Essay --

Lower leg pain has been a mystery, with it being named by several different terms. Shin pain that most athletes refer to as shin splints is now being termed Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome or MTSS. Some atheltes under estimate the severity of shin splints by simply having a lack of knowledge. â€Å"In 1974, Clement was among the fist to postulate that â€Å"tibial stress syndrome† was caused by a periostitis that could progress to tibial stress fracture† (Craig, 17). Inflammation of the periosteum and also the tibialis posterior lead to MTSS and ultimately a stress fracture. In order to further research about the cause of MTSS, tissue biopsy was performed on 62 patients in a study by Johnell. According to Craig, 2008, Johnell found that there was an increased tissue metabolic activity, like osteoblast proliferation. Osteoblasts are bone cells that attempt to grow new and repair damaged bone. Osteoblast are present often with inflammation, which is a bodies response to in jury. Through this study, Johnell found that 2/3 of his patients had bone damage, which explains why osteoblasts were proliferating. In a later study by Michael and Holdner they suggested that instead of the tibialis posterior, the soleus was a major cause of MTSS. â€Å"They found that 1/3 of the MTSS patients had soleus fascia inflammation and 1/3 had bony inflammation just underneath the fascial attachment into the bone† (Craig, 17). Inflammation ultimately causes pain. This explains why the soleus is a contributor to MTSS. Athletes who participate in sports like Track and Field where they are in repeated plantar flexion put a lot of pressure on the gastrocnemius and soleus. The gastrocnemius and soleus are consistantly being contracted with every stride and take off for a ... ...8). With out an arch, the soleus is being stretched for long periods of time that causes it to become fatigued and strained which can put pressure on the tibia. It can not be concluded that excessive pronation causes MTSS, but is rather a risk factor. By taping an individuals arch, the amount of pronation can be decreased as well as the amount of pain experienced. Craig also suggests pool work outs once a week to allow for bone healing. I think this is a great idea, and more coaches should implement a pool work out into their weekly routine. Swimming still allows atheltes to have a cardiovascualr work out while giving their tibia's a break. Some atheltes have an extremely high pain tolerance and will continue to practice and perform, with or without treatment. Though with preventative measures like taping and rehab, the treatment of MTSS can hopefully be achieved.

Coffee mate study case Essay

Coffee Mate is made up of dried glucose and vegetable fat and it is considered as non-dairy although it contains milk derivatives. Some of them are liquid, others are reduced-fat and others are sugar free. There are also seasonal products that will keep you warm during the season, flavors only available from September through December. The brand is composed by 33 different products each of them aimed at different consumers depending on their preferences, this is explained with what is called Product Line Filling: a product can be offered with different characteristics, it first creates a product (in the case of Coffee Mate, its first product, the Coffee Mate The Original, was the starting point). Then, the company adds more features to that product, and that way it can be more differentiated from its competitors’ products. There are several reasons why a company might want to add more items to the present range of the line. It may want to increase profits, use the excess capacity it has, satisfying new consumers and that way, to increase the number of buyers†¦ Consumers are increasingly getting concerned about what they are eating and what companies offer them. The trend over the past few years is consuming products made up of natural ingredients. That is why Coffee Mate has created Natural Bliss, which is made up with only four simple ingredients: milk, cream, sugar and natural flavor. When a company increases the number of products in the brand, sometimes it can find itself in a situation of cannibalization (it happens if one part of a company grows by taking sales from another). Actual consumers can change from a variety to the new one so there is no benefit taken from new consumers. The company must focus on potential consumers, try to answer to the question, why some people do not buy our product? And create a new flavor that can attract new buyers. However when Coffee Mate  Lite was introduced, the volume of cannibalization was minimal. The brand experienced a growth of 10% during the first 3 years of the Lite version appearance. Another key point to add customer value to the product is throughout the design, the pack, the wrap of the product. At first, the package of the product had only one mission, to hold and protect the product inside, but nowadays packaging has become an important tool in marketing. Coffee Mate has different formats: 170 g, 311 g, 450 g, 750g, or 1.4kg. All the flavors can be found in both powder or liquid. Negatives about dried milk (powder) are that it may be bought only for emergency when consumers run out of milk and is considered to be inconvenient to prepare. On the other side, coffee creamers have a better image across non-users as they see it as almost a treat and make coffee taste so much better. SWOT ANALYSIS In order to make a good marketing analysis of the company, we have performed an analysis of advantages and limitations, selected a targeting strategy, performed segmentation and positioning, and analyzed the convenience of the proposed ad. +STRENGTHS: Consumers claim that Coffee Mate gives better taste to coffee Coffee Mate is said to relax and comfort consumers, it gives a good perception of the product. Coffee Mate belongs to Nestle, which is well-known and prestigious brand -WEAKNESSES: Sometimes seen as an emergency option It contains added sugar in it in some of its versions, which is seen as a bad habit for those who care about health +OPPORTUNITIES Lite version (has increased sales lately) -THREATS: Sales of creamers and dried milk are directly proportional to coffee sales, so in these times the reduction on coffee consumption may result on lower sales. It is considered to be an artificial product, and this goes against the increasing concern for natural and healthy food and drinks TARGETING, SEGMENTATION and POSITIONING To optimize marketing budget is key to target the market segments that better fit Coffee Mate’s strengths. The company must decide which and how many segments it will target. Market targeting can be taken at different levels: very broadly (mass marketing), very narrowly (micro marketing) or somewhere in between (differentiated or concentrated marketing). We have decided that Coffee Mate should be aimed at multiple segments and use concentrated marketing. Mass marketing: market strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and go after the whole market with one offer. In this case this strategy will not fit with coffee mate fore several reasons: 1. It is difficult to develop a product that will satisfy all segments 2. Coffee Mate will have trouble competing with more product-focused firms Micro marketing: target marketing in which companies tailor their marketing programs to the needs and wants of narrowly defined segments. Given the recently squeezed advertising budget, choosing only one segment will result in less profitability. Concentrated marketing (or niche marketing): market strategy in which a firm goes after a large share of few submarkets. By doing this Coffee Mate could achieve a stronger market position that its actual 55% market share. It can market more effectively targeting each product toward those consumers’ segments that it can serve best. Having decided that Coffee Mate products should be aimed at multiple segments we need now to evaluate the attractiveness of each segment and their fit to Coffee Mate ´s strengths. TGI Users Surveys covering coffee and creamer’s markets came up with five potential groups of consumers for Coffee Mate: 1. Experimentalists (15.4%): Like to try new things Enjoy spending money Heavy users of instant coffee Below-average users of creamers BUT average users of Coffee Mate. 15-44 years Middle income Heavy users of media Keep up with the fashion, are stylish and will try anything new. Socialize often and holiday abroad Like to treat themselves Not really using Coffee Mate, as one would have expected. 2. Cost constrained, older, conservative (23.6%): Budget when shopping, price aware, look for lowest prices Very traditional Worry about food Light users of instant coffee Never use cream Average users of dried milk BUT not really users of Coffee Mate 55+ years Not working or retired Low household income Very conservative, like routine Socialize rarely 3. Affluent, young foodies (24.4%): Light users of media Heavy users of coffee and ground coffee Above-average users of creamers and most often buy Coffee Mate and Marvel Users of cream 35-54 years Above-average income and work full-time High expenditure on groceries store. Enjoy cooking and trying out new food Like socializing Health conscious Can afford to treat themselves 4. Cost constrained, young families (13.9%): Low incomes Not concerned about health or environment Heavy users of instant coffee but do not use ground coffee Below-average users of creamers and never use cream 15-34 years Heavy users of media Low expenditure on grocery store Rarely go out (can’t afford to) 5. Affluent (22.7%): Not price conscious, well off Old (55+) Not health conscious Not media aware The people most likely to be buying Coffee-Mate Do not want to try new things. After evaluating the different segments, we have concluded that the segment most likely to buy our product will be the EXPERIMENTALISTS and AFFLUENT YOUNG FOODIES. EXPERIMENTALISTS fit into Coffee Mate’s strengths (specially for Original Coffee Mate) in various ways: a) Social class (lower) b) Household type (2-3 people with children) Besides this, they are heavy users of media and are likely to consume instant coffee and cream. AFFLUENT YOUNG FOODIES fit into Coffee Mate’s average consumer for Coffee Mate Lite because of several reasons: a) Age segment b) Income level c) Working time The ad clearly pictures affluent young foodies with their After Eights and tea with another couple of the same group. It tries to compare both cream and CoffeeMate while stating that the latter is so much better when Jane runs out of cream and the guests praise her for their second cup of coffe more than the first one. The ad makes two clear statements: The first one, that the consumer always has a backup plan for when milk/cream runs out, since CoffeeMate is easy to store and lasts long enough. After being served the second cup, the guests show their enthusiasm for it because of the taste. This implies that while being a backup plan for cream lovers, it also turns out to be a much better substitute good for cream or even milk. Whether this ad is effective or not depends on the segment that we focus on. The biggest segment, the affluent young foodies -24.4% market share according to the study- can only grow with this ad. Even if they’ve never  tried it before, the ad will make the product appealing to them by insisting on the great flavor and the convenience of it, which is what most of this group looks for. Furthermore, it seems that the experimentalists are affluent young foodie wannabes. They are the same age group, they are really materialistic but they have a much smaller income than the former segment. This is why it looks like the ad could have this group as potential customers. They watch the ad, they want to act like those affluent people and they buy the product so they can reach that status at least in one aspect. They just follow suit in everything that has to do with the rich and hip. This is where we see the biggest increase in share due to their consumerism and pretentiousness. Lastly, we could squeeze another segment that this ad could reach; the affluent. The affluent segment has also got a big market share, although they are older than the two studied groups. CoffeeMate is trying to show in this ad that it is reliable and that it’s always a good backup plan, and older people can be interested in the product since they have people home for meals, and they would not want to run out of anything and not make their guests fully happy. The only downside for this segment is that they don’t usually watch TV or listen to the radio, so the ad would have to be in the newspapers or find a way to sneak into their radar. Alternatively, if the focus on experimentalists is desired we would recommend, instead of making a conventional ad, promoting the product and the brand via Twitter or Facebook. These are such powerful tools for targeting this segment since they are young and they are really influenced by what they see in others that social media could really boost up sales. This could be done by creating a page of Coffee Mate and uploading â€Å"cool† things, making the brand interact with their potential customers. See figure 1. ANNEX FIGURE 1 Coffee Mate is part of a growing number of businesses that use social media  marketing in their efforts to gain exposure†¦but also to build relationships with their customers and get permission to market to them directly†¦as long as they do it in a soft, acceptable fashion. The promotion would need to be shaped so that they would focus on the core benefits that the Coffee-Mate offers. This has to be at least as good as the targeted competitor. They also have to be aware of how the competitor currently markets his product. By knowing how he operates they could either copy and improve the existing one or then completely change and try a more radical approach. If the Coffee-Mate would want to succeed they would need to convince the consumer how he can benefit from our product better in contrast to the competitor. As we have seen before, for example in the ad, Coffee-Mate has a range of benefits which are focused on different necessities of coffee drinkers such as being a great backup plan for when milk/cream runs out, since Coffee-Mate is easy to store and lasts long enough or having a myriad of different flavors which can in many occasions be a better substitute for milk or cream, which are the immediate competitors of Coffee-Mate. When having to advertise (twitter, TV ads, newspaper, etc) the product focusing on the benefits and the competition targeted, the promotion of Coffee-Mate should include (as the ad pictures perfectly) the disadvantages the other competitors have, such as running out of cream or milk more often or being a dull boring flavor and on the other hand state the great range of flavors Coffee-Mate offers coffee lovers which will certainly attract experimentalists as they look forward to try new experiences and insist that it is a great substitute when cream or milk run out, which for affluent young foodies as they are more likely to socialize and serve coffee to their guests, will be a much more suitable and comfortable option. Experimentalists Marketing means persuading, getting people aware of our product by advertisements. A company banks on the idea that a celebrity will drive fans to try a product or service, simply because Celebrity X has it. To persuade our customers (experimentalists), we have chosen for our ad of Coffee Mate Blake Lively drinking a cup of coffee. We have chosen this celebrity to attract the experimentalists due to the fact that is a Hollywood personality known by almost all the young people, we can  considerate her as a fashion icon, she started to get famous with Gossip Girl and nowadays people around 15 to 24 consider her as an prototype, This ad goes directly directed to the experimentalist, as their name suggest, experimentalists are easy targeting as they would like to try out new products. They also have high media awareness and are status conscious and fashionable. Affluent, young foodies Light users of media Heavy users of coffee and ground coffee Above-average users of creamers and most often buy Coffee Mate and Marvel Users of cream 35-54 years Above-average income and work full-time High expenditure on groceries store. Enjoy cooking and trying out new food Like socializing Health conscious, can afford to treat themselves Richard Gere Richard Gere is a well-known actor, even though he is now in his early sixties he is an icon for many men as the prototype of an attractive, handsome man which may enter in the ideal standard of living of anyone, taking into account his films and social apparitions. Many women also know him for the same reasons and may see him as the â€Å"perfect† man. As the target market here are affluent young foodies, whose characteristics are stated above, a middle-high standard of living, the possibility of affording to treat themselves and the age group make it perfect for him to help position Coffee-Mate in this segment, as many of these people would like to copy his lifestyle. Noticing Richard Gere prefers Coffee-Mate might make this group want to drink coffee as he does. Bibliography Coffee Mate Offical website: http://www.coffee-mate.com Non Dairy Creamers Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-dairy_creamer Coffee Mate twitter: https://twitter.com/Coffee_mate Principles of Marketing, Fifth European Edition

Essay on Cuban Missile Crisis - 1985 Words

The discovery of the nuclear missiles in Cuba was a vast turning point in the way that the world would progress in terms of communication and various entertainment and political positions from that point forward. Before the assumptions of the United States were proved about the Soviet Union holding nuclear weapons in Cuba, there was a great lack of communications between the nations that caused major conflict between these two nations. The moment the nations got connected many problems could be solved, but until that point in time, there was misunderstanding and an apprehension of the unknown among many people who inhabited the United Sates. The Cuban missile crisis was the beginning of a revolution in communications between nations,†¦show more content†¦Each vessel that was going from the Soviet Union to Cuba was soon photographed by planes and ships, which belonged to the United States (Compston, 227). This was the start of an immense deal of troubles between the two n ations and a realization that there was an immense lack of communication amid them that would be fixed in the next couple of years. The Cuban Missile Crisis does not need to be looked at like a crisis or devastating point in history at all. In fact it could very easily be seen as a good thing that connected the nations and caused new things to develop (â€Å"The Cuban Missile Crisis begins†). First off, the detection of nuclear missiles in Cuba brought out a horrifying fear for many people as they thought that the testing of these nuclear weapons would result in major problems for them. Following the war, the Soviets and the United States took on a multitude of nuclear weapons that in the end could end up destroying entire nations and potentially the entire world (Winkler, 97). These atomic weapons were created through the force of splitting atoms apart, which was an extremely powerful weapon leading to hydrogen weapons which were even more powerful (Winkler, 102). At the time one would be fearful of the effects that radioactive fallout would have and what they could do in terms of harm (Compston, 229). The fear grew so much that fallout was a commonly used word. And no one could fully understand what harm would be done by theShow MoreRelatedThe Cuban Missile Crisis1149 Words   |  5 Pagescausing a civil war. Both the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War illus trate the United States attempt to combat communism. The Cuban Missile Crisis in the prevention of a nuclear war. Whereas the Vietnam War ultimately curtailed the spread of communism. (CMC) During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S was trying to prevent a nuclear war, and attempting to contain the hostility between the U.S and the Soviet Union. In 1962, an American U2 plane spotted a Russian missile site being built with shortRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis1188 Words   |  5 Pageseven know. Topic Sentence: The Cuban missile was a crazy time. It happened some fifty years ago when John F. Kennedy was president. It was when one of U.S. spy plane caught Soviet Union trying to sneak some nuclear missiles into Cuba that was ninety miles off the United States’ coast. Soon enough president Kennedy had to talk to one of their leaders about what are they doing with the missiles and if they do not remove it there will be a war. The Cuban missile crisis happened during the Cold War betweenRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis1495 Words   |  6 PagesKennedy was made aware of Soviet missiles in Cuba. This was the testing ground, the closest the world has ever been to nuclear war, the Cuban Missile Crisis, 16-28 October, 1962. The future for millions of lives depended upon the ability of United States President John F. Kennedy and Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev to reach an agreement in which both did not lose face, and more importantly, the world survived. The events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, as explained by Sheldon M. SternRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis Essay2455 Words   |  10 PagesThe Cuban Missile Crisis bought the world closer to extinction than ever before. It was through the decisive actions of newly elected president John F Kennedy and then premier of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev that the confrontation did not escalate into all out nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for 13 days, it was predicated on the fact that the Soviet Union was placing intercontinental ballistic missiles on the island country of Cuba which is just off the coast of the United States nearRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis1016 Words   |  4 Pages Events leading up to this potential catastrophic war was the Cuban Revolution, the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, US anti-communism, insecurity of the Soviet Union, and Cubas fear of invasion. Thankfully, the conflict was avoided due to great cooperation from both President J ohn F. Kennedy of the United States and Soviet Union leader, Nikita Khrushchev. Each decision made by each leader was vital in the outcome of The Crisis. Kennedys choice to take action by methods of quarantine insteadRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis2013 Words   |  9 PagesInvestigation The purpose of this investigation is to establish the extent to which there was a victor at the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. This investigation will evaluate the position of both Khrushchev and Kennedy after the crisis in order to draw the victor. Looking into the intentions and goals of USA and the USSR leading up to, during, and recently after the crisis to determine the true victor, in between the years 1959 and 1979. Sources that will be used in this investigation includeRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis2100 Words   |  9 PagesThe Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban missile crisis was the most dangerous of the Cold War, but it still involves the two main superpower enemies; Russia and America, only this time Cuba got involved too. The Cold War happened because Read MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis5937 Words   |  24 PagesThe Cuban Missile Crisis The world was at the edge of a third world war. This was the result of a variety of things: the Cuban Revolution, the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, US anti-communism, insecurity of the Soviet Union, and Cubas fear of invasion all made causes for war. However, war was not the result due to great cooperation from both President Kennedy and President Khrushchev and each of the decisions made by the leaders was crucial in the outcome of The Crisis. Kennedys choiceRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis Essay3251 Words   |  14 Pageswar. Looking back now, I realize the Cuban Missile Crisis was an extreme pivotal moment in the Cold War. 6 months ago my own country, the United States of America, had never been so close to Armageddon with the Soviet Union. On October 16th, 1962 I was informed that the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Centre had reviewed findings from U-2 aircraft photographs and had identified objects that were soon to be interpreted as medium range ballistic missiles. The U-2 flight, piloted by MajorRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis Essay1292 Words   |  6 Pagesinevitable to the world, it was the first time nuclear war was hanging on a thread. The Cuban Missile Crisis presented a threat to the world, in which the USSR planted nuclear missiles on Cuba. America’s response was to threaten launching nuclear missiles at the Russians. This incident launched the world into a new time, which presented nuclear weapons as a source of power. The incident of the Cuban Missile Crisis still connects with us today because the power nuclear weapons present, which provides