We Are Surrounded By Advertisements Media Essay

We Are Surrounded By Advertisements Media Essay The Absolut Vodka advertising campaign has been going on successively from 1981.this has been going on for over twenty years; this is practically forever in advertising. Industry insiders consider it being the most successful campaigns when it comes to the history of advertising. It is not often that one comes across ads which scratch on the copy to center of attention on the visual appeal. Absolut Vodka is one such campaign. More over the star of the ads is constantly the gorgeous, sneaky, chameleon-like bottle from Sweden. It is brilliant as it focuses on the visual to pass the message. The Absolut ads are mainly celebrated for their ingenuity as their longevity. They are full of humor, invention, and thoughts as they deftly talk about the brands values, often containing little confronts to the reader to understand just what is going on inside the ad. Still advertising campaign has gone into a point of wining many rewards, as well as charter membership in the American Marketing Ass ociation. It was initiated into the Hall of Fame in 1992 together with two additional brands: Coca Cola and Nike. The advertising campaign was conceded by TBWA Advertising. In order to ensure this report, there is a need to analyze the turn out ads for this brand to show the role played in shaping the fortune of ABSOLUT. However there are a diversity of themes which the agency worked on in attempt to reveal the fascinating usage of symbols and signs expressing the message of the brand. This include; cities, arts, products and holidays etc. It was necessary to delve into the past of the brand while taking a look at the communication messages so as find its meaning . this help to see how the layers kept increasing to the brand images. Absolut Vodka is a Swedish brand of vodka, produced near Ã…hus, Scania, in southern Sweden . Although, it was not a refined product, it contained world class raw components: uncontaminated Swedish water and wheat . this was referred as Absolut pure vodka . in 1970, the Swedish government had taken control of the production and distribution of the beverage alcohol industry, including Absolut .By the late 1970s, , Abosult would have to become an export product incase the distillery would survive .The brand owners surprisingly knew that they had to tap America as the main market . In the 1970s America reported thatr 60% of the vodka was being consumed in the free world However most of vodka consumed in America was made in America and it was sold cheaply .it was held that all vodka are of th e same quality this was because the production was effortless. Especially when compared with Scotch and other whiskeys .only a few of necessary ingredients were needed and there was no need for aging., as with Scotch and other whiskeys .another reason is that majority of consumers mixed their vodka with tomato juice, orange juice, tonic or other mixers. They didnt much care about the underlying quality of the vodka. The piercing on the bottle is the signifier that has more to do with the norms of the gay and punk communities found in America probably in 1960s. The fashion accessory shown here is symbolic of current upcoming society particularly the gay subculture. That was gaining momentum. The ad was even released through the time. The piercing also symbolizes a non-traditionalist fashion proclamation. Further it is symbolizes use of human body as a image to show the freedom from the community norms or system of behavior Signified. Sincerely speaking about experimenting with your body is the implication that comes visually in the ad. This is shown with the result of glow in the background. It works as a glare of publicity. Well the bottle is no longer just a bottle, but a metaphor of the human body. The identification of people who believed to the concept of being Practical with their body, particularly the gay subculture The upright body language of the bottle possibly has a direct connection to the human posture and demonstrates the boldness of the person to go communicate to the world. The ad gives them this space to voice their openness. This space then becomes their platform of self-expression. Almost as if to say, this is me I am comfortable with myself and the way I want to experiment with my body. The endeavor of the marketer is to no longer keep it restricted to drinking vodka but to make the bottle an icon that is relevant to them. This icon is then anticipated to be holding close by them. Also important to note that the color coding of a black background exaggerates their emergence. Gay as a trend has existed since time memorials. The black background shows how these people may have actually come out from the darkness or the shadows which they were hiding behind to an open platform into the public interest. They can now declare their sexual predilections. The Absolut Vodka bottle over the years has become conventional sign in advertising. It has been branded so well that shape of the bottle itself has turn out to be an iconic figure for designers as well as the general community. Main stress in their ads has paid attention on symbolic descriptions and ideas which most of the time contain a dual meaning. The translation of the meaning is slightly simple though enough for viewers to like because the meaning differs throughout every ad even though the idea is always the same. The ads often relate to ideologies within the society, following general trends, political affairs and art. Due to this, the advertisements do not always focus on audience but slightly expended their boarders to reach different kinds of demographics. By maneuvering the bottle Absolut has managed to clearly bring the meaning of the message through symbols and language from the surrounding For example, introduction of the slogan Absolut Brrr! which was visually fixed with a bottle covered in blizzard. Through this we are able to see the strong relationship that Absolut Vodka ads have with iconicity and how over the years successfully branded the product. The worlds longest and interrupted advertising campaign named absolute vodka was founded in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith the now forth largest international spirit is now available to more than 126 nations. This is all due to much fame through its advertising campaign that made it win many awards, including charter membership in the American Marketing Associations Marketing Hall of Fame. The original idea for the campaign is said to have come from a South African artist; who claim to have gotten the idea while in his bathing tube.33333333 The magnifying glass is used to emphasize the name and the country from where Absolut Vodka comes. This shows the nervousness in the connection between USA and Soviet Union. This ad was published when the Soviet Union was particularly unpopular in the United States due to its invasion of Afghanistan and also the downing of a Korean jetliner,The time period in which was this ad subtly emphasized the fact that Absolut was made in Sweden, not in Russia. It was common knowledge that Vodka was synonymous with Russia. Despite speaking of its origin from Sweden on the produce itself. Most citizens who consumed the drink did not decode the message directly. Its the same experience of how people at times fill in the gaps as they have embedded in their minds due to sub-conscious conditioning. I draw logic from the research done wherein people look at the first and the last word and are able to understand the word, irrespective of the spelling in between being right or wrong. In the same manner vodka comes from Russia was the accepted belief although one tend to take that in vain. They were to state that the drink actually came from Sweden, but this would not occur to them that it is of great significance. This is because the connection has been well-known in their mind. The promoter was aware of this psychology of the consumer and they deliberately downplayed the Sweden relationship for the brand. This plan was employed until it was perfect time to highlight the truth. Thus during this period of anxiety the Key point delivered was on its Swedish origin. There is a strategic placement of the silhouette of Absolut vodka bottle in the core of the visual clichà © of Christmassy stuffs. Moreover this is a tactful route to turn out to be one of the numerous icons that portray tradition of Christmas celebration. This supply the consumer with what Christmas tradition is all about. The background of a home shows that consumption of Absolut vodka to commemorate Christmas at home is part and parcel of the Christmas tradition. Further a story is being told inside the toy train figure of the bottle. The setting probably explains the descriptions of how a typical American home seems to be during Christmas time. It right away talks to a socio-economic sector of families Theme Absolut Cities: These ads are a sequence of cities-detailed ads Absolut Las Vegas; The idea that classify a city Signifier: Shrimps and sauce in this case, cap of the bottle arranged in the figure of the Absolut bottle Signified: The food relation of Las Vegas as a city disparate to the mental imagery which one would instantly draw for it as a Casino city. Well this ad is well done and of course breaks the illustration clichà © of Las Vegas as a city. It also brings out another surface of it .it raises question why there is roughly purposeful intention not bring out the Sin City image of Las Vegas in the Ad .it is not wise to take vodka without beer. A true specialist will always eat something after downing a glass; hence the above visual-logic would make sense. Though we dint know relationship between shrimps with Las Vegas. Las Vegas is about extremes. This extends to shrimps which are seen as exotic food and probably invokes an elitist consumption attitude. The advertising campaign for Absolut vodka was considered the best of the 20th century. Yet not known whether it was due to the ads, the unique bottle shape that made Absolut the best imported vodka in market. Michel Roux of Carillon Importers spends more than any other label on advertising to ensured that the sales of the Swedish brand increased in declining market. Throw away ads of the industrys typical bottle and glass , Geoff Hayes of the TBWA agency made the first Absolut excellence ad featuring the short, clear bottle putting on a halo. Incidentally this was the same bottle claimed by marketing research to the tune of $ 78 000,that it would fail since it did not have a paper label and also the neck was very small for the bartenders to holt it. In Absolut Original the bottle was fixed in stone as if it was very old. In Absolut Manhattan a satellite photo of New York anticipated central park fashioned like a bottle. In Absolut Seattle a rain pond had the bottle figure and in Absolut L.A. a swimming pool was calculated in the now renowned bottle shape. The city ads have turn out to be among the most admired Absolut ads. In Absolut San Francisco you barely observe the bottle for the fog. In Absolut Chicago the breeze is blowing away the inscriptions from the bottle. In Absolut D.C. the bottle is covered in red ribbon. Most of European towns are featured, for instance, Absolut Copenhagen demonstrate doorway to Tivoli converted to the famous bottle shape. Also Holmenkollen was converted for Absolut Oslo, the locals cried foul, with no will to relate their much-loved game with alcohol. However in Absolut Berlin it was a piece of the wall and in Absolut Naples a lampshade and hanging laundry that wisely copied the shape of the bottle. The greatest release for Absolut emerged when daughter of the Swedish Ambassador communicated to Andy Warhol into painting a celebrity statue of the bottle. The artist was fascinated because he never took alcohol. He only used Absolut as cologne. Absolut Warhol followed by ads comprising many unknown painters, photographers sculptors, but For artists like the Brazilian painter Britto, the Absolut payment was a commercial get through. All the samel Absolut has run almost 500 advertisements most of them featuring artists from varicose places. Up to date art community still talks about the 32-page Absolut Glasnost. Common run have shown South American, African Swedish, American, and other artists. Absolut ads have become a collectors item and many galleries actually sell old cut out ads. There are several books about the ads and the Absolut software (1-800-568-1566) that is a virtual museum of Absolut art. The first seasonal Absolut advertisement extravaganza was a much-talked about microchip playing Christmas carols in 1987. Later ads have included a packet of seeds (Absolut Spring), Donna Karan mittens; designer silk scarves and panty hose all sporting the Absolut bottle. In 1990 the New York magazine had a working forty eight piece Absolut Puzzle. Another Christmas the agency created an ad with a snow flake-filled pouch so that Absolut Wonderland snowed as if it was in a glass ball when you shook it. One year Absolut inserted a sheet of stamps with its Warhol, Haring and Rusha ads with an 80 proof denomination. The stamps were actually accepted by most post offices as legal postage. For an ad in Playboy magazine, Absolut created an Absolut Centerfold with a bottle without any text on it but with an accompanying playmate data sheet complete with things like the perfect night: at home with my closest friends, Sven, Bjà ¶rn, Ingmar, while jumping back and forth between the sauna and ice baths, we exchange our favorite galaxy recipes. If it had not been for Absolut and its extender products Pepper, Currant, Citron and Mandrin, the world may never have realized that Sweden had a substantial liquor production. Thanks to the campaign, Absolut may now be more famous than Volvo. Today it is the House of Seagrams that distributes Absolut in North America, after Michel Roux and Carillon Importers (who took the vodka from nothing to 3 million cases a year) was booted out by the Swedish VIN Sprit monopoly. The successful Absolut marketing formula perfected in the U. S.A. is now practiced all over the world. The advertising campaign has also led to many parodies. Mad magazine ran Absolut Liver with an x-ray of a liver that has a silhouette of guess what? In Absolut Winter you see a virgin snow-covered background on which a man is urinating and thereby drawing a yellow pattern in the snow of you guessed it. When the advertising critical Ad busters ran ads entitled Absolut Nonsense, Absolut Impotence and Absolut Silence, the producers threatened to sue the magazine. The Absolut Nonsense copy stated any suggestion that our advertising campaign has contributed to alcoholism, drunk driving or wife and child beating is absolute nonsense. No one pays any attention to advertising. When looking at a series of ads, we have a better idea of the artistic significance attached seen in the images.it is true to saythat the image of the Absolut bottle is now a cultural icon.it ia aimed to make it identifiable as a distinct sign of class for all who sees it.however the reader should recognise the vodka bottle surrounded by the text to make sense of the ad.   This expectation depends on the network of ads that have paved the way to it.  quick identification of the image qualifies the reader of an Absolut ad to be a member of an private club.   the campaign aims to register everyone to be a member of the group by affirming that their art and the bottle, shows significant cultural reflections of people associated with the upper class that are appropriate to all associates without putting into consideration their actual class status. The different genres of Absolut ads carry distinct cultural messages, and contain a universal class claim that is associated with the image of the vodka bottle.   The ads reinforce the cultural myth that American culture is defined in terms of class structure.   However, it offers a mixed message about class that is clear and liquid: class can be bought. this campaign has the idea that American society is clear in terms of class through setting ,object, , audience, camera angle in the advertisement.   The promotions confront this idea by making it public in most magazines reaching people of all kind.   Moreover they are bridging the gap in cultural class, when authorizing such a various audience connection into an exclusive ad campaign. The advertisement is not only selling the reader vodka, but also selling the false impression of an earned communal place connected with the higher class. The class theme within the Absolut Vodka advertising campaign is demonstrated in one of the most new published Absolut ads entitled, Absolut Voted-Off.   This is very basic ad shows four bottles of seasoned Absolut Vodka put together on the left side of the page.   The bottles are described by bright, yellow, purple and orange.  The original absolute vodka when you look at extreme right side of the page, which is not facing the viewers, is the original Absolut Vodka bottle that is only revealing half of its cold, blue label.   The text, Absolut Voted-Off appears at the bottom of the page.   What does this ad reveal on the surface?   At first glance it seems to be selling the new flavored vodkas, representing them as important and associated with a distinguished category.   However, this advertisement is characteristic of the mixed messages portrayed by the Absolut advertising campaign. 333333 Conclusion: Absolut Vodka ad campaign is unbeatably one of the big thoughts in the ad industry. This is because it has endured the test of time for over twenty years. Having gone through the ad campaign over a period of time, the semiotic the campaign is actually the preliminary years in which the bottle symbolized a person and his humanity. Moreover the campaign has something to do with the world and its inhabitance. The changeover is sparkling. From the marketers approach, these days Absolut is not just about America; it is mounting its reach internationally. Now It is no longer person precise and neither focus on personalitys story of belongingness or nor characteristics. It has more to do with the larger picture. It is the world that is today and what we wish be like. Interestingly the world these days is undeniably beyond America. In my standpoint an additional reason for this move is the heart-to-heart experience. Just to explain further, a kind of homogeneity is seen still in the immeasurable variety which is in existence today. However homogeneity might be; a need for safety from terrorism, the wish for cure to a fatal disease likes Aids, etc. The plan in the larger sense fits a combine aspect for nations, states, society and also persons. Never the less ad campaign concentrate on certain universal matters and for that reason it is trying to raise a global campaign and a innermost idea of what an Absolute World could be.

The Nature Of Mankind :: essays research papers

Society is based upon a set of rules created for all men and woman. It represents that all people of all race, religion, and ethnicity should be treated equal. The unfortuante part about society is that not all people do accept the fact that everybody is the same. You wouldn't think that this has been going on for a very long time, but really, it has. It started in the past, it still occured in the century I know best, the twentith century, and it is still occuring to this very present day. The nature of mankind is corrupt, it always has been and it always will be. I believe that this is what will happen because based on the evidence I have read, heard, and watched on television, the nature of mankind is bad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mankind led a hard life, men and women worked long, hard hours out in the fields, just so that they would be able to survive. People knew one way of doing things, and the thought of a different and easier way to do things was out of the question. So when it came to the discoveries of certain things, people were outraged. This goes back to the early 1600's when Galileo Galilei was inventing and discovering. He came up with an invention, the telescope, to see into the outer limits of the earth. He spent endless nights, and came up with the conclusion that the moon was actually made up of craters, mountains, and jagged surfaces. He announced to the public his discovery, and many people, including scientists, were outragged. Galileo was put on trial for wrongful thinking. People did not accept the fact that people were getting smarter, and the world was changing before their very eyes. Mankind is unreasonable, right before them ideas were being brought forward, and all they did was push them back down into the dirt. Pretty evil, the world was going to change anyway, it was not going to stay the same. It goes to show what mankind is also like. For example, if all of society is supposed to be equal, then why are nobles and the clergy only allowed to have important jobs, and the peasants forced to dig in the dirt for back breaking hours. Kings and or Queens controlled what people were to be doing, if they had to pay taxes and who they had to pay.

Psychology Journal Article Review Essay

Has the influence of others ever affected your decision making skills, or made you question yourself about the decision you made? In the aim to test whether or not pressure from a group of people affects a persons’ ability to conform. Psychologist Solomon E Asch decided to conduct an experiment to justify his theory. Asch gathered college students in groups of eight to ten where they were told that he was only studying visual perception. They were then given a simple line judgment task where the answer was made very obvious. The task was to decide which one of the lines on the right was identical to the line on the left. This was done over and over again for about eighteen times. However the trick in the experiment was that out of all the students in the group only one student was the one being tested. The rest of the students were instructed to provide incorrect answers to twelve out of the eighteen times they were asked about the lines. Purposely, Asch made sure that the person being experimented sat next-to-the-last person in each group to provide his answer so that he would hear most of the other incorrect answers before giving his own. They then would see if the individual would keep their choice or just conform to everybody else’s decision just because the majority of the group agreed to it. After the experiment Asch found out that thirty-seven out of fifty students that were being experimented on conformed to the majority’s decision at least once. However, fourteen of the fifty students conformed more than six times during the assessment. Asch being very bothered by these results stated â€Å"The tendency to conformity in our society is so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call white black. This is a matter of concern. It raises questions about our ways of education and about the values that guide our conduct. † ( McLeod, S. A. (2007) Simply Psychology [On-line] UK: Available: http://www. simplypsychology. pwp. blueyonder. co. uk/ Accessed: January 17, 2010). After the experiment when the subjects were being asked why they conformed to the answer some of them said that because they did really think that the other answers were correct. Another reason was that they just went along with everybody else’s same opinion because they did were basically afraid of being different of being thought of as dumb or unusual by the rest of his peers. Due to this Asch came to conclude that people conform for two main reasons one because the individual wants to be liked by the group or maybe because you believe that since you are doing the something different than the rest that they are better informed than you. Asch found out that the aspect that influences conformity is the size of the opposite people having the different opinion than you. He concluded that it is hard to sustain what you see versus something that nobody else sees. Pressure given by the expressed thoughts and opinions of other people can lead to change and alterations successfully making you see almost nothing. Alteration meaning changing your perception about the way the lines were being viewed in order to match with everybody else. In this assessment the independent variable were all the different students that were being tested with the same people in the room, these same students being there provided the same answers to the question sixteen out of eighteen times. The dependant variable was the test being taken and how many wrong answers were being provided for the subject of the experiment to see. In my opinion these results would have been different if we had paid more attention to the kind of people that were being analyzed. For example a person having a high self esteem versus someone having no self esteem at all which then would rapidly make them change their decision. This experiment could have been conducted better if they would have taken these factors in mind or if they would have just tested a similar group of people. Here you might have had people that will most likely listen to other people and then you have the people that are not afraid to be different . I think this experiment showed the correct by just a few people not conforming to everybody else’s choices because there are a very few people like that out in the world today . I think that these results will not really apply to other participants in other places at other experimental times because as stated before maybe not all the subject being tested might have the same mentality to change their answers that quick to be accepted by everyone else. This experiment however has a well contribution to the field of psychology explaining conformity and the different ways that pressure from people has an impact on you. In my cased I believe that everyone should read this experiment and that future edition of ext book should reference this experiment because it would be a great discussion topic and would bring up a good subject to talk about within our peers. This experiment has an impact in what our society is going thru today I believe we have a lot of individuals that are scared to be different I think this takes part greatly on the media and what he have seen growing up. Many people believe that always conforming to what everybody else is used to is always the right thing but what justifies this? Who has the right to say what is right is right and just because the majority of people believe this way it shouldn’t be the same you think. We shouldn’t have to format our minds to somebody else’s. That is the whole idea everyone is different in their own individual way which is what makes each and every one of us if not this world would be such a boring place. As reading about this experiment it’s silly but what came to mind was the show how wasn’t to be a millionaire. In that show which I believe you a bit reference on there is choices you have when you don’t know the answer to a question one of the choices is to ask the audience then the audience votes and obviously the contestant picks the answer they got the most votes. Then it is up to the individual to choose the answer that he thinks it is right nine out ten times the answer that the audience picks is correct which in this case this experiment would not justify the situation. Then we can ask is the individual doubting himself is he afraid to be different? Or in this matter is it not important whether or not they want to be different because there in money involved on the line. Different situations can alter your decision and decision making skills depending on the situation you are in and whether or not you choose to be different in that particular situation. Whether or not you choose to be different should be your decision and not a group of people. Knowing who you are plays big role in this case and if it is hard for you to find the right path then I think that it is better that you find it on your own first before asking someone else for advice and that is how you will find your true self which will then tell you apart from everybody else.

Business Report Abercrombie and Fitch - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2174 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Did you like this example? Abstract Factors such as economic issues affect the business and its marketing strategies. The company recognizes there is a strong competition from other competitor within the industry; therefore it is crucial to improve its financial performance. Inflation and unemployment caused by the economic recession has affected the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Business Report: Abercrombie and Fitch" essay for you Create order Organizations seek to increase overall profitability and performance, which lead to the introduction of performance management concept. Aiming at increasing employee productivity and output in the organization. The company is able to invest in ways that have more positive strategic impacts such as providing some services for the betterment of the community in which it operates. The rate of unemployment has been reducing over the recent periods, and third quarter of 2012 recorded reduction of unemployment levels. 1.0 Introduction Abercrombie Fitch is a company that operates in the clothing industry. The company provides clothing products to people around the world. The performance of the company has elevated over the years having opened more stores in the United States (Plantes Finfrock 2009). It has been able to increase its financial performance due to its high product quality and corporate image and its marketing campaigns, which involves seasonal campaign. The macroeconomic factors have affected Abercrombie Fitch Co. since the recession, but the company has been able to improve significantly on its financial performance (Smither London 2010). This paper aims at discussing the effects of the macroeconomic factors on the performance of Abercrombie Fitch Co. 1.1 Abercrombie Fitch Co stock market share Revenue ($m) Pre-tax ($m) EPS P/E PEG EPS Grth. Div Yield 31-Jan-09 3,484.06 509.64 355.00 ¢ 5.0 n/a -35% 70.00 ¢ 3.9% 30-Jan-10 2,928.63 119.51 90.00 ¢ 35.0 n/a -75% 70.00 ¢ 2.2% 29-Jan-11 3,468.78 228.57 171.00 ¢ 28.3 0.3 +90% 70.00 ¢ 1.4% 28-Jan-12 4,158.06 217.81 165.00 ¢ 28.6 n/a -4% 70.00 ¢ 1.5% 02-Feb-13 4,510.81 366.95 289.00 ¢ 17.7 0.2 +75% 70.00 ¢ 1.4% Source: (ANF 2013) From the above table and chart, it can be observed that Abercrombie Fitch Co. has been increasing its stock market share. 2.0 Abercrombie Fitch Co Financial Performance The international trade and investment has been on its recovery path and this has led to increased financial performance (Parikh Gupta 2010). Inflation is one of the macroeconomic factors that have great influence on the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s growth. Economic decisions that are being made at the macroeconomic level are influenced by stability of the general economic environment. They normally benefit from the stable economic state and stable inflationary environment favors economic decisions being made (Lamb, Hair McDaniel 2012). Low rates of inflation are normally favorable and can easily be managed. On the other hand, high changes in inflation rates will be problematic and are likely to adversely affect the economy. In the modern economic environment, the price levels are very critical when it comes to production and investment decisions. High inflation implies high prices and lower real incomes for people with fixed incomes, those with power to raise the high prices ar e not affected the same way as those who are not able. Inflation, however, is not an altogether evil concept in the economy; this is because it can be used to minimize unemployment (Harold Weihrich 2010). Economies cannot be always predicted; they fluctuate from period to period. Activities in the business most of the time leads to reduction in aggregate demand. As the aggregate demand falls, output and employment falls, these are negative impacts on the economy since the actual output is less than the potential output (Dwivedi, 2010). If the aggregate demand is low, it can be altered in the short-run by formulating policies like increasing government spending, cutting taxes or increasing the supply of money. The opposite will be the alternative if aggregate demand is high in the economy (Jha 2008). 2.1 Abercrombie Fitch Co Income statement The company has been performing well in the market taking into consideration the effects that were brought by the 2008 recession. Its profits have been adversely increasing as it has sort new markets that provide a lot of income to the company. Source: (ANF 2013) The company has been faced with various economic challenges such as reduced manufacturing output and continued increase in unemployment. However, the growth in the GDP is considerably strong since the growth is at a lively pace and it might help to solve the problems of a country. The current recovery remains stable, and problems such as high rates of unemployment may be able to get quick solutions (Nattrass, Wakeford Muradzikwa 2010). The company has been improving its revenues since year 2009 as can be seen below. Abercrombie Fitch Co. has been financing its operations to ensure better performance in the financial markets. The economic factors have been affecting the company, but the company has outsourced it s operations to ensure good performance. Below is the annual cash flow of Abercrombie Fitch Co. 2.2 Annual cash flow of Abercrombie Fitch Co Source: (ANF 2013) Some short-term fluctuations in the economy increase the level of unemployment. It is normally prevalent during hard economic times such as the 2008 and 2009 recession (Van 2010). In cases where unemployment occurs for a longer period of time, some productive resources are not used. This causes economic growth to slow down. On the other hand, when the unemployment levels drop or a country is moving towards full employment, the available resources are fully utilized (Carroll Buchholtz 2012). The companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s annual balance sheet shows that the total assets of the company are high and its debts are low. The companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assets have increased as a result of quality improvement in the company. Source: (ANF 2013) The company should take advantage of its strengths to establish some strategies that will increase its financial performance. It should also reduce the weaknesses for better performance. There are also external op portunities that the company needs to use for its success (Dwivedi, 2010). Its strengths have been its ability to ensure that its employees are aligned with the responsibilities they are supposed to take. This has enabled the employees to be accountable when they do not achieve what they are supposed to achieve. The company has a strong sales department, delivers superior products and services, large economies of scale, and good relationships with its clients (Pulakos, 2013). The companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s weakness is that it uses a lot of money in advertising expenses, and also after the crisis, it had a lot of financial problems that included high rates of unemployment and high rates of inflation (Van, 2010). Though the rate of recovery is less than desirable, a positive economic growth is an indicator of a productive economy in the near future. Usually unemployment will start declining after other economic indicators have turned positive (Shim Siegel 2012). Economists have tr ied to explain the reason why unemployment rate is always the last economic indicator to revert upwards after the end of a recession. During recession, firms usually operate below their usual rate of production, thus many of the workersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ productivity may be below the normal level. When the economy picks up the productivity, firms will certainly rise without hiring new employees; it will rely on the rising output of the formerly underutilized workers. Hiring of new employees will take place when the present labor force reaches its optimum productivity (Harold Weihrich 2010). The companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s recognition of its customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s needs and provision of quality goods has enabled it to perform well. These are strengths that have enabled the company to perform well in the market (Mukherjee Kumar 2005). 3.0 Conclusion and recommendation Financial performance and good socially responsible performance tend to depend on one another. In one hand, companies with good financial standing have the necessary resources to invest in socially responsible activities. They are able to invest in ways that have more positive strategic impact such as providing some services for the betterment of the community in which it operates and providing for the welfare of their employees. Through improved image, the company will be able to attract employees with better skills necessary for improvement of the organizational performance. Good financial performance depends on the socially responsible performance. This is because socially responsible companies have an enhanced brand image and good reputation among the consumers. Therefore, socially responsible corporate performance contributes to the bottom line benefits and improves financial performance. The company has been recovering at a slow pace from the economic meltdown, and one of the areas that have experienced some level of growth is employment. The rate of unemployment has been reducing over the recent periods and third quarter of 2012 recorded reduction of unemployment levels. The macroeconomic factors have affected Abercrombie Fitch Co. since the recession, but the company has been able to improve significantly in its financial performance. Bibliography ANF(2013). Abercrombie Fitch Co., viewed 11 February 2014, https://finance?q=NYSE%3AANFfstype=iiei=0lv6UsiCIcKTwQPp0AE Dwivedi, DN 2010, Macroeconomics: Theory and policy, Tata McGraw Hill Education Pte Ltd., New Delhi. Harold, K Weihrich, H 2010, Essentials of management : an international perspective, Tata New Delhi, McGraw-Hill, New Delhi. Jha, R 2008, Contemporary macroeconomic theory and policy, Wiley Eastern Ltd., New Delhi. Lamb, CW, Hair, JF McDaniel, CD 2012, Essentials of Marketing, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, Ohio. Mukherjee, S Kumar, S 2005, Organization and Management and Business Communication, New international Age Publisher, New Delhi. Nattrass, N, Wakeford, J Muradzikwa, S 2011, Macroeconomics: Theory and policy in Cape Town South Africa. Parikh, M Gupta, RK 2010, Organisational Behaviour, Tata McGraw Hill Education Pte. Ltd., New Delhi. Plantes, MK Finfrock, RD 2009, Beyond Price: Differentiate Your Company, In Ways That Really Matter, Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, TX. Pulakos, E 2004, Performance Management. A roadmap for Developing, Implementing and Evaluating performance Management Systems, Society for Human Resource Foundation, Alexandria. Shim, JK Siegel, JG 2012, Budgeting Basics and Beyond, Wiley Hoboken, N.J. Smither, JW London, M 2010, Performance management: Putting research into action, Wiley, San Francisco. Van, BH 2010, International finance and open-economy macroeconomics: Theory, history, and policy, World Scientific Singapore. Appendices Table 1: Abercrombie Fitch Co income statement Total In Millions of USD (except for per share items) 13 weeks ending 2013-11-02 26 weeks ending 2013-08-03 13 weeks ending 2013-05-04 14 weeks ending 2013-02-02 13 weeks ending 2012-10-27 Revenue 1,033.29 1,784.47 838.77 1,468.53 1,169.65 Other Revenue, Total Total Revenue 1,033.29 1,784.47 838.77 1,468.53 1,169.65 Cost of Revenue, Total 382.25 627.18 285.60 554.15 417.13 Gross Profit 651.04 1,157.29 553.17 914.38 752.51 Selling/General/Admin. Expenses, Total 696.26 1,157.27 567.90 699.49 620.32 Research Development Depreciation/Amortization Interest Expense(Income) Net Operating Unusual Expense (Income) Other Operating Expenses, Total -9.04 -6.67 0.58 -13.66 0.18 Total Operating Expense 1,068.66 1,779.22 852.69 1,239.98 1,036.30 Operating Income -35.37 5.24 -13.92 228.55 133.34 Interest Income(Expense), Net Non-Operating Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets Other, Net -0.07 Income Before Tax -37.02 1.87 -15.55 225.48 131.76 Income After Tax -15.64 4.17 -7.20 147.00 84.04 Source: (ANF 2013) Table 2: The balance sheet In Millions of USD (except for per share items) As of 2013-11-02 As of 2013-08-03 As of 2013-05-04 As of 2013-02-02 As of 2012-10-27 Cash Equivalents 3.40 3.57 160.01 245.00 0.00 Short Term Investments 19.90 Cash and Short Term Investments 257.52 335.02 555.90 643.50 369.57 Accounts Receivable Trade, Net 86.73 92.89 91.30 99.62 91.41 Receivables Other Total Receivables, Net 86.73 92.89 91.30 99.62 91.41 Total Inventory 768.95 633.48 458.63 426.96 536.32 Prepaid Expenses Other Current Assets, Total 173.41 154.68 155.87 137.74 164.47 Total Current Assets 1,286.61 1,216.07 1,261.71 1,307.82 1,161.77 Property/Plant/Equipment, Total Gross 2,986.43 2,950.69 2,921.21 2,915.07 2,906.56 Accumulated Depreciation, Total -1,825.53 -1,697.85 -1,652.92 -1,606.84 -1,593.43 Goodwill, Net Intangibles, Net Long Term Investments 0.00 Other Long Term Assets, Total 404.88 373.93 365.02 371.35 374.55 Total Assets 2,852.40 2,842.84 2,895.01 2,987.40 2,849.45 Accounts Payable 185.44 195.73 146.24 140.40 165.39 Accrued Expenses 307.96 291.77 301.49 398.87 358.48 Notes Payable/Short Term Debt 15.00 15.00 15.00 0.00 60.00 Current Port. of LT Debt/Capital Leases Other Current liabilities, Total 95.18 76.73 70.78 151.54 113.92 Total Current Liabilities 603.58 579.23 533.51 690.80 697.79 Long Term Debt 123.75 127.50 131.25 0.00 Capital Lease Obligations 61.62 61.13 61.00 63.94 64.48 Total Long Term Debt 185.37 188.63 192.25 63.94 64.48 Total Debt 200.37 203.63 207.25 63.94 124.48 Deferred Income Tax Minority Interest Other Liabilities, Total 388.43 391.32 389.48 414.39 424.41 Total Liabilities 1,177.38 1,159.18 1,115.23 1,169.13 1,186.68 Redeemable Preferred Stock, Total Preferred Stock Non Redeemable, Net Common Stock, Total 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.03 Additional Paid-In Capital 425.93 410.41 403.82 403.27 390.41 Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit) 2,505.45 2,536.50 2,542.77 2,567.26 2,366.67 Treasury Stock Common -1,240.87 -1,241.36 -1,146.79 -1,140.01 -1,088.93 Other Equity, Total -16.53 -22.92 -21.05 -13.29 -6.42 Total Equity 1,675.02 1,683.66 1,779.78 1,818.27 1,662.77 Total Liabilities Shareholders Equity 2,852.40 2,842.84 2,895.01 2,987.40 2,849.45 Shares Outs Common Stock Primary Issue Total Common Shares Outstanding 76.39 76.39 78.31 78.44 79.56 Source: (ANF 2013). Table 3: The cash flow statement In Millions of USD (except for per share items) 39 weeks ending 2013-11-02 26 weeks ending 2013-08-03 13 weeks ending 2013-05-04 53 weeks ending 2013-02-02 Net Income/Starting Line -11.48 4.17 -7.20 237.01 Depreciation/Depletion 180.61 120.31 59.46 224.25 Amortization Deferred Taxes -60.80 -26.23 -12.35 -21.54 Non-Cash Items 118.06 21.64 9.88 44.66 Changes in Working Capital -456.55 -328.62 -193.41 199.80 Cash from Operating Activities -230.16 -208.72 -143.63 684.17 Capital Expenditures -124.03 -81.23 -42.37 -339.86 Other Investing Cash Flow Items, Total -6.32 -5.31 -2.64 92.62 Cash from Investing Activities -130.35 -86.54 -45.01 -247.24 Financing Cash Flow Items 2.43 2.37 1.11 1.20 Total Cash Dividends Paid -46.64 -31.36 -15.69 -57.63 Issuance (Retirement) of Stock, Net -115.81 -115.61 -16.21 -318.99 Issuance (Retirement) of Debt, Net 137.94 138.74 139.06 -4.65 Cash from Financing Activities -22.08 -5.87 108.27 -380.07 Foreign Exchange Effects -3.39 -7.35 -7.24 3.15 Net Change in Cash -385.98 -308.48 -87.60 60.01 Cash Interest Paid, Supplemental Cash Taxes Paid, Supplemental 110.30 104.30 96.90 122.70 Source: (ANF 2013)