EOC, Week 1

1. What is fashion branding? How does branding establish a product's identity?

Fashion branding is "The cumulative image of a product or service that consumers quickly associate with a particular brand, it offers an overall experience that is unique, different, special and identifiable." - Youn-Kyoung Kim, Pauline Sullivan, and Judith Cardona Forney, Experiential Retailing: Concepts and Strategies that Sell.

Branding establishes a product's identity through "brand storytelling". The way a company brands a product will determine how the product is perceived in the mind of consumers.

2. How are companies able to sell items like T-shirts, jeans and sunglasses at high prices? Can you give an example of another item sold in the luxury market that might not have been traditionally perceived as a luxury good?

Companies are able to sell basic items at high prices through "brand storytelling". They are essentially selling the idea of a lifestyle to the consumer and now putting on a pair of sunglasses doesn't just protect your eyes from the sun, it makes you feel a certain way, a certain feeling that was evoked through advertisements, marketing and branding. Putting on a particular brand can transform a persons mood and perception of themselves. "A T-shirt, pair of jeans, sweatshirt, khaki pants, baseball cap, and even a pair of shoes can be dull and indistinguishable without the help of fashion branding." -Brand Story, Ch 1 Page 5.

Cell phone cases are now sold in the luxury market which before were never considered a luxury good. You would go into your service providers store and pick up a basic case to protect your phone, now they are fashion statements and a common accessory in a fashion collection.

3. Race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation play a part in purchasing decisions. Identify three consumer groups that are different from you. In your opinion, do they differ from each other with regards to fashion and the types of brands they purchase? Why or why not?

Three consumer groups that are different from me would be African Americans, Homosexuals, and Senior Citizens. I don't fit into these consumer groups therefore advertisements and marketing which targets each of these groups may not be appealing to me. This isn't to say that all marketing towards these groups would be a disinterest to me, just that it's not targeting my consumer group making it a large possibility that I wouldn't identify with or connect with these advertisements and marketing. In the book Brand Story, the author speaks about identifying with a particular advertisement "The nostalgia and sheer genius of its advertising logo, the Modern Eye
Guy, created an instant connection for me as a customer because I understood the story that was presented in the ad." - Ch 1 page 1-2
You must be able to identify with the advertisement and in order to identify with it, you have to understand the story that is being told. With that being said each of these consumer groups that are different from myself are also different from each other in regards to the purchases they make. The exception would be a homosexual, black, senior citizen who then would be able to identify more with advertisements towards each of the consumer groups I listed. Even so this person would feel a disconnect to an ad targeting 18 year old African Americans. This goes to show just how much research must go into an advertising campaign or marketing plan, once you have your target market you have to look at sub markets and create a story that they will understand and be able to relate to.