Unfair Life, Pull Through

Difficult times are when you feel you are ready to offer yourself to any opportunity that comes your way. It's a time when you think less before making certain vital decisions but that shouldn't be the case.
Of course it is a time when you feel all the miseries accompanied with poverty or the unfairness of life but am here to offer you hope .
¤ Always know for a fact that life is and can never be smooth for you.
¤ Remember that all the trials and tribulations you go through are learning paths for you.
¤ It's from what you learn  that you gain experiences and become stronger.
¤ It's worth taking risks at times but your most difficult times shouldn't be when you decide to take actions.
¤ Learn to pull away from self destructive thoughts and measures.
¤ Be responsible and take responsibility of your life.
¤ Desire to achieve a goal for yourself and try not to lose focus
¤ love yourself and that will pull you through. It will help you stay firm, to see yourself smile after the storms are calm.

Self Pity

When times get tough and you feel your world crushing, you either turn to friends, families or resolve to self pity.
Self pity is the worst form of it all although family and friends will make your living a hell hole.
Don't subject yourself to self pity, it makes you;
. Empty
. Hopeless
. And more or less inferior
These are perilous moods you shouldn't submit to

As a matter of fact, in your most troubled and awkward times;
. Lean on God
. Engage yourself in activities that are worth your time
. Resolve to self inspiration and self-love, a surity to self encouragement

Police warns against unnecessary honking

The Operations officer of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr. Sulemana Sulley, has said it is unlawful for drivers to honk unnecessarily while driving.
  
According to regulation 74 sub regulation (1) of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012, L.I 2180, the horn or siren in cars was to give single note of sound in cases where necessary otherwise its prolong use causes nuisance .

He said regulation 110, sub regulation (3) also stated specifically that "A person shall not operate or permit to be operated on a road, a motor vehicle in a manner to cause excessive noise that can be avoided."
  
With regard to this, he said it was clear that most drivers, especially taxi drivers, were not to continually blow their horns while driving.
    
Mr. Sulemana said in order to avoid such offence and similar offences by drivers, the MTTU occasionally organises educational programmes for selected drivers from various transport unions.

"When drivers fall foul of the law, after having been educated, then the law is enforced. Warning letters are therefore, issued. In situations where a driver is found committing the same offence over again, the one is arrested and put before court," he said.
     
He said incessant blowing of the car horn could scare pedestrians who in the process of crossing the road could run into the path of an oncoming vehicle or fall on the road resulting in an accident.
 
Mr. Agyare, a taxi driver at the Odorna taxi station, said although it was agreed that the practice of blowing the car horn unnecessarily was bad, taxi drivers engaged in it to draw the attention of passers-by.
  
He explained further that they did it so to also alert other drivers, who attempted to veer into their path from an adjoining road.
    
When his attention was drawn to the fact that some drivers even blew their horns unnecessarily in heavy traffic jams, Mr. Agyare agreed that it was not the best thing to do, but said such drivers were overly enthusiastic in the job and needed to change their ways.
   
At Odorna in Adabraka, a suburb of Accra, a store keeper and a pedestrian both said excessive honking by drivers caused fright and confusion and that in some instances they had to correct such drivers.

PRINCIPLES OF ADVERTISING

PRINCIPLES OF ADVERTISING

Assignment 1:  What is integrated marketing communication (IMC?). Discuss the six forms of IMC.

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)began in the 1980s when organizations started taking a broader perspective of marketing and the need to make more strategic integration of their promotional tools.

IMC is therefore defined as the coordination of the various promotional elements and other marketing activities that communicate with a firm’s customer.

IMC simply is one of the many elements that make up the marketing mix which is promotion. Promotion and its six elements that is; Advertising, sales promotion, publicity/public relation, sponsorship marketing, personal selling and point of sale or point of purchase are the components of IMC. Consequently, the use of the internet and online activities has influenced IMC in modern marketing. I will however, discuss the traditional elements of IMC in this chapter.

In discussing the six forms or components of IMC, let’s take a look at what promotion is.

Promotion is the effective communication between an organization and its audiences or would be audiences. This effective communication is done by considering all the above mentioned components in order to provide good value as well as a good relationship to the benefit of the organization and its targeted audiences

DETAILED DISCUSSIONS ON THE SIX FORMS OF IMC.

The first and foremost important component of IMC is advertising. Advertising is defined as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of goods and services through the mass media with an identifiable sponsor. The paid component of this definition means that the space and time for an advertising message has to be bought by the organization.

 

The non-personal means advertising is done through the media.

The mass media is both the electronic and print media. Examples are the television and radio and newspaper and magazine respectively. Non-personal form of advertising does not enhance direct response or feedback from consumers; hence, the advertiser has to consider the structuring of the advert so as to make interpretation and effect easy for the audiences.

Advertising is the most effective tool of IMC in the sense that if done properly, has the capacity of reaching a large targeted audience. It is also seen as one of the best ways to build a brand because it provides customers with information and as well influence their perceptions.

Sponsorship marketing as another form of IMC is when an organization attaches itself to an event or program by offering it sponsorship in order to gain the recognition and image that is accorded that particular event. For example, if an organization sponsors a TV program that has a targeted audience of 2000, through constant commercial breaks where the particular organization’s ad is placed through, the organization is likely to reach the 2000 audiences that view the TV program.

 The third form of IMC to be discussed is sales promotion.

 It can be defined as a marketing activity that provides extra value or incentives to the sales force, the distributors or the ultimate consumer and can stimulate immediate sales.

Sales promotion is in two parts; consumer-oriented and trade-oriented activities.

Consumer-oriented sales promotion is targeted to the ultimate user of a product or service and includes couponing, sampling, premiums, contests and various point-of-purchase materials

These promotional tools encourage consumers to make an immediate purchase and thus can stimulate short-term sales.

Trade-oriented sales promotion is targeted toward marketing intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. Promotional allowances, price deals and sales contest are examples of the promotional tools used to encourage the trade to stock and promote a company’s products.

Another important tool of IMC is publicity/Public Relation.

Publicity refers to non-personal communications regarding an organization,product, service, or idea not directly paid for or run under identified sponsorship. It involves non-personal communication to the mass audiences. This is normally done through the media by way of press releases, press conferences, features among others.

It is to be noted that public relations as a management function that involves strategic communication uses publicity to enhance an organization’s image.

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The fifth form of IMC is personal selling. It is a form of one on one communication in which a seller attempts to assist and persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company’s product or service. Personal selling involves direct contact between buyer and seller, either face-to-face or through some form of telecommunications such as telephone sales. This interaction gives the marketer communication flexibility. Personal selling also involves more immediate and precise feedback because the impact of the sales presentation can generally be assessed from the customer’s reactions.

If the feedback is unfavorable, the salesperson can modify the message. Personal selling efforts can also be targeted to specific markets and customer types that are the best prospects for the company’s product or service.A common example of personal selling in Ghana is when most of the telecommunications companies send their agents round to speak to customers on any new product or service they have introduced to their brand.

The last form of IMC to be discussed is the point of sale (POS)/ point of purchase (POP). The point of sale or point of purchase is the vending or distribution points of products, goods and services.

 Integrated Marketing Communication is a necessary tool that needs to be done effectively by marketers in order for them to reach their target audiences and enhance a good relationship to the benefit of the two parties.

References: Advertising Principles, text Copyright © Yaw O. Gyau, 2012.

                     Google search Pdf, An Introduction to Integrated Marketing Communication

 BERNICE ALORGBE.