Month: January 2011

With the Super Bowl fast approaching, it reminded me of all the excellent commercials that are featured during the game. In 2010, my top two Super Bowl commercial favourites were:

To add to Jasna’s blog post about advertising during the Super Bowl, it is expected that this year more than 90 million viewers will be watching the game. A 30 second advertising spot costs a whopping $3 million. This raises the question- are people watching the game for some great football or just purely for the outstanding and much anticipated commercials that will air? Whatever the reason, several companies are happy to have such high exposure to their commercials and are hoping to attract new customers to buy their products. With a downturn in the economy, companies are especially optimistic that advertising during the Super Bowl will increase sales and lead to a more profitable year. That said, millions and millions of dollars are spent on creating these “one of a kind” commercials. When designing these commercials, behavioural influences, specifically, attitudes and perceptions must be kept in mind as each company only has a short 30 seconds to impress their audience. Since attitudes consist of three components- cognitive, affective, and behavioural- it is important that each company influence all three within their commercial to maximize its effectiveness.

For example, Google did an excellent job of influencing consumers’ behaviours with their “Search On” commercial above. To add to Jasna’s analysis of the commercial, there is a rather large affective influence. The entire commercial is based on a Parisian love story, which evokes consumers’ feelings about love and romance. Further, it ends with a baby laughing and someone searching “how to assemble a crib” on Google, which signifies a happy ending to the vignette. Next, there is a behavioural influence because the ad ends with the phrase “search on”, persuading consumers to search the internet using Google. Finally, there is also a cognitive influence because the consumer is informed of several features Google offers and it makes us think about how we could fully utilize the search engine.

As I sit down for the Super Bowl next Sunday, I will appreciate both the art and psychology behind the commercials. I cannot wait to see what is in store for us!

Recently, the Gap opened its first Athleta store in San Francisco. Until now, Athleta apparel and products were only available for order online. The company is hoping to have success with an actual physical retail location. This is the first credible threat to Lululemon’s yoga apparel and raises the question: can Athleta compete with the ever so popular Lululemon?  Currently, Athleta has a slightly lower price point compared to Lululemon. This is a huge attraction for customers as the economy is weak and consumers have become price smart and are keeping purchases to a minimum. Lululemon has focused primarily on yoga; whereas, Athleta has a complete lifestyle offering- with swimwear, running gear, yoga wear, winter apparel, golf apparel and more. They definitely have a broader offering of product and are hoping this will attract more customers.

With the new store, customers will now be able to come in and try on Athleta’s apparel, making it easier to find the perfect fit. Personally, I think it is easier to try clothes on in store instead of buying them online and then having to return them because the size or look is not quite right. In addition, when a customer enters a store and looks around to see how the clothing is displayed, put together and marketed, they might be inclined to try more items on and ultimately purchase them.  In addition, with their first physical store, perhaps Athleta can try establishing a connection with a customer before and after a purchase, much like Lululemon has done. Lululemon does this by offering yoga classes, creating community events and sponsoring athletes with its clothing. I think that if Athleta does a good job of promoting their product and is able to maintain a strong customer base, they will be as successful as Lululemon. If Athleta is able to do this, then they may prove to be a formidable competitive force in the marketplace.

For more information on the new store:

Athleta Website
Bloomberg Article