- Ask one (1) question about the reading. It can be about something you may not have understood completely or about something you thought was interesting. Be thoughtful with your question, and try to make it a question that could start a conversation, not simply be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ You are not allowed to post a question that someone has posted previously, so make sure to read through your classmates’ posts.
- Answer/respond to two (2) questions that others have posted by commenting on their posts. When you answer, read what others have said — do you agree with them? Do you feel there is more to the discussion? Do you think that someone is missing an important point? Be thoughtful and think about the question, responses and what your thoughts are.
- Finally, upload one multiple choice question for this section to the Drop Box in Angel. Originally, I was going to ask for a multiple choice question for each chapter, but I think we'll leave it at one question for the section. KEEP IN MIND that the book is still a few weeks away from being finished, meaning that by the time we take the quiz, these earlier chapters will be very old. I strongly suggest making the questions about overarching topics and concepts rather than about minute details.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Emotional Branding: Reading Response 03
For this assignment, you will need to read pages 70 – 106 in Emotional Branding (all of Section II, including chapters 05 - 09), then do the following:
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Page 75 talks about Abercrombie & Fitch’s branding strategies. All in all, the brand does make good use of the five senses (especially with the store’s dark lighting), but is their self-perception in line with the consumers’ image toward them? It says that A&F is an “aggressive, attitude-laden brand.” I don’t get that image from them at all. I only see a “preppy” image. Does anyone else feel confused like this?
ReplyDeleteI agree. I would think that stores such as Hot Topic and Spencer's would be more commonly classified as "aggressive" and "attitude-laden." Those kinds of stores are geared toward a certain type of consumer, the kind that presumably wouldn't step foot in an Abercromie & Fitch. I would call A&F standard, preppy, upper-middle class clothing geared toward a very specific type of person, just as Hot Topic has a very specific type of consumer. However, these two types are completely different and I would never call A&F aggressive. Unless you are talking about the scent of male cologne.
DeleteI believe that the store itself does present a very aggressive image. The dark lighting and loud music, I've found, is very overwhelming. Personally, I don't feel that the atmosphere makes for a very inviting one and is very in your face. I think you're right in saying that the typical image related to A&F clothing is a preppy one, which clashes with what image the store is giving off. I think their marketing team would do well with redesigning the store to better suit the image those wearing the brand actually give off.
DeleteI was confused about this as well. the only thing I could think of, was maybe, especially with men, maybe the people the store is targeted towards want the image the store is trying to portray, even though they fit A&F actual image.
DeleteI know I personally associate a lot of things with smell, albeit unconsciously. I'll smell a scent and suddenly be overwhelmed with a memory of a person or place. I even notice how every home has a distinct smell, and someone living there smells like their home. But I also strongly associate events with music. For example, the song "Shake It" by Metrostation reminds me of the summer my best friend got her drivers license and we drove everywhere with our windows rolled down and that song blaring.
ReplyDeleteWhich sense do you identify with most strongly and why? Which sense do you think could be used most effectively as a marketing tool?
I most often identify with sounds and music because they are everywhere all the time, we can't avoid them. My favorite thing, though, is when I associate smells with feelings/memories; those feelings are stronger. I think marketing strategies should incorporate scents for that reason. They are often times more subtle and pleasing, which can draw more attention to a product (although this could be difficult since everyone's definition of "pleasing" is different).
DeleteI do think that smell is the scent that I react to the most strongly. I think scents are a very sneaky marketing tool. A lot of times someone in a store won't realize that they are smelling something specific, just that they are smelling something they like and that they will forever associate with that store and experience. I like smelling things that take me back to a nice memory, but at the same time that can be one of the most dangerous senses. When a smell is associated with a bad event, that is something that will take you by surprise when it pops up and that will be ingrained in one's memory forever. Scent is the best tool, but also one that needs to be used the most subtly and with care.
DeleteI definitely identify most strongly with my sense of taste. Taste reminds me of homecooked meals made by my mother and my family around the dinner table together as a child. It also reminds me of places I've been (foods at summer camp, foods experienced in other countries and of other cultures, at restaurants with my friends, etc.). Taste is just an overall great thing to share with others and use as a social experience. In general, taste makes my mouth and brain feel good too. Being quite the hedonist myself, the pleasure of taste is something I have come to look forward to throughout my days. Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami - taste comes in a lot of different varieties so it never gets old. During my senior year of high school I suffered from an eating disorder; thus taste is something that really connects and resonates with these memories and emotions of the past, too. Overall, it is a big part of who I am today.
DeleteOops. Forgot to answer the second part. I think that taste is possibly the most effective marketing tool as well - as food and taste can cause pleasurable emotions and even physiological addictions in people that would make people buy a brand more.
DeleteDo you agree that, personally, certain colors evoke certain feelings in yourself? If so, what colors and why? If not, why do you disagree?
ReplyDeleteI would agree with the descriptions given in the book, such as pastels being associated with gentleness and pale blue being associated with calmness.
DeleteFor example, when I think of blue, however generic an answer this is, I imagine the Cerulean Blue of the ocean meeting the Sky Blue of the horizon. It's a calming, serene picture because I am always relaxed and happy when I'm at the beach. Someone who maybe can't swim however, may associate this color with fear. So, I fully believe colors can be perceived differently depending upon the person.
Not necessarily. I can't say for certain that a particular color gives me a sense of well-being or calmness. At least not consciously, I don't tend to pick things based on any particular colors. I enjoy certain colors more than others but can't say its because of the feelings they evoke, more for the aesthetic qualities and color harmonies created when they are brought together. I don't think its necessary for a color to create some sort of deep feeling within yourself, you can simply appreciate it for what it is and its pleasing attributes. This might be because I focus more on my other senses, for example, I feel that I have a very strong emotional connection to things I hear, which may be why I have less of an emotional attachment to things like colors.
DeleteI feel as if colors augment certain emotions but do not evoke the feelings by themselves. For example, I could be stressed out about something and just because I see a calming color doesn't mean that everything is going to get better. I believe that if I am already feeling a certain way and then come into contact with a color that matches my mood, it would exaggerate that feeling. Also because colors have so many broad interpretations it really depends on the person in question. Someone might see the color blue as a calming one, but another person might see it as depressing. It depends on the mindset of the person and the way that their brain works when dealing with emotions.
DeleteBlue has always made me feel calm. I'm not sure if it's because I've always liked blue or because of blue's "calming abilities." Just as the book mentioned, green has always reminded me of earth and the environment. Sometimes red makes me feel on edge. I liked red, but if there's too much of it (or, like Robert said, if I happen to have a negative mindset), I feel uncomfortable.
DeleteWhen I was younger, my grandmother who is now a retired art teacher told me a story about the power of color. She had a friend in college who like her was petite. Her friend's favorite colors were orange and black. Well, long story short, after college they went their separate ways but found time to meet with each other several years later. When my grandmother arrived at her friend's house, she found that her friend had put on a great amount of weight. My grandmother knew instantly why, for when she walked into her friend's house, the color scheme was primarily black and orange. She knew that black gives off a depressing feeling while orange sometimes stimulates appetite and that together the inhabitant of such a colored house would turn to comfort food often to feel happy. My grandmother told her friend about what the colors were doing, so my grandmother's friend repainted her house. A year later, my grandmother returned to her friend and found that she had lost weight and looked healthier in general.
DeleteThe moral of this story is that colors are very powerful even though they might only effect you subliminally. I can personally attest to this as well, for I find that pastel colors are very relaxing to me and that a fiery orange color makes me feel excited.
I agree with what Robert was saying. I don't think that a color on it's own can make a person feel a certain way, however,w hen the emotion is already there, it helps to magnify it. If I'm already angry, a red or orange room isnt going to help.
DeleteCertain colors do evoke certain feelings within myself. Yellow tends to elicit feelings of happiness, while the color blue will make me feel either sad or relaxed. This phenomenon is similar from person to person, while small variations do in fact exist. Companies use the fact that colors evoke emotional responses in us as consumers, to better brand and market their products. For example, McDonald's iconic red and yellow are used in their restaurants in order to stimulate hunger, while also creating a sense of urgency (the red to get you in and out of the store). It is important for businesses not to overlook this interesting fact, and be able to connect on a primal level with their audience.
DeleteThough I love many of the brand presentation suggestions in this book and think that some of the sensory experience ideas presented in these chapters sound like a total shopping blast (free food while you're waiting in line to check out - brilliant!), I can't help but worry that due to the large amount of work required to create an effective branding sensory experience, companies are soon going to put all of their resources into creating an effective sensory presentation for their customers and allow the quality of the products they're selling to deteriorate. My parents always talk about how, "they don't make things to last as long as they used to," and as the focus of marketing and business slips further and further towards "the branding experience", do you this downward trend in product longevity my parents talk frequently about will continue? In other words, will this new branding sensory experience make room for the quality of products to increase or decrease from where they are right now?
ReplyDeleteAlso, on page 88, Central Market vice president John Campbell states that his store "is about the shopping experience, not about selection." This quote sounded a little bit to me like he was implying that due to the awesome sensory experiences customers had in his store while shopping, he could somewhat slack off on the quality of the products he sold - as people will buy the lesser quality product anyways due to the sensory trance of positive emotions they're under. (Think of the scented paper towels example (page 100); people thought they were higher quality, softer towels than they actually were just because their olfactory senses were positively stimulated). Is this a sign that the new sensory branding will cause companies to use sensory tricks to cheat customers into buying lower-quality products at higher prices? Or am I just a pessimist trying desperately to resist change and find a negative aspect to this innovative idea of sensory branding?
On page 98, the president of IKEA mentions how products that sold well in Europe were not as successful when introduced to the United States. They soon found that Americans desire larger cups, beds, bookshelves, sofas, etc and their smaller counterparts did not sell as well. Do you believe this is because here in America, we are conditioned to believe that bigger is better? Why do you believe this to be true and why do you think we have been conditioned this way, or conversely, why do you disagree?
ReplyDeleteI just think most of us have grown up with everything "super-sized". I thought it was funny when he mentioned learning that Americans like bigger couches/sofas etc, because we like to sleep on it, not just sit on it! It's just a matter of the culture you grow up in, and quite frankly, even if you wanted to buy smaller furniture, plates, cups... it's hard to find them in stores. They don't sell well here because (in my personal opinion) Americans grow up with more than they could ever possibly need and it's not so much that we believe bigger is better, but that we just don't expect anything less than HUGE.
DeleteI think Americans definitely are conditioned to view things that are bigger, as better. Often times I find myself sacrificing quality for quantity when purchasing goods from somewhere. We are raised in a country where objects are in abundance (even though it won't be like this forever), so we take as much as we can get. Also we are raised in a culture where, from birth, we are subject to the idea that we deserve all that we can get. We are free to act how we want and are justified for all that we procure. Americans use size to display that they have worked hard through their life, and therefore, can achieve the larger things in life.
DeleteI feel that instinctually humans associate bigger as better for a number of things (but not all things i.e. cell phones, tablets, etc). Big has always represented plenty. When kings built castles and fortresses in the medieval ages, they built them as large as possible to show off their wealth. Even today, the world is in a constant struggle to build the biggest building or bridge or monument (Dubai for instance). When immigrants first began coming to America "the land of opportunity and wealth" in masses between 1850 and 1930s, they sought to create fortunes and then showcase their fortune through size whether it be the size of their homes, cars, dinners, etc. This mentality and instinct of our ancestors has just been passed down from generation to generation in my opinion. This is why in America we like big. Also, it's not that Europeans wouldn't like bigger, but the countries in Europe are so dense and space is so limited that everything seems to be smaller there including the people. Also Europe is much more expensive. For instance, you can get a larger couch in America for the same price as a smaller version of the same couch in Europe - the second of two reasons why Europeans can't have bigger things.
DeleteOn page 75, the author mentions that "particularly with Generation X and Generation Y shoppers, music is a device used for constructing an identity." Why do you think the author didn't attribute this characteristic to the Baby Boomers as well? They've grown up with music all their lives, right?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the exact same thing and I am honestly not sure either! Maybe because we tend to be more emotional and music goes straight to the emotional part of the brain and past the reasoning. Or because we are younger and more impressionable. Maybe the Baby Boomers were greatly affected by music when they were in their 20s to 40s.
DeleteTheses chapters do a great job of going through the senses and expressing how each can be utilized to appeal to consumer's emotions. However, I believe that it leaves out one essential "sense" that is vital for both a company and its consumers, common sense. Brands must must be able to realize that they need a balance of sense appeal, so as to not over-appeal and appear unbarring. Consumers, on the other hand, must be able to look past the flashy shell, and recognize the actual condition of the products. Overall, how important is this sixth sense in branding and what would some outcomes be if it is ignored?
ReplyDeleteI think this is discussed a little in the conclusion section and how the senses need to be touched like a whisper not a shout. It should be subtle and not overbearing. The consumers will use common sense but if you are just casually shopping for fun like at a mall, these sensory stimulants will affect your purchases subconsciously. This is why they are so important and why research has proven consumers are so affected by it.
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ReplyDeleteI am very interested in the effects that our world's ever-changing technologies have upon society. The world that we interact with everyday is rich with media, and therefore countless opportunities for advertisers to reach their customers. On page 105, the book states that, "some advertisers are realizing that in a media-saturated environment, advertisements that use lush, relaxing visuals" is a better way of connecting with the consumer, as opposed to "booming voice-overs with jingles and lengthy product explanations." In this way, technology can be implemented to overtly emotionally connect with the consumer, through their senses. I think that this will be a huge business opportunity in the future, as connecting with the consumer will be a more highly two-way, and thorough experience. As explained in the book as well, a company called DigiScents is currently creating a scent cartridge that will have different scents, and will be used to interact with the user. Do you think that this form of connecting with brands with your sense of smell (such as interactive scents in movies, SmellTV) will be used commonly in the future, or that it will turn out to be a fad?
ReplyDeleteThough the sensory experiences that the book discusses may not happen until the latter portion of our lifetimes, I nonetheless definitely think that sensory branding will happen at some point in our lives. It seems as though companies would be crazy not to brand in a sensory-appealing way, as this branding technique in my opinion will create an almost inseparable connection between the brand and the consumer - literally! (if done effectively, of course).
DeleteThe book discusses the fact that when ads appeal to the senses, they imprint into our memories in an almost unforgettable way due to the deep emotional and neurological associations the brands create. From pleasant sounds and colors that release feel-good endorphins and activate the pleasure and memory centers of the brain to stress relieving tastes and scents that connect with our emotions and memories, I am not sure that our brain will ever let us forget the pleasurable effects certain brands gave to our senses if the experience is delightful enough. Though it sounds ridiculous, I almost feel as though these brands, by creating pleasurable associations with our brains, will end up controlling us rather than us being able to control them and voluntarily choose the products we consume. Instead of Big Brother controlling us through telescreens like they do in the novel 1984, the future sensory-branded products will control us by addicting our minds to the pleasure using the products results in. Another example analogy to this future inescapable sensory branding relationship I speak of could be how sugar is addicting. Sugar makes the brain feel pleasurable and thus want more when we eat it - just like the brands will. Similarly, when the brain doesn't get its usual sugar rush each day, it craves it - just like the brands will.
So yes, I do think companies will end up connecting brands with our senses (not only sense of smell, but all of them). They'd be crazy not to, as this type of branding will cause their products to be irresistible.
Over they past several years, clothing stores have started putting out different perfumes. this is also true for celebrities. Do you think this really helps to target thier audiances?
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe that releasing fragrances helps a brand, or the celebrity, to more effectively connect with their audiences. Reaching consumers on a sensory level causes a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the emotional branding, making the process more successful. This stimulation helps consumers to identify with a brand, if they like the fragrance, and this ensures their continued loyalty. In this way, businesses need to make sure they fully utilize the power of sensory connection.
DeleteOn Twitter, I follow an account based on the Pitch Perfect character Fat Amy (if you don't follow it do so because it is hilarious). But the other day she tweeted, "Hey, welcome to Hollister, would you like a gas mask, earplugs, or a flashlight?" I couldn't stop thinking about that the entire time I read this! But it is such a good example of how overstimulating can be a huge turn off. However, I think it is a turn off to me because I am not in middle/high school. Can anyone think of other examples of companies that overstimulate to sell their products? Is over or under stimulating an issue in marketing because according to the book, most companies don't take advantage of targeting all of a consumers' senses.
ReplyDelete