January 2011 – Blog of Jeannie Tse

Every once in a while I find something on Ads of the World that immediately appeals to me. How do people come up with ads like these? I feel like I would never be creative enough to be part of an advertising company.

[In any case, this Avis ad has given me the inspiration to do the same for future school reunions, provided that I’m not wealthy enough to purchase my own Porsche.]

I am clearly not the target market for this ad, given that most car rentals refuse to rent cars for individuals under the age of 21 and I do not have the income to justify renting a luxury car. However, I instinctively like companies that can create humourous or clever advertisements (marketing term: affective component of one’s attitude!).

A product speaks for itself, I can always go to a rental car website to compare rates and reviews. I don’t need a company to tell me why their product is better, I can always find out with research. For me, ads are a waste of space unless it can make me think wow, that’s a clever execution. This ad gives me the impression that Avis itself is fun and creative. And it makes me chuckle to myself. That is what differentiates Avis from all the other exactly-the-same rental companies in my head.

Now, when my family goes for our annual vacation and we need to rent a car, I will invariably link Avis as a lighthearted company and Budget as a normal rental dealer. We may still end up renting with Budget because of prices, but at least Avis has managed to create some sort of brand affinity with this easily-amused and easily-influenced student.

Snowboarding and Consumer Behaviour

One thing I have realized about marketing is how easy it is to relate to the concepts taught in class. This is especially true with consumer behaviour and the consumer decision process. Every thought on the purchase of a good now has a marketing tinge to it, including my ongoing search for a snowboard.

I started snowboarding recently and even though I still wipe out on a regular basis, I feel the need for my own snowboard gear.

Burton - Womens Snowboards — Burton - A brand so well known, that even I recognize it. (Image from Onboard Global Snowboarding)

As I was, and still am, extremely new to the sport, my internal search for information was rather lacking. The only snowboard that I could recall off the top of my head was Burton, which would place Burton as the sole brand in my retrieval set. Why do I know of Burton? Perhaps it is due to how often I come across the Burton logo emblazoned across gear and clothes (both on and off the mountain). Burton has definitely succeeded with their marketing strategy when it comes to brand recognition.

However, since a snowboard was a large financial undertaking for a student and falls into the specialty goods category, as a consumer, I felt the need to gather more information.

And this was where my external search for information comes in.

snowboard - logos — Wait, you expect me to choose from all this?! (Image from NotB)

The internet is both a blessing and a curse for consumers. Immediately after starting my research I was bombarded with a plethora of different snowboard companies.

However, the internet is also an excellent source of reviews. Armed with my evaluation criteria (quality, reputation, ease of use and price) and compensatory decision rule (quality over price), I managed to narrow down my evoked set to 5 brands: Burton, K2, Ride, Gnu and Saloman.

Now all I need is more research to find the lowest price so I can move onto the purchase and consumption stage and start snowboarding on my own gear.

Hopefully I won’t experience any buyers’ remorse at the end of it all.