Reflection of Consumer Behavior

This class has changed the way that I look at advertisements when I watch television. I now think why companies use the strategies they use in their commercials. I notice how well different products market towards their demographics. I think it is very interesting that the shows we watch completely change the type of advertisements shown. During a show like South Park I now notice that sometimes during a commericial break there is often only one, long video game commercial. This is because the companies know the people that watch South Park are often very involved in gaming.
Advertisers use of reference groups are very apparant to me now after this class. Athletes have become very popular in commercials with referent power being a very useful marketing tool. Peyton Manning has become a advertising staple and I think it is very interesting that UGG boots has signed Tom Brady.
One of the most interesting aspects in this class that we learned about was Business Analyst Online. I thoght this plethora of information is an incredibly useful tool. I was very excited to have access to this program and I was actually able to use it for another class where I was creating a business plan. I also thought the VALS survey was very interesting.
I enjoyed taking this class very much and I feel as though I know a great deal more about why consumers think the way they do.

Reference Groups

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ78q2sJ7iA

This is a link to the Citizen Eco-Drive watch commercial featuring New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. This commercial uses referent power because people admire this football player and want to be like him. The commercial says just like the watch and the quarterback, buying this product will make you "unstoppable." This company often uses referent power in their adverstisements, especially athletes that ppeople admire. They have used basketball point guard Steve Nash and tennis player Martina Hinges in their advertisements.

VALS Results

My primary VALS result turned out to be experiencer. I think that this category fits me very well. This group is called impulsive and self-expressive. These two characteristics match my personality well. Some purchases that I make are very impusive. About a month ago I walked into Wal-Mart with my friends just to look around and I walked out with a 40 inch Sony television. If that is not impulsive, I don't know what is. Self-expression is also very important to me. I am constantly online looking for new clothes that will make me stand out from the crowd. I like when people stop me to look at the shirt I am wearing on a night out. It also amazed me that the description said that this group's outlets are exercise, sports, outdoor recreation, and social activities which completely parallel my outlets.
My secondary VALS result turned out to be Achiever. I don't think that this category fit me quite as much mut it had some characteristics that matched my personality. "With many wants and needs, Achievers are active in the consumer marketplace. Image is important to Achievers; they favor established, prestige products and services that demonstrate success to their peers." This quote seems to fit my personality. I have goals already that I srtive to achieve and that motivate me in school. I want to have the biggest and the best and I am going to need to accomplish a lot to achieve that. One difference is that I feel that I am a risk taker and this group values predictability.

PRIZM

My family cluster is my street circle in Stoughton, Massachusetts. When I was very young my parents moved from a larger house on a busy street to a smaller house in a nice neighborhood. I would consider it to be "Kids and Cul-de-sacs." The neighborhood was full of kids who's ages matched up with myself and my siblings. It kept us safe and away from danger. The neighborhood was mostly upper middle class families with children. My father works in Boston as the president of the zoo. My mother is a teacher at an elementry school in my town. It is strange now to go home and see the next generation of kids playing in the street just like I used to do when I was young.

Identity

My possession that is closely tied to my sense of identity is my Xbox 360. This video game system represents everything that I enjoy in life all from the comfort of my own couch. After a trying day of school, nothing makes me happier than to sit down and play a video game with my roommates for an hour or two. I have games that cater to all of my interests. If I am in an athletic mood, I have several sports games that I love to play and they remind me of my high school days where I used to compete in these sports that I love. If I feel competitive or angry, I have shooting games where I can take out my frusterations of the day on other players throughout the world. The system allows me to communicate and play with friends who have all gone to different places and it makes me feel closer to the, even if I am just talking to them through a microphone. The system also reminds me of my brother as we both grew up playing video games with one another.
Video games put me in a comfort zone because I am very good at them and I enjoy winning at things very much. I identify heavily with the system and with other gamers because it is something I like to do and be good at.

Priming

A good example of priming in my life is pregame shows for NFL games. All week long people talk about and analyze the upcoming game and as a fan it excites me and makes me so excited to watch the game on Sunday. Another way the NFL primes consumers for their games is the commercials they show with hard hits and excitement. The way they portray their product makes the consumer want to watch the game even more.

Joining In/Staying Out

One group that I religously belong to is Apple. All the electronics that Apple produces I buy or would like to buy. I think that th products that they come ot with are so much more innovative and easier to pick up and use than their competitors. I love when Apple comes out with a new generation of one of its products and I get to see the amazing new things this organization has come up with. The iPad is one of the Apple products that I don't have yet but amazes me with its originality. In the argument of community vs individuality, Mac has created a community of dedicated users that have fierce brand loyalty which is important for any organization.
An organization that I do not associate with is Reebok. I find that their products are consistantly worse than those of their competitors, especially Nike. Everything that they sell has a similar price tag to their competitors but lacks the flair of an industry leader such as Nike. Nike products are consistantly fresh and exciting while Reeboks consistantly fall flat.

The Pretty Good Problem

Something I purchased that fits the criteria of being remarkable is the flat screen television that I bought three weeks ago. It is a 40 inch Sony and I bought it out of pure luck. I went to Wal-Mart with my friends just to look at televisions and while I was looking the worker showed me a table with discounted televisions. This tv was discounted from $840 to $375 because of a small scratch on the screen that cannot even be seen when the tv is on. Needless to say I immediately bought the set. I am so happy that I made this purchase and it will make my semester so much better.

Huh?

One thing that I saw that made me say Huh? is the rerelease of Avatar in select theaters. It made me wonder what the marketing strategy behind re-releasing a movie that is already out on Blu Ray is. There has to be a very viable reason behind re-releasing a movie that has lead them to make this strange move but I wonder what it could be.

Recently Purchased

This weekend I bought a ticket for a Wiz Khalifa concert at Lupo's in Providence. I was inclined to buy this ticket because I really enjoy his music and because he is relatively unknown his ticket prices are very low. To buy a ticket was only $15 and that seems like a very reasonable price for a night of fun. Lupo's attracts my friends and I to concerts because of their reasonable ticket prices and their small venue that allows one to be very close to the artist.

About Me

My name is John Linehan but everyone calls me Jack. I am a Senior and a Business Management major. Over the summer I lived in Bristol and completed my required internship. I chose to work as an administrator in the Roger Williams Athletic Department. I really hope to work in the sports management area of business when I graduate and this internship helped me towards this goal. I really aspire to work for a professional sports team in the future.