Business Commons^™

Venture Capital Due Diligence: Issues & Processes, Nick Jordan

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper discusses the areas and methods by which venture capitalists need to concentrate their efforts when assessing the attractiveness of an investment. The information is additionally valuable for entrepreneurs seeking funding to expand their businesses and academics researching the topic. A series of books, trade journals, articles and interviews were referenced in an effort to present a thorough and unbiased investigation of the topic. The research is significant given that private equity has remained an understudied area in comparison to larger public equity markets. Additionally, the traditionally shorter periods of operating history of private companies add a layer of …

Hip-Hop: The New Answer?, April N. Watson

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Hip-Hop: The New Answer? analyzes a total of nine companies from different industries that have used Hip-Hop, whether via advertisements with artists or symbols of the music’s culture, as a part of company marketing. Through marketing, firms are able to obtain new consumers of different demographics or more from its core customer base and thus raise sales. More and more corporations that are well established in their industries are incorporating some influence from Hip-Hop. This seems to say mature companies have found a way to increase market share and sales. Therefore, this paper looks at the changes in annual sales …

Cooking For Kids!, Krystal Fullilove

Honors Capstone Projects - All

My thesis, “Cooking for Kids!”, follows the current trends in exploring the problem of childhood obesity. The epidemic of childhood obesity has been steadily climbing for the past two decades. The number of obese children has reached its highest ever with over 9 million children and adolescents being classified as overweight or obese. The weight problem stems from decreased physical activity in children and eating foods that are not nutritious.

My personal answer to the obesity problem was to create a cookbook for children ages 8-13. I intended for parents to use the cookbook as a way to teach the …

Fads And Children: The Early Culture Of Consumption, Tamika S. Laldee

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Fads have the ability to consume our attention and cause us to defy our better judgments. They have the power to pervade society with an intensity that rivals the infectiousness of an epidemic. Despite the influence of this phenomenon, there is no systematic assessment of the emergence of fads and their impacts on society. This thesis, “Fads and Children: The Early Culture of Consumption,” examines the effects of fads on children and families. This project begins by highlighting the fundamental characteristics of fads and how fads differ from traditional products. Since a discussion of the entire subject of fads would …

Creative Television Promotion, Kristina Quinlavin

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The advertising world is a place focused on research, brand identity, and creativity, all of which combine to achieve one seemingly simple goal: to convince the consumer to purchase a specific item. It is often a difficult enough challenge to persuade a buyer that a product is worth her money, but there is one product category that demands something much more valuable than any price tag cost. This category requires its advertising to create a personal bond with the consumer; to welcome it and want it in her life. What is this audacious sounding product that charges something greater than …

Distressed A Marketing Plan For A New Product Launch In The Salon Hair Product Market, Magdalene M. Misztal

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Abstract The Problem: The salon hair product industry is highly saturated. Product innovations and differentiation are necessary to ensure success. Consumers are constantly analyzed, looking for a missed or forgotten market segment to target. Research: Companies engage in market research to identify opportunities. To simulate a situation a brand manager may face in this industry, I actively engaged in original market research metrics like surveys, focus groups and interviews to identify potential opportunities. Research was collected, analyzed, and transformed into a realistic value proposition. Findings: Consumers value healthy, strong hair more than any other factor. Consumers who use salon products …

The London Experience: A Study In The Persuasiveness Of Dress, Erin Wilson

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The purpose of this thesis is to answer the research question, does living in a more fashion-forward culture divergent from one’s own for an extended period of time cause that individual to emulate the style of dress of the divergent, more avant-garde culture? More specifically, this thesis embodies a review of literature that delves into two topical areas, sociology of dress and the history of London as a fashion capital to decipher if these areas under review can explain the transformation observed.

The primary research design was the use of descriptive research in the form of a self-administered, convenience, non-probability …

Filthy Clean Advertisements: A Comparative Study Of Shampoo Advertisements From 1954 And 2004, Jacqueline Braun

Honors Capstone Projects - All

In this study, national advertisements for shampoo products were compared from 1954 and 2004 through the utilization of Katherine Toland Frith’s “Undressing the Ad” technique. This analysis procedure measures the underlying meaning of an advertisement through the dissection of the surface, intended, and cultural/ideological meaning. This study used 10 advertisements, five from each respective decade, to measure each advertisement’s level of stereotyping toward females and gender stereotyping cultivation in general. The study revealed that the 1954 advertisements more directly projected gender stereotyping; however, the 2004 advertisements also contained the stereotypes on an indirect level. Additionally, the analysis uncovered the fact …