market my world

just a couple more weeks! (just a couple of exams), before christmas is here!!  check out the louis vuitton store front on fifth avenue in new york…

that’s what they always have… look at these ones.

i’m actually not too sure where store front designs fit into marketing.  in-store promotion perhaps?  clothing store designs are so much more different from the store fronts of say… grocery stores; every safeway around the country looks the same all year long, but the store fronts of clothing stores, especially these luxury brand ones, change every so often.  as a traditional brick and mortar foot store, the storefront is what consumers see first; just like designing a package for a product, the storefront is like the packaging for the store and if it’s appealing, then it attracts potential consumers into the store.  i guess christmas would be the most appropriate time to give that storefront a little kick because it’s the season of giving.  It reminds regular consumers that “hey it’s christmas, __________ would definitely like something from louis vuitton as a gift.”  i would just like to add on how over the top this showcase is that it overshadows the actual products that are being displayed behind the windows.  i would think that louis vuitton is not trying to attract customers based on the new/hot products in stores right now, but rather selling that fact that it’s christmas, and that means lots of shopping!  the products itself need no attract the consumers, the storefront is the most important in catching the consumers’ eyes.  i guess that’s why some stores spend so much on the design of the storefront and interiors as it draws consumers’ attention and allow them to view the different products while they explore the intriguing interior design.  so where exactly does storefronts and interior design fall into marketing?  can the element of design be considered a service because it’s providing a pleasant atmosphere and environment for shoppers?

it’s almost christmas!!  you know what’s at the top of my wish list?

marc by marc jacobs headphones!  aren’t they just adorable?  i absolutely love marc by marc jacobs because it’s hip, trendy, yet a little quirky like myself.  if i could, i’d let marc jacobs design everything in my life; my house, my bed sheets, my dishes… but enough with my infatuation with marc jacobs, i’m sure all brands would like consumers like me… seeing marc jacobs design something besides clothes/accessories totally makes me want to get it!  i mean there’s not many designers that design headphones!

there’s a cute guys version too!  talk about the products marc jacobs comes up with!  he’s definitely a fashion designer, but putting his designs on something else definitely expands the category of products he has and can possibly break into a new market segment as well.  like i’ve said before, people into fashion would buy things besides clothes/accessories if that product has an affiliation with a certain brand.  since this is a new product for this brand, regular consumers of headphones might consider buying this as well.  people like myself don’t care about the quality, its all about the design!  i was talking about getting this pair of headphones to a couple of guys and their reply to me was, “you know who makes good headphones?  bose.”  yes i know, but none of the bose headphones have designs like this!  i think this really illustrates how different people value different benefits as well… the guys i talked to value quality, me, i definitely value the design so that’s where i’m putting all my money!

this came straight from the marc jacobs online store.  product: usb.  even though i’m not tech savvy or anything, i know that one of the most important, if not the most important feature of a usb is the size of the memory.  the product description only talks about the colour/size of the usb and nothing else.  so i guess marc jacobs knows that people who buys his usb only cares about the design, not the actual utility of the product…

i came across selena chang’s post on “Gotta Collect them All~” and the design of the coke bottles definitely caught my eye, but what made me interested in this post was the name that was on the bottle… moschino!

moschino is known to have some quite interesting designs for their perfume bottles, so i’m actually not too surprised to see moschino’s designs on the coke bottles.  here are some of moschino’s perfume bottles:

like selena said, packaging is, without a doubt, one of the most important aspects of a product because that is the first thing a consumer sees.  moschino’s perfume bottle design is probably what makes their perfumes so popular.  even if people don’t like the fragrant, consumers would buy the product just because of the bottle and add it to their collection.  i know women always have a place on their table to display all their perfume bottles!  if you haven’t seen selena’s post, the first perfume bottle is actually one of the designs for the coke bottle as well.  this also shows how versatile these designs can be and how big of a difference translating a perfume bottle design onto a soft drink bottle design can bring.  it brings a whole new art to the industry and a whole new group of consumers who would purposely buy the product because it has a brand new packaging that relates to something they already have (like the moschino perfume in this case).  this also relates to the topic of co-branding and how two brands making two totally different products can come together and collaborate on one product that both of these groups of consumers would consider purchasing.  this is definitely the best of both worlds.

thats right…

talk about co-branding!  h&m has partnered with numerous big fashion names in the past, like karl lager, roberto cavalli, matthew williamson, and recently, lanvin.  their campaign is quite diverse in media, with print and video.

i personally love h&m; it’s got the trendiest items at one of the best prices out there.  so what happens when h&m and a big name like lanvin put their names on a dress… huge lineups and messy stores!  most of the regular items h&m sells is quite casual, but with lanvin, it brings in some really fancy cocktail dresses, which deviates a bit from what h&m usually sells.  however, even with a price tag of around $200-300, it still manages to go out of stock within a couple of days.  h&m and lanvin are pretty much on opposite ends of the price spectrum, so what does it mean for the consumers on each end?  for consumers on the price savvy side of the spectrum, the h&m/lanvin co-branding really gives them a chance to purchase a lanvin design at a price that they can afford.  it opens the consumer market for lanvin to reach out to those consumers who would not usually buy designer luxury items.  on the other hand, buying luxury items and big names represent a certain status for those who buy the expensive brand names.  would lanvin lowering its price, and perhaps quality, to partner with h&m hurt its sales with its regular consumers?  will these consumers stop buying lanvin items because its name is on a dress that worth only $200 compared to the regular $2000?  i guess the cheaper price i just used to trade in a lower quality, but to me, the design is what it’s worth.

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…

i was looking up the Online Fashion Marketing Blog and came across this really interesting blog post – theshoppingforecast.com reveals fashion trends for winter 2010 as voted for by the public.  this blog post was introducing a new service; essentially, theshoppingforecast.com is a website that allows consumers to vote for what they want to see in stores for the next season.  the clothing is chosen by a “style council” and these garments are items that are easily accessible and affordable to most people, like picks from forever 21, banana republic, and the gap to name a few.  this service really gets me thinking… what’s the purpose of it and who benefits from it the most?

most of the time, the trends we see on the runway are translated into a less elaborated version that is sold at the local shopping mall so that ordinary people can follow a trend yet still not looking too over the top.  theshoppingforecast.com provides a great place for an exchange: consumers provide their opinions on what they want to buy for the next season and retailers can take that information and try to accommodate their consumers’ preferences.  this information can eliminate retailers and marketer’s uncertainty on trying to predict the consumers’ buying decisions.  so i was thinking, if consumers can input their buying behaviour into a website like theshoppingforecast.com, can this eliminate or reduce the need for psychographical segmentation (which is one of the more useful segmentation bases) because that is what the website ultimately does – the consumers straight up tell their retailers what they want to buy in their stores.  or is this a tactic for segmentation based on psychographics… and it gets me thinking again… what if every industry implements a service like this one?  how would distribution and marketing strategies alter from these changes?

it was probably not a good idea to go to a concert the night before a marketing midterm, but gosh i must say, lights is so good live!

have you guys ever felt obligated to buy one of their concert t-shirts?  i have…
it’s always great to have something to bring home to remember the experience with…

so let’s talk about marketing mix – for the concert tees (and other merchandise):

product: t-shirts, hoodies, cds, tote bags, wristbands, necklaces…
price: my concert ticket was $30, this t-shirt was $25, which is 25% more that the price sold online, i guess the extra $5 goes to the value in purchasing it at an actual lights concert
place: merchandise booth was right in front of the entrance to the theatre, how can anyone ever miss it!  the booth was on ground level and the end of the line up went all the way to the second floor!  also, bringing concert merchandise on a tour opens up so many more purchasing opportunities for people in all the cities – the only other place i knew where i could get this t-shirt was online…
promotion: pretty much all the other people who were walking around the theatre with lights’ head on their chest… which is a message to everyone, “you’re here at a lights concert, better get the lights t-shirt like everyone else!”

and we did…

yes, even the boys 🙂
(no i wasn’t ready for the picture…haha)

i love fashion, so i’m always on lookbook.nu checking out what people all over the world are wearing.  lookbook.nu is a “internet’s largest source of fashion inspiration” where anyone can post up a photo of what they’re wearing – what’s hit and what’s in.  so how smart for the gap to set up a contest on lookbook.nu:

lookbook.nu brings in quite a lot of traffic everyday worldwide, so posting up a contest on this site definitely gives some noise for gap’s classic black items that are hitting up all the gap storefronts.  well, this is a contest, so it obviously rakes up some contestants, then you got people posting up their back in black looks:

i must admit, i do get swayed into purchasing some of the items i see on lookbook.nu.  not only is gap generating attention with their contest, people all over the world are posting up looks with the key item of the classic black pants.  even if lookbook.nu users don’t click on the obscure LB CONTEST tab on the top, they are exposed to a massive collection of black pants that’s being posted.  although the black pant may not be a trend this season, when viewers like me see black pants showing up in so many looks, i would naturally want to buy a pair.  so walking in the mall with the black pant in the back of my mind, i see storefronts with the military trend, or the leopard trend, or the minimalist trend, and then the gap’s storefront of the black pants definitely pulls me into the store.  way to generate some foot traffic!  i must say gap is pretty smart to place a contest on lookbook.nu, it’s definitely where people who love fashion turn to when they want some ideas on what to buy/wear!

french connection – love their trendy yet classy style.  they’ve really changed up their ad campaign this year; steering away from typical fashions ads with glamourous setting and pretty young models to something like this (from spring/summer 2010):

‘this is the man’

cleverly entitled ‘this is the man‘, french connection has created two sets of campaign to effectively target the man or the woman.  looking at the overall composition, the backdrop is nothing fancy; no time square, no bright lights, just a plain background which lets the viewer concentrate on the clothes.  its simplicity is visually captivating and the captions are quite witty and humourous.  who would’ve thought that a rugged, bearded man can dress so well!  he’s definitely not the typical handsome man we see in everyday fashion ads, but his appearance gives me a sense that he’s intelligent and ‘knows what he’s doing’, which seems to fit so well with french connection – it’s classy yet quirky.  the irony with the man wearing bunny ears and the caption “man should be brave” is quite comical.  it’s kind of like when people say “only real men wear pink” – this man isn’t afraid to be himself and that’s what the man or everyman should be.  even though he’s not the typical man that every guy wants to be, the guys can definitely learn from this man – he’s even giving out advice to other guys to “eat meat.  dress well”.  this campaign surely is no typical fashion ad – it’s quite eccentric and thought provoking.

and ‘this is the woman’

again, this model just looks like a typical woman, which brings out the stars of the campaign – the clothes.  i just think the caption matched with the photo is so cute – this woman looks bored.  dance or something. kind of brings out the innocent look every girl has and this is the woman.  she is knowing we are looking. shows the curious side.  and it seems like their ads are working pretty well because their fall/winter 2010 ads continues to incorporate those witty captions, but i wonder how long they can keep this concept up for…

i’ve always wondered how producers/marketers/advertisers can find the perfect track for a commercial.  whether it’d be a song that’s fits with the theme/story line flawlessly, a super catchy song, or a song that you just can’t get out of your head after listening to it… how do they do it?

karl lagerfeld always comes up with the most elegant short films for the chanel perfumes.  chanel no. 5 is a classic perfume and it’s paired with a classic song.  even though it has a very simple story line, it left me with a deep impression; what i heard and what a saw really meshed together.  even the climax of the song was matched so wonderfully with the climax of the short film.  when i walk pass the chanel counter at a department store and see the no. 5 perfumer, it’d remind me of nicole kidman’s story in the film.  the creative directors do such a good job with putting a story to the product and when you see the product, it reminds you of how significant the product was in story.  instead of selling a sex appeal, it’s selling more of a romantic story that is irresistible to every girl.

and here’s a commercial matched with a song that i can’t get out of my head.  actually, the first time i heard landon pigg’s falling in love at a coffee shop was in this commercial.  tv commercials are played so readily, it really generates a lot of publicity for a song that’s not too popular, especially if the song is as good as this one!  so here’s my routine when i hear a song that i like but do not know of in a commercial: 1) try to remember the lyrics 2) try to youtube it 3) download the song and 4) send it to my friends.  i’m sure that i am not the only one out there doing this, so imagine me x 1000 and those people sending it to their friends and that’s another x 1000 people who would be exposed to that song.  wow, thats pretty amazing, i love it when good music gets to people!

so imagine how the perfect song can create an impact – it gives the consumer a story to relate to for a product, especially if it’s about romance because girls are definitely going to remember that!  also, bringing in a song/artist that is not too well-known in the public eye can generate some attention.  another example is apple’s ipod or itunes commercial playing feist’s “1234”, i mean, who can get “1, 2, 3, 4, tell me that you love me more” out of their heads?