Diploma thesis on a topic Public Relations in Practice of Small and Medium Enterprises is analyzing the PR activities in a small consulting company, which is operating in Prague. The first chapter is focused on the theoretical background of public relations activities. In the chapter there are also discussed various forms of PR and their usage in the present. The comparision of public relations with common elements ATL communication is there also mentioned. The second half of the thesis is devoted to the consulting company. In the thesis there are cited the specific tools of public relations within the company and proposals for their adjustement. The last chapters deal with the cost benefit analysis of public relations, even in comparison with the outsourcing of PR agencies.

This dissertation refers to BTL communication of Hellmann's brand from Unilever ČR, which is the leader on the mayonnaise and tatar sauce market for several years. The objective of this dissertation is to analyse questions about below the line communication with the focus on Sales promotion, outline trends in this matter and show application on concrete brand with the highlight of most used parts of BTL communication during execution of chosen activation, evaluation of this activation and proposition of feasible improvements.

Diploma thesis focuses on main forms of ATL and BTL communication and describes the most important factors of creating a successful ad-campaign. It's importance is ilustrated on three real examples.

This thesis deals with communication at the point of sale and instore advertising in particular. The aim is to analyze instore communication as such, with focus on selected POS materials and instore media, to assess the effectiveness of different formats and introduce trends in the area and demonstrate the use on a specific brand, emphasizing the most used tools.

The thesis describes the influence of BTL activities (especially sales promotion) to the brand development. The theoretical part covers the background which is necessary for the practical part. It focuses on the commercial communications, sales promotion, consumer competitions and brand. Because in the practical part the questionnaire is made marketing research is also mentioned. The practical part introduces Unilever CR and the role of Customer Marketing department in marketing structure. The following part introduces Rexona brand, its portfolio and also the projects which were implemented in 2008. Then the market of deodorants and distribution channels are characterized. Sales promotion of Rexona and its competitors are analyzed. Then the results of survey, which focuses on consumption and shoping habits, are interpreted. Finally the recommendations for sales promotion are formulated.

The diploma thesis looks into luxury beauty industry. The aim is to define problem areas in the communication strategy of luxury cosmetics brand of specific company with a focus on sales promotion in a specific distribution channel and propose possible solutions for improvement based on the analysis. Verification of the problem and the recommendations for its improvement will take place on the basis of in-depth interview techniques, observation of merchandising in specific distribution chanel and focus group with consumers of the beauty brand.

This Master's thesis puts focus on BTL communication of the brands Staropramen Cool Lemon and Staropramen Cool Grep and the intensity of the communication perception by the consumer. The aim of the thesis is to examine the touch points of the BTL communication and to identify key attributes of the brand and also to confirm or to defy defined hypothesis about communication's impact on consumption and television campaign influence. The thesis is divided into several chapters that logically links to each other and thus create one complex whole. The theoretical part concerns the methodological approach of marketing research and consumer models and introduces the readers to marketing integrated communication. The main chapter describes the market and competition, includes the questionnaire part and the analyses themselves. The thesis concludes with key findings and recommendations to improve the marketing communication of Staropramen Cool in future.

Há uma demanda global pelo abastecimento de combustíveis veiculares menos poluentes, tanto por questões energéticas quanto sócio-ambientais. Uma potencial alternativa, que traduz a possibilidade de um biocombustível sem as limitações da Primeira Geração, é a rota tecnológica conhecida como Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) que, através da gaseificação e da síntese Fischer-Tropsch, possibilita a obtenção de biocombustíveis líquidos, como o óleo diesel sintético, provenientes da biomassa moderna, nesse estudo, a biomassa lignocelulósica. Para a produção em escala comercial de um biocombustível da Segunda Geração, um complexo planejamento e altos investimentos são demandados dado seu pioneirismo e ausência de histórico de mercado ou modelos precisos. Uma metodologia desenvolvida em 2006 pelo pesquisador Harold Boerrigter propõe o dimensionamento ideal de uma planta BTL a partir de uma planta Gas-to-Liquids (GTL); são aqui propostas correções e atualizações para esta metodologia, sugerindo-se uma curva capaz de apontar a influência da economia de escala em plantas BTL e uma fórmula para o cálculo estimado do Total Capital Investment (TCI) destas plantas até o momento o Brasil não dispõe de nenhuma planta que opere pela rota BTL. Segue-se com considerações sobre a oferta de resíduos florestais no território brasileiro e a constatação de que a mesma seria insuficiente como matéria-prima para sustentar grandes plantas BTL, fazendo-se necessário o emprego de culturas planejadas na forma de florestas energéticas. Uma vez feita tal análise, apresenta-se o histórico, desde sua concepção até o seu fechamento, da primeira planta a operar pela rota BTL e a produzir o designer fuel batizado de SunDiesel®: construída na Alemanha, a CHOREN Industritechnik contribui com sua experiência de anos e também com a tecnologia de gaseificação Carbo-V® para as pesquisas com os biocombustíveis sintéticos. Seu exemplo pode sinalizar um alerta com relação ao dispêndio de esforços em projetos desta natureza dadas as incertezas econômicas que circundam as fronteiras tecnológicas dos combustíveis da Segunda Geração. / There is a global demand for the supply of less polluting vehicular fuels as much by energy issues as socio-environmental. A potential alternative meaning the possibility of a biofuel without the limitations from the First Generation is the technological route known as Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) which via gasification and the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis turns possible to obtain liquid biofuels such synthetic diesel oil from modern biomass, in this study, the lignocellulosic biomass. For commercial-scale production of a Second Generation biofuel, a complex planning and high investments are required given its pioneering and absence of market history or precise models. A methodology developed in 2006 by researcher Harold Boerrigter proposes the ideal sizing for a BTL plant assuming a Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) plant; here are proposed corrections and updates for this methodology, suggesting a curve able to point the influence of economy of scale in BTL plants and a formula for the calculation of an estimated Total Capital Investment (TCI) of these plants by the present time Brazil has no plant operating by BTL route. The research follows up with issues regarding forest residues provision in the Brazilian territory and conlcuding that the same would be insufficient as a raw material to sustain large BTL plants, making necessary the use of planned crops in the form of energy forests. Once made such analysis, it is presented the history since its beginning until its closing for the first plant to operate by the BTL route and to produce the designer fuel called SunDiesel®: built in Germany, the CHOREN Industritechnik contributes with its experience of years and also with the gasification technology Carbo-V® for researches with synthetic biofuels. Such example may indicates an alert regarding the expenditure of efforts on projects of this nature, given the economic uncertainties that surround the Second Generation fuels technological frontiers.

Há uma demanda global pelo abastecimento de combustíveis veiculares menos poluentes, tanto por questões energéticas quanto sócio-ambientais. Uma potencial alternativa, que traduz a possibilidade de um biocombustível sem as limitações da Primeira Geração, é a rota tecnológica conhecida como Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) que, através da gaseificação e da síntese Fischer-Tropsch, possibilita a obtenção de biocombustíveis líquidos, como o óleo diesel sintético, provenientes da biomassa moderna, nesse estudo, a biomassa lignocelulósica. Para a produção em escala comercial de um biocombustível da Segunda Geração, um complexo planejamento e altos investimentos são demandados dado seu pioneirismo e ausência de histórico de mercado ou modelos precisos. Uma metodologia desenvolvida em 2006 pelo pesquisador Harold Boerrigter propõe o dimensionamento ideal de uma planta BTL a partir de uma planta Gas-to-Liquids (GTL); são aqui propostas correções e atualizações para esta metodologia, sugerindo-se uma curva capaz de apontar a influência da economia de escala em plantas BTL e uma fórmula para o cálculo estimado do Total Capital Investment (TCI) destas plantas até o momento o Brasil não dispõe de nenhuma planta que opere pela rota BTL. Segue-se com considerações sobre a oferta de resíduos florestais no território brasileiro e a constatação de que a mesma seria insuficiente como matéria-prima para sustentar grandes plantas BTL, fazendo-se necessário o emprego de culturas planejadas na forma de florestas energéticas. Uma vez feita tal análise, apresenta-se o histórico, desde sua concepção até o seu fechamento, da primeira planta a operar pela rota BTL e a produzir o designer fuel batizado de SunDiesel®: construída na Alemanha, a CHOREN Industritechnik contribui com sua experiência de anos e também com a tecnologia de gaseificação Carbo-V® para as pesquisas com os biocombustíveis sintéticos. Seu exemplo pode sinalizar um alerta com relação ao dispêndio de esforços em projetos desta natureza dadas as incertezas econômicas que circundam as fronteiras tecnológicas dos combustíveis da Segunda Geração. / There is a global demand for the supply of less polluting vehicular fuels as much by energy issues as socio-environmental. A potential alternative meaning the possibility of a biofuel without the limitations from the First Generation is the technological route known as Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) which via gasification and the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis turns possible to obtain liquid biofuels such synthetic diesel oil from modern biomass, in this study, the lignocellulosic biomass. For commercial-scale production of a Second Generation biofuel, a complex planning and high investments are required given its pioneering and absence of market history or precise models. A methodology developed in 2006 by researcher Harold Boerrigter proposes the ideal sizing for a BTL plant assuming a Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) plant; here are proposed corrections and updates for this methodology, suggesting a curve able to point the influence of economy of scale in BTL plants and a formula for the calculation of an estimated Total Capital Investment (TCI) of these plants by the present time Brazil has no plant operating by BTL route. The research follows up with issues regarding forest residues provision in the Brazilian territory and conlcuding that the same would be insufficient as a raw material to sustain large BTL plants, making necessary the use of planned crops in the form of energy forests. Once made such analysis, it is presented the history since its beginning until its closing for the first plant to operate by the BTL route and to produce the designer fuel called SunDiesel®: built in Germany, the CHOREN Industritechnik contributes with its experience of years and also with the gasification technology Carbo-V® for researches with synthetic biofuels. Such example may indicates an alert regarding the expenditure of efforts on projects of this nature, given the economic uncertainties that surround the Second Generation fuels technological frontiers.

Une technologie prometteuse pour répondre à la demande croissante en énergie renouvelable est la gazéification de biomasse lignocellulosique pour la production de biocarburants de deuxième génération. Ce procédé nécessite une alimentation en biomasse sous forme de poudre. Les problèmes de convoyage et de manipulation liés à la faible coulabilité de la biomasse broyée sont un verrou pour l’industrialisation des procédés BtL. La torréfaction comme procédé de prétraitement, en plus d'augmenter densité énergétique de la biomasse, peut influencer également les propriétés des particules obtenues après broyage, et en conséquence, l’écoulement des poudres. L'évaluation de l'écoulement des poudres de biomasse sous différentes conditions de consolidation est essentielle pour concevoir des technologies de manipulation et de convoyage efficaces.L'objectif de ce travail est d'évaluer l'effet des conditions de torréfaction et de broyage sur l’écoulement de poudres de biomasse. Une première partie consiste en une étude expérimentale dans laquelle la coulabilité d'échantillons torréfiés sous différentes intensités a été évaluée à l'aide d'un appareil de cisaillement annulaire. La coulabilité est corrélée à l'intensité de la torréfaction (mesurée par la perte de masse globale) pour deux essences différentes. La forme des particules semble être le paramètre qui influence de manière prédominante la coulabilité des poudres à l'état consolidé. La caractérisation de la coulabilité à l’état non consolidée a été effectuée à l'aide d'un tambour rotatif par l’analyse des avalanches des poudres. Des corrélations entre les caractéristiques des particules et la coulabilité sont ainsi établies. La modélisation de l'écoulement de la biomasse à l'aide de la Méthode des Éléments Discrets (DEM) constitue une deuxième partie de cette recherche. La taille submillimétrique des particules de biomasse, ainsi que leur faible densité, leur forme allongée et leur comportement cohésif sont des défis pour l’implémentation d’un modèle de réaliste d’écoulement particulaire en DEM. Un modèle DEM des particules de biomasse est mis en œuvre à l'aide d'une représentation simplifiée (assemblement de sphères) à gros grains de la forme des particules, ainsi que d'un modèle de force cohésif. Une procédure systématique de calibration des paramètres DEM permet d'obtenir un ensemble de paramètres ajustés. L'évolution expérimentale des contraintes de cisaillement d’une poudre dans un état consolidé peut alors être reproduite de façon réaliste. De même, le comportement d’avalanche des poudres dans un tambour tournant est également bien reproduit par les simulations, de façon qualitative et quantitative. Ces résultats mettent en évidence le potentiel des simulations DEM pour étudier l'effet des caractéristiques des particules, qui sont influencées par la torréfaction et les conditions de broyage, sur le comportement d'écoulement de la biomasse en poudre. / Gasification of lignocellulosic biomass for production of second-generation biofuels is a promising technology to meet renewable energy needs. However, feeding and handling problems related to the poor flowability of milled biomass considerably hinder the industrial implementation of Biomass-to-Liquid processes. Torrefaction as pretreatment step, in addition to improving energy density of biomass, also affects the properties of the milled particles (namely size and shape) that significantly influence flow behavior. The evaluation of biomass flow characteristics under different flow conditions is essential to design efficient and trouble-free handling solutions.The aim of this work is to assess the effect of the torrefaction and grinding conditions on the biomass flow behavior. A first part consists of an experimental study in which the flow properties of samples torrefied under different intensities were obtained using a ring shear tester. Flowability is correlated to the intensity of torrefaction, as measured by the global mass loss, for two different wood species. Particle shape seems to be the predominant parameter influencing flowability of powders in a consolidated state. Characterization of non-consolidated flowability through avalanching analysis using an in-house rotating drum was also conducted. Correlations between particle characteristics and flow behavior are thus established.The modelling of biomass flow using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) constitutes a second major part of this research. Challenging aspects of biomass particle modeling are their submillimetric size, low density, elongated shape and cohesive behavior. A material DEM model is implemented using a simplified (multisphere) upscaled representation of particle shape, along with a cohesive contact model. A systematic calibration procedure results in an optimal set of DEM parameters. The experimental shear stress evolution and yield locus can then be realistically reproduced. The avalanching behavior of the powders is also well captured by simulations, both qualitatively and quantitatively. These results highlight the potential of DEM simulations to investigate the effect of particle characteristics, which are driven by torrefaction and grinding conditions, on the flow behavior of powdered biomass.