In the early 1990’s, outdoor apparel brand, Timberland received an unexpected growth in its consumer base and its sales. The brand’s popular waterproof leather boots, generally used for outdoor activities and moving through rugged terrain, were being worn by inner-city youth as a fashion statement. These new consumers wanted to keep their boots as clean as possible and some even wore the boots in the heat of summer, an incongruous contrast to how the target market used the boots in rough, messy weather conditions. While Timberland enjoyed the unexpected sales, they were faced with a decision. Should they try to further exploit this unintentional market; if so how would Timberland’s outdoorsmen target market respond? In this case, it seemed that these non-target consumers had no affect on the brand’s intended target market. So in response Timberland kept its advertising focused on the brand’s traditional target, while urban consumers continued to buy Timberland products. The brand continued to grow, achieving global sales of over $1 billion by 2007 (Fitch 2009).
The adoption of a brand by a non-target market does not always have such positive results. Since the 1990s, luxury brand Burberry has been dealing with its association with “chavs,” in Great Britain. The chavs are a lower class group associated with rowdiness, hooliganism, and crime. They adopted the famous Burberry checkered pattern as part of their uniform. This resulted in a decrease in brand loyalty of Burberry’s upper-class English customers. In response, the company discontinued production of the checkered caps and reduced reliance on their famous trademark plaid design (Fitch 2009).
In both the cases of Timberland and Burberry, a non-target market adopted a bra...
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...onstruct their self-identity and present themselves to others through their brand choices based on the congruency between brand-user associations and self-image associations (Escalas and Bettman 2003). But from recent reference group literature consumers show a greater tendency to avoid products associated with dissociative reference groups. This creates an interesting theoretical tension for circumstances when brand remixing occurs. At what point of disassociation does the congruency between brand-user and self-image associations, become so affected by a need for group disassociation that it discourages consumer choice? Through the following theoretical model, we consider not only the changing of associations, but also who is changing the associations. Additionally we consider characteristics of the target market and how that may affect the disassociation effect.
In the 1997 article Listening to Khakis, published in the New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell effectively paints a vivid picture of the thought and science that goes into advertising campaigns. Gladwell begins his paper by focusing on the Dockers’ advertising campaign for their line of adult male khaki pants, which he labels as extremely successful. This campaign was the first line of successful fashion advertisements aimed directly toward adult males (Gladwell, 1997). This campaign was cunningly simple and showed only males wearing the pants being advertised with the background noise filled with men having a casual conversation (Gladwell, 1997). This tactic was used because studies showed that Dockers’ target market felt an absence in adult male friendships. (Gladwell, 1997). The simplicity of the advertisements was accentuated as to not to deter possible customers by creating a fashion based ad because, based on Gladwell’s multiple interviews of advertising experts, males shy away from being viewed as fashion forward or “trying to hard” (Gladwell, 1997).
The author targets a certain consumers, people who are “stressed and sore-footed.” By targeting consumers for the “MagnaSoles” shoe inserts, it creates a purpose for the product to be marketed. With the “stressed and sore-footed” people, the author adds that they are “clamoring,” shouting, yelling, and demanding, for the new shoe inserts, which creates the allusion that the product works and is worth the money.
Something people might frequently worry about is self-identity, and how to express who they are. When looking for an outlet to do this, the easiest way to show what kind of person someone is, clothes are usually the first choice: a black t-shirt with a cynical saying, or maybe some skinny black jeans. Whether the advertising agencies created the personalities that come with clothes or took advantage of what was already there, clothes are often sold as something more than just clothes. Companies must ask how to convince consumers to buy their product instead of the competitors’, regardless of price difference. Particularly Levi’s jeans, a 150+-year-old American business, has been trying different approaches to packaging the type of consumers that buy their jeans.
Shoes are one of the essential survival tools because they provide protection to our feet where the balancing and supporting of our physical weight occurs. Not only that, but shoes are also perceived as fashion items. In the current era, the kind of shoes we wear represent who we are and contribute in giving people distinct individualities. However, as looks can be deceiving, these shoes are not as simple as they look when it comes to production, manufacturing, distribution, consumption, disposal, and measurement of their values. In order for these shoes to become products, various actors are involved including: consumers, firms, government, and the workers (Commodity Chains That Bind, 2013).
In “The man behind Abercrombie and Fitch.” An interview conducted by Benoit Denizet-Lewis displays a glimpse into the life of Mike Jeffries and his views of his company only hiring “good-looking” people and targeting “good-looking” people to wear his clothes. This has been done in order to force his audience to recognize that the issue of acceptance one’s peers and exclusion of a community mentioned by Mike Jeffries, is a result of cultural perceptions and individual self-image. Denizet-Lewis skillfully shows that while Jeffries remarks of not wanting the “not-so-popular” kids to shop in his stores, it poses a question to consumers asking what change in our attitudes will come or if there will be any change at all. Thus comes the issue of how consumers today have a shift in the reasoning behind why one buys clothing and the motivating factors that influence one to buy certain clothing. Denizet-Lewis also demonstrates the different messages that controversial advertisements and statements affect different groups of people and how what they project is really what people desire, though deemed by many people as unacceptable or inappropriate. The author also examines how in the news media, the image has become more important than the message and how images have taken precedent over actual issues and character. As a result of this, various communities have formed by the construct of selling to “beautiful people” and how popular appeal has become an extension of a person.
Suitable for a number of occasions – The new line, Timberland Boot Company®, was designed for people that would like to wear a Timberland on many occasions, not only for outdoors activities. When people think about Timberland products, they create an image of the big yellow boots. However, the Timberland Boot Company® is more casual, being inspired in a period of transition during the Industrial Era in New England and Northern England, but still fashion, comfo...
...er retailers have followed their methods and philosophy, e.g American apparel have used similar marketing techniques to create a ‘sexy’ image, while Jack Wills have positioned themselves as the ‘British version of Abercrombie’.
Six years after deciding to be an independent public company in late 2000, Coach Inc.’s net sales had grown at a compounded annual rate of 26 percent and the stock price had increased by 1,400 percent due to a strategy keyed to a concept called accessible luxury. Coach crafted the accessible luxury category in women’s handbags and leather accessories by differentiating themselves on price, but matching competitors on styling, quality, and customer service. The accessible luxury strategy mirrors a focus (or market niche) strategy based on low costs. Coach concentrates on a narrow buyer segment and outcompetes rivals by having lower costs than rivals and thus being able to serve niche members at a lower price. Management believed that new products should be based on market research rather than on designers’ instincts. Coach utilized extensive consumer surveys and focus groups to gain insight in the market, and ultimately a competitive advantage over competition. Coach’s $200-$500 handbags appealed to both middle class consumers who now were able to afford a taste of luxury, as well as affluent consumers with the means to spend $2,000 on a handbag on a regular basis.
Fashion brands are quick to apologise after appropriation-related controversies. Is this what fashion is all about ? And how is it manifested in cat-walk high fashion? Cultural appropriation raises many issues, for example the difference between appropriation and appreciation. Cultural appropriation is something that not many people talk about, some considers that just because it has a cultural background that does not mean people cannot enjoy it and on the other hand, others believe that everything is cultural appropriation. For example, Karlie Kloss from the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway in a war headdress and not much else. The question rises, why do fashion brands have a bad reputation for knowing the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation? (Baker, 2012) Therefore, it shows that the designers do not take enough time to do basic research, before launching or promoting clothing lines or campaigns that use misappropriated cultural references. As research shows that people of colour are constantly bombarded with acts of cultural appropriation, but with the help of celebrities, 2013 had to be cultural appropriation’s most visible year yet, this was stated on the Arts-Entertainment blog, (Sanchez , 2013). The main topics, that I will be focusing on are the Native American culture, Black culture, Japanese and Indian culture, using different cultural appropriation examples from both fashion and popular culture, to gain a better understanding of how aspects of these cultures have been appropriated....
Brand image is key to any company or business as it portrays their beliefs, values, and rank in the industry. A brand can express these qualities through how they sponsor or support events, organizations, and movements. Examining this further, Adidas also noticed that shoppers linked sustainability to innovation, (sourcing journal).This is what pushed them to partner with Parley for the Oceans for the shoes discussed above.That partnership showed that Adidas was willing to step out of their comfort zone and try a new sustainable route. But, those ocean waste shoes weren 't the only project Adidas partnered with Parley for. They reached further to expand their image for a different target
Nike’s focus for fashion forward women is the following: lead the athleisure trend, increase advertising, and the introduce the #BetterForIt social media campaign. We need to focus on the athleisure trend by increasing our portfolio for the women target market. Athleisure is already 20% of the firm’s revenue and we need to recognize that women are leading this fashion movement. Under Armor and Lululemon are already making headways in this fashion focused market. We need to emphasize our athletic technologies, promoting lighter fabrics and better performance, while still maintaining a level of comfort and fashionability. Increasing the portfolio means nothing if women don’t know we’ve done just that. Nike will need to increase advertising specifically with this target market in mind. The #BetterForIt campaign is one important aspect of these advertising efforts. Similar campaigns should promote and help “normalize” athletic wear in everyday
The practice of brand management is a key component of marketing and performs an integral function by motivating the wants and needs of consumers. It is known that marketing can shape consumer needs and wants, however, consumers today appear to be more knowledgeable about the information regarding products. Consumers lead busy lives and have therefore gone to the internet as one of the many channels to learn about products in order to make informed decisions. This paper will discuss the argument that marketing should reflect the needs and wants of consumers rather than shaping these attributes. Due to the speed and ease of obtaining information, consumers do not take at face value strong marketing efforts that appear to be overly aggressive and push a brand rather than just being informative. Brand managers have to be aware of these changing dynamics and carefully craft brand management practices to meet the demands of consumers.
in this segment are often brand conscious and enjoy the latest fads and trends. They...
Fashion changes began to spread rapidly from the higher class to middle and working lower class. As communication improved fashion and style changes have influenced what people wear. Human beings have been using clothes throughout the history. Have we have seen, the garments worn in the past is totally different from present. Every change in the society, including differences between cultures and living styles is reflected in the way people dress and the types of accessories worn. It is believed that fashion changes as a response to the marketing strategy also influencing marketing the way in which fashion evolved in time.
Early on in the twentieth century, when mass marketing and production became commonplace, company branding allowed consumers to identify with a company. The consumer made a one sided personal relationship