EOC: Chapter 4 Discussion

1. Louis Vuitton is one of the most popular luxury brands if not the most popular brand in the world. The luxury brand generates millions of dollars per quarter in sales all over the world. The LVJ brand took a risk by opening a stand alone store in an area that wasn't known for high end stores."Tokyo had no major street known for its luxury brands such as Foubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris or Fifth Avenue in New York" (Fashion Branding Unraveled). The company also changed its tradition of focusing on women take make up a large portion of their consumer segment.  men's products were introduced, including watches, scarves, bags, and pens. "The merger meant transforming LV from a brand with traditional luxury products to a fashion company offering a ready-to-wear collection" (Fashion Branding Unraveled). 

2. It is a huge change for a company that is over 100 years old to have a dramatic change in the way that they sell products. LVJ had to adopt new philosophies in because the shopping habits are different for people from japan. It was hard to measure the success of the LVJ project because of the economic situation that caused certain companies to adjust their inventory control. In their new strategy, LVJ used local marketing and advertising agencies because it was believe that the traditional world advertising agencies would not have a huge impact. "Advertisements that were produced locally rather than using their universal ad campaigns since brand recognition in Japan was still limited and largely based on its bags" (Fashion Branding Unraveled). LVJ has shown that a name alone does not guarantee success, selling techniques and strategies have to change in order to be successful in different areas. 

BOC: Hawaiian Tropic

www.nytimes.com

Recently, the Hawaiian Tropic company has decided to do away with a tradition that has been a part of its company for close to three decades. The "brand announced the retirement of their famous bikini contests" (yahoo.com).In 1983, the company started the first of many swim suit competition that grew in popularity over the years. It was just 14 years after the company initially began that they decided a good way to gain exposure is to host a swimsuit competition. The Hawaiian Swimsuit competition became so popular that at one point they were featured in a film starring Jim Carey. A few years later, some of the women from the Hawaiian Swimsuit competition even appeared in playboy which was probably in its peak during that time. Company representatives decided that it was not in the best interest of the company to continue with an event that had seen a lack of popularity in recent years. "The bikini contest wasn’t resonating with our target female consumers" (yahoo.com).The move has come as a big shock to consumers because for many years that was a way that the company kept its name in public view.The Hawaiian Tropic company has recently announced that it would focus its public relations and advertising in a different way. In recent years, research has shown that the majority of consumers that buy the Hawaiian Tropic products are women and it is not likely that they are being influenced to purchase items because of the swimsuit competition. "Now the company is launching a national search for a new spokeswoman" (yahoo.com).The company is looking for a person that represents the company which includes confidence and beauty. Consumers interested in becoming the new spokesperson for Hawaiian Tropic can submit their information to the official facebook page for the company.

EOC: Chapter 3 Discussion

1. Burberry set out to rebrand itself as a luxury lifestyle brand but at a lower price than its major competition such as Prada and Gucci. "Many brands eventually die when they fail to remain relevant and updated as this causes them to lose market share and consumer interest" (Fashion Branding Unraveled). There is no need for consumers to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on items. Burberry wanted to keep its image of a high end brand but at a price that the average consumer could afford. "Focuses on becoming more relevant to its own market with the possibility of attracting more and new customers" (Fashion Branding Unraveled). They cut the number of products they were creating by more than 75 percent but created new product lines so they could serve a wider range of demographics. With the new product lines, Burberry is now serving young trendy adults, older traditional consumers, and with price ranges for high end and the average consumer. 

2. The turnaround for Burberry was a little different than that of Gucci with Tom Ford. Burberry was not doing as bad financially as Gucci because they had not lost a core of their loyal customers to other brands. Gucci was in a tough spot because decades of less than innovative designs led to their consumers to seek other brands to meet their fashion needs. Gucci needed Tom Ford to connect with its consumers in a major way or they were in serious danger of having financial troubles. Burberry was also having difficulty connecting with its consumer but it was in a much easier situation where it could release certain product lines to market different products to key consumer segments. Marketing and rebranding can be a difficult process but it can be done. "Branding is neither easy nor cheap" (Fashion Branding Unraveled) and success is not guaranteed. 

BOC Brands: Beats By Dre

forbes.com

Andre Young, better known as Dr Dre, has created a product with a cult fallowing. Young used his status and reputation as a perfectionist to launch Beats by Dre. Andre and his business partner were looking to develop a new brand of sneakers but realized that they field was highly competitive. "His interest in getting into the headphone business was prompted by what he calls a steady decline in the quality of audio equipment and of recordings, as they have been compressed into digital files" (New York Times). Many individuals in the music industry have been looking for new ways to create revenue due to the fact that its very easy for the average consumer to download illegal content. "Industrywide annual revenues tumbled from $38 billion to $16.5 billion over the past decade" (Forbes). Andre also used his position as a music producer and founder of interscope records to place his newly developed product where his target market could see. The product was ether being worn or featured by musicians on Andre's record label. Eventually, the product became so popular among artists from other labels would wear it in their videos without being asked too. Many sports teams are provided with beats so it also allows people from many different demographics to be exposed to the product. During the 2012 Olympics and recent world basketball championships, the entire USA national team was provided with Beats. Many international teams and superstars are frequently seem wearing the .Urban music followers are ether receptive or resistant to certain products but they have accepted Beats by Dre with open arms. The greats brand that have been developed over time are the companies that sort of develop a lifestyle and brand image. Beats brand image is of high quality and a luxurious urban life style. Company representatives have also realized that mobile music libraries are becoming less and less popular due to the fact that live streaming is much more affordable. "The mp3 is heading the way of the CD. It might be there already" (Forbes). The audio equipment producer has created a product so popular that it is now being built into cars, laptops, and other mobile technology. "A typical pair of Beats sell for about $300 — nearly 10 times the price of ear buds that come with iPods. And, despite these lean economic times, they are selling surprisingly fast" (New York Times). The market for luxury audio equipment has increased because of Beats By Dre. Other artists such as Ludacris and 50 Cent have released or endorsed their own brand of audio equipment. There is no much more heavy competition now compared to when the company released its initial product. Although there is much more competition it continues to see growth in market share. "Annual sales are approaching $500 million, and Beats have transformed headphones into a fashion accessory" (New York Times). I believe the Beasts audio marketers will continue to further develop different branches of beats audio products to better increase market share.

EOC: Beech Nut Scandal

huffingtonpost.com

Beech Nut nutrition corporation was on older and reputable company until they decided to break the trust of the consumers with inferior products. The president and vice president were sentenced for the crimes of selling apple juice that contained "little or no apple juice at all"(Into the Mouths of Babes). The product sold by Beech Nut was consumed by babies and mothers that trusted the company that had been established close to 100 years prior." It said that the product that Beech-Nut had been marketing as 100 percent apple juice was actually made from beet sugar, cane sugar syrup, corn syrup and other ingredients, with little if any apple juice in the mixture" (NY Times).The two men were charged with 215 counts of violating federal food laws. The issue with the company is that they clearly decided to hide the fact that there was little or no apple juice in their products when they found out. "Beech-Nut and other defendants had intentionally shipped adulterated and misbranded juice" (NY Times) When the first initial signs that pointed to a bad product surfaced when there were tests done on the juice. The reason that it was such a big issue for people is that the majority consumers of the product was mothers with young children. Beech Nut sold millions of bottles of apple juice that had almost no nutritional value for babies and young children. The first tests on the concentrate provided by the blending company suggested that there were certain impurities that didn't meet the company standards. Although the company was not initially responsible for the contaminated concentrate, it was their duty to switch to a new supplier when they realized they were hurting the reputation of the company. 

EOC: Chapter 2 Discussion

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marketingtochina.com

1. Shanghai Tang experienced early success in many areas due to their advantages such as producing their products in the manufacturing capital of the world and exposure to consumers. Tang set out to create a high end fashion brand and change peoples perception that anything that was made in China was going to be of bad quality."Perceptions of production quality have haunted Chinese products for years" (Fashion Branding Unraveled). By manufacturing their products at home, they had the initial low cost of production and reduction in other costs such as transportation and other logistics. "That the brand seemed to be heading at the right direction" (Fashion Branding Unraveled) .The colorful designs and cuts that were popular among asians at the time could have been something that led Tang to initially fail in New York. Americans are normally regarded as consumers that are late when it comes to adopting trends.

2.  During the time when tang was opening his store in america, grunge was the prominent trend in the marketplace. Grunge included dark colors, and heavy fabrics which was the opposite of the style that Tang was trying to introduce at the time. Style in america was relatively conservative compared to the styles that were being adopted all over the world. It is also possible that the location of the store itself in New York could have had a huge impact because the initial store for Tang received millions of visitors each year."China has gone from being the low-cost factory of the world to a purchaser of some big name brands to a stage where they create their own global brands built on local innovation capable of competing in quality, style, and prestige with designs coming out of the fashion capitals of the world" (Fashion Branding Unraveled)

EOC: Chapter 1 Discussion

1. Brands are the solutions that people meed for ether a practical or emotional need. Brands are products or services that can be represented by symbols, words, or design that represents a product or service. The brand allows consumers to associate an idea to a product which can be value, quality, or identity. "Consumers often define brand identity in terms of very concrete, palpable, and tangible attributes" (Fashion Branding Unraveled).We need brands to distinguish between companies that offer certain features in their products that we are looking for. Value isn't something that is just measured by how much we spend on something but  also how well it fills our need. "Consistency is another key factor for the success of any brand"(Fashion Branding Unraveled). 

2. An 8 dollar bar of soap is cheap compared to the price of a new car but when taking into consideration the average price of soap it doesn't seem like the best bargain. Value can be purchasing a certain product such as $300 smart phone that eliminates the need for an MP4, computer, internet service, and GPS. A purchase that requires several hundred dollars doesn't seem like something that would provide much value but it fill several needs while eliminating costs simultaneously.

3. "The concepts of the terms innovation and consistency may seem a bit contradictory" (Fashion Branding Unraveled). Brands have to constantly develop new services and products that are in tune with the new needs of consumers. The new products also have to be consistent with the brand image. Apple is a company that is always innovating with their new products but they are consistent with the quality image and service they provide. Apple could innovate software for computer systems but it is not consistent with the company image. 

BOC:Slip, Slop, Slap

"The Slip! Slop! Slap! slogan is the core message of the Cancer Council's SunSmart program and has become part of the Australian language" (Sunsmart.com).The slip part of the theme encourages people to slip on a shirt to reduce exposure to harmful UV rays."Sid the seagull, wearing board shorts, t-shirt and a hat, tap-danced his way across our TV screens singing a catchy jingle to remind us of three easy ways of protecting against skin cancer"(cancer.org.au).The slop refers to putting on sun screen lotion to protect any parts of the body. The slap talks about placing a hat so that you can further protect yourself. In the 70's and 80's more information was being gathered that suggested that too much exposure to the sun could cause certain types of cancer. The ad campaign was commissioned and launched by the Cancer Council Victoria in 1981. There is an article in cphealth.com that states that the ad campaign could be too successful. In recent years, there has been an increased deficiency in the vitamin D levels of australians. Vitamin D is absorbed through the skin when sun light hits the body. At a very young age people are told to protect themselves so much that they are now hurting themselves by not receiving sun light. The recommended amount of time that a person should  spend outside should range from three to five minutes. If a person does not want to risk exposure to harmful amounts of UV rays it is also possible to take vitamin supplements to make up for the deficiency. "In 2007, the slogan was updated to Slip Slop Slap Seek Slide to reflect the importance of seeking shade and sliding on wrap around sunglasses to prevent sun damage"(cancer.org.au).