, as Hamlet seeks both acceptance and punishment, action and stillness, and wishes for consummation and annihilation within a world he perceives to be against him. He can be abruptly silent or vicious; he is capable of wild laughter and tears, and also playing polite and sane. The narrative is a kind of mystery and chase, so that, underneath the various guises of his wordplay, we are made keenly aware of his inner dissatisfaction, and come to expe ct some resolution at the end of the tragedy, some unambiguous giving out which will report Hamlet and his cause aright to the unsatisfied among the reader / audience . Hamlet himself is aware of this expectation as the end approaches, and this still further whets our anticipation for what is to become. A commonly recurring theme throughout the play is that of honesty. It is introduced in the beginning of the play and as the play continues, its use becomes more and more common, as well as more and more ironic. This theme within the play itself is ironic, for as Marcellus said Something is rotten in the state of Denmark and this corruption we see so exhibited in the play is far from honest. When Hamlet applies the word honest to the main characters of the play, his use of becomes undeniably ironic, and much of the dark humor of the play derives from Hamlets wordplay. Polonius marks that though Hamlets insults seem to make no sense, yet there is method in t. In Act II, it is Polonius that is the first target of Hamlets irony of the use of honest. Hamlet calls him first a fishmonger which itself has many meanings, including the implication that Ophelia is a whore and Polonius is her pimp. And of course, Polonius has employed his daughter in his plot to discover the depth of Hamlets madness. When Polonius says he is not a fishmonger, Hamlet replies Then I would you were so honest a man. In other words, he wishes Polonius was as honest as a simple fish seller, or even more insulting, as honest as the pimp Hamlet insinuated he was. In this scene, Hamlet also uses this ironic meaning of honesty against Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when he tells them I will not sort you with the rest of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest man, I am most dreadfully attended. He seems to mean that he cannot speak to them with honesty, because they themselves are dishonest in their intents. Honesty resonates as a theme in Hamlet because nothing is as it seems in Denmark. The King deceives the world and pretends a legitimacy he does not have; Hamlet deceives the court by feigning madness; Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern all try to deceive Hamlet into revealing why he is distraught, and no one knows what is truth and what is a lie. The world has not grown honest, as Rosencrantz claims, but dishonest, and no one who lives in it can keep his honesty pure from the corrupting air. Hamlet seems to be the character who uses the majority of such puns and phrases in the play. These phrases which have double meaning could represent the inner turmoil which seems to be tearing Hamlet apart. By seeing a definite double meaning to many phrases in the play, we are able to easily see that all is not as it should be. Hamlets personality is thrown into chaos. He is in mourning the death of his father, and then his mother marries his uncle. He is enraged at her, and on top of all of this he sees the ghost of his father commanding him to avenge his wrongful murder. Yet, amongst all this turmoil, I believe that Hamlet was only playing the part of being crazy. He speaks in riddles and plays on words in order to create a certain suspicion about his sanity. This abnormal activity gives him the ability to sneak a few insults by without having to directly confront his enemies. It seems to be quite a bit worse if the person who was insulted isnt exactly sure whether or not they wer e just insulted. Hamlet is able to interject these insults without even the other character noticing, which is the art of insultIt is this unpredictability of action, this sporadic bouts of insanity and sanity, the inner turmoil brewing within Hamlet which keeps the audiences interest. Nobody is really sure whether or not Hamlet was insane. Many have theories and beliefs, but Shakespeare never came out and said he definitely is or definitely is not sane he only hints. There are valid arguments on either side, for Hamlet Himself said I am mad but north-northwest ; that is he is only mad about one thing in particular. .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 , .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 .postImageUrl , .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 , .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758:hover , .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758:visited , .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758:active { border:0!important; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758:active , .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758 .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .udae126b985b7841c919f76a0f701d758:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Microsoft Essay SummaryThe wordplay in Hamlet is a representation of the complexity of the minds of the characters that Shakespeare created. It is a depiction of the inner turmoil within a character struggling with sanity. However, more importantly it is necessary to keep in mind that Shakespeare was a playwright and that the play on words did one thing in particular, which is why Shakespeare lived to write so many playsHamlet, because of its wording is entertainingand that made all the differenceCategory: Shakespeare