market my world

Daniel Kong’s recent post on Marketing and the Internal/External Paradox really got me thinking how much it relates to designers and their vision for their brand.  a lot of consumers nowadays are purchasing luxury items because they see celebrities spotted with a new garment or their friends carrying the new “it” thing, but when designers sketch out their drafts, they have an idea of the type of people that they see wearing that particular line or item.  it’s not to say that just because you are a mid-aged woman that you can’t wear something like armani exchange, the question is whether that brand really suits the person you are and what you believe in.  some brands advocate sustainability, like stella mccartney making her suits and satin shoes out of eco-friendly and animal-free materials;  some brands provide a good cause, like TOMS shoes, who gives a pair of shoes to a child in need when a pair is purchased; either way, people should be purchasing these items because it represents the person they are, not because it is a trend.

so what do marketers turn to when they want to target the right people for their products?  i think it really relates to maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the psychographical segmentation.  when so many products out there can fulfill the basic levels of needs, like physiological and safety, many turn to luxury brands to fulfill their love/belonging and self-esteem needs – tagging along with the trend and buying items because it’s what everyone has.  doesn’t it tick you off when you’re an advocate of a certain brand because you believe in its mission and values and then a month or two later, you see everyone else carrying the same thing? once everyone has gone past the phase of following a trend, they realize (i often realize myself as well), that the items they are buying right now doesn’t represent the person they are, they are simply buying that specific brand because that’s what everyone has and that’s what’s in right now.  while the basic products can provide that physiological and safety need and buying that trendy luxury item may help to fulfill the belonging and self-esteem need, what’s going to satisfy that self-actualization need?  it consists of morales and values, and a whole lot more complicated concepts; living in north america, many people are really individualistic and from that characteristic, it is very important to provide products that represent who the consumer is – so i buy because i am…