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Design of the research proposal

There are key elements when designing a research proposal. A suggestedtemplate, written by the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust isoutlined below.

1. TitleClearly identifying the study and may contain a description of the studydesign as well as the objectives.2. InvestigatorsThe named investigators on the research proposals, ie.all those withvaluable contribution to the work.3. BackgroundThe background of the project including a critical review of the currentknowledge, published and unpublished work, gaps in the evidence and thepotential value of furthering knowledge in this field. The research

hypothesis should also be included in this section, with the explanation of reasons for undertaking the work.4. AimsExpressed as a small number, i.e. 1-4. Concise and precise objectives thatshould follow logically, from the rationale hypothesis for a quantitativestudy and toward the hypothesis for a qualitative study.5. Study DesignDescription of the important elements of the methodology. It may includesome or all of the following:

o The process by which subjects will be sampled

o

The number of groups studiedo Whether subjects/investigators will be aware of which intervention is

being administeredo Whether patients will receive all or only one intervention

o Whether past or current data are collected

o Methods to reduce bias

o The tools used for sampling

6. Subjects/PatientsAll the following information about the study groups should be included:

o A description of the study population, including a rationale

o The methods by which they will be found and recruited

o Inclusion/exclusion criteria

o Sample size

7. InterventionsA full description of the study intervention should be provided:

o Treatment or investigation; the dose, timing, method of 

providing, administering and receiving the treatment should bedetailed.Questionnaire or interview; reasons for method and possiblecontamination should be discussed.

o Necessary safeguards and potential risks should be made

apparent, including the methods by which intervention will bemonitored.

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8. End-PointsMeasurement outcomes used to confirm/reject or generate the hypothesis.They should be separated into primary and secondary:

o Primary end-points: those most important to the hypothesis,

there should only be 1 or 2.

o Secondary end-points: provide some support to the hypothesis,but without the expected primary outcome would not prove thetheory.

o The number of end-points should be kept to a minimum, the

inclusion of many variables may hinder the interpretation of thefindings.

o The expected effect of the end-points should be described.

9. MeasurementsAll relevant measurements, investigations and techniques should beclearly and fully described. When there are a variety of acceptedtechniques possible for use, the exact procedure should be defined. Adetailed list of any equipment used should also be included and thereliability of the measurements must be taken into account.10.Study PlanDetails of the order, site and timing of all study procedures. Anyinformation, equipment, treatment and documentation to be given to thepatient or to be collected by the investigator, must be detailed.11. AnalysisThe method of the data analysis should be specified within the protocoland should include:

o timing of data collection, entry and statistical analysis

o method of data entryo data analysis package

o presentation of demographic and outcome data summaries

o the arithmetic, graphical and statistical manipulation of the data

o criteria for statistical and clinical significance of data

12. Ethical IssuesThese are matters relevant to and the methods by which thepatient/subject’s interests will be safeguarded. They include risk limitation,patient study information and confidentiality, methods of monitoring andpossible adverse side effects. (for more detail see section on EthicalApproval)13.Resource RequirementsThe resource implications to the host organisation and any other involveddepartments should be defined in this section. If the study involves co-operation by individuals other than the researchers, or use of equipment or any other resource, then permission for the use of these services must beobtained form the relevant person.In addition the following must be displayed if not stated explicitly on theResources form:

o Timetable/schedule of the research

o Names of the staff 

o Staff involved peripherally, such as outpatient/ward staff o All costs (both fixed and semi-fixed)

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14. SupervisionThe proposal should name the individual(s) who will supervise theresearch project and the intended arrangements for the supervision. Alsoany details of a steering group, for example, the role, frequency of meetings, monitoring arrangements and the membership of the group.

15.Dissemination and OutcomeThe intended route for internal and external publication should bespecified. Any implications for future practice and patient care should alsobe suggested.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Research Study Pack 

 

SPECIAL REPORT February 1, 2010, 5:01PM EST

The Value of DesignThe catalyst for this report on the value of design in business 

was the outpouring of reader comments that arrived after a 

bad-tempered blog post 

By Helen Walters

SPECIAL REPORT 

The Value of Design

• The Value of Design

• Why Design Matters

• The Value of Design to Startups

• How to Redesign Health Care

• The Role of Design in Business

• Slide Show: World's Most Influential Designers

STORY TOOLS 

• post a comment

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• add to Business Exchange

• View Slide Show

Back in December, I published a somewhat bad-tempered blog post.

Titled "Come on Designers. Step Up", the piece was prompted by an article

in The Times of London, in which designers and the design industry were

hauled over the coals for, essentially, being a waste of taxpayers' money. In

this instance, designers had created a new logo for the British National Health

Service that nondesigners quoted in the piece (including British MP Greg

Hands) deemed both unnecessary and expensive.

As I wrote at the time, the thesis of the Times piece was unoriginal and

superficial—yet all too familiar. My irritation stemmed from the fact that the

value of design is clearly still not understood in the marketplace at large. And,

I argued, the responsibility for this disconnect—and fixing it—lies with

designers. "Designers need to step up and fight back and prove their craft is

not a 20th century anachronism," I wrote.

The response was swift, spirited, and fell mainly into two camps. Some

thought I was being deliberately incendiary and borderline irresponsible;

others agreed that perhaps the design industry has an issue. Many quite

rightly pointed out that "design" is a much larger proposition than the graphic

design of this particular rebranding exercise, while there were numerous lively

and articulate defenses of design as a process, not a style or an artifact.

Companies such as Apple (AAPL), Procter & Gamble (PG)and BMW (BMW:GR) were cited as corporate leaders that clearly understand

the worth of good design.

This special report attempts to pick apart the issue a little further, with opinion

pieces on the value of design from those within and outside the profession.

IDEO partner Diego Rodriguez makes the case that good business arises

from a design-centric process that incorporates marketing, research, and

ideas. RKS Design's Ravi Sawhney and Deepa Prahalad outline four specific

areas in which design can create value: understanding the consumer;

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mitigating risk; boosting marketing and branding; and driving sustainable

business practices.

Angel investor Dave McClure is heavily involved in the Silicon

Valley community of consumer Internet companies and technology-driven

startups. He writes a spirited argument in which he makes the case

that design and marketing are, in fact, way more important than

engineeringfor the firms with which he works. And Dr. Jay Parkinson, a

pediatrician and preventive medicine specialist, outlines the role that design

(and disruptive innovation) can play in retooling the U.S. health-care system.

Finally, we put together a list of the 27 most influential designers and design

thinkers making an impact on business today. Featuring the likes of Apple's

industrial design guru Jonathan Ive and British service design specialist Hilary

Cottam, our slide show aims to shine a light on the breadth and scope of the

profession as well as to highlight those whose work is influencing global

business and policy.

Clearly this is just another chapter in an ongoing discussion, but I hope you

find the report useful. Let us know what you think.

User-Driven Brand Design: Establishing a

Convergent Brand ExperienceWritten by Jon Kolko and Ashley Menger 

Introduction 

Technology-driven interaction design projects have traditionally been built by graphic

artists, usually trained in the classical methodologies of print design, and run by

project managers, usually trained in the classical methodologies of advertising and

marketing. The scope of these projects tends to reflect the corporate cultural

understanding of the importance of brand; traditionally in-your-face, lowest commondenominator companies have neglected the web's inimitable benefits as a marketing

and communication tool and have instead simply mimicked their offline campaigns

online.

And on the most primitive levels, this methodology appears to work. Yum! c Brands

has positioned Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC online in a very traditional and simple

fashion, giving customers the opportunity to view their menu, learn about the fat

content in a thigh of fried chicken (25 grams), and most recently, order a pizza online

from http://www.pizzahut.com.

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The Medium is the Message: McLuhan, not Gore,

invented the Internet 

But this strategy ignores basic trends in technology and design: trends towards

convergent media, immersive brand experiences and a world where consumersparticipate in and generally shape the way a company fits into their lives. Established

brand leader Nike has positioned their online experiences as just that - experiences -

and directs consumers from their print ads to their websites, from their websites to

Nike Town, and from these stores back to more printed collateral. Overnight brand

success Mini Cooper has integrated PDA technology in-dash, allowing consumers to

transfer data between their pocket PC and the electronics of the car. And presidential

hopeful Howard Dean has established himself as the first-ever political brand; his

online web-presence incorporates mobile alerts and blogging, and is overshadowed

in impact only by his use of the internet to schedule real-life meetings.

These immersive, multidimensional brand experiences transcend (and sometimes

reject completely) the "web browser" as the method of delivery and instead exploit

each unique medium's capabilities - cellular as portable, print as static, television as

obnoxious and in-store as opportunity. The overwhelming and intangible nature of

designing these large strategies demand attention from individuals with extremely

diverse skill sets. These designers passionately explore from a user, goal and brand

perspective outwards rather than from a product or campaign perspective inwards,

giving them the latitude to allow process to drive product.

The methodology required to understand and develop convergent brand strategy

demands a new, broad and total understanding of three areas of expertise: visual

design, interaction design and user-centered product design. These skills are often

manifested in the fields of Print or Graphic design, Interactive or Web Design and

Industrial Design, respectively. But the demands of the convergent design problem

blur the lines between disciplines, and have created a requirement for process

centered holistic design - a repeatable methodology centered around a thorough

understand of the target user.

In her MFA thesis, Ashley George Menger explores the impact of User-Driven Brand

Design as a way to create a cohesive brand experience targeting a specific enigmatic

audience: teenage girls. As described below, her research and process requires an

in-depth understanding of contextual-based user research, graphic design, logo and

mark creation, industrial design, and interaction design. By allowing user goals and

higher level needs to drive the design process, Menger has created a multi-

dimensional brand that fits dramatically well into the lives of her users, and has

illustrated the success of a User-Driven Brand Design process.

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Process Driven Contextual Design: Teenage Girls Hold 

the Keys to Brand? 

Designing for teenage girls has long been viewed a daunting task; understanding the

complexity of identity as teens search to integrate Maslow's hierarchy of needs iscompounded in young woman as they struggle to cope with a media blitz of self

image beautification. Popular music, teen magazines and blockbuster movies all

emphasize the need to be thin, popular and successful; teenage self-mutilation is at a

historical high. There is clearly an opportunity to affect social change within this

group while offering products or services to these young woman.

This clinical analysis, while academically correct, does little to direct a designer

towards a solution; pointing out existing problems and identifying a niche market is

only the first, and easiest step, in a long iterative process of design thinking. Given

the emotional quality of the target audience, as well as the technical prowess the

majority of this demographic have grown up with, the only guaranteed method of

understanding the end user is to become one. Menger joins the girl scouts for over a

year, utilizing Goodall-style ethnographic research techniques; she alters her

clothing, her musical preferences and her reading material to mimic that of a thirteen

year-old-girl. By exploiting traditional contextual-based user research methodologies

in search of brand identity, Menger becomes one with her target audience and

accurately identifies a design direction: alleviation of fear within teenage girls,

encouraging woman to purchase and utilize empowering services and products.

Similar to any other brand proposal, Fearless Girl has a logo, a color style and a

rollout plan. But the proposed Fearless Girl brand has a foundation grounded in a

conceptual and pragmatic understanding of audience, needs and goals, and the

planned viral introduction of the brand truly illustrates an understanding of convergent

user-driven design and branding. Quite simply, Menger proposes an introduction of

the brand through chewing gum: simple, cheap, ubiquitous and easily accessible to

the target market. The gum, found in a unique tin, promotes exemplary woman role

models on the back of the container and encourages display of the package; a

"prize" inside (in the form of a sticker, fake tattoo, or hair scrunchy) further promotesthe brand. And the brand itself, marked with the devious Valkyrie-inspired viking

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chomping on hot pink bubble gum, serves to empower and emphasize a truly

empowering statement: Fear Less, Girl!

As there is no distinction between the graphic design of the brand and the brand

itself, the domains have truly converged; additionally, the gap between product and

brand ceases to exist, as the product is traded, collected and consumed all at the

same time. The brand itself, then, is traded, collected and consumed as well!

Technology Supports the Brand; Interaction Creates It 

Before introducing an initial product, many marketing plans call for pilot studies or

initial data gathering; having already accomplished this research during the

conceptualization phase, Menger proposes an immediate influx of the brand into as

wide an infrastructure as possible. As the brand grows, innovative follow-on products

are introduced. Chewing gum is a vehicle for recognition; as the brand value of

Fearless Girl grows, so too does the complexity of the Fearless Girl line of products.

And in the spirit of convergence, each product relies on form, imagery and user

interaction to successfully illustrate the brand's message.

The "postcard journal", an innovative approach towards journaling, creates a delayed

relationship between Fearless Girl and the user; noting the popularity of diaries

among her target audience, Menger has developed a system that incorporates

product intertwined with the wonder of a surprise, extending the brand experience

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over time and utilizing a flavor of memory morphing. After creating a journal entry, the

teenage girl mails the postcard to Fearless Girl. The company holds the postcard for

a period of time, and then mails it back to the user.

Brand impression aside, the journal continues the socially conscious message of

enhancing self-image amongst teenage girls; the postcards feature "fearless" woman

chosen from recent history. These woman, although not highly political or well

known, illustrate specific figures chosen for charisma, lifestyle and inspiration; these

include Joyce Hoffman, World Champion surfer, and Peggy Oki, a prominent

skateboarder from the late seventies.

Technology supports the brand, as the back-end organizational techniques

necessary to maintain a successful rapport with the target audience directly mirror

that of a customer-relationship management system. Yet this technical interaction is

a support function for the organization rather than a visible aspect of the product; theuser interaction, although conceptually complex, is broken down into easy-to-follow

instructions.

Fearless Girl : Convergent Thinking Embodied in Brand 

The contextual research process discussed above calls for the designer's integration

into the user's culture in order to acquire a primary understanding of the lifestyle and

semiotics. As Menger explores from a user, goal and brand perspective, she is able

to utilize process centered holistic design - a repeatable methodology centered

around a thorough understanding of her target audience. Crossing this cultural divide

enables a unique understanding of the users' emotions and then, returning to the

position of designer, offers the ability of perspective. This process elucidates a true

user-centric criteria to begin the design conceptualization phase and leads to a

product of inherent cultural resonation.

The Fearless Girl brand has been developed by an Industrial Designer, yet focuses

on visual and graphic design to establish a highly unique and focused relationship.

This combination - product, graphic and interaction - is essential to successfully

develop an immersive, multidimensional brand experience. Products can have a

momentary effect on the way people think and feel about themselves. Convergent

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brand thinkers need to acknowledge a product's everyday ability to trigger a mood or

an opinion and the cumulative psychological effect. This consideration will not only

promote well-being, but also prevent situations of the adverse effect. Products that

invite the user and allow for sensory input inspire feelings of ownership, harmony,

and connection; brands that follow this methodology will dictate the convergent,immersive, multidimensional experiences of our near future.

Fashion, Entertainment, and apparel web

design

In a hurry? Use this box to send us a "Quick Quote" request.

Quick Quote

Designing web sites for the fashion, apparel, and entertainment industries is one of the most

challenging assignments that our creative management team handles. To these clients,

image is everything, and the image they portray on their web sites can make or break their 

message.

However, image can't be everything in our design – in order to shop, learn, and be engaged

by the site it must follow the same usability rules as any other web site.

What is the number 1 rule in Fashion, apparel, and Entertainment sites? Don't try to be so

cool that your visitors can't figure out how to navigate your web site.

When we worked on the United way NFL site creating a new site layout and designing a new

interface for the United Way NFL videos, we created an easy-to-follow site map so new

visitors could easily read about what how the United Way and the NFL team up all year long

to help the community. We also devised a way to embed their new TV commercials inside a

football-card type layout for a very special presentation.

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CASE STUDY: Amerex Group

Challenge

Q. How does an outwear company re-launch a brand that has been dormant for years but still

has brand recognition in the industry, and at the same time launch another new brand AND a

new corporate web site?

A. Design a user-focused Web site with valuable features to increase customer conversion,

retention and loyalty of its long-time customer base.

Background

The Gerry Brand has a long and rich history, starting in 1945, when Gerald "Gerry"

Cunningham founded Gerry Mountaineering Equipment Co. In the 1970's, the Gerry

Sportswear Company created the "Super Sweater", the original puffy down jackets. Gerry

continues to be a pioneer in the industry, supplying superior outerwear that combines

versatility, style, and performance.

Amerex Group, the company that owns the Gerry name, also needed to re-design its own

corporate web site, and in addition had a new brand called "Weather Tamer", a family-

oriented line of outerwear to launch. In all, 3 new web sites were needed, all with different

content, audiences, and goals.

Since August 2002, Amerex Group has been working with Business-Edge.com to enhance its

online brand presence, increase functionality and streamline performance to help meet its

growth goals. In addition, Amerex Group also worked with Business-Edge.com to develop a

long-term site strategy to provide a consistent customer experience across all Amerex Group

channels, and deepen relationships with customers to build loyalty.

Solution

Business-Edge.com helped Amerex Group apply a user-centric approach toward its Web site

strategy and development. Through research and workshops, Business-Edge.com and

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Amerex Group collaborated on developing an iterative, long-term site strategy with initiatives

to increase conversion, grow online revenue, and increase customer retention.

Results 

Since the web site launches in Fall 2002, Amerex Group has grown in many ways, by

creating licensing agreements with companies such as Gloria Vanderbilt, Rampage, and

Earthbound, becoming sponsors of events such as the 2003 NASTAR ski races, and

increasing and expanding their web presence with Business-Edge.com.

Sample Research Proposal on A comparativecase analysis of Zara and Topshop Company

Fashion industry market as of the present is growing and is booming as there are

sectors focused on the type of business. But, how come low cost fashion

companies do impact in competition within the fashion industry? Is there really

an issue pointing towards these companies such as Zara and Topshop? Fashion

industry can have greater demands from various customer types and due to

globalization, such low cost fashion companies can be in to prove its worth in the

fashion market. The research can be used to determine underlying factors in such

cases to be taken from Zara and Topshop and thus, provide awareness to the

fashion business of such impact in the market mostly, to those first class fashion

companies.

 

Background

 

The problem can be that nowadays, low cost fashion companies can possibly

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dominate the industry of today and in the future and the situation for competition

in the fashion industry can amicably be on high demand on such products and

services and that there is evidence of business risks as possible. The interest of 

the paper will be to determine how low cost fashion companies impact the

competition within the fashion industry in the aspect of its market stance. There

should be awareness and assessment on the presence of the two low cost fashion

companies, Zara and Topshop will be considered as the focus for this study.

Amicably, it is also imperative for this research to determine and evaluate such

customer views with regards to the two low cost fashion companies (Zara and

Topshop) and in thus, the study can involve such frequent shoppers of those

companies and from such responses can possibly linked and indicate as to why

these low cost companies do impact such competition within the fashion market

industry.

 Relevant Literature

A consumer preference for brands with a global image, even when quality and

value are not objectively superior, has been proposed as a reason for companies to

consider global brands (Cited from, Shocker et al., 1994; Taylor and Raymond, 

2000). Therefore, Fashion Company needs to identify the response of consumers

worldwide to its global advertising for such specific consumer segment. For 

instance, the fashion industry for women is particularly relevant in terms of 

examining the feasibility of cross-national segmentation. Research indicates that

females tend to be more fashion conscious, be more knowledgeable about fashion

 brands (Cited from, Blyth, 2006), and read more fashion magazines than male

consumers (Cited from, Chamblee et al., 1993; Putrevu, 2004). This implies that

marketers need to pay special attention to women when expanding and

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advertising fashion brands to international markets. The fashion industry is

characterized by a considerable amount of standardized advertising. In fact,

global advertising in fashion magazines such as Vogue and Elle helps create the

image of a designer brand name for fashion goods, such as apparel, accessories,

and perfume, and has been used by many leading firms (Cited from,Blyth, 2006).

Increasingly, some fashion marketers have discovered that their advertising is

directly linked to retail sales and strong retail performance (Cited from, Callan,

2006).

 

Fashion lifestyle segmentation

In recent years, it has been suggested that we are seeing the emergence of a new

group of consumers who have similar preferences and buy similar brands that are

 promoted globally as well as in local media. These new consumers have been

referred to as "global consumers," who exhibit similarities to people in other 

nations in terms of lifestyle and consumption patterns (Cited from, Hassan et al., 

2003). Although differences abound in music, values, and cultures, some have

argued that commercial advertising on mass media (TV, magazine and internet)

has contributed to a global consumer culture, particularly for global brands (Cited

from, Arnold and Thompson, 2005). In various contexts, it is important to

examine whether evidence really shows support for the notion of global consumer 

context. Thus, again, it is important to examine whether fashion segments cut

across national boundaries. Lifestyle segmentation has received considerable

attention in fashion products, such as clothing, accessories, and sportswear.

Fashion lifestyle is defined as consumer attitudes, interests, and opinions related

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to the purchase of fashion products (Cited from, Gutman and Mills, 1982;Ko et 

al., 2006). In a study of the female apparel market in the USA , Shim and Bickle 

(Cited from, 1994) outlined three fashion lifestyle segments:

symbolic/instrumental users, who are younger, innovative, fashion-conscious, and

represent higher social class level; practical/conservative users, who are oriented

more toward comfort and function than toward fashion or appearance and are not

likely to enjoy shopping; and apathetic users, who tend to patronize discount

stores. In another study from the USA, Kim and Lee (Cited from, 2000) identified

six fashion lifestyles price-consciousness, fashion-consciousness, information

seeking, self-confidence, attitude toward local stores, and time-consciousness and

was related to different segments that sought benefits from catalog shopping. As

Lee et al., (Cited from, 2004) divide TV home shoppers into four segments based

on fashion lifestyle the aesthetic group, the economic fashion innovator group,

the showy uncritical group, and the fashion-uninterested group and discuss their 

different responses to product advertising on TV home shopping. Finally, Ko and

Mok (Cited from, 2001) found that fashion lifestyles have significant effects on

advertising effectiveness in an Internet shopping context (Cited from, Ko and

Park, 2002). The low cost companies can be guided by philosophy

of producing fashionable cheaply made clothing, but adapts its

clothing lines to each country and ensures that stores are

permanently restocked. To strengthen brands that involve such

mixture of fashion and cheapness, there can be collaboration

among celebrities and famous designers available at low prices.

 

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Thus, for instance, Hennes and Mauritz there can be the support

of singers such as Kylie Minogue and Madonna and Chanel

designer Karl Lagerfeld have all worked with H&M and their

collections have sold out in hours. Hennes and Mauritz reported

then, such sales of €8.6 billion approximately $11.9 billion,

putting it slightly ahead of its nearest rival in the clothing retail

industry, Spanish group Zara, as the principle remains the

same: fashion and quality at the best price. The emergence of 

international low-cost fashion chains such as Hennes and Mauritz

is linked to shopping trends as the success of these brands is

evidently down to their low prices, which is the main point.

(Cited from, The Local, 2007 in Business Region Goteborg) The

people and the environment where people live in are affecting

the changes in fashion. These changes are influenced by celebrity culture,

demand for cheap, fast fashion and the ever-increasing demand to help save the

 planet. Fashion brands realize the needs and act upon it to keep people interested,

and to keep people from buying their brand. However, the regular consumer 

doesn't know about seeding, so therefore she believes that the celebrity has

 bought into a brand they trust.

 

Information on Zara

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Source of image:

From: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ifc_Zara_20071110.jpg>

 

Zara is a successful fashion chain store for the Spanish group owned by Spanish

tycoon Amancio Ortega as the group is headquartered in Spain, where the first

Zara store opened in 1975. Today, Inditex is probably the world's fastest growing

retailer with over 3,100 stores around the world in over 70 countries the Zara

format taking around 1,000 of those stores. In March 2006, the group

overtook Sweden's Hennes & Mauritz to become Europe's largest fashion

retailer. For instance, it is claimed that Zara needs just two weeks [1] to develop a

new product and get it to stores, compared with a nine-month industry average,

and launches around 10,000 new designs each year. Zara has resisted the

industry-wide trend towards transferring production to low-cost countries.

Perhaps its most unusual strategy was its policy of zero advertising; the company

 preferred to invest percentage of revenues in opening new stores instead. Zara

was described by Louis Vuitton as "possibly the most innovative and devastating

retailer in the world". Zara has also been described as "Spanish success story" as

reported by CNNnews. The clothing industry followed design and production

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 processes that required long lead times, often up to six months, between the initial

design of garment and its delivery to retailers. This model effectively limited

manufacturers and distributors to just two or three collections per year. Predicting

consumer tastes ahead of time presented inherent difficulties, and producers and

distributors faced the constant risk of becoming saddled with unsold inventory.

The company's instant fashion model, which completely rotated its retail stock 

every two weeks, also encouraged customers to return often to its stores, with

delivery day becoming known as "Z-day" in some markets. The knowledge that

clothing items would not be available for very long also encouraged shoppers to

make their purchases more quickly. Moreover, such article written in

theBusinessworld magazine describes Zara's fashion strategy as follows: "Zara

was fashion imitator. It focused its attention on understanding the fashion items

that its customers wanted and then delivering them, rather than on promoting

 predicted season's trends via fashion shows and similar channels of influence,

which the fashion industry traditionally used." (Cited from, Zara: Spanish 

Season, Businessworld) As the shortening the product life cycle means greater 

success in meeting consumer preferences. (Cited from,Zara's Secret for Fast 

Fashion, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge for Business Leaders)

Thus, if design doesn't sell well within week, it is withdrawn from shops, further 

orders are cancelled and innovative design is pursued. No design stays on the

shop floor for more than four weeks, which encourages Zara fans to make repeat

visits. An average high-street store in Spain expects fans to visit three times per 

year. That goes up to 17 times for Zara (Cited from, Zara: Taking the Lead in Fast

Fashion, 2006 in Business Week).

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Zara's success story

While retailers concentrate their money and efforts on building a brand image

through advertising campaigns, their lack of control over sub-contractors has left

many open to accusations of using sweatshop labor when unacceptable practices

are uncovered at factories producing their merchandise. The company's success

lies in it having total control of every part of the business. It designs, produces

and distributes itself. By controlling the entire process from factory to shop floor,

Zara can react quickly to changing fashion trends and customers' tastes, providing

innovativeness that has takenEurope by storm. Shoppers addicted to the Zara

 brand know exactly when the deliveries will be arriving at their local shop and

some even turn up before opening time on delivery days to be the first to pick up

the latest lines. (Cited from, Zara, Spanish success story, CNN,15 June 2001) The

company's success is proof that it is still possible to build a massive brand by

doing no more than meeting a market need. It has achieved this without any

advertising or promotion and without outsourcing its manufacturing to countries

where labor is cheap.

Source: CNN.com Europe Business (June 15, 2001)From:

<http://edition.cnn.com/BUSINESS/programs/yourbusiness/stories2001/za

ra/> 

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Labels: Consumer Attitude Research Proposals, Health ResearchProposals, Marketing Research Proposals

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