A Woman Has Power

Womanhood is strength, power, courage and beauty.
Today all over the world, women are celebrated for their greatness and i celebrate all women out there in one personality, my mum, Rose Wodopey.
My mum is just not a mum but an epitome of womanhood. I do not choose to celebrate the world's women through her because she is a lawyer, nurse or a professor. She is but a petty trader without the blessings of education yet her life speaks volume of every great woman out there. She stands tall among her peers. Without education, one would expect her to be timid or feel less of herself but no! She is what Eleanor Roosevelt says, "Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission" She gives no room for intimidation neither does she allow inferiority complex to suppress her thoughts, her ideals, or her strength.
To me, i think being a woman alone should give you that power to overcome inferiority complex and i urge all women this day, to rise above demeaning qualities.

Rose, mother of six, always strives to make life comfortable enough for her children. She is not hindered by any obstacle such as lack of employment or lack of support. All she seeks to achieve is make ends meet and for her children to be happy hence her bold steps to starting any business without fear of failing. She thinks like a queen and act alike. Oprah Winfrey's words "Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is a stepping stone to greatness" reigns in my mum's life. Haha! My mum is an entrepreneur of many businesses in her little world and that's because she doesn't fear the risk of failing. As soon as she identifies the opportunity, she acts, she sees to it that she achieves a good reward from it. 

"God gave women intuition and femininity.
Used properly, the combination easily jumbles the brain of any man I've ever met." Farrah Fawcett says this about women and my mum is a representative of these great words because of the peace that reigns in her home.

Women have inborn power just as Roseanne Barr clearly puts, "The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it." Every woman has the power to act on anything that she puts her mind to and certainly will succeed because of our inborn greatness. I love my mum for that. Thump up to all women who realize they have this gift in them and utilize it to their advantage.

In this present day when women empowerment is the talk of all, some section of society specifically men with power feel that they can easily bend a woman by making her do a simple thing of laying her back to the ground. This has made women vulnerable even when they have power but i encourage you all women with the words of Christable Harriette Pankhurst "Remember the dignity of your womanhood. Do not appeal, do not beg, do not grovel..." Even when the road becomes too bumpy, remember the dignity of your womanhood and don't grovel to the demand of any man just to get favour.
Rose will always say "Bea, you are a woman and you will only enjoy your life if you stay true to yourself and don't let any man manipulate you."
You see why i want to celebrate women all over the world through her? She is a great woman of honour.

Charles Malik's words are, "The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world" therefore on this day of acknowledging women i present to you through this write up, great encouragement through the personality of my mum, Rose Wodopey, whom i see as an inspiration and mirror to challenge all women to greatness. I call on women all over the world to view women empowerment not as a physical strength to fight men but as changing tool to transforming society because women see things done and not only talk.

For us women reading this, we have something extra powerful that Rose doesn't have, education, the key to success. So lets make use of it and ensure that society is a safe place for us, our children and our nations. God bless women all over the world, God bless men to show kindness to women!!

Broken Bonds

Relationships, friendships, marriages do go bad. Love fades and bonds get broken. When that happens, one would expect any kind of reaction from these people who make up our past.
Except for murder and betrayal, i personally wouldn't expect total wipe out and permanent blockage from any of such people from my past. After all, love is said to be the basis of everything and like the general overseer of the synangogue church of all nations, Pastor TB Joshua says, "without love, we are nothing".
As well, the past is a reflection of the present.
Hence, anyone's reaction, behavior or attitude towards you in the present after a broken bond, should in one way or the other, reflect what you shared in the past.
Hatred awakens lots of negative and ill-feelings in people.
If your bond with a love one gets broken, and you on the other hand create an "eewww feeling" in your partner, then you should look forward to awaken his hate.
Yet again,
like i stated early on, the past is a reflection of the present and so if your partner cannot in anyway forgive, overlook or stand the sight of you, then the initial bond you had is questionable! Did it exist? Could it be that you were blind not to have noticed it never did?
In my personal experience with a relative who is an aunt, our relationship went bad. Initially, we were like two teenagers living together and having fun when she was really the older one, had control and could use it; until someone came in and destroyed that bond.
We became total strangers living together and the best i could do was leave and never go back.
But amazingly on new year celebration, she went over to visit me, not my dad, her cousin nor my mum, her in-law.
She went over to fix a broken bridge with warm greetings, a hug, good wishes and a bottle of Champaign to celebrate.
To this effect, you would realize that with love, there is no room for total wipe out.
That is what love is.
Truth be told, the people we love hurt us the most yet they are the only ones who can ever give us joy. The amount of love we have and share with someone, equals the amount of hurt and pain they cause us with their every action and inaction.
No matter the "eeeww feeling" you create after a broken bond, that bond becomes a hold on your aftermath actions against that partner unless of course, it never ever existed.
Let Love Lead

The year 2013

In the year 2013, i allowed my life take a new turn and a whole new dimension. God made things happen and i embraced them.
My life experienced new happiness with friends, loved ones and people i placed total trust in. I could not ask for more.
In the year 2013, i learnt not to give up and that inspired my actions as a more responsibile person, who will take up duties and have them done in time.
The beauty about this year that am certain may not be able to easily clear from my heart and mind, is my love life that went sour.
How do i refer to it, the oxymoron bitter-sweet,? I am not certain on that but it was all beautiful at the beginning, very beautiful. I enjoyed it growth but like a plant will die without the necessary nutrients, it died down.
Did i not nurture it well to have it grow or it was not meant to be?
But lets look at this, when one is filled with the happiness that blinds, is one capable of noticing all the wrongs around one?
Maybe, maybe not. But you know the feeling of having to realize all the wrongs around you at a very late hour? Haha! How stupid you feel then! But hey! It's all worth it right? Because you get to accept,learn and gather the best experiences you can so as to move on either the hard way or the easy way.
Look at success. The year 2013 didn't give me a mansion, car or money that i have to bless others with but,it was a successful year for me.
My success was in my academic improvement. Oh my! Anytime i think of success, i see my face bloom with a radiance and my  heart gets lighter. That's because although almost everyone will associate success with riches, i know God gives you exactly what you need at every stage of your life and as at now, the focus of my life is education and i can't be thankful enough.
Aww friends. How i love the few i have but my mind will not stop at prompting me about the second law of power. Friends are so cunning sometimes that in this year, no matter the love i have for mine, i had to grow cautious n wary of some.
My wrongs. I know i am not perfect and as all human, i have a defect and i have surely done a couple of negative and ill stuffs but i can't be the best judge of my life hence to all dear ones, don't hesitate to point out what you possibly see wrong in my actions.
In all these, i lived a happy life with the goodness, love, grace and glory of my Lord and saviour Jesus in it. The least i can say is merci mon Dieu fidèle. Amen

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.