Comm296

The project proved a rewarding experience and although the task seemed somewhat daunting at first, I was rather pleased with the manner in which our team resolved its efforts. Everyone worked very well together and committed themselves to the project’s execution.

At the beginning of our group project, there were essentially no problems. However, once we started to make a project video that day, group members began to raise some concerns. The project video is based on the group’s first two assignments. We carefully read the comments and feedback from the professor and deliberated over of how to improve the geographical segmentation. We discussed in greater detail and specifies before the activity began. We discussed the company’s current environment, and the ways of improvement of the current 4Ps.

Firstly, we had an authentic context in this project; it would lend itself to practice in the real world; secondly, we had good cooperation; thirdly, we took a creative approach to the activity and had a high interaction from our team members.

From this video assignment, I learned a lot about how to design a pragmatic and reliable activity to market products. From this teamwork experience, I learned that teamwork is a two-sided coin, possessing both positive and negative potential. Together, a group can accomplish much quickly in a short duration of time, but effective leadership requires careful management and close attention to the subtleties of group dynamics. If problems are not handled well, resentment and dissatisfaction can destroy partnerships and team progress. As a team member, I think this ability and experience will be quite precious and important education in similar future endeavors.

When it comes to “CHANEL”, even in the case of male customers who have a limited knowledge or interest in fashion they are nevertheless aware of the brand. Chanel’s visibility and popularity resides in its appeal to the imagination; this appeal has been carefully designed or concocted by the company. Up until now, Chanel has prevailed for nearly a century. “Chanel represents a kind of style, a unique style of enduring”. Coco (one of the perfume) possesses a searching spirit, a set way of viewing the world, a dignity that is untouchable. Advertising has thus created a certain personage for Chanel. The Chanel Lady has ‘nothing in common with romantic heroines doomed to be martyrs to love’ and ‘more than anything values her hard won freedom, a freedom she defends at every turn’. Chanel Lady’s personality and emotional direction and strength drive the brand’s essence.

Why do people fall in love with the Chanel brand? Why is the brand so trusted? There are two main marketing strategies which have secured Chanel’s success.

Chanel has mastered the customer’s psychology but also devotes attention to finely packaging its products. For example, in order to meet the increasing demand of the customer, a successful business enterprise will invariably open a few upscale fashion shops and trendy boutiques in a certain area which allow customers try their product in a relaxed and comfortable environment. The key to Chanel’s success is not only selling a product but also selling its concept of beauty and feminine makeover.

While wealthy people buy private jets, yachts, and Louis Vuitton bags, ordinary white-collar folk also enjoy the sweet atmosphere of a Coco perfume. Luxury brands have invaded the pages of fashion magazines, movies, Internet, window displays and have gradually penetrated into Chinese life. There has been a steady rise in China’s luxury consumer market. Luxury goods have proven to sell well in Asia. In Asian culture, I believe, the merchant’s social status is somewhat low,  Asian people respect wisdom, power, influence and confidence of character. But in contemporary society, the merchant’s status is becoming more accepted, and luxury is becoming the symbol of status and a successful businessman. These are cultural interpretations.

There is a fundamental need to acquire social identity. The consumer hopes that through luxury one can establish an ideal social relationship or become a status symbol, and even in some cases one can improve their social status. Chinese culture has a buying public who pays close attention to the social aspects of society and the evaluation and opinions of others. This mindset has largely driven luxury consumption. If luxury wins “face”, Chinese will buy it. Chinese people like to go with the flow, there is a need for a sense of security, a need to know one belongs to a group. If a package is a symbol of belonging then there is a buyer who will buy it. Such truths have largely driven the consumption of luxury goods in China.

In 1957, Dove presented to the US market. The company became seriously committed to women, not like regular soap made their skin become dry, and did so. Dove established a trusting relationship with customers through the company’s promise and its product’s selling features. In 1979, an independent clinical study revealed that Dove’s degree of mildness and smoothness were higher than other 17 brands of soap. Dermatologists strongly recommended their product while newspaper articles reported its advantages. A year later, Dove began its formal medical program in the United States. In 1999, Dove began its promotion on a global scale and  entered China’s market in 2002.

Today, Dove has become the world’s first cleaning-product brand, with more than 80 countries contributing to worldwide sales, and more than 2.5 billion Euros in annual sales. Dove’s beauty concept brings consumers a credible commitment and maintains their promises to skin health and beauty. The beauty of the brand’s tenet is to be simple and true. Beauty can bring self-confidence. Dove’s commitment to beauty is not only external but also internal. For more than 40 years ‘Dove’ has used truthful advertising and has become a symbol of hope, joy, peace, and encompasses the positive in the health and beauty sector. In 2004, Dove launched their worldwide ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’, in an effort to diminish the stereotypical view of beauty and promote the beauty and health of women everywhere. The current focus of the ‘Dove Campaign for Real Beauty’ is to raise the self-esteem and self-confidence of girls and women.

With more than 250 brands and 14,000 products, Sephora can boast one of the largest and most diverse selection of beauty products. Sephora has changed the way the females shop for cosmetics and beauty products, giving traditional department store counters their first real competition in over 50 years. Sephora’s improvement can be linked with its rare approach to merchandise. The stores are designed like a supermarket but are furnished in the manner resembling a nightclub, while the chain has provided a low-pressure, consumer-empowering ambiance compared with traditional department store counters. At Sephora, each customer can easily retrieve products unassisted, directly from the shelves without going through the fussy, assisted interactions that characterize typical beauty counters. The store’s flow layout allows consumers to choose various products from different brands, texture and color, and test them out on one’s hand and face. Makeup tutorials with professional advice are offered for customers requiring assistance. Unlike the traditional selling concepts, the store does not push one to buy its products. The customer can try something out in order to find out how useful or effective it is. To improve the impact of their brand and make it easier for their clients to save and share their favorite beauty products, the Sephora team added the ‘Pin It’ button to tens of thousands of Internet product pages during a major website redesign. As a result, a growing number of potential clients discovered Sephora products on the Internet site Pinterest and visited Sephora.com. Within a few months Pinterest became a top 10 referring site for Sephora.com and a place to be inspired by beauty.

In the 1930s and 1940s, a variety of cigarette brands emerged in the American market that dazzled and wooed smokers; at the same time, public anxiety concerning the health risks of cigarette smoking was on the rise. In the midst of this situation, the Renault Company launched a vigorous “doctors recommend” movement in which they organized three independent research institutions and polled more than 100,000 doctors in the United States to recommend Camel brand cigarettes. Renault, with their pervasive media advertising, vigorously promoted the slogan that “more doctors choose Camel” than any other brand. Ad campaigns developed in the early 1950s featured images of doctors to reassure consumers that Renault’s brands were safe. By using physicians’ endorsements to assuage the consumers’ concerns, Reynolds brought immediacy and credibility to their claims. Renault effectively resolved any fears that the consumers may have harbored concerning the harmfulness of smoking by showing physicians themselves smoking. In hindsight, Renault’s decision to use physicians to extend the popularity and safety of their products violated the morality against ethical advertising, but to Renault’s credit their campaign and marketing strategy had proved effective. The tobacco company took advantage of the unethical advertisements to promote their cigarette brand and their popularity rocketed. Renault’s “propaganda” successfully attracted more consumers and increased their profits dramatically.