Thursday, October 24, 2019
Marketing a & W
Executive Summary A&W Restaurants, Inc. is a chain of fast-food restaurants that specialize in root beer and root beer floats. It is the first fast food restaurant in Singapore and expansion was fast in the early nineties, but in 2003, A&Wââ¬â¢s Singapore operations came to an end. Many Singaporeans grew up eating A&W, and that is one reason why many people are protesting for it to make a comeback in Singapore. Hence, our campaign will draw an emotional appeal, focusing on the theme, ââ¬Å"Bringing back the good old memoriesâ⬠.Based on this central theme, this report covers the Public Relations, Sales Promotions, Personal Selling, Direct Marketing and Budget proposed for the nature of our campaign. A survey was conducted and given out to 80 random applicants to find out more about what they think of the organisation. Online research was also done to examine some of the risks or problems faced in the marketplace, its potential, competition, unique selling advantages and A&Wâ â¬â¢s current positioning. Lastly, we have come up with creative strategies to enhance the advertising campaign. Bringing back the good old timesâ⬠focuses on the old days so we will mainly be using traditional media to stay consistent to our theme. As many youngsters these days use social media to connect, we will also be using a few online methods to stay connected to the new generation. Lastly, putting into consideration the aspects of our personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and advertising costs, the proposed costing for the total campaign will be approximately $137,707. IMC Objectives * AdvertisingTo bring back A&W to Singapore by creating brand awareness through focussing on our central theme, ââ¬Å"Bringing back the good old daysâ⬠and to create the likeability of amongst 80% of our target audience. * Public Relations To create interest and maintain positive image for A&W by drawing as much publicity as possible, and gain huge exposure to reach ou t to our target audience with 30% additional publicity. * Sales promotion Uses price, coupons to help drive and increase attendance by 30% and to also encourage brand switching.Increase consumption and A&Wââ¬â¢s sales by at least 3% and to add at least 5% to overall market share by 2015. Agency Introduction Based in Singapore, APG Advertising Pte Ltd was established in 1996 providing a comprehensive range of services. We take the task of understanding the business and propose attractive promotions or campaigns, tailored to your specific industry and budget. We also help clients and our teams put more creativity into campaign planning and capable of handling a variety of advertising for business of different natures.Our teams of professionals, armed with expert knowledge of current trends in the market, embark on providing refreshing marketing ideas to kick start your businesses. We service to not only the local market, but also have our global networks, particularly to Asia, such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. APG Advertising Agency possesses skilled employees who have combined experience of over 25 years servicing to the local and international industry. We are a fully accredited service agency.We have run print ads, bus advertisements, MRT advertisements, radio/television commercials, point of sales ads, marketing brochures, brand building and have even created websites. Some of the big firms who have used our services include Bank of China, Maybank, Hyflux, Serta, etc. Accreditations from well-known Institutions * Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Singapore (4As) * Institute of Advertising, Singapore (IAS) * Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) * MediaCorp Singapore Group (MCS) Various Campaigns (Pls refer to Appendix) * Aberdeen * Realstar * Singapore International (Motor Show) * Natas TravelBackground Research Clientââ¬â¢s Background A&W Restaurants, Inc. was established in 1919 in Lodi, California, United States. It is a chain of fast-food restaurants that specialize in root beer and root beer floats. The name A&W came about from the surname of the initials Roy W. Allen and Frank Wright. Hence, started the companyââ¬â¢s humble beginnings, as A&W. The first fast food restaurant in Singapore was not McDonaldââ¬â¢s or KFC, it was A&W. The chainââ¬â¢s expansion was fast in the early nineties, but in the late nineties, the branch at Singapore Zoo closed down, leaving Singapore with seven outlets remaining in 2002.A year later, A&Wââ¬â¢s Singapore operations came to an end after shutting down their last outlet at Hougang Heartland Mall. Being the first fast food restaurant in Singapore, A&W left a huge impact on many Singaporeans as they grew up eating A&W. Long before MacDonald, KFC and Burger King came into the picture, it was the most favourite among the teens. It was seen to be ââ¬Å"coolâ⬠hanging out in A&W restaurant. Whether it was an easy takeaway (A&W drive through), i ndulging in fast food, or giving a good treat to pamper oneself, A&W was always there. Hence, many Singaporeans yearn for A&W to make a comeback.On Facebook, there are many pages created by fans, called ââ¬Å"Like to bring back A&W in Singaporeâ⬠, ââ¬Å"Bring back A&W restaurant in Singaporeâ⬠and many other pages that support A&W into coming back to Singapore. The pages have over 18,000 likes and every now and then, fans would post comments on the wall asking when they are making a comeback or why have they left. Whenever Singaporeans visit Malaysia or Batam, the first thing they think of is to visit the nearest A&W restaurant as well. This shows evidence that A&W has left a huge impression despite drowning due to intense competition.Demand is undoubtedly high and the memories A&W created for its customers is so strong that people are protesting for it to come back until today. Situation Analysis Problems/Risks faced in the Marketplace a) Problems * Viewed as ââ¬Å"Unh ealthy Junk Foodâ⬠Being a fast food restaurant chain, A&W is perceived as unhealthy and customers may see it as ââ¬Å"just another fast food restaurantâ⬠. Because their menu contains fatty food such as Burger, Chicken, Hot Dogs, French Fries, Nuggets, Ice Cream, Milkshakes etc, it may turn customers off as they do not provide a variety of healthy alternative options.Being a family oriented restaurant, it is important that A&W first convince adults or parents to choose their dining experience to be at A&W because they are the ones that have the buying power to bring their children to the restaurant. Hence, if adults or parents are convinced that the food offered by A&W is generally unhealthy or simply seen as ââ¬Å"junk foodâ⬠, they will not consider bringing their family to dine there regularly, unless for rare treats. * Considered relatively small compared to competitors In 2003, A&W was acquired by YUM! Brands.Currently for A&W, there are over 1,200 restaurants i ncluding 350 international stores in 16 countries and territories. Comparing this figure to other YUM! ââ¬â¢s flagship stores, KFC has about 17,000 restaurants worldwide. McDonaldââ¬â¢s has over 34,000 stores worldwide, while Subway has 35,000 locations around the world. With contrast to the other competitors, A&W is relatively small. b) Risks * Of being shut down due to fierce competitions In 1966, A&W launched their first business at Dunearn Road, near the former University of Singaporeââ¬â¢s Bukit Timah Campus.The chain was expanding fast, but due to fierce competitions from other fast food competitors, it eventually closed down in 2003. Thus, it is a risk to bring back A&W to Singapore as it has been shut down previously due to intense competition. * Of having inability to handle high cost due to small size Given A&Wââ¬â¢s size, there is a risk of the company not being able to handle the high cost as compared to competitors. Because they are relatively small in compa rison to other fast food chain outlets, food inventory, logistics, transportation and other cost may come in as an issue while for ompetitors it is not an issue as they already have many outlets spread in Singapore. Potential The first A&W store opened in Singapore in 1966. Back then, people were more conservative and health conscious which led to one of the reasons why A&W closed down in Singapore in the early 2000s. However, times have changed. Singaporeans these days are much affluent than they used to be. The younger generation is more career-oriented and this leads to more people eating out as they often work overtime. In the current fast-paced society, demand for moreà convenient meals is also increasing.Although awareness of the importance of proper diet increased, fast-food, snacks and soft-drinkà consumption is also still on the rise. Wendyââ¬â¢s was first in Singapore during the 1980s. Not long before their opening, Wendyââ¬â¢s faced the same issue as A&W due to intense competition and as a result, collapsed and shut down their outlet which was operating at Far East Plaza and Parkway Parade. However, in 2009, the US fast chain reopened in Singapore at Lau Pa Sat in the Central Business District. Since then, they have grown and just recently opened their 11th restaurant at Jurong East MRT Station.Therefore, despite failing in the earlier years, they manage to make a successful comeback and A&W should perhaps make a comeback too. Wendyââ¬â¢s comeback shows evidence that there is potential in the rise of fast food chain outlets. Competition AW operates in the product category of fast food sandwich chains, which is highly competitive and developed. Today,à the three giants in the local fast-food business are McDonald's,à Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King, with McDonald's leading the pack. A&W simply cannot compete with the thousands of stores their rivals have world-wide.Although AW does not have the number of units or financial res ources that some of its competitors have now, they do have good brand recognition since they bring about childhood memories to Singaporeans. (i) MacDonald The number of people who throngedà MacDonaldââ¬â¢s first outlet opening was so large;à a world record was set for serving the world's highest volume of hamburgers in a single day. Today, McDonald has over 120 restaurants across the island serve 1. 2 million customers every week. Around 9,000 employees keep the McDonald's restaurants running ship-shape.The popular chain is well-known for its Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, and Chicken McNuggets. Most of the outlets are free-standing units offering dine-in and drive-through service. Today one canà find a McDonald's restaurantà in almost every corner of the island and over 40 operating as 24hours stores. About 80% of the restaurants are run by franchisees or affiliates. (ii) Burger King BURGER KING commenced operations in Singapore since 1982 through the opening of its first r estaurant at Peninsula Plaza. Over the years, Burger King Singapore Pte. Ltd. perates more than 40 restaurants in Singapore where customers across the island city can enjoy the great and healthy flame-grilled taste of their products. Providing customers with a great dining experience in the areas of convenience, excellent service and friendly surroundings is and also for the wide and unique menu options is what Burger King achieved. In addition to its popular Whopper sandwich, the chain offers a selection of burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, and breakfast items, along with beverages, desserts, and sides. (iii) KFCKFC is the leader in the chicken segment in the Singapore Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry. There are over 15,000à KFCà outlets in 105 countries and territories around the world. Upon entering every KFC outlets, one will be captivated by the chickenââ¬â¢s aroma. At KFC, they offer high quality and great tasting food in a popular array of complete meals such as Daily Savers Meals, Snackers and Family Feast that enable the whole family to share a fun and satisfying experience with all the affordability and convenience of a fast food restaurant.The popular chain is well known for its fried chicken and its various incarnations ââ¬â chicken burgers, drumlets, nuggets, ââ¬Ëpopcorn' chicken. The chicken comes in various flavours ââ¬â original, spicy, crispy. Unique Selling Advantages * Worldââ¬â¢s No. 1 Root Beer A;W Root Beer is the world's number one selling root beer float and is still mixed fresh daily and sold at hundreds of A&W restaurants. Customers dine at A&W to enjoy their signature products like root beers floats, deep fried cheese curdsà and waffles. Long Heritage When people talk about A&W in Singapore, they think of the past and memories because it is the first fast food restaurant in Singapore. Hence, the history behind A&W is a unique selling point as people will always remember A&W as they grew up eating it. Till now, they are still making memories and All American Food. Having a strong history over the brand A&W, is what other competitors canââ¬â¢t achieved. Current Positioning Over the years, A&W has position themselves as a childhood fast food brand.Some positioning strategy that A&W has adopted will be emotional, functional and promotional. The emotional positioning strongly taps into boomersââ¬â¢ memories of their youth at A&W, with the objective of creating smiles and reminisce. The functional positioning focuses on the simple indulgence of a great burger just like it was in 1956. The promotional positioning reflects great value for a premium product. A&W focus their efforts on baby boomersââ¬â a market virtually ignored by the other fast-food chains.This group, born between 1946 and 1964, grew up with A&W drive-ins. The brand truly represents their youth and the simple joys that came along with it. We want to bring back memories of these boomers having countless ââ¬Å" firstsâ⬠at A&W growing up: their first trip to a fast-food restaurant, ââ¬Å"graduatingâ⬠to their first Teen Burger, going out on their first date, driving their first carââ¬â these were all very important and rich memories. It was clear that A&W is one of the few brands that have the right to align themselves with these milestones in boomersââ¬â¢ lives.We feel that the current positioning is strong and we believe it would work out for our objectives of our campaign. This insight became the basis for an important element of our campaign. IMC Strategies Overall Theme/Big Idea To bring back the fast food chain that Singaporeans grew up loving, focussing on our central theme, ââ¬Å"Bringing back the good old daysâ⬠. * Creative Direction The advertising appeal that we would use to attract the attention of consumers will be through emotional appeal because emotional appeal will be easier for us to relate our BIG IDEA and campaign to our target group.The way our big idea will be conveyed to consumers will be through slice of life execution as it is able to portray a real life situation that consumers may face daily. As our big idea is to bring back the good old times to consumer who patronize A&W on their re-opening, our advertising video will be about a man who had a hard time at work as his job pile stacks higher and higher but when he walk into A&W and drink their signature root beer float, flash back of the good times he had appeared in his brain making his frown and stressful face to turn into a wide smile, enjoying the moment.Public Relations * Publicity Vehicles Vehicle wraps is one of the most cost efficient advertising tools. Because we believe they have the ability to generate more advertising impressions than any other advertising medium available, we will be hiring three trucks to drive around high traffic areas such as Orchard Road to showcase that A&W is coming back to Singapore. We will feature our theme, ââ¬Å"Bringing back the good old memories near youâ⬠to bring awareness to consumers that A&W is returning. Inside the truck, it will contain mini cans of A&W that we will be selling to the public.For every can purchased at $1, customers will get a free A&W balloon to show support for wanting to bring A&W back to Singapore. * Community Activities With the proceeds earned from the mini canned drinks, we will be donating 50% of the proceeds to poor families with low income. Since A&W is a family restaurant, we want to show the importance of family. Thus, A&W will donate proceeds of the earnings to people who deserve it to show our welfare and concern, and to show the community that A&W cares about the society. Sales PromotionThere are various sales promotional tools that A&W can make use of to introduce their come-back in Singapore and so to stimulate trial, repeat or larger purchases. To suit our ââ¬Å"old schoolâ⬠theme campaign, we have decided to make use of 4 different sales promotional tools and they are namely coupons, contests/sweepstakes, price-off deal and frequency programs. Coupons will be distributed using social media website such as Facebook and twitter. A picture of the coupon will be posted on the official Facebook page of A&W and this coupon can be printed and will entitle them to 2 different benefits.On the day of the opening, consumers will be able to enjoy 10% off their total bill instantly upon flashing the coupon and after doing so, a bounce back coupons printed in black and white using old school design will also be given to these consumers in order to encourage repeat purchase. The reason of combining this 2 different method is because of our ââ¬Å"old schoolâ⬠theme. Since our theme focuses on bringing back childhood memories of the consumers, it would be more appropriate if we can make use of traditional marketing method.However, we will be using a small part of social media as it has become increasingly popular among teenagers these day s that make it a much easier and cost-efficient way to reach out to our consumers. However, this promotion will only be valid for a month to introduce the comeback of A&W. Our price-off deals includes set meals which will be available at all times. Since our target audiences are families and our marketing idea is to bring back childhood memories, family set meals is definitely a must-have in our menu.A frequency program will also be combined together with a contest to encourage consumers to try out all the different product that is available on the menu. A frequency card will be issued on your first alacarte purchase and 10 different stamps would need to be collected in order to enjoy the benefit and so to participate in the contest. These 10 collectible stamps represent the different alacarte items; a stamp will be rewarded for each alacarte items being purchased. Collect all 10 different stamps and it will entitle customers to redeem a free ââ¬Å"set meal of the weekâ⬠.Upon redemption, personal data will need to be filled in at the back of the card to redeem their prizes. This can also be reference for our customer database. Personal Selling For our campaign, we will be having staffs going around the event areas to serve and answer any enquiries by our audience. For example, our staffs will explain to them the main objectives of this campaign and the main reason in bringing back A&W. These will actually nature relationships with customers by understanding their needs and demands. Not only that, we can solve their doubts and recommend ways to satisfy them.Also, our mascots will be going around interacting and bonding with the customers. Customers can take pictures with our mascots or even talk to it. After our campaign, more customers would be informed and will patronize our stores. This will actually brings popularity and publicity for A&W. Direct Marketing & Online Communication Flyers will be distributed to the public around neighbourhood and town ar eas. This will help increase the awareness of consumers that are shopping or staying nearby, giving them a heads-up of whatââ¬â¢s going on around them.To ensure that these Flyers will not be treated as junk mail, a free ice-cream coupon will be attached to it. However, consumers can only redeem the free ice cream upon purchasing a set meal. Though our main focus is to publicize re-launching of A&W using outdoor, however there is also a need to use new media to reach out to the younger group of consumers who have not heard of A&W before. We will plan to reach out to them through the means of social media platforms such as facebook and twitter.We will post pictures about during A&W store renovation and what are the varieties of food that A&W will be offering to keep them updated and excited to A&Wââ¬â¢s countdown. We will also set up a local A&W website so that the younger generations can find out more about us through this means of platform. Media Strategy & Media Mix (a) Adver tising Campaign With the results that we have obtained through our surveys, we have decided to come out with an advertising campaign for A&W with the objective of letting A&W bring back childhood memories and happiness back to our target audience.Our campaign tag line will be ââ¬Å"A&W, bringing back the good old times. â⬠This advertising campaign is to promote brand recall to our target audience that A&W is back to serve them their favourite Signature Root Beer Float, Curly Fries and their other specialties. We have decided to use local advertising as our aim is to bring A&W back to Singapore. Since our campaign objective and big idea is to bring back old memories, we will be using traditional media such as outdoor posters of media class and media vehicle as well to advertise on A&W will be coming back to Singapore.Media class is a broad category of media such as broadcast, print, outdoor, interactive and etc. Out of all these, we will be choosing outdoor prints advertisemen ts as many people are expecting to see A&W advertisements at outdoor places. Media vehicles will be at bus stops, train stations and even on buses. Thus, for bus stops, we will be having a simple advert of A&W's logo and campaign theme with a digital countdown system at the bottom of the poster, stating how many more days to A;W's re-opening.For train stations, we have decided to have our advert to be paste at Toa Payoh station as it is a district located in the central region of Singapore with many housing estates and facilities around them. Hence, it would be great for us to put our advertisements there as it is not that expensive compared to placing it at orchard and Toa Payoh is more of a family oriented place. So, it would be a win-win situation for us as not only could we save money but we would be able to reach out to our target audience which is families as well.Lastly, for buses, we have decided to check a few buses to have A&W's advertisement on them while inside of the bu s will have mini advertisement posters hanging on the poles where anybody who takes it will be given a 20% off when purchasing from A;W when they re-open in Singapore. Another media class that we will be choosing is television channels. As for the media vehicles will be television channels such as Channel 8 and Channel 5. The reason why we have chose these 2 channels is because people are expecting to see our advertisements on TV and Channel 5 ; 8 audience are mostly families.Hence, it matches with our target audience. Continuity scheduling technique will be used to re-reach to our target audience so that we can arouse more attention from the public. The television advertisement that we will be coming out with will be more family oriented, focusing on our theme of bringing back the good old times. There will be approximately 4 parts of the scene which depicts how A;W will bring back the good old times to consumers from the new technology world. It will also show howA;W will release their stressful life after visiting A;W where flashback of good old memories made their day a better one. Every week one scene will be played and at the end of the 4 weeks, it will be also the day where A;W re-open in Singapore. Though there are downsides of selecting these media tools such as high production cost and short exposure time but we are confident that with the correct location for our posters to be placed up at and with interesting television advertisement, we will be able to gain the response that we are targeting to achieve. b) Marketing Mix Strategies Product: People remember A;W for their unique root beer float over the years till now. Today, it has franchise locations throughout much of the world, serving a typical fast food menu of hamburgers and French fries, as well as hot dogs. One would be able to enjoy the unique and quality food served in A;W outlets at the same time creating/recalling memories of the past times at A;W. Not only that, A;W packaging colors of brown, white, orange and yellow also left an impactful impressions to their customers.Place: The place of our campaign will be all around Singapore but putting more focus at Toa Payoh as we are planning to re-open the A;W outlet there. The reason why we choose Toa Payoh is due to the high traffic flow of families around that area. They have many facilities like Safra, Swimming Complex, library, movie theatre and neighbourhood schools which would attract many school kids and families who visit Toa Payoh for their variety of facilities over there. Hence the selection of the location where our main campaign location will be along with the big poster of A;W reopening paste on the train station of Toa Payoh.Price: The price of A;W standard food combos will be approximately from $5 to $8. Prices are stated based on analysis of other competitors price and cost of product. Besides standard food combos which includes main course and their signature root beer float, A;W will also sell ala car t items such as their curly fries, burgers and others. Regular curly fries will be set at $2 will large curly fries will be $3. For their regular signature root beer float will be $2. 95 while large signature root beer float will be $3. 5 and jumbo signature root beer float for two will be charged at $4. 95. Promotion: During the campaign period, customers who visit A;W with the mini advertisement that they took from the busses will be entitled to a 20% discount on standard food combos purchased or a total bill of $5 and above. This promotion will last one month from the day of reopening of A;W at Toa Payoh. The promotion is created to attract the crowd back to A;W and also attention of the public. Campaign Budget | Description| Quantity| Duration| Pay rate| Total| Public Relations| | 1. | Trucks| 3| 3 hrs| $150/day| $450| 2. | Drivers (3hrs/day)| 3| 3 hrs| $15/hr| $135| 3. | Workers| 6| 3 hrs| $6/hr| $108| 4. | Donations| | | | $150| | Sales Promotion| | 5. | Printing of Coupons| 5 0,000| | | $1000| 6. | Coupon Value(Digital Coupon)| 50,000| | | $25,000| 7. | Production of Frequency Card| 50,000| | | $3000| | Direct Marketing| | 8. | Production of Flyers| 100,000| | | $2500| 9. | Flyer Distributor| 5 | 10 hours| $6/hr| $300| 10. | Mascot| 1| 8 hours| $8/hr| $64| | Advertising| | 1. | Poster Space: Toa Payoh MRT Station | 1| 2. 5 weeks| | $15,000| 12. | Poster Space: All Toa Payoh Bus Stops| | 2. 5 weeks| | $10,000| 13. | Advertising: Comfort Delgro| | 2. 5 weeks| | $8,000| 14. | Print Productions for posters etc. | | | | $30,000| 15. | TV commercial (15seconds)AirTime on Channel 8| 3 slots/day| 2 weeks| $500/time slot $1500/day| $21,000| 16. | TV commercial (15seconds)AirTime on Channel 5| 3 slots/day| 2 weeks| $500/time slot $1500/day| $21,000| | Total| $137,707| Round-Up Budget| $150,000| Marketing a & W Executive Summary A&W Restaurants, Inc. is a chain of fast-food restaurants that specialize in root beer and root beer floats. It is the first fast food restaurant in Singapore and expansion was fast in the early nineties, but in 2003, A&Wââ¬â¢s Singapore operations came to an end. Many Singaporeans grew up eating A&W, and that is one reason why many people are protesting for it to make a comeback in Singapore. Hence, our campaign will draw an emotional appeal, focusing on the theme, ââ¬Å"Bringing back the good old memoriesâ⬠.Based on this central theme, this report covers the Public Relations, Sales Promotions, Personal Selling, Direct Marketing and Budget proposed for the nature of our campaign. A survey was conducted and given out to 80 random applicants to find out more about what they think of the organisation. Online research was also done to examine some of the risks or problems faced in the marketplace, its potential, competition, unique selling advantages and A&Wâ â¬â¢s current positioning. Lastly, we have come up with creative strategies to enhance the advertising campaign. Bringing back the good old timesâ⬠focuses on the old days so we will mainly be using traditional media to stay consistent to our theme. As many youngsters these days use social media to connect, we will also be using a few online methods to stay connected to the new generation. Lastly, putting into consideration the aspects of our personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and advertising costs, the proposed costing for the total campaign will be approximately $137,707. IMC Objectives * AdvertisingTo bring back A&W to Singapore by creating brand awareness through focussing on our central theme, ââ¬Å"Bringing back the good old daysâ⬠and to create the likeability of amongst 80% of our target audience. * Public Relations To create interest and maintain positive image for A&W by drawing as much publicity as possible, and gain huge exposure to reach ou t to our target audience with 30% additional publicity. * Sales promotion Uses price, coupons to help drive and increase attendance by 30% and to also encourage brand switching.Increase consumption and A&Wââ¬â¢s sales by at least 3% and to add at least 5% to overall market share by 2015. Agency Introduction Based in Singapore, APG Advertising Pte Ltd was established in 1996 providing a comprehensive range of services. We take the task of understanding the business and propose attractive promotions or campaigns, tailored to your specific industry and budget. We also help clients and our teams put more creativity into campaign planning and capable of handling a variety of advertising for business of different natures.Our teams of professionals, armed with expert knowledge of current trends in the market, embark on providing refreshing marketing ideas to kick start your businesses. We service to not only the local market, but also have our global networks, particularly to Asia, such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. APG Advertising Agency possesses skilled employees who have combined experience of over 25 years servicing to the local and international industry. We are a fully accredited service agency.We have run print ads, bus advertisements, MRT advertisements, radio/television commercials, point of sales ads, marketing brochures, brand building and have even created websites. Some of the big firms who have used our services include Bank of China, Maybank, Hyflux, Serta, etc. Accreditations from well-known Institutions * Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Singapore (4As) * Institute of Advertising, Singapore (IAS) * Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) * MediaCorp Singapore Group (MCS) Various Campaigns (Pls refer to Appendix) * Aberdeen * Realstar * Singapore International (Motor Show) * Natas TravelBackground Research Clientââ¬â¢s Background A&W Restaurants, Inc. was established in 1919 in Lodi, California, United States. It is a chain of fast-food restaurants that specialize in root beer and root beer floats. The name A&W came about from the surname of the initials Roy W. Allen and Frank Wright. Hence, started the companyââ¬â¢s humble beginnings, as A&W. The first fast food restaurant in Singapore was not McDonaldââ¬â¢s or KFC, it was A&W. The chainââ¬â¢s expansion was fast in the early nineties, but in the late nineties, the branch at Singapore Zoo closed down, leaving Singapore with seven outlets remaining in 2002.A year later, A&Wââ¬â¢s Singapore operations came to an end after shutting down their last outlet at Hougang Heartland Mall. Being the first fast food restaurant in Singapore, A&W left a huge impact on many Singaporeans as they grew up eating A&W. Long before MacDonald, KFC and Burger King came into the picture, it was the most favourite among the teens. It was seen to be ââ¬Å"coolâ⬠hanging out in A&W restaurant. Whether it was an easy takeaway (A&W drive through), i ndulging in fast food, or giving a good treat to pamper oneself, A&W was always there. Hence, many Singaporeans yearn for A&W to make a comeback.On Facebook, there are many pages created by fans, called ââ¬Å"Like to bring back A&W in Singaporeâ⬠, ââ¬Å"Bring back A&W restaurant in Singaporeâ⬠and many other pages that support A&W into coming back to Singapore. The pages have over 18,000 likes and every now and then, fans would post comments on the wall asking when they are making a comeback or why have they left. Whenever Singaporeans visit Malaysia or Batam, the first thing they think of is to visit the nearest A&W restaurant as well. This shows evidence that A&W has left a huge impression despite drowning due to intense competition.Demand is undoubtedly high and the memories A&W created for its customers is so strong that people are protesting for it to come back until today. Situation Analysis Problems/Risks faced in the Marketplace a) Problems * Viewed as ââ¬Å"Unh ealthy Junk Foodâ⬠Being a fast food restaurant chain, A&W is perceived as unhealthy and customers may see it as ââ¬Å"just another fast food restaurantâ⬠. Because their menu contains fatty food such as Burger, Chicken, Hot Dogs, French Fries, Nuggets, Ice Cream, Milkshakes etc, it may turn customers off as they do not provide a variety of healthy alternative options.Being a family oriented restaurant, it is important that A&W first convince adults or parents to choose their dining experience to be at A&W because they are the ones that have the buying power to bring their children to the restaurant. Hence, if adults or parents are convinced that the food offered by A&W is generally unhealthy or simply seen as ââ¬Å"junk foodâ⬠, they will not consider bringing their family to dine there regularly, unless for rare treats. * Considered relatively small compared to competitors In 2003, A&W was acquired by YUM! Brands.Currently for A&W, there are over 1,200 restaurants i ncluding 350 international stores in 16 countries and territories. Comparing this figure to other YUM! ââ¬â¢s flagship stores, KFC has about 17,000 restaurants worldwide. McDonaldââ¬â¢s has over 34,000 stores worldwide, while Subway has 35,000 locations around the world. With contrast to the other competitors, A&W is relatively small. b) Risks * Of being shut down due to fierce competitions In 1966, A&W launched their first business at Dunearn Road, near the former University of Singaporeââ¬â¢s Bukit Timah Campus.The chain was expanding fast, but due to fierce competitions from other fast food competitors, it eventually closed down in 2003. Thus, it is a risk to bring back A&W to Singapore as it has been shut down previously due to intense competition. * Of having inability to handle high cost due to small size Given A&Wââ¬â¢s size, there is a risk of the company not being able to handle the high cost as compared to competitors. Because they are relatively small in compa rison to other fast food chain outlets, food inventory, logistics, transportation and other cost may come in as an issue while for ompetitors it is not an issue as they already have many outlets spread in Singapore. Potential The first A&W store opened in Singapore in 1966. Back then, people were more conservative and health conscious which led to one of the reasons why A&W closed down in Singapore in the early 2000s. However, times have changed. Singaporeans these days are much affluent than they used to be. The younger generation is more career-oriented and this leads to more people eating out as they often work overtime. In the current fast-paced society, demand for moreà convenient meals is also increasing.Although awareness of the importance of proper diet increased, fast-food, snacks and soft-drinkà consumption is also still on the rise. Wendyââ¬â¢s was first in Singapore during the 1980s. Not long before their opening, Wendyââ¬â¢s faced the same issue as A&W due to intense competition and as a result, collapsed and shut down their outlet which was operating at Far East Plaza and Parkway Parade. However, in 2009, the US fast chain reopened in Singapore at Lau Pa Sat in the Central Business District. Since then, they have grown and just recently opened their 11th restaurant at Jurong East MRT Station.Therefore, despite failing in the earlier years, they manage to make a successful comeback and A&W should perhaps make a comeback too. Wendyââ¬â¢s comeback shows evidence that there is potential in the rise of fast food chain outlets. Competition AW operates in the product category of fast food sandwich chains, which is highly competitive and developed. Today,à the three giants in the local fast-food business are McDonald's,à Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King, with McDonald's leading the pack. A&W simply cannot compete with the thousands of stores their rivals have world-wide.Although AW does not have the number of units or financial res ources that some of its competitors have now, they do have good brand recognition since they bring about childhood memories to Singaporeans. (i) MacDonald The number of people who throngedà MacDonaldââ¬â¢s first outlet opening was so large;à a world record was set for serving the world's highest volume of hamburgers in a single day. Today, McDonald has over 120 restaurants across the island serve 1. 2 million customers every week. Around 9,000 employees keep the McDonald's restaurants running ship-shape.The popular chain is well-known for its Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, and Chicken McNuggets. Most of the outlets are free-standing units offering dine-in and drive-through service. Today one canà find a McDonald's restaurantà in almost every corner of the island and over 40 operating as 24hours stores. About 80% of the restaurants are run by franchisees or affiliates. (ii) Burger King BURGER KING commenced operations in Singapore since 1982 through the opening of its first r estaurant at Peninsula Plaza. Over the years, Burger King Singapore Pte. Ltd. perates more than 40 restaurants in Singapore where customers across the island city can enjoy the great and healthy flame-grilled taste of their products. Providing customers with a great dining experience in the areas of convenience, excellent service and friendly surroundings is and also for the wide and unique menu options is what Burger King achieved. In addition to its popular Whopper sandwich, the chain offers a selection of burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, and breakfast items, along with beverages, desserts, and sides. (iii) KFCKFC is the leader in the chicken segment in the Singapore Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry. There are over 15,000à KFCà outlets in 105 countries and territories around the world. Upon entering every KFC outlets, one will be captivated by the chickenââ¬â¢s aroma. At KFC, they offer high quality and great tasting food in a popular array of complete meals such as Daily Savers Meals, Snackers and Family Feast that enable the whole family to share a fun and satisfying experience with all the affordability and convenience of a fast food restaurant.The popular chain is well known for its fried chicken and its various incarnations ââ¬â chicken burgers, drumlets, nuggets, ââ¬Ëpopcorn' chicken. The chicken comes in various flavours ââ¬â original, spicy, crispy. Unique Selling Advantages * Worldââ¬â¢s No. 1 Root Beer A;W Root Beer is the world's number one selling root beer float and is still mixed fresh daily and sold at hundreds of A&W restaurants. Customers dine at A&W to enjoy their signature products like root beers floats, deep fried cheese curdsà and waffles. Long Heritage When people talk about A&W in Singapore, they think of the past and memories because it is the first fast food restaurant in Singapore. Hence, the history behind A&W is a unique selling point as people will always remember A&W as they grew up eating it. Till now, they are still making memories and All American Food. Having a strong history over the brand A&W, is what other competitors canââ¬â¢t achieved. Current Positioning Over the years, A&W has position themselves as a childhood fast food brand.Some positioning strategy that A&W has adopted will be emotional, functional and promotional. The emotional positioning strongly taps into boomersââ¬â¢ memories of their youth at A&W, with the objective of creating smiles and reminisce. The functional positioning focuses on the simple indulgence of a great burger just like it was in 1956. The promotional positioning reflects great value for a premium product. A&W focus their efforts on baby boomersââ¬â a market virtually ignored by the other fast-food chains.This group, born between 1946 and 1964, grew up with A&W drive-ins. The brand truly represents their youth and the simple joys that came along with it. We want to bring back memories of these boomers having countless ââ¬Å" firstsâ⬠at A&W growing up: their first trip to a fast-food restaurant, ââ¬Å"graduatingâ⬠to their first Teen Burger, going out on their first date, driving their first carââ¬â these were all very important and rich memories. It was clear that A&W is one of the few brands that have the right to align themselves with these milestones in boomersââ¬â¢ lives.We feel that the current positioning is strong and we believe it would work out for our objectives of our campaign. This insight became the basis for an important element of our campaign. IMC Strategies Overall Theme/Big Idea To bring back the fast food chain that Singaporeans grew up loving, focussing on our central theme, ââ¬Å"Bringing back the good old daysâ⬠. * Creative Direction The advertising appeal that we would use to attract the attention of consumers will be through emotional appeal because emotional appeal will be easier for us to relate our BIG IDEA and campaign to our target group.The way our big idea will be conveyed to consumers will be through slice of life execution as it is able to portray a real life situation that consumers may face daily. As our big idea is to bring back the good old times to consumer who patronize A&W on their re-opening, our advertising video will be about a man who had a hard time at work as his job pile stacks higher and higher but when he walk into A&W and drink their signature root beer float, flash back of the good times he had appeared in his brain making his frown and stressful face to turn into a wide smile, enjoying the moment.Public Relations * Publicity Vehicles Vehicle wraps is one of the most cost efficient advertising tools. Because we believe they have the ability to generate more advertising impressions than any other advertising medium available, we will be hiring three trucks to drive around high traffic areas such as Orchard Road to showcase that A&W is coming back to Singapore. We will feature our theme, ââ¬Å"Bringing back the good old memories near youâ⬠to bring awareness to consumers that A&W is returning. Inside the truck, it will contain mini cans of A&W that we will be selling to the public.For every can purchased at $1, customers will get a free A&W balloon to show support for wanting to bring A&W back to Singapore. * Community Activities With the proceeds earned from the mini canned drinks, we will be donating 50% of the proceeds to poor families with low income. Since A&W is a family restaurant, we want to show the importance of family. Thus, A&W will donate proceeds of the earnings to people who deserve it to show our welfare and concern, and to show the community that A&W cares about the society. Sales PromotionThere are various sales promotional tools that A&W can make use of to introduce their come-back in Singapore and so to stimulate trial, repeat or larger purchases. To suit our ââ¬Å"old schoolâ⬠theme campaign, we have decided to make use of 4 different sales promotional tools and they are namely coupons, contests/sweepstakes, price-off deal and frequency programs. Coupons will be distributed using social media website such as Facebook and twitter. A picture of the coupon will be posted on the official Facebook page of A&W and this coupon can be printed and will entitle them to 2 different benefits.On the day of the opening, consumers will be able to enjoy 10% off their total bill instantly upon flashing the coupon and after doing so, a bounce back coupons printed in black and white using old school design will also be given to these consumers in order to encourage repeat purchase. The reason of combining this 2 different method is because of our ââ¬Å"old schoolâ⬠theme. Since our theme focuses on bringing back childhood memories of the consumers, it would be more appropriate if we can make use of traditional marketing method.However, we will be using a small part of social media as it has become increasingly popular among teenagers these day s that make it a much easier and cost-efficient way to reach out to our consumers. However, this promotion will only be valid for a month to introduce the comeback of A&W. Our price-off deals includes set meals which will be available at all times. Since our target audiences are families and our marketing idea is to bring back childhood memories, family set meals is definitely a must-have in our menu.A frequency program will also be combined together with a contest to encourage consumers to try out all the different product that is available on the menu. A frequency card will be issued on your first alacarte purchase and 10 different stamps would need to be collected in order to enjoy the benefit and so to participate in the contest. These 10 collectible stamps represent the different alacarte items; a stamp will be rewarded for each alacarte items being purchased. Collect all 10 different stamps and it will entitle customers to redeem a free ââ¬Å"set meal of the weekâ⬠.Upon redemption, personal data will need to be filled in at the back of the card to redeem their prizes. This can also be reference for our customer database. Personal Selling For our campaign, we will be having staffs going around the event areas to serve and answer any enquiries by our audience. For example, our staffs will explain to them the main objectives of this campaign and the main reason in bringing back A&W. These will actually nature relationships with customers by understanding their needs and demands. Not only that, we can solve their doubts and recommend ways to satisfy them.Also, our mascots will be going around interacting and bonding with the customers. Customers can take pictures with our mascots or even talk to it. After our campaign, more customers would be informed and will patronize our stores. This will actually brings popularity and publicity for A&W. Direct Marketing & Online Communication Flyers will be distributed to the public around neighbourhood and town ar eas. This will help increase the awareness of consumers that are shopping or staying nearby, giving them a heads-up of whatââ¬â¢s going on around them.To ensure that these Flyers will not be treated as junk mail, a free ice-cream coupon will be attached to it. However, consumers can only redeem the free ice cream upon purchasing a set meal. Though our main focus is to publicize re-launching of A&W using outdoor, however there is also a need to use new media to reach out to the younger group of consumers who have not heard of A&W before. We will plan to reach out to them through the means of social media platforms such as facebook and twitter.We will post pictures about during A&W store renovation and what are the varieties of food that A&W will be offering to keep them updated and excited to A&Wââ¬â¢s countdown. We will also set up a local A&W website so that the younger generations can find out more about us through this means of platform. Media Strategy & Media Mix (a) Adver tising Campaign With the results that we have obtained through our surveys, we have decided to come out with an advertising campaign for A&W with the objective of letting A&W bring back childhood memories and happiness back to our target audience.Our campaign tag line will be ââ¬Å"A&W, bringing back the good old times. â⬠This advertising campaign is to promote brand recall to our target audience that A&W is back to serve them their favourite Signature Root Beer Float, Curly Fries and their other specialties. We have decided to use local advertising as our aim is to bring A&W back to Singapore. Since our campaign objective and big idea is to bring back old memories, we will be using traditional media such as outdoor posters of media class and media vehicle as well to advertise on A&W will be coming back to Singapore.Media class is a broad category of media such as broadcast, print, outdoor, interactive and etc. Out of all these, we will be choosing outdoor prints advertisemen ts as many people are expecting to see A&W advertisements at outdoor places. Media vehicles will be at bus stops, train stations and even on buses. Thus, for bus stops, we will be having a simple advert of A&W's logo and campaign theme with a digital countdown system at the bottom of the poster, stating how many more days to A;W's re-opening.For train stations, we have decided to have our advert to be paste at Toa Payoh station as it is a district located in the central region of Singapore with many housing estates and facilities around them. Hence, it would be great for us to put our advertisements there as it is not that expensive compared to placing it at orchard and Toa Payoh is more of a family oriented place. So, it would be a win-win situation for us as not only could we save money but we would be able to reach out to our target audience which is families as well.Lastly, for buses, we have decided to check a few buses to have A&W's advertisement on them while inside of the bu s will have mini advertisement posters hanging on the poles where anybody who takes it will be given a 20% off when purchasing from A;W when they re-open in Singapore. Another media class that we will be choosing is television channels. As for the media vehicles will be television channels such as Channel 8 and Channel 5. The reason why we have chose these 2 channels is because people are expecting to see our advertisements on TV and Channel 5 ; 8 audience are mostly families.Hence, it matches with our target audience. Continuity scheduling technique will be used to re-reach to our target audience so that we can arouse more attention from the public. The television advertisement that we will be coming out with will be more family oriented, focusing on our theme of bringing back the good old times. There will be approximately 4 parts of the scene which depicts how A;W will bring back the good old times to consumers from the new technology world. It will also show howA;W will release their stressful life after visiting A;W where flashback of good old memories made their day a better one. Every week one scene will be played and at the end of the 4 weeks, it will be also the day where A;W re-open in Singapore. Though there are downsides of selecting these media tools such as high production cost and short exposure time but we are confident that with the correct location for our posters to be placed up at and with interesting television advertisement, we will be able to gain the response that we are targeting to achieve. b) Marketing Mix Strategies Product: People remember A;W for their unique root beer float over the years till now. Today, it has franchise locations throughout much of the world, serving a typical fast food menu of hamburgers and French fries, as well as hot dogs. One would be able to enjoy the unique and quality food served in A;W outlets at the same time creating/recalling memories of the past times at A;W. Not only that, A;W packaging colors of brown, white, orange and yellow also left an impactful impressions to their customers.Place: The place of our campaign will be all around Singapore but putting more focus at Toa Payoh as we are planning to re-open the A;W outlet there. The reason why we choose Toa Payoh is due to the high traffic flow of families around that area. They have many facilities like Safra, Swimming Complex, library, movie theatre and neighbourhood schools which would attract many school kids and families who visit Toa Payoh for their variety of facilities over there. Hence the selection of the location where our main campaign location will be along with the big poster of A;W reopening paste on the train station of Toa Payoh.Price: The price of A;W standard food combos will be approximately from $5 to $8. Prices are stated based on analysis of other competitors price and cost of product. Besides standard food combos which includes main course and their signature root beer float, A;W will also sell ala car t items such as their curly fries, burgers and others. Regular curly fries will be set at $2 will large curly fries will be $3. For their regular signature root beer float will be $2. 95 while large signature root beer float will be $3. 5 and jumbo signature root beer float for two will be charged at $4. 95. Promotion: During the campaign period, customers who visit A;W with the mini advertisement that they took from the busses will be entitled to a 20% discount on standard food combos purchased or a total bill of $5 and above. This promotion will last one month from the day of reopening of A;W at Toa Payoh. The promotion is created to attract the crowd back to A;W and also attention of the public. Campaign Budget | Description| Quantity| Duration| Pay rate| Total| Public Relations| | 1. | Trucks| 3| 3 hrs| $150/day| $450| 2. | Drivers (3hrs/day)| 3| 3 hrs| $15/hr| $135| 3. | Workers| 6| 3 hrs| $6/hr| $108| 4. | Donations| | | | $150| | Sales Promotion| | 5. | Printing of Coupons| 5 0,000| | | $1000| 6. | Coupon Value(Digital Coupon)| 50,000| | | $25,000| 7. | Production of Frequency Card| 50,000| | | $3000| | Direct Marketing| | 8. | Production of Flyers| 100,000| | | $2500| 9. | Flyer Distributor| 5 | 10 hours| $6/hr| $300| 10. | Mascot| 1| 8 hours| $8/hr| $64| | Advertising| | 1. | Poster Space: Toa Payoh MRT Station | 1| 2. 5 weeks| | $15,000| 12. | Poster Space: All Toa Payoh Bus Stops| | 2. 5 weeks| | $10,000| 13. | Advertising: Comfort Delgro| | 2. 5 weeks| | $8,000| 14. | Print Productions for posters etc. | | | | $30,000| 15. | TV commercial (15seconds)AirTime on Channel 8| 3 slots/day| 2 weeks| $500/time slot $1500/day| $21,000| 16. | TV commercial (15seconds)AirTime on Channel 5| 3 slots/day| 2 weeks| $500/time slot $1500/day| $21,000| | Total| $137,707| Round-Up Budget| $150,000|
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Curbing Examination Malpractices in Nigerian Educational Assessment Essay
The paper examines the role or intervention of guidance and counseling in curbing examination malpractice in Nigerian educational assessment among all the stake holders in education industry. Counseling can be of much interventional assistance in bringing re-orientation of students, teachers, the school and the society. Also provides social, orientational and psychological counseling as an antidote for examination malpractice in Nigeria. Therefore, this paper dwells on concept of guidance and counseling, what examination malpractice is all about, and exposes the causes and an overview of background of examination malpractice in Nigeria is discussed. Similarly, the social effects of examination malpractice is discussed as it affects the political, moral, socio-economic of the nation and conclude with suggestion and solutions through counseling intervention so as to protect the validity and sanctity of examination in Nigeria All over the world examination is considered very important in educational system. By means of it, learners are formally measured and placements are made based on the results accrued from it. In Nigeria, education has been adopted as an instrument for meaningful national development. Therefore, government, communities, private organizations, and individuals have established educational institutions with a view to training the citizens for the development of the nationââ¬â¢s physical and human resources. In these institutions, teaching and guidance services are supposed to take place so that appropriate skills and knowledge can be acquired by the learners. Furthermore, machinery through which the extent of knowledge and skill acquisition is determined at each stage of learning has been set up. This is in form of examination which would be organized in order to evaluate, assess, place and test knowledge and skills. The outcome of the examination is used as a basis for decision making on the examineeââ¬â¢s ability. In view of the exceeding importance attached to examination at national and international levels, examinations are seen as an activity that should be executed well. Learners in Nigeria see examination as activities that should be successfully carried out if future is assured. Thus, there are many instances where there are tendencies to pass examination at all costs. These trends and phenomena really called for concerns from all Quarters including the professional guidance counselors. Educational Guidance as seenbyEncarta(2009),a process of helping students to achieve the self-understanding and self-direction necessary to make informed choices and move toward personal goals. Guidance focuses on the complete development of individual students through a series of services designed to maximize school learning, stimulate career development, and respond to the personal and social concerns that inhibit individual growth. Although guidance activities are usually associated with educational professionals known as counselors, educational guidance is actually a cooperative enterprise involving the participation of teachers, administrators, other educational specialists, and parents. Similarly, Egbule (2002) puts the concept of Guidance and Counseling as a helping service in the understanding of the factors or events that led to the conceptual evolution of it as a subject matter, a professional discipline and indeed a helping service. Meanwhile, he submitted further that it is these factors that are responsible for its popularization as helping service and subsequent use in resolving various educational, vocational and socio-personal problems of individual in the society. Some of the factors according to Egbule, (2002) include: * Traditional practices relating to advising * Civilization in modern society and problems associated with it * Development in the field of psychology and philosophy * Educational development * Socio-political developments * Different behavior problems of individuals that require counseling, among others. Ipaye, (1983) in Abdu, (2007) define guidance and counseling as a helping service that provides the atmosphere as well as the setting within a professional counselor can help a person (client) or a group of person in terms of resolving educational, vocational and personal-social problems. It is also the process of assisting the individuals acquire, get acquainted with and becoming aware of the opportunities in the personal, social, educational and vocational world. This is with a view to experiencing and exploring various interventional communication roles. No doubt, counseling has a long interventional role to play by virtue of its significant relevance in curbing examination malpractices in Nigerian educational society as the comprehensive services would bring about positive attitudinal change in individuals thus creating an opportunity to operate in an atmosphere free from corruption and tension. Administration of examination has generally been associated with the problem of cheating, otherwise known as examination malpractice. Examination malpractice has been defined in various ways. Imogie (2001) in Umar A and et al (2009) maintain that it involves wrong doing before, during or after an examination by candidates and sometimes invigilators, supervisors, typists, printer, or group whose actions give a candidate or group of candidates an undue advantage in an examination. It is also seen as an improper and dishonest act associated with examination with a view to obtaining unmerited advantage, while WAEC itself consider examination as any irregular behavior exhibited by candidates or anybody charge with the responsibility of conducting examination in or outside the examination hall, before, during or after examination. (WAEC, 2003) It could be deduced that examination malpractice is all round irregularities associated with the conduct of examination. Since human beings have always been conscious of human ability and efficiency in the area of appointments or promotions, examinations of different form or standard have been with mankind in the course of human evolution. Examination has along history in the world as reported by Pratt (1980) in Umar G, Mburza A, Bulama K, (2009) that examination malpractices was first noticed over 3000 years ago in the famous Chinese Civil Service and regulations which include death penalty for both the guilty students and examiners. Olowu, (2006) in Nnachi, (2009) added that from China, formal examination spread to different parts of the world. By the middle of the 19th century, competitive examinations were introduced in Britain and India for the selection of government officials. Corrupt practices in examination in Nigeria dated back to the pre-independence. According to various sources, the first publicly reported case of examination malpractices was in 1914, when the question papers of the Senior Cambridge Local Examination were reportedly seen by the candidates before the date of the examination. Since then, there have been incessant cases of irregularities reported on annual basis, the outstanding years were 1963, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1994 to 2003 (WAEC, 2004) the major features of the examination malpractices reported were: impersonation, smuggling in foreign materials, slot in, stealing, converting, collusion in examination hall, mass cheating, mass organized cheating, unlawful assistance from teachers and outsiders and insult on supervisors. This ugly phenomenon is inimical to academic and social development and it needs to be addressed drastically. The incidence of examination malpractices over the years has become so alarming in both public and private institutions despite various sanctions employed. Examination malpractices have in recent years remained one of the disturbing phenomenons in educational institutions in Nigeria. The trend which takes different dimensions and forms has become alarming especially in higher institution of learning. It is not limited to internal examination prepared by schools, colleges, polytechnics, and universities, but it has gone up to external examinations such as WAEC, NECO, UTME, NTI, NABTEB, and professional examinations. The situation became embarrassing to the nation that the Federal Military Government had to promulgate Decree20 to deal with it. Part of the provision of the Decree reads: Any person who fraudulently or with intent to cheat or secure any unfair advantage to himself or any person or in abuse of his office, produces, sells or buy, or otherwise deals with any question paper intended for the examination of persons at any examination or commit any of the offence specified in section 3 (27) (c) of this Decree, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be sentence to 21 years imprisonment. However, Examination Malpractices Act 33 of 1999 reversed the above Decree but stipulates punishment ranging from a fine of N50, 000 to N100, 000 and imprisonment for a term of 3-4 years with or without option of fine. It is regretful to note that this is a toothless bulldog as none of these penalties has been fully implemented, if at all they are implemented.
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