Wednesday, July 28, 2010
EOC: Chapter Three Disussion Questions
1.) Is Ralph Lauren a designer? Why or why not?
Yes Ralph Lauren is a fashion designer but he goes beyond that and is a lifestyle merchandiser. His brand is sold as a whole way of living you can go beyond buying a polo and purchase sheets, perfume, and even house paint to name a few. He goes designing clothing but has a whole living ideal along with his brand.
2.) Where did Ralph Lauren work prior to working for himself? Why do you think this experience was beneficial to his career?
3.) Currently, how many divisions does Ralph Lauren operate under his name? Can you identify the target market of each division? Are they homogenous or diverse?
Ralph Laruen has many divisions to his brand women’s and men’s clothing as well as children’s then he also has fragrance and a home line. I would say that the home line and children’s are the only ones that are not homogenous. The target market are those people that are of higher society or want to feel like they are and want an American preppy western feel.
4.) What is your favorite division of Ralph Lauren? How does that division emulate your personal lifestyle?
I personally do not have a favorite division of Ralph Lauren. The brand is not one that I relate to also the clothing is nothing that I would wear. If anything I would be able to relate to his home furnishings I like his sheets and paint colors that he has.
5.) How has Ralph Lauren built on his original brand to create an empire and an almost unparalleled career in fashion? Can you think of someone else who compares to him?
Ralph Lauren has built his empire by having a colt like following people who wear the brand just don’t own one item of his. He makes it so that they keep coming back for more. Someone that compares to him would be Tommy Hilfiger. Their brands and the people that wear them are similar. Both empires are huge and are very hard to match or even come close to.
Yes Ralph Lauren is a fashion designer but he goes beyond that and is a lifestyle merchandiser. His brand is sold as a whole way of living you can go beyond buying a polo and purchase sheets, perfume, and even house paint to name a few. He goes designing clothing but has a whole living ideal along with his brand.
2.) Where did Ralph Lauren work prior to working for himself? Why do you think this experience was beneficial to his career?
3.) Currently, how many divisions does Ralph Lauren operate under his name? Can you identify the target market of each division? Are they homogenous or diverse?
Ralph Laruen has many divisions to his brand women’s and men’s clothing as well as children’s then he also has fragrance and a home line. I would say that the home line and children’s are the only ones that are not homogenous. The target market are those people that are of higher society or want to feel like they are and want an American preppy western feel.
4.) What is your favorite division of Ralph Lauren? How does that division emulate your personal lifestyle?
I personally do not have a favorite division of Ralph Lauren. The brand is not one that I relate to also the clothing is nothing that I would wear. If anything I would be able to relate to his home furnishings I like his sheets and paint colors that he has.
5.) How has Ralph Lauren built on his original brand to create an empire and an almost unparalleled career in fashion? Can you think of someone else who compares to him?
Ralph Lauren has built his empire by having a colt like following people who wear the brand just don’t own one item of his. He makes it so that they keep coming back for more. Someone that compares to him would be Tommy Hilfiger. Their brands and the people that wear them are similar. Both empires are huge and are very hard to match or even come close to.
EOC: Apple juice scandal
The Beech-Nut apple juice scandal was one that shocked Americans. The company sold apple less apple juice. The company used concentrate to help cut costs but the concentrate that used was made up of sugar water and chemicals no apples. After four years of producing the apple less juice there was an investigation done by the Processed Apples Institute that discovered the truth about the juice. The person that investigated the case was Andrew Rosenzweig who was a former New York City narcotics detective and future chief investigator for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. He followed a truck of sugar water from Food Complex, which was the manufacture to a Beech-Nut facility in New York. He also confronted Beech-Nut’s executives about the matter and secretly recorded them which was later used as key evidence against the party. Fearing that their product would be seized by authorities Beech-Nut moved the rest of the stock of juice to New Jersey which fell out of New York’s jurisdiction. After this the company came up with a plan to ship the rest of the cases in inventory to the Caribbean. As well they shipped cases to the Dominican Republic and sold them at a 50 percent discount. The sale of the apple less apple juice made the company $60 million over a ten year time period. The juice was later recalled in New York, which later led to sate and federal investigations and recalls. New York sate sued Beech-Nut for $250,000 and at that time it was the biggest penalty ever issued for consumer violations. Also the company agreed to pay a $2 million fine and also pleaded guilty in the case. Executives Hoyvald and Lavery also paid fines totaling $1000,000 and where issued prison sentences of a year and one day. This case was so big, because it was one of the first time that executives in top-level corporations where held responsible for their violations.
BOC: Mid-term
Pop chips is a new brand of healthy chips. Unlike the greasy chips or those nasty baked ones pop chips is exactly what the name implies this chips are popped. The brand has seven flavors that include the normal chip flavors such as bbq, sour cream and onion, and salt and vinegar. The brand is based in San Francisco, California. This brand has expanded quickly since its start in 2008 and hopes to have revenue of $40 million of which they are hoping to break even this year. Last year the brand tripled revenue from the year before at $19 million. They are doing this by expanding to big cities such as Boston, Chicago, and Miami. The company is very small the headquarters in San Francisco only has 35 employees. Their ad campaign is "love. without the handles." (http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/entre/2010-04-12-popchips12_ST_N.htm">http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/entre/2010-04-12-popchips12_ST_N.htm)
Something interesting about the company is that the CEO Keith Belling responds to every email personally. Which is unheard of in today’s business, which doesn’t make sense the CEO, should know what is going in the company and see the feedback that they are receiving from their customers. Karen of New York city would know she sent in an email just expecting a generic response and maybe a coupon but got back much more than that. “…It was a simple letter, just saying thanks and how much I enjoyed their product. Within hours I got a personal response from the CEO, not only thanking me for my letter, but also offering to arrange an in person meeting with their NYC marketing manager so we could discuss any ideas I might have. As someone who was hoping for a coupon... I just got out of meeting with Whitney, the marketing manager, who presented me with a huge box full of popchips bags and graciously offered to provide snacks and supplies to a weekly pub trivia night I host…” (http://consumerist.com/2009/06/popchips-turning-loyal-customers-into-cult-like-snack-food-following.html)
The brand is aware of their competitors from the big brand of Frito-Lay to smaller brands such as Sensible Portions. They have their rivals products cramped in the back office of CEO Keith Belling. The company goes above-and-beyond so that they build a loyal following, which is needed at $1.29 for a single serving bag since a release according to Information Resources’ 2010 State of the Snack Industry report that one in four consumers, has cut back on snack spending. What makes the brand so unique is that the ships are not fried nor baked but popped. It is like a cross between a rice cake and a chip. The company President Turpin handles the bulk of productions anything to financials to manufacturing. The two met in 1999 where they worked on a different project and in 2007 “they found a manufacturing firm that made rice cakes and other snacks — and soon discovered that with heat and pressure, they could pop other starchy food, such as potatoes. They bought the plant, and in 2007, the duo officially launched Popchips.” (http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/entre/2010-04-12-popchips12_ST_N.htm)
The campaign is done my Pereira & O’Dell which is also in San Francisco. “Ads in the campaign carry whimsical headlines like “Love. Without the handles,” “Regret. Nothing,” “Tastes like it should be bad for you,” “Sandwich. Meet your new B.F.F.” (as in “Best Friend Forever”), “Snack. Smile. Repeat” and “Snack like nobody’s watching.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/business/media/29adnewsletter1.html?_r=1)
The brand also is expanding its consumer base with a Twitter and Facebook page as well as a Youtube. Also “ads on the video screens in taxi cabs; a sampling program with its own “mobile snack tour,” with a goal of giving away 500,000 bags of Popchips; public relations by Formula PR in New York; and an outreach to trend-setters
that seeks to generate positive buzz.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/business/media/29adnewsletter1.html?_r=1) The brand also features Ashton Kutcher as a spokes person. Here is a link to their web-sight to fond out more http://www.popchips.com/
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
EOC: Chapter Two Exercise
The Burberry ads have changed a lot over time since the first advertisements. In the beginning there was a lot of text that described the item but did not show the item that well. The ads now feature only the products with the only texting being Burberry. The ads of the time before seem to be a lot more military like. Before the brand to me felt not as glamorous as the brand feels now. I feel that the brand has stuck to the target market and stayed tried true to the brand. They still feature the same type of products but have adjusted to today’s marketplace. One of the first things that I think about when the brand comes to mind is the traditional Burberry trench coat. Even though the brand does feature the high fashions of today’s time they still keep in the tradition of the brand. I think that it is one of the few brands that has made little changes but still continues to make it in today’s time and market place. Of course the brand has had to make changes but what b rand that has been around for as long as they have hasn’t? I think the reason that people purchase the brand is for the history that is behind it this also adds to a quality factor they would snot be around for so long if the quality standards where not up to par.
EOC: Chapter Two Discussion Questions
1.) How was fashion advertising changed since the mid-twentieth century? What are some of the differences between ads that appeared before the 1950’s and those from the 1950’s, and 1960’s, and today?
Fashion advertising has changed from the mid-twentieth century, because of the growth of the mass-produced fashion in the twentieth century. This was possible through the development of mass media. The ads before the 1950’s where made for “everyman” and the function and use of a garment where emphasized. In the 1950’s the ads aimed at creating excitement for simple products. The 1960’s a fashion language was developed through the French philosopher Roland Barthes. Hyper reality was formed and though storytelling advertisers tired selling their products to consumers. Today ads re greatly influenced by popular cultures and consumer lifestyles. Also our ads feature a lot of endorsements by celebrities and focus on things such as real or authentic.
2.) What are some of the theories related to fashion branding (i.e., Barthes and Baurdillard)? What do they say about fashion branding as a means of communicating with consumers? How do the contemporary ideas Hamilton, BeBord, Agins, Gobe, and McCracken relate to those of Barthes and Baurdillard?
Some of the theories that are related to fashion branding are those of Barthes and Baurillard. Baurdilard believed that fashion was defined as postmodernism and that the boundary of what is real and what was perceived where blurred. He came up with the theory of hyper reality in which a person was unable to distinguish between what is real and attainable versus a fantasy. Barthies believed that there where three levels in the fashion system that included the real garment, terminological garment and the rhetorical written garment. Hamilton believes that fashion is the transfer from a global level then reaches and individual level. Her theory also dealt with how and why merchandise is made and distributed to the masses. The newer theories deal with why and how they reach the masses on a global level to where the older ones dealt with just that consumer.
3.) What types of meanings does Grant McCracken associate with fashion products? Do you agree or disagree? If you disagree, what would you add to or delete from his list? Give an example of one of the meanings.
Fashion advertising has changed from the mid-twentieth century, because of the growth of the mass-produced fashion in the twentieth century. This was possible through the development of mass media. The ads before the 1950’s where made for “everyman” and the function and use of a garment where emphasized. In the 1950’s the ads aimed at creating excitement for simple products. The 1960’s a fashion language was developed through the French philosopher Roland Barthes. Hyper reality was formed and though storytelling advertisers tired selling their products to consumers. Today ads re greatly influenced by popular cultures and consumer lifestyles. Also our ads feature a lot of endorsements by celebrities and focus on things such as real or authentic.
2.) What are some of the theories related to fashion branding (i.e., Barthes and Baurdillard)? What do they say about fashion branding as a means of communicating with consumers? How do the contemporary ideas Hamilton, BeBord, Agins, Gobe, and McCracken relate to those of Barthes and Baurdillard?
Some of the theories that are related to fashion branding are those of Barthes and Baurillard. Baurdilard believed that fashion was defined as postmodernism and that the boundary of what is real and what was perceived where blurred. He came up with the theory of hyper reality in which a person was unable to distinguish between what is real and attainable versus a fantasy. Barthies believed that there where three levels in the fashion system that included the real garment, terminological garment and the rhetorical written garment. Hamilton believes that fashion is the transfer from a global level then reaches and individual level. Her theory also dealt with how and why merchandise is made and distributed to the masses. The newer theories deal with why and how they reach the masses on a global level to where the older ones dealt with just that consumer.
3.) What types of meanings does Grant McCracken associate with fashion products? Do you agree or disagree? If you disagree, what would you add to or delete from his list? Give an example of one of the meanings.
The types of meanings that Grant McCcracken associates with fashion products are that by studying clothing we understand the cultural evolution of our society. He places nine meanings that are usually targeted by company’s gender, lifestyle, decade, age, class and status, occupation, time and place, value, fad, fashion, and trend meanings. I agree with McCracken, because all of his meanings that are listed above make sense.
BOC: About Me
As an expert in the fashion business I have always torn apart peoples outfits since the age of five. While attending a specialized high school with classes focusing on business I decided to make the switch from wanting to become a designer to go in to the business side of fashion. When I get my degree in fashion retail management I want to be buyer and go in to styling as well. I love to shop and I pick the clothes that a store will sell will be a great career. Being in fashion does not feel like work to me at all when it is a passion of yours so-called work is not work to me any more. The feeling and confidence when you put on a certain outfit is the feeling that I want to give people when they stop in to my store or when I style them. Clothing is one of the first things we look at and the thing that we can mold in to own personal style. Clothing is the outward way to show people some of our personal believes. Being in the fashion world is fast paste and ever changing and is one of the reasons why I love it the most. It is easy to changes things up and to make them your own. I love finding stores and pieces that no one else has or would think to buy. I am excited to work with different people with different styles from mine to expand my view on the fashion world. Working together as a collaborative effort to put things together others might have not thought of doing but still work.
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