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LadyA Paper 1

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LadyA Maria Immaculada Alejandra Gonzalez Carroccio In 1973, her parents were granted political asylum and moved to Florida Arrived with limited savings but determined to succeed!

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Mr. Carroccio To work independently, as a sole trader, in order to achieve financial security. Cash flow forecast weak; turned down for bank loans eventually got a small grant from a government agency to help entrepreneurs. Mr. Carroccio opened a small shoe repair shop in their Spanish-speaking neighborhood in Miami.

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Mrs. Carroccio At first She experienced difficulties because she didnt speak much English. Then She took classes organized by a local charity. So that she eventually Found a job in the school cafeteria. Low wages, but fringe benefits including health insurance. Non-profit organization Mission Statement Eventually, with the profits from Mr. Carroccios shop & Mrs. Carroccios wages, the family maintained an economically stable household.

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1978 Alejandra is born! Parents wanted Alejandra to have a normal American life. Spanish to each other, but: English with them Singing in choral groups at school and church After school dance lessons 12-years old occasional modeling jobs for local catalogs & magazines. $$ put into a college fund Modelling led to small acting roles in Miami. La Bella Rosa

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Musical Success! Alejandra is offered a contract to produce a CD album! Unfamiliar with negotiation she hires Gloria Woolrich as her agent. Gloria has worked with Spanish-speaking performers, her advice: Target the Spanish-speaking market in the US Promote herself as Lady Alejandra to emphasize Hispanic roots with a touch of elegance. Parents sign the contract since she is under 18. With #1 hit in Florida Alejandra earned income from copyrights and royalties. She needed an accountant to help: prepare final accounts manage her money pay appropriate taxes

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As immigrants Mr. & Mrs. Carroccio strongly emphasized education. Theyd struggled to satisfy basic needs when they first arrived, only achieving economic security after working long hours. They believed if Alejandra went to university, she would have a better life. They didnt want music to distract her. Reluctantly her parents agreed to a second CD album, which proved even more successful than the first one. Lady Alejandra

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A pril senior year Alejandra wants to move to Los Angeles to be a star instead of going to college. Parents disappointed, but couldnt stop her because shes 18. Alejandra left her previous agent and hired Ruth Liebermann. Ruth helps her:

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Marketing a Music Star Product life cycle of music stars is short unless managed carefully. Her revenue streams would be based on developing a brand identity. Shed need to develop strategies to extend the product (aka Alejandra)

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Alejandra as a brand Identity based on youthful & innocent look, powerful voice and Hispanic heritage. Current Alejandra was nervous but agreed to go to Gavin Pratt-famous hair dresser & style expert. Led to another revenue stream: appearing on the cover of high- profile fashion magazines. Transition to Glamour

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lay-dee-ay LadyA is born! Changing demographics in the US Percentage of Hispanics-small but growing Demographic shift creating negative political reaction Focus groups showed some English-speakers didnt like the name Lady Alejandra We Lady A

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2001 Earning millions per year from CD sales, concerts, magazine covers and music videos. Employed full-time accountant to manage revenue & expenses.

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Employees Core Employees Band Group of dancers Variety of musical & video technicians Events manager Logistics Specialists Temporary Employees Needed at each venue to help set up the stage Peripheral Employees Two personal assistants Two housekeepers Chef Personal Trainer Driver Chief Bodyguard supervising six bodyguards. Full-time: clothing, make-up & hairstyle

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Leadership Style Very direct Detailed instructions Angry if employees didnt follow exactly Sometimes Laissez-Faire Employees dont know what to expect Communication is poor Although it was exciting to work for a superstar the employees frequently complained behind her back.

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Types of Ownership Limited Liability Alejandra owns 98% Parents & Ruth own 2%

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Music Industry 2000 & Beyond Music Videos Online file sharing widely available. Video hosting websites effectively end profitability of music videos. No more royalties from TV. CD sales fall with illegal downloads. Artists have to produce and upload music videos to hosting sites. New technology, MP3 & Smartphones impact CD sales. Expensive to do and do not generate any direct revenue.

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Economic downturn - 2008 Falling sales Artists had to transform themselves Media Personalities Generate revenue Importance of branded identities Beautiful mainstream American with Hispanic passion and intensity 2009 Appeared in many above & below the line promotions carefully selecting the products she endorsed. Communicating with fans through social media websites

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Primary & secondary market research showed this was a good fit with LadyAs established brand. It reached her main target market: teenage girls and young women. Production was outsourced to an established manufacturer in Malaysia. Costs lower Quality control a problem Batch production was used to enable a variety of products could be made. LadyA had to pay 60% of the costs in advance. Wholesaling and distribution also outsourced to a company in Minnesota. By 2011, LadyA perfume and cosmetics were sold in a nation-wide chain of department stores in the U.S.

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Business Reorganization Alejandra continued to manage all of her household employees personally. Appointed a Managing Director and a Human Resources Manager to assist in workforce planning and manage the rest of the business. She delegated some functions, but stayed in close contact with frequent meetings w/the Managing Director. BENEFIT: roles were clear, systems and procedures in place and Alejandras employees complained less.

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2012 Big Year!! Married Rafaele Eco, Italian investment banker Purchased a large mansion requiring even more peripheral employees Alejandra became more mature and business- oriented. Leadership style became more consistent and paternalistic.

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Next phase life & career Female stars in America struggle to remain popular in their forties. modeling jobs are harder to get girls and younger women typically prefer younger musicians and stars selling youthfulness becomes more difficult as women grow older LadyA hired business consultants who specialized in the strategic direction of brands; presented her with options. Alejandra in her late-30s

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Option 1 Move into South American markets, which generally accept older female musicians and film stars. Ever since Lady Alejandra became LadyA, she had focused on the English-speaking market in the US. Though she had some fans in Spanish-speaking markets, she had never made them a priority. For those markets, LadyA would start using the name Lady Alejandra again, conduct a major concert tour in South America, and try to repeat her North American career, building an increasingly powerful name through music downloads (such as MP3s), concerts, films, product endorsements, magazine covers, and also perfume and cosmetics.

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Option 1 Move into South American markets, which generally accept older female musicians and film stars. Ever since Lady Alejandra became LadyA, she had focused on the English-speaking market in the US. Though she had some fans in Spanish-speaking markets, she had never made them a priority. For those markets, LadyA would start using the name Lady Alejandra again, conduct a major concert tour in South America, and try to repeat her North American career, building an increasingly powerful name through music downloads (such as MP3s), concerts, films, product endorsements, magazine covers, and also perfume and cosmetics.

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Option 2 Develop more products under the LadyA brand and develop a global market. A possibility is a clothing range. Other possible products include accessories such as LadyA shoes, LadyA handbags, and LadyA lingerie. These products could be distributed in the US through the same department stores selling her perfume and cosmetics. Other distribution channels would be required for the international market, with e-commerce offering many opportunities. Family branding would be maintained.

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Option 2 Develop more products under the LadyA brand and develop a global market. A possibility is a clothing range. Other possible products include accessories such as LadyA shoes, LadyA handbags, and LadyA lingerie. These products could be distributed in the US through the same department stores selling her perfume and cosmetics. Other distribution channels would be required for the international market, with e-commerce offering many opportunities. Family branding would be maintained.

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Option 3 Re-brand herself. With this strategy, LadyA would actually lower her media profile for three years. During that time, she would associate herself with a charitable cause, to tackle issues such as malnutrition in developing countries, homelessness in big cities, or international trafficking of children. She would use her wealth to set up various non-profit organizations to support the charitable cause, and utilize various techniques for marketing non-profit organizations. She would then appear on American television talk shows and do magazine interviews, building a new brand identity based on the image of a strong, mature, determined and compassionate woman. This would allow for new revenue streams to be sought based on this new brand.

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Option 3 Re-brand herself. With this strategy, LadyA would actually lower her media profile for three years. During that time, she would associate herself with a charitable cause, to tackle issues such as malnutrition in developing countries, homelessness in big cities, or international trafficking of children. She would use her wealth to set up various non-profit organizations to support the charitable cause, and utilize various techniques for marketing non-profit organizations. She would then appear on American television talk shows and do magazine interviews, building a new brand identity based on the image of a strong, mature, determined and compassionate woman. This would allow for new revenue streams to be sought based on this new brand.