Genre Conventions Essay

How genre conventions are used to raise audience expectations in horror movie trailers. ‘The word genre means ‘type’ or ‘category’’ (Teach yourself film studies) it is really important as an audience member to recognise genres as then things become categorised and easier for them to understand which is more comforting. Sometimes however genres are crossed and categories are broken for example sometimes we have ‘action thrillers’ or ‘sci-fi horrors’ this is known as a hybrid genre. This often intrigues the audience and draws them to the film as it changes their outlook as they have no expectations for the film as they have never been exposed to this genre before. The horror genre was created to frighten/disturb an audience. Cherry (2009) reinforces this theory ‘The function of horror – to scare, shock, revolt or otherwise horrify the viewer’. These are the main conventions of a horror movie often portrayed using fast cuts, heart racing music, flashing images, unknown creatures and darkened places. ‘Horror is an ancient art form’ (www. horrorfilmhistory. com) which is still popular today because of the emotions it evokes, the audience feel comfortable with the horror genre as the generic conventions have not changed drastically over the years, the audience knows what to expect. The iconic symbols of horror such as haunted houses, unknown creatures, darkened places and flashing images are still used in all modern horror movies, although the genre evolves to fit around the era and to appeal to that audience. ‘Genres are not static, they evolve their common attributes change over time’ (Teach yourself film studies), this is because genres need to become more current for example what disturbed/terrified audiences 10 years ago may not effect audiences today. Today most audiences are terrified by the paranormal and ghostly experiences, the trailers for ‘Paranormal Activity’, ‘Insidious’ and ‘Don’t be Afraid of the Dark’ are all based around this theme but use different generic conventions to portray their theme. Paranormal Activity was released in 2007 and is an independent film costing only $11,000 to produce, the trailer proved uncomfortable to audiences as the generic conventions were broken. The trailer was not the usual blockbuster horror that audiences expect to see, it was shot in an average home with a home camera, the camera angles are shaky and unprofessional and the actors are unknown which gives the feel that these are real events. Also the trailer not only shows clips of the movie but the audience reaction to what they are witnessing. This keeps the audience interested in the genre as they are not used to seeing an audience reaction – they are intrigued as to why the audience are so frightened; therefore want to see the film. ‘We derive basic thrills from triggering the rush of adrenalin which fear brings’ (www. horrorfilmhistory. com). Paranormal Activity reinforces this theory as it became a huge hit world-wide although it was such a low budget independent film. Paranormal Activity focuses on a young couple moving into a new home which is supposed to be an exciting time and people can relate to this as everyone has moved house at some point, the fact that the film is based in a normal household immediately alarms the audience. The sounds used in the trailer for Paranormal Activity are very effective as you can hear lots of screaming and fear but it is not in the film its self, it’s the audience that we’re first shown this film. Insidious was released in 2010 and was created by the same director as Paranormal Activity (James Wan) this draws in an audience immediately as people who are familiar with the directors work are immediately drawn to the film. Like Paranormal Activity, Insidious is also an independent film however the budget for this film was a lot higher at $1,500,000. The look the production company gave to this film is also a lot more professional as there are no home cameras and shaky camera angles. However this film does still use unknown actors, since doing my research I have noticed that the majority of horror films use unknown actors to make their film feel more realistic. Insidious is also based around the paranormal theme which shows that audiences in this era are frightened by the paranormal ghostly experience this must be working as insidious took in a gross of ‘$53,991,137’ (http://www. imdb. com/title/tt1591095/). Also Insidious uses children and a family in a ‘normal’ home this immediately effects the audience as they can relate it to their own lives. The horror genre has become more realistic like this as instead of using zombies, vampires and made up creatures the genre has become more based around real life and what could actually happen as it affects the audience in a more psychological way. Also using children in the trailer will immediately effect parents as they start to imagine what they would do if that was their child and how it would affect them which straight away frightens them and evokes unwanted emotions/thoughts ‘I can speak for all parents when I say the loss of a child has to be pretty much the worst thing that could ever happen to them’ (http://www.horror-movies. ca/horror_13935. html) I have also looked at the film trailer for â€Å"Don’t be Afraid of the Dark† which was released in 2011. This film is from a different director to Paranormal Activity and Insidious however it follows a similar plot and has the paranormal ghostly edge. The budget for this film was much higher than both Paranormal Activity and Insidious at $25,000,000 the trailer is very stereotypical and uses the typical conventions of a horror trailer as it consists of multiple flashing images, heart racing music, darkness and unknown creatures. The sound used in a trailer is very important as fast paced non-diegetic music is usually played throughout the trailer which subconsciously makes the audience feel on edge and worried, also the diegetic sounds used such as loud bangs, creaky floorboards and screams make the audience jump. Putting both of these non-diegetic and diegetic sounds together creates tension and an uncomfortable atmosphere. Don’t be Afraid of the Dark also uses a small child within the film; this is quite controversial and usually makes older members of the audience feel uncomfortable as they imagine it as their own child. Also using a small child shows an extreme amount of vulnerability as small children cannot fend for themselves and they are not as strong as an adult. ‘How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? ’ (Teaching trailers) the speed of what we see in the trailer gives the audience a taste of what to expect in the film. The trailer starts of slowly to attract the audience’s attention and get them interested in what they are watching, then the speed builds up to alarm the audience and frighten them once this has happened the trailers slows back down to an average speed to give the audience time to react and think about what they just witnessed. When comparing the three trailers together they are all very similar as they are all based around a paranormal scenario and they all evoke the ‘scared/frightened’ emotion to an audience. Also two of the trailers use children which takes away the innocence of a stereotypical child and makes the audience feel uncomfortable as the ordinary has been changed. Paranormal activity breaks the boundaries of the horror genre the most by showing the audience reactions within the trailer as this had never been done before which attracted a wide audience and made a lot of money. It also got a lot more publicity and became an extremely famous well known film purely because it took the audiences expectation of a horror film and changed it. However Insidious and Don’t be Afraid of the Dark are very stereotypical horror films using obvious frightening objects in their trailers which have been used throughout the history of the horror genre. The set-up of these trailers is also very stereotypical and expected because of the fast paced heart racing sounds and the fast paced flashing images. I also think it is important that all of the actors in these films are unknown ‘why are we told who is starring in the film? ’ (Teaching trailers) this is because well-known actors with a huge fan base attracts audiences to a film, however with the horror genre this does not work as audiences cannot get a realistic feel as they are familiar with the actor and their work. This is why I think all of the films work well as none of the actors are very well known. To conclude I think that genre is used in all of these trailers to raise the audience’s expectations but in very different experimental ways and this is successful, the ‘horror’ genre is visible throughout all of the trailers and they have all attracted a wide audience using some different experimental or stereotypical expected techniques. Bibliography Cherry, Brigid. (2009) Horror. Oxon: Routledge. Wilson, Karina. (2001-2011) Horror Film History. Available from: www. horrorfilmhistory. com (Accessed: 26th October 2011) http://www. imdb. com/title/tt1591095/ (2011) (Accessed: 26th October 2011) http://www. horror-movies. ca/horror_13935. html (2011) (Accessed: 26th October 2011) Title: Teach yourself film studies Title: Teaching trailers.

Embracing Perspectives Essay

What does an apology really mean? Does mean being sorry? Or maybe it means giving something to compensate. It might even mean both or none of these things. The Rwandan genocide and Indian residential schools are legacies of historical globalization. We should embrace the perspectives behind these kinds of historical legacies to the fullest of our ability. People need to realize all the perspectives behind an issue. We need to learn from these actions of globalization and explore contemporary society’s responsibilities to address these injustices. The legacies continue to affect us today. For example, the residential schools were a dishonorable memory in the Canadian history. The Indian children were isolated from their cultures and removed from their homes. Their were sexual, mental and physical brutalities in residential schools. Our contemporary society responded to this issue in 2008 giving an apology from our prime minister and getting additional rights. Our society did everything they could to compensate for what happen in history. Our society gave an apology and a source for compensation. Although that is good it not all that can be done, we should embrace the perspectives reflected in historical globalization. Educating people about the different perspectives is important. For instance the residential schools, we need to highlight the perspectives of the children, the perspectives of the parents and the perspectives of the people behind residential schools. This is the only way to understand the whole story. If you only understand the perspective of only one party, it is like reading half or maybe even less of a book, and saying you understand the story line. It is evident that we should embrace the perspectives reflected in the source regarding legacies of historical globalization. We see this in the different legacies of historical issues. The issue in Rwanda is a detrimental chapter in historical globalization. The countries that should have been helping Rwanda at that time did not because simply they had no investments to gain from. If these countries were to understand the perspectives of everyone involved in this global issue they would have seen that the perspective of every one was important not only their own nations. Clearly the extent to which we embrace perspectives was not to the fullest and as a result there were millions of death and brutal murders. The residential schools and the Rwandan genocide were both a great example of how different perspectives should be embraced to a fullest extent. Without knowing all the perspectives to good extent it is not possible to understand the full story, therefore we cannot stop violence of an issue or even learn to properly apologize or a nation cannot apologize for historical cold-bloodedness. We should embrace the perspectives behind these kinds of historical legacies to the fullest of our ability. It is clear and evident that understanding the perspectives behind a complex issue is the first and the major step to apologize for a society or to stop a conflict even in current time.

BDM midterm

BDM midterm Essay Ralph Edmund loves steak and potatoes. Therefore, he has decided to go on a steady diet of only these two foods for all his meals. Ralph realizes that this is not the healthiest diet, so he wants to make sure that he eats the right quantities of the two foods to satisfy some key nutritional requirements. He has obtained the following nutritional and costs data. The Oak Works is a family owned business that makes hand crafted dining room tables and chairs. They obtain the oak from a local tree farm, which ships them 2500 pounds of oak each month. Each table uses 50 pounds of oak while each chair uses 25 pounds of oak. The family builds all the furniture itself and has 480 hours of labour available each month. Each table or chair requires 6 hours of labour. Each table nets Oak Works $400 in profit, while each chair nets them $100 in profit. Since chairs are often sold with tables they want to produce at least twice as many chairs as tables. Formula a linear program to maximize profit. BDM midterm. (2016, May 16).

The Three High Level Phases for Any Project Assignment

The Three High Level Phases for Any Project - Assignment Example Why are communication skills so important for a project manager to have? Communication skills are important for a project manager to have because the successful implementation of all phases of the project requires accurate dissemination of information which is dependent on the effective communication skills that the project manager possesses. Â  Is it just the project manager that needs to have good communication skills? Actually, all stakeholders whose roles and responsibilities are instrumental in all phases of the project should possess good communication skills. Who needs to be communicated to? The exchange of messages from one project member to the other needs to be communicated to; and therefore, the accuracy of information relayed and received should be ensured at all times within all phases of the project. Based on your team members introductions, who do you believe has the best communication skills in your team and why? So far, the team leader is usually the one who has the best communication skills in any particular team because as a leader, he or she is expected to relay crucial information, strategies, and messages.

Role of Leader Managing Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Role of Leader Managing Conflict - Essay Example Thus, leadership is defined as the ability to influence a group of people towards the achievement of organizational goals (Robins, Odendaal and Roodt, 2001). This study therefore seeks to critically discuss the role of leader in managing conflict using real examples and case studies from a clinical area. An example is drawn from Riyadh Military Hospital which had encountered certain conflicts when it embarked on a drive to implement some changes in its operations to improve efficiency. The hospital has been experiencing inefficiency of qualified nurses related to high rate of turnover between expertise, because of increased work load, increased duties and responsibilities of bedside nurses and lack of support and motivation. There was also a need to improve the performance of new nurses. The leader nursing staff including sister in charge, head nurse and admin tasked to take the lead in finding lasting solutions to this problem which meant that some changes were to be put in place. C hange was normally met with resistance because of different factors like lack of budget and military role. This essay seeks to critically analyze the different types of conflicts as well as the approaches that can be implemented in order to resolve conflicts in a clinical set up. Analysis of scenario: In the scenario under consideration, there is great likelihood of conflict among the sister in charge, head nurse and the admin that have jointly resolved to take such measures that would improve the competence of new nurses in their work and reduce the employee turn over rate. The fundamental point of consideration in this paper is the different types of conflicts that can occur between the three staff members that have taken the charge. The sister in charge, head nurse and the administrator have their individualistic consents and opinions that find their origin in their respective roles in the organization structure. The head nurse has the most direct interaction with the nurses that are practically facing the problem of lack of training and education. In order to reduce the employee turnover, the head nurse has to pay due consideration to the collective opinion of the nurses that practically work in the hospital. Therefore, the head nurse has little choice but to favor the mutual consent of all working nurses in order to retain the workforce and develop team work. The sister in charge, on the other hand, is sandwiched between the head nurse and administrator. Therefore, the sister in charge has to pay due respect to the concerns of both head nurse and the administrator and is also supposed to introduce and get acknowledged her individualistic opinion. The administrator is loaded with the responsibility of managing the resources of the hospital and allocating the funds to right activities that would benefit the staff as a whole. The administrator can not blindly approve the request raised by the head nurse or the sister in charge. He assumes the responsibility to explain to the owners any action that he takes and justify the allocation of funds to individual activities. Owing to the difference of roles and responsibilities of the three staff members that have taken the charge to resolve the matter of increased employee turnover and lack of competence in the nurses, they have their indivi

Housing policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Housing policy - Essay Example From the graphical representation, it is noticed that US real estate business was highly affected due to the financial crisis. What originated as a crisis in the US housing and mortgage markets; had infected other sectors and spread globally. The financial troubles that the worldwide economies face today came on the heels of two bubbles, one in the housing market and the other one in the credit markets. A plethora of several dissimilar factors added to the housing market bubble and also those tangled with the credit market bubble. The inflating of the housing bubble can be considered by home sales and home prices. Housing sales and prices had been rising at a quick speed since the early-mid 1990s, until the recession began in 2006 - 2007. Several household transactions indices have turned down from 10 % to 30 % worldwide and by as much as 40% or further in certain markets. Still the additional reserved losses in household worth turn out to be more important when an individual believes how household procurement is financed. Since housing sector is extremely leveraged, a preliminary 20% equity stake in a household, acquired over the most recent years have been in all possibility wiped out. Therefore, the perception that household ownership is a better source of revenue of wealth gathering has been a thoroughly misleading thought (Bardhan & Et. Al., â€Å"The Housing Problem and the Economic Crisis: A Review and Evaluation of Policy Prescriptions†). The subprime crisis crashed household dwellers financially which included both owners as well as renters. Proprietors with no mortgage debt were probable to be in the slightest susceptible situation, although if they had designed to comprehend their asset gains, these had lost the worth. Of the 112 million household units in the US, there were 75.5 million landlords engaged in 2007. Of these, 23.9 million houses were mortgage free that tentamounted to lesser than 1/3 of the

Theory of Clause Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Theory of Clause - Essay Example Usually, relative clause cannot stand alone as a sentence. In contrast to dependent clause, independent or main clause is a clause that can stand alone. Main clause is synonymous to a simple sentence. In essence, clause is the basic unit of meaning in the English language (Stuart-Smith, 2003). Either dependent or independent, a clause conveys a message. This paper, on the other hand, examines the relative clause as a basic unit of a language in relation to functional grammar, especially in the ideational metafunction level. Here, the use of the word clause will refer to dependent clause. The usage of a clause in the different world languages differs greatly. There are three identified dimensions of these differences: (1) position of the clause with respect to the head noun or the noun being modified; (2) how a clause is marked; (3) the absence or presence of a pronominal reflex (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman, 1999, p.573). In the English language, a clause follows the head noun. For instance, in the sentence, "San Antonio is a city that has experienced very rapid growth," the head-noun San Antonio precedes the italicized clause. To place the clause before the head noun in a sentence sounds, if not ungrammatical, awkward. Farsi and Arabic languages share similar syntactic pattern in the clause usage compared to most European languages. However, Japanese and Korean languages do not adhere to the first dimension of the above-mentioned clause usage (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman, 1999, p.573). In the second dimension, the English language employs a relative pronoun (e.g., who) or demonstrative pronoun (e.g., that) to mark that what follows is a clause (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman, 1999, p.573). For example, "I read the journal that you recommended." Or, "I love the girl who appreciates poetry." The lines before the demonstrative and relative pronouns are independent clauses that can stand as a sentence. The application of the pronouns that and who merely modify the head nouns. Besides English, Persian and Chinese languages use other forms of markers placed between the head noun and the clause. The presence or absence of the pronominal reflex is the third dimension along which languages differ in the clause usage (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman, 1999, p.573). In the sentence, "Art called out to the girl that he knew," the "that" replaces "the girl" in the embedded sentence, "he knew the girl." Ideational Metafunction Ideational metafunction is one of the three fundamental functional components of a language. Ideational metafunction is primarily concerned with the function that "language has of being about something" (Halliday & Hasan, 1976). In the past, a theory of the fundamental functions of language have been developed, in which lexicogrammar can be subdivided into 3 broad metafunctions, namely: interpersonal, ideational and textual. Each of these 3 deals with a different aspect of the world, and they are concerned with various modes of clause meanings. "The ideational metafunction is about the natural world in the broadest sense, including our own consciousness, and is concerned with clauses as representations. The interpersonal metafunction is about the social world, especially the relationship between speaker and hearer, and is concerned

Macro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Macro Economics - Essay Example The focus shifts from expenditure to save more of the current income for future spending. Thus in reacting to this less expenditure on the part of the consumers and the investors the firm will lower their production resulting in less output. Reduction in the wage rate of the workers in this circumstance will not contribute to the elimination of the huge unemployment rate prevailing in the economy. Simultaneous decrease in the interest rates in the economy will also not succeed in returning the economy back in the original track (Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel and MacPherson, 228). Wages and interest rates are considered fixed in the Keynesian theory. According to the theory even if there is a decline in the wage rate a negative impact will be exerted on the economy through the reduction in income and hence reduction in aggregate demand. Keynesian theory rejects the view of the classical economists that market forces will bring back the system of full employment in the economy. Equilibrium i n the economy will be reached when the total spending in the economy will be equal to the total output. Changes in output may drive the economy to a certain extent towards the equilibrium as opposed to price changes as suggested by the other stream of economists.

European Court of Justice Turner v Grovit and Harada Essay

European Court of Justice Turner v Grovit and Harada - Essay Example Anti-suit injunction is defined as â€Å"an order of the court requiring the injunction defendant not to commence or to cease to pursue, or not to advance particular claims within, or to take steps to terminate or suspend court or arbitration proceedings in a foreign country†1. The definition of anti-suit injunction claims that under this legal framework, none of the defendants or plaintiffs can take the assistance to obtain undue advantages of a foreign legislation apart from the country wherein the dispute took place. It is usually observed in case of cross-border disputes that the litigants perceive that they can take the advantage by shifting the proceedings in their home country, with the expectation to obtain a favourable judgement to the case ruling2. In order to disregard this belief of the litigants, anti-suit injunction has been introduced3.Arguably, anti-suit injunctions are often regarded as interference to the disputes in foreign courts. Addressing this particular issue, the discussion henceforth will evaluate whether the considerable of anti-suit injunction as an act of interference by a foreign court is justifiable. Illustrative examples will also be sought from various cases, including the landmark case of Turner v Grovit (C-159/02) [2005] 1 AC 101 in order to strengthen the rationalization of the arguments in this essay. The case of Turner v Grovit, decided in April 2004, is considered one of the landmark cases in the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which apparent denotes the legislative implications of anti-suit injunctions to the principle of lis alibi pendens. This case became the basis for the explanation of anti-suit injunction as Turner, the plaintiff, was granted with anti-suit injunction, as a measure to restrict the application of the rule given in correspondence to the re-appeal of the defendant (i.e. Harald Ltd.) in the Spanish court4.  

Historical events Essay Example for Free

Historical events Essay Depending on the political views of a reporter, columnist, author, or news agency, the facts can be reported in a variety of different ways. This can often cause controversy regarding the truth, as different sources report differing things as being true. This is also true when speaking of historical events, as different people will speak differently of different events, depending on their political affiliation and beliefs. By slating the information in a particular way, the reporter can further his or her own political agenda, by making his or her beliefs seem like the right ones. If a person is a conservative politically, it would not make much sense for him or her to report the news in a manner that would support liberalism and vice versa. This is apparent in the way that Fox News and CNN report the news on a daily bases. There are clearly some political biases that distort the fact, in order to best serve the beliefs held by the people at these agencies. In a historical sense, it would not make much sense for a government to re-tell history in a manner that makes it seem tyrannical or even blood thirsty, so based on these political goals, the government can simply choose to leave certain aspects of history out. This makes it possible for them to manipulate public opinion in the manner that best compliments their objectives. An example of how the manner in which a news story is reported can change the entire event is perceived is a recent story that was picked up by both Fox News and CNN. The story was about a tour that President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld embarked on in order to increase support for the war in Iraq. While the exact same speech was covered by both news agencies, the information that was passed on to the public was different in each case. Fox News focused on the positives that had been accomplished in Iraq. It started by giving numbers on how many Iraqi soldiers had been trained to fight insurgents in the region. Rumsfeld was quoted as saying that â€Å"95 battalions, 50,000 of the 212,000 Iraqi force, are trained, equipped and in the fight against insurgents† (Baier). Fox also made a point of mentioning how Iraqi forces were taking an increased role in the stabilization of Iraq and they were well on their way to being able to defend their own country. Fox continued on by including Rumsfeld’s quote that withdrawing troops from Iraq would be counter productive to their anti-terror movement and would â€Å"put the United States ‘at still greater risk’† (Baier). Fox News did not forget to mention how George Bush said that he has a strategy for victory, despite the fact that no specific strategy is discussed. Lastly, Fox News included Rumsfeld’s claim that â€Å"most citizens in Iraq are not supporting their (the insurgents’) cause† (Baier). By comparison, CNN took this story in a completely different direction by adding negative views on the war to its coverage. CNN begins by mentioning that the war is becoming â€Å"increasingly unpopular† (Bush: No Iraq Pullout Without Victory) in the United States. CNN continues on with its unflattering views by saying, â€Å"About 159,000 troops are in Iraq, up from about 138,000 in the summer† (Bush: No Iraq Pullout Without Victory). This shows how unsuccessful the Bush administration has been at accomplishing its goal of getting the troops out of Iraq. The CNN articles also reminds the reader that the war began under the assumption that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction and that despite this claim, no weapons had been found in the country. This is something that the government would desperately like the people to forget, but CNN will not let them. CNN also gives figures on the death toll of American troops in Iraq. This is another soft spot, as those who oppose the war often bring up the fact that many American soldiers have died fighting in a war that has no point. A quick mention is also given of anti-war demonstrators that showed up while Bush was speaking. Fox made no mention of this because it is very anti-Bush. Finally, CNN’s coverage of this story included the opinions of Senator Jack Reed, who is a Democrat from Rhode Island. His opinions are anti-Bush, due to his political affiliation. Reed comments add to the negative picture this article paints of Bush. These two articles cover the exact same thing, but they are obviously spun in very different directions. While some of the same quotes are used in both stories, they are not used in the same manner. Due to their conservative viewpoints, which coincide with the Republican Party’s viewpoints, Fox News focuses on the positives that are coming out of Iraq. Since Fox News is seen as a supporter of the Bush administration, it will slant its stories to paint Bush and his associated in a positive manner. Fox also does not include any opposing statements or differing points of view in its article, which gives the reader the impression that what they are reporting is the only opinion of this subject matter. CNN, on the other hand, is better at exploring both sides of the story. This article is more centerist than anything else, as it presents both sides of the story, although perhaps not equally. CNN says a lot of negative things about the war in Iraq, due to its liberal ideology, but it also does include what Rumsfeld said about certain things. CNN’s coverage does not follow one particular political ideology but can rather be interpreted as anti-conservative which, in turn, makes it anti-Bush. Seeing as how a story that quotes both Bush and Rumsfeld would only give one political view, CNN brought in the help of a Democratic Senator, in order to give a differing ideology on the matter. Both of these networks take the events that occurred, and organize them in a manner that will appeal to their viewers the most, even though both of them leave things out and include outside resources that contribute to their goals. This trend, however, has led to the public becoming â€Å"increasingly cynical toward the news media, as reflected in the slumping credibility ratings for many outlets. More generally, a majority of Americans (53%) agree with the statement ‘I often dont trust what news organizations are saying. ’ And while 43% disagree with that statement, just 9% completely disagree with it† (Attitudes Toward the News: News Audiences Increasingly Politicized). A historical event that that has been changed due to a particular political ideology is the happenings surrounding the Nicaraguan election of 1990. The American government had the ideology that the Sandinistas, who were in power in Nicaragua, were not good for American interests in the region. It was reported in the New York Times just after the election that this was a long overdue victory for the opposition party, as American political ideals did not agree with the Socialist regime in Nicaragua. David Shipler wrote, It is true that partly because of the confrontation with the U. S. , Nicaraguas economy suffered terribly, setting the stage for the widespread public discontent with the Sandinistas reflected in Sundays balloting. But few governments become moderate during a war; the contra war strengthened Sandinista hard-liners and probably contributed to their oppressive policies. The way to resolution opened only when Congress suspended the war, in effect, to give the Sandinistas a chance to proceed democratically. . . . Thus, Nicaraguas election has vindicated Washington’s fledgling program of providing public, above-board funding to help democratic procedures take root in countries with authoritarian regimes. (A. 27) Due to the slant that the American government wanted to put on this situation, they only released certain information to the general public, which gave the public a favorable opinion of how the situation was handled. The American government portrayed Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega as a vicious man who tormented his people for years and only lost the his power when he agreed to a democratic election. In reality, however, Ortega won an election in 1984 by quite a wide margin and had been making strides in Nicaragua, until a group of U. S. backed militants began a war with him and his troops. This is the dominant ideology as well. During this time period, the United States was able to use the fact that the Sandinistas are a left wing party, as the Communist Party in the Soviet Union was, in order to gain support for their actions in Nicaragua. The American government to this day continues to tell the people of the United States that U. S. policy aims to continue supporting the consolidation of the democratic process initiated in Nicaragua with the 1990 election of President Chamorro. The United States has promoted national reconciliation, encouraging Nicaraguans to resolve their problems through dialogue and compromise. It recognizes as legitimate all political forces that abide by the democratic process and eschew violence. U. S. assistance is focused on strengthening democratic institutions, stimulating sustainable economic growth, and supporting the health and basic education sectors. (Background Note: Nicaragua) A differing political view, however, is held by Noam Chomsky. He has reported much different happenings in Nicaragua, due to his political angle being much different than the American government’s and the New York Times’. He has reported that â€Å"Nicaragua was†¦exceptional in the strength of that government’s commitment†¦to improving the condition of the people and encouraging their active participation in the development process† (Chomsky 42) which makes the United States’ goal of keeping the Sandinistas out of power seem odd. The real reason why the American government did not want to have the Sandinistas in power was that they believed in distributing wealth evenly among its population. They had a steal from the rich and give to the poor-type of mentality. This goes against the capitalist society that the United States prides itself on. The American government saw that socialism had the potential to work in Nicaragua and was worried about what kind of message that would send to the rest of the world. As it turns out, reports Chomsky, the American government funded the insurgents that caused so many problems for the Nicaraguan government while they were in power. They were provided with American weapons and resources, in order to make the people of Nicaragua believe that the government was not in control of things, in order to make them vote for someone one. None of these things were reported very regularly in American newspapers because of political views and they have changed the way this entire situation has been viewed in history. Throughout history, politics have played a huge role in the way news is reported. The political ideologies held by an individual or agency can impact the story that the public hears. Many times, different agencies will report on the exact same story, but with different results. Other times, the real story does not make it to the mainstream media, but rather comes out later in books and journals. These political views change the way things are reported and also the way things are remembered in the future. It is entirely possible to have your entire memory of an event molded by the network you switched to in order to watch the coverage. Past, present, and future events have all been manipulated by media and this trend will continue because there will always be political bias. Because of this, it is important to get news from as many sources as possible, and make an educated decision on what the real truth is.

Emerging New Luxury Brands Marketing Essay

Emerging New Luxury Brands Marketing Essay Let us imagine that we have gone back a decade in time. There is a woman in some part of the world flipping through the pages of a high-fashion magazine. The minute she opens the magazine she is bombarded by images of luxury goods. Luxury brand names like Versace, Chanel, Gucci and Christian Louboutin shout out to her. All she desires is to own at least one piece from these luxury fashion goods. Unfortunately, the woman earns a middling income and can only dream about owning a Versace dress or a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. Luckily for her, in 2004 Hennes Mauritz (HM) came up with a brilliant collaboration which made all her dreams come true. For a long time access to luxury fashion goods had been limited to the elite classes. Since the 1990s there has been a boom in the luxury market because as times progressed traditional luxury brands such as Christian Dior started facing competition from emerging new luxury brands like Jimmy Choo. These new luxury brands brought in new branding and positioning strategies (Truong et al., 2009). The result of these strategies was the materialisation of masstige brands. Even though masstige brands are priced lower than super premium or traditional luxury brands, they still hold a place above conventional products and enjoy a high level of prestige (Silverstein et al, 2005). In order to tackle competition faced from these masstige brands, certain traditional luxury brands took an unconventional step. In June 2004 Hennes Mauritz (hereafter referred to as HM) announced that they would be releasing a limited edition collection designed by none other than Karl Lagerfeld, chief designer of Chanel (HM, 2004). With this step, HM began a fresh trend of co-branding in the fashion industry between high-street and luxury fashion brands. Since then HM have undergone an annual collaboration project with some of the biggest names of luxury fashion, the latest being French label, Maison Martin Margiela. With HM making continuous headlines in the fashion industry for its collaborations with luxury fashion brands, the need to study the science of co-branding, especially in fashion, is becoming vital. Thus, this dissertation aims at exploring and investigating the term co-branding and the role it plays between high-street fashion and luxury fashion brands. As HM are the contemporary of this trend in the fashion industry, the issues discussed in this dissertation will be mainly based on them. 1.1 Company Profile Company name H M Hennes and Mauritz AB Industry Retailing Sub Industry Fashion (clothing, accessories) Headquarters Stockholm, Sweden Employees 94,000 Key People Founder: Erling Persson Chairman: Stefan Persson CEO/Managing Director: Karl-Johan Perrson Table : Company Profile of Hennes Mauritz (HM, 2012a)H M Hennes and Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail company, functioning in the clothing industry. The company is known for designing fast fashion i.e. chic styles at cheap prices. The first store was opened in Sweden in 1947 under the name Hennes, selling only womens clothing. In 1968 the company bought Mauritz Widsforss, a hunting and fishing equipments store, changing the company name to Hennes Mauritz. This was also the year the company started selling mens and childrens clothing. Today, HM have branched out into five independent brands which are globally recognised HM, COS, Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday. Besides clothing, today the company also offers footwear, accessories, cosmetics and furniture. As of 2012, the company operates around 2600 stores across 44 countries. HMs top two competitors are Spanish fashion group Inditex (who own Zara and Bershka) and American retail giant The Gap, Inc. From 2004 HM started collaborating with some of the biggest names in the luxury fashion industry, a tradition they have since followed every year. Besides HMs annual collaboration with some of the biggest luxury fashion houses, the company also has a long-standing tradition of getting together with super models and popular music artists to either design or be the faces of their seasonal collections and campaigns. 1.2 Problem Definition and Purpose Co-branding is a relatively new concept in the field of marketing. The concept has been in practice for only the past few decades and the collaborations have often yielded mixed results. Co-branding has taken place in all sectors and industries from tobacco to automobile to retail to film-making to consumer goods. Co-branding is a moderately new term in the business vocabulary which is used to describe integrated marketing activities involving two or more brands (Blackett, Boad, 1999). It is important to analyse and understand the practice of co-branding as it has been gaining recognition in the recent years and can have a considerable impact on the future of branding. More and more consumer product manufacturers are becoming interested in co-branding strategies as it is a means to gain more exposure in the marketplace, fight competition and threats innovatively and at the same time share expensive promotional costs with a partner (Spethmann, Benezra, 1994). Co-branding gives compani es a great opportunity to create something new, while sharing costs, and also provides them with an opportunity to present consumers with a market they may have not explored before. Besides undergoing classical brand extensions and other brand alliance strategies (like advertising alliances and dual branding), co-branding is a strategy which presents a brand an added method to differentiate themselves in a competitive environment (Helmig et al., 2008). While co-branding in other sectors has returned mediocre results, co-branding in fashion has generally been extremely well appreciated. American discount retailer, Target, has often collaborated with designers such as Jason Wu, Issac Mizrahi and Neiman Markus, offering their designs for a slightly higher price than Targets usual rate. These attempts have been very well received by the mass consumers. HM, especially, have a high success rate when it comes to this business practice. More than 1000 people entered New Yorks Fifth Avenue store in the first hour when Karl Lagerfeld, Chanels haute couture and ready-to-wear chief designer, created pieces for HM (de Chernatony et al., 2011). Another example would be the success of HM and American designer Stella McCartney coming together. Queues were reported outside several HM stores all across the world, forming from the night before the collection was launched (Okonkwo, 2007). However, as successful as HMs attempts at co-branding have been, this practice of luxury brands and high-street brands coming together has lead to a lot of debate and even criticism. According to the critiques, co-branding often hampers with the companys original brand equity and confuses the consumer. Although the names of the brands that come together are familiar to the consumer, the actual co-branded product is completely new. Thus, unable to make out what to think of the new product, the consumer makes a judgement based on the known brand names involved (Washburn et al., 2000). There have also been questions raised regarding the effect of co-branding on the image of one or both of the parent brands. Some critiques believe that co-branding hampers the reputation of highly ranked brands. There have been sufficient works as well as research conducted on co-branding which are available to us. Considerable research has been conducted on co-branding in the retail sector. However, there has not been much detailed research on co-branding specifically between high-street fashion brands and luxury fashion brands. There are questions still left unanswered in this particular area. Therefore, this dissertation aims to investigate and study the practice of co-branding in this particular field and hopes to give a better understanding of this phenomenon. 1.3 Research Objectives Taking into account the purpose of this dissertation, the main research objective that this study will try to answer is: Exploring and understanding co-branding between high-street and luxury fashion brands. In order to help present relevant answers for this dissertation, the main research objective can be further divided into the following sub-objectives: To understand why co-branding occurs between high-street fashion brands and luxury fashion brands To analyse the perception of consumers regarding co-branding in the fashion industry To analyse the effect of such a collaboration on the brand image and reputation of both parties involved To understand whether co-branding between a high-street and a luxury brand can yield successful results 1.4 Relevance of the Research The following section provides a justification about the relevancy of this study. Arguments for both, academic and practical, relevance are discussed. 1.4.1 Academic Relevance This dissertation surely has academic relevance in todays time. In order to study co-branding in the fashion industry, this study has merged various branches of marketing. Brand alliances, brand equity, brand leverage and consumer behaviour are combined and discussed together to help understand the phenomenon of co-branding. Although there is significant work already done on co-branding, only a few discuss the area in which co-branding has gained the most success fashion. Thus, this dissertation tries to give a clear and more detailed explanation of why and how co-branding in fashion occurs and the effects it has on the consumer. 1.4.2 Practical Relevance The practical relevance of this dissertation is also of significance. Co-branding is being frequently used as a strategy to stand out in a crowded market place (Dieleman, 2010). By understanding the science of co-branding, not just for general understanding, but especially for the fashion industry, more retail clothing brands can partake in it. By studying consumers perception towards the collaboration of high-street and luxury fashion brands, managers can decide on whether or not creating a co-branding strategy is the right approach for them. Managers can also have a better appreciation of the effects of co-branding on their brand equity and brand reputation. 1.5 Limitations As mentioned in the company profile, HM have also collaborated with popular music artists like Madonna and Kylie Minogue to conceptualise and be the faces of limited edition lines and collections. Also, the fast-fashion company has collaborated with Finnish textile company, Marimekko, in the past to use their fabric designs on their products (Wettergren, 2010). These celebrities and companies are also brands in their own; however, this dissertation will not be discussing them. Only HMs collaborations with luxury fashion brands will be taken into account. Thus, this dissertation only examines the relationship of a high-street and luxury brand, and not between other categories of brands. This dissertation does not discuss the process of co-branding between HM and the luxury brands, but the motive and effects of the collaborations. The questions this dissertation tries to answer are why co-branding occurs and what are the possible outcomes of it. How co-branding occurs is a question this study does not venture into. Also, this dissertation does not go too deeply into the marketing activities of the co-branded products and retail collections. Thus, answers to these questions will not be available in this study. 1.6 Structure The following section of this dissertation talks about existing concepts, theories and research conducted that led to the formation of this studys research question. The section is a review of existing literature as well as a presentation of the theoretical framework. Concepts such as brand management, co-branding, fashion marketing, co-branding strategies, fashion strategies and so on will be discussed. The third chapter talks about the methodology selected to conduct this research. The chapter talks about the justification of choosing the research method as well as the possible limitations of the same. Chapter four represents the findings of this research as well as gives a discussion for each of the findings. This chapter evaluates the relevant research findings for each of the research sub-objectives. The final chapter of this dissertation presents a general discussion of the entire study, highlighting the key areas and important research findings. At the end of the dissertation is a list of references; sources which helped with the research of this study as well as sources one can look into for the purpose of further reading. 2. Literature Review 2.1 The Concept of Branding Branding building is an important concept in the science of marketing and several definitions of this concept exist. The official definition of branding given to us by the American Marketing Association is that a brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. This means that even though a product or service may satisfy the same need as another, a brand provides it with an element which differentiates it from other products or services of the same kind (Kotler, Keller, 2011). The process of brand building is imperative for almost all companies, products and services because building successful brands promises future income stream and profit. Brands help build consumer loyalty which means that consumers will keep coming back to buy the brands and will support them even during crisis situations (de Chernatony et al., 2011). However, the profile of the consumer is changing from what it used to be. The market place is getting more and more crowded with the constant addition of new products and services. Not only does this mean that there is a lot of fierce competition, but also todays consumer has a lot more choice than from a decade ago. Thus, it is extremely necessary to make ones brand stand out. This is where the concept of brand management comes in. Appropriate and effective practise of brand management can lend a hand in leveraging a brand, which leads to the making of a successful brand. The concept of brand management was created by Procter Gambles Neil McElroy (Harvard Business School, 2000). Effective brand management can lead to high brand equity. Brand equity is the additional value which products and services are seen to have, besides the functional value that they possess. This value is measured on the basis of what consumers feel and think about the brand as well as the market share and pr ofitability that the brand enjoys (Keller, 2008; Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000; Aaker, 1996; Aaker, 1991). Proper practice of brand management can also do wonders for the brand image. Brand image is impression of the brands personality (real or imaginary) that has been developed in the consumers mind (Business Dictionary). Various techniques can be applied under brand management in order to leverage a brand. One of these techniques is brand extension. Brand extension is a marketing strategy wherein a company uses a brand name which already exists in order to penetrate into a new, different product category than which it is established in (Swaminathan, 2003). A somewhat new development has been formed from brand extension in recent decades which is known as the process of co-branding. 2.2 Co-Branding Co-branding is a brand leveraging technique where two or more brands, each having significant recognition in the eyes of the consumer, co-operatively come together to create a single unique product while retaining the names of all the brands involved (Blackett and Russell, 1999; Leuthesser et al., 2003). This term is also referred to as brand alliance and composite branding. Co-branding provides marketers with the choice of opting for a short-term alliance, thus making it an attractive opportunity. It is not necessary for co-branding to be a long-term affair, as along other benefits, marketers are mainly looking for a quick sales boost (Spethmann and Benezra, 1994) As discussed by Nunes et al. (2003), co-branding can be divided into four different types. They are as following: Promotional/sponsorship co-branding Here a company co-brands by being a part of an events activities so as to link its image to that particular event in the mind of the consumer. Example: Conseco the official financial services provider of NASCAR Ingredient co-branding In this type there is a primary brand, which acts as an important component of the secondary brand. Example: Sony Vaio laptop with an Intel microprocessor Value chain co-branding Here two or more companies come together in order to create a brand new experience for the consumer to increase differentiation. It can be further divided into three types: Product-service co-branding Yahoo! and SBC Communications coming together to form SBC Global Networks Supplier retailer co-branding Architect Michael Grave creating a line of co-branded products specially for American retailer, Target Alliance co-branding Airline alliances such as Star Alliance and SkyTeam Innovation based co-branding In this type two or more companies come together in order to present a brand new product or offering, to increase customer value as well as corporate value. Example: Boating shoe manufacturer Sperry Top-Sider collaborating with New Balance to create an athletic boat shoe It is a known fact that brands play an important role in influencing culture in consumer societies. They not only satisfy ones utilitarian needs, but also serve some hedonic purpose. It is not in the power of the marketer to create the hedonic value that the brands hold. It is only the consumer who is in control of the feelings and meanings associated with a particular brand. Thus, it is safe to say that a part of the brands equity is in hands of the consumers. Thus, the reason marketers decide on a co-branding strategy is to not only access the utilitarian benefit which a certain brand offers, but also to generate the hedonic value which the association with that brand would bring. There is a transfer of status, imagery and reputation of one brand to the other. Co-branding also reduces costs, as the RD, production and marketing expenses get shared between the parent brands. Thus, co-branding is a quick way of improving all the aspects of marketing related issues (Askegaard and Bengt sson, 2005; Nunes et al., 2003). There are also risks and disadvantages to co-branding. There is the risk of dilution, where a brand loses meaning for a consumer because of the co-branded product. There is a chance of a co-branding strategy resulting in a potential competitor. This happened when IMB partnered with Microsoft to develop DOS. Microsoft then had very low brand equity, but today they are a giant in the computer world. There is also the risk of devaluation. When aligning with a low valued brand, a high value brand may lose its reputation in front of the consumers. Co-branding may also limit a brands market reach as they might be targeting the same consumer group with the new product as well (Nunes et al., 2003; Leuthesser et al., 2003). Many theories and research have been conducted on brand alliances and their possible spillover effects. One of the first ones was by Simonin and Ruth (1998). A study was conducted by them to evaluate the change in the attitude of consumers due to the spillover effects of co-branding. The results of that study have matched the results of many other newer studies conducted on brand alliances. Baumgarth (2004) created a brand alliance study, based on Simonin and Ruths study. The results of the study matched with the hypotheses presented by Simonin and Ruth. Baumgarths model added improvements by giving importance not only to the brand fit, but also to the prior attitudes consumers have towards the brands. In a study conducted by James et al. (2006), it was found that the personalities of the two brands involved have an impact on the perception of the consumers towards the co-branded product. Bouten et al. (2011) too conducted a study, basing it on the Simonin and Ruth paper. The result of their study was that a perfect fit of both, the brand image as well as the existing products of the parent brands is required for a successful brand alliance. As brand alliances started getting popular, researchers started concentrating on the term co-branding. Abratt and Motlana (2002) devised a five-step brand transition process for companies who wanted to undertake co-branding. The process stresses on the importance of understanding consumer perception as well as the fit of the brands involved. The same result was seen in the strategic framework for co-branding created by Leuthessar et al. (2003) which would help marketers assess co-branding opportunities in order to leverage their brands. On the basis of this framework, possible co-branding can be assessed by the nature of the parent brands as well as their target audiences. Co-branding was slowly starting to be seen as an important marketing strategy. As a result of this, an ontology based co-branding strategy system, called OnCob, was created by Chang (2008). This system helps marketers and brand managers research the co-branding phenomenon based on the concepts of aim, category and effect. Co-branding was further researched by Chang (2009) to present a roadmap and guide for companies wanting to co-brand. Different industries were discussed wherein some results were successful, while some were a complete failure. Also, a co-branding matrix was presented, which gives researchers a better understanding of this emerging science. The effects of co-branding on brand equity were studied by Washburn et al. (2000). The research results showed that co-branding is a win-win situation for both the brands involved, irrespective of their perceived brand value. When a high equity brand is paired with another high equity brand, the final co-branded product is perceived to have high value as well. Also, Washburn et al. found that in the case of a low equity-high equity brand pairing, it is the brand with a lower value that benefits the most from the co-branding, and although the positive effects might be less for the higher valued brand, co-branding does not have any negative effects on it. Motion et al. (2003) conducted a research on corporate co-branding and its effect on corporate brand equity. The research was conducted by studying the sponsorship of rugby team, All Blacks, by Adidas. The result of the study was that co-branding has a positive effect on the corporate brand equity, however as concluded by other studie s, it is important that the parent brands have a common vision and similar brand values. Besharat (2010) undertook a study combining the strategies of co-branding and brand extension. A comparison between co-branding and brand extensions with respect to brand equity was carried out. The final result of the study matched the results of many previous studies i.e. the success of a co-branding strategy depends on the existing brand value of the parent brands. However, there was no significant difference between consumer perception of co-branded products or brand extensions. As long as the consumers saw a fit between the new products and the brand, they accept the new product positively. A research was conducted by Thompson and Strutton (2012) to find out the effects of co-branding when one of the parent brand co-brands into a product category where it does not exist. However, the analysis showed that such an alliance is not likely to be successful. For a co-branding strategy to be successful, it is important for consumers to perceive a high level of fit between the brands involved. Another finding is that if a low value brand collaborates with a brand that is perceived highly in the eyes of the consumers, the co-branded product is likely to be viewed favourably. Thus, the brand fit plays an extremely important role in the success or failure of co-branding strategies. Erevelles et al. (2008) conducted a study on ingredient co-branding in the B2B sector, an area which does not have much research done. The finding of the research is that ingredient co-branding occurs in B2B sector usually when there is a threat of entry from a more fiscally rich competitor. Thus, brands get into an ingredient co-branding strategy to block out this competition. Besides this, the secondary brand also has monetary benefits as the ingredient supplier provides their component at a reduced cost. Askegaard and Bengtsson (2005) proposed the importance of cultural meaning in co-branding. Compared to the conventional approach to co-branding, their paper provides us with a new perspective. They suggested that each brand characterises certain symbolic and cultural meanings to the consumers, ones that may not be visible to us directly. The cultural meanings of the parent brands have a heavy influence on the meaning that the co-branded product represents. However, the interpretations provided by Askegaard and Bengtsson are far too imaginative and descriptive. No matter how creatively brand managers develop cultural meaning for a co-branded product, at the end it is only the consumer whose interpretation of brand image and meaning count. 2.3 Fashion 2.3.1 Luxury Fashion Luxury brands consist of those products and services which are generally associated with the affluent and the elite class. The luxury fashion industry is a global multi-billion dollar sector. Hundreds of brands are a part of this industry, some of them being Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Prada. Besides being valuable, luxury brands are some of the most influential in the world. For luxury goods, branding plays an extremely important role and is the core competence. This sector places high importance on branding and marketing strategy development by the use of human emotions and psychology (Okonkwo, 2007) Tynan et al. (2010) sought out to address the nature of the value of luxury brands and how value can be co-created. Instead of taking the more common managerial perspective, they took into account the perspective of the consumer. They developed a theoretical framework and researched case studies to find out what types of value consumers look for in luxury branded goods. The result was that although a utilitarian value was a must for all luxury goods, it was the hedonistic or symbolic value which acted as drivers for the purchase of a luxury good and was seen as the differentiating factor by the consumers. Reddy et al. (2009) studied the prospect of brand extensions for a luxury brand. In order to do so, they fashioned a Premium Adgency Grid, which measured the extent to which a particular brand extension matches up to the values embodied by the core brand. The luxury brands were divided into the four quadrants of the grid Star Brand, Aspiring Star Brand, Waning Star and Dying Star. With the help of this grid, marketers could measure their luxury brands brand adgency and then consider expansion opportunities and the possible risks. A framework was created by Moore and Fionda (2009) illustrating the various dimensions of the luxury brand to guide its marketing in the fashion sector. Their model identified nine key components which were deemed important for the creation of a luxury brand. Each of the nine components included sub-categories, which according to them, must be consistent for the successful creation of the brand. All of these components must be managed simultaneously for the creation and maintenance of a successful luxury fashion brand position. Thus, the Moore and Fionda model states that the management of a luxury brand should be consistent and coherent. However, the case companies in this research were all British and thus, the results are geographically and culturally narrow. A cross-cultural investigation would have provided a firmer insight in the marketing of luxury fashion brands. A five-factor model and brand luxury scale was designed by Vigneron and Johnson (2004) to provide luxury product marketers with an instrument to measure the amount of luxury a certain brand contains. According to Vigneron and Johnson, luxury is contained in brands in a matter of degree. Some brands have a very high level of luxury, while some very low. The brand-luxury scale helps measure the level on luxury in a given brand. The research found that luxury is a multidimensional factor and this can be proved by the five-factor model. These dimensions can be established and monitored by using the brand luxury scale in order to create a lasting luxury brand. However, Miller and Mills (2012) argue that more than anything else, it is the perception of brand leadership that counts. In order to attain clarity on the subject of luxury brand marketing, they developed a conceptual model the Brand Luxury Model (BML). This findings of this model state that trendy, up-to-date and visionary brand s and perceived to be more luxurious than brands that try to be unique, imaginative or original. The BML also showed that consumers perceive a match between themselves and the image of the luxury brand users with psychological or symbolic value. This finding is in sync with the research carried out by Liu et al. (2012) Liu et al. (2012) explored the effect that the various concepts of self-congruity theory have on the consumer. Self congruity theory was developed by Sirgy (1986), which refers to the likeliness of a potential consumer to psychologically compare themselves with other objects and stimuli (brands in this case). This theory has been widely used to understand brand purchase behaviour (Sirgy, 1986). The three concepts studied by Liu et al. are Brand Personality Congruity, Brand User Imagery Congruity and Brand Usage Imagery Congruity. The relationship of these three types of self-congruity to the customer attitude and loyalty toward a luxury brand are studied in this paper. The study focuses on two brands CK and Chanel to understand the effect of a potential consumers self congruity in the purchasing of luxury brands. The study found that Brand User Imagery Congruity and Brand Usage Imagery Congruity are much stronger predictors of attitude and loyalty than Brand Personality Congruity i n either of the brands. It was found that the consumers own self-image and perception of a typical users image as well as usage imagery play an important role in a consumers purchase intention and attitude towards a brand. The findings of this study were similar to the previous claims made by Sirgy et al. (1997), Liu et al. (2008) and Sotiropoulos (2003). 2.3.2 High-Street Fashion High-street fashion describes the clothing retailers who cater to the mass-market. These retailers design and sell clothes which are affordable and are used for mass-consumption. The brands either have independent stores, franchises or are a part of chain stores. As the high-street fashion market started getting crowded with the introduction of more and more brands, competition started running high. In order to combat this competition, many of the high-street brands started the concept of fast-fashion. These are brands like Zara, HM and Mango who create affordable, trendy and disposable items to cater to the consumers demands. Fast-fashion gives brands a competitive edge as they turn the latest runway designs to chic disposable clothes that the mass-market can afford (Tungate, 2008; Hines and Bruce; 2001). Following the success of fast fashion, Cachon and Swinney (2