April Fools Day Advertisements

Are these April Fools Day Ads working in the brands' favor?

With April Fools Day right around the corner, everyone is planning pranks for their friends and family. Now some companies are even getting in the spirit! P&G's Scope mouthwash brand is releasing a "new" mouthwash flavors...bacon - "For breath that sizzles." It is clearly an April Fools joke and everyone knows it. There has been much talk about Scope's bacon flavored mouthwash and whenever the press asks Scope about it, they refuse to comment until April 1st at 8PM.

Another brand doing an April Fools campaign is American Eagle. Their commercial is saying they are offering "Skinny Skinny" jeans for a limited time only. These jeans are supposedly the most comfortable piece of clothing and feels like you aren't even wearing anything. The commercial is very silly just like the bacon mouthwash commercial.

I think these silly commercials are somewhat helping their sales. Though it may not make people go out and buy their real products, the thought of the brand will lurk in the back of consumers' minds and they will recall a funny commercial when they see the store in the mall or the brand on the shelf. I also think it agrees well with people that have a sense of humor, or else they'd hate the commercials and think the brand is weird. I think mostly younger generations will see these commercials as humorous.

What is your opinion on these April Fools Day products? Are they helping the brands? Why or why not?

Response to Ashley Borjeson

Consumer Purchasing Decisions

What are the biggest influences on consumer buying decisions in your opinion?

I definitely agree with Ashley that cultural reasons are the biggest influences to make a purchase. If it the the trendy thing to have right now, like iPhones and other smartphones, chances are you'll really want one too. 

I think another strong influence on purchasing decisions is the consumers current emotion. I know a lot of women that like to go shopping when they're feeling down because buying things makes them happy so they are more likely to buy something if they are sad or in a bad mood in order to cheer themselves up. However I also know a lot of women that like to go shopping when they are in a good mood and go a little over board because they're so happy and have no worries. So basically no matter what kind of mood the target market is in, chances are good that someone will be buying something. I am not either of these kinds of shoppers, I am a poor college student so really my shopping patterns depend on the amount of money I have and what expenses I need to pay. This is another influence on purchasing decisions. 

People often want to buy things buy aren't able to afford them. However, if it is something that they really want but can't afford at the moment, many people will safe up to make the purchase at a later date. So maybe a company isn't making as many sales right now, but maybe once tax returns are received there will be a spike in sales.

What do you think are the strongest influences on consumers to NOT buy something?

Ashley's post can be found here.

Brand Recognition

Brand Recognition

Brand recognition is when the general public or targeted market can easy recognize a brand by something other than the name, such as logos, slogans, and colors. There are so many top brands that people can easily spot just by their logos, even when the name isn't in the logo. There are even games you can play on smartphones that the sole purpose of the game is the name the brand or company of that logo. When the actual logo is the word, typically all the letters are missing except one... but it's still very easy to tell what brand it is. See the image below if you aren't familiar with such games.

People are much more aware of brands and logos and slogans because of how much advertising we are exposed to. Jay Walker-Smith, the president of the marketing firm, Yankelovich, states that the average person in the 1970s would be exposed to about 500 ads per day whereas the average person in 2009 was exposed to about 5,000 ads per day. Imagine how much it must have increased over the last few years... It's no wonder that people play these kinds of smartphone games with ease!

Take a look at the image to the left. Chances are pretty good that you know what company that is, and it's not even it's logo exactly. If for some reason you didn't catch it, it's Google. Each individual "letter" is a logo for their different features. For example, Google Docs and Gmail are the first two "letters." Each logo is also the same color as the letter in Google's logo.



What is you opinion on brand recognition and how many advertisements we are exposed to? Are there other factors that may contribute to brand recognition?


Don't have a smartphone but want to play a logo game? Try Sporcle's corporate logo game, don't worry there's more than one.

Response to Sarah Allen

What level do you think relates most to your consumer involvement?

The four levels of consumer involvement are: 1) previous experience, 2) interest, 3) perceived risk of negative consequences, and 4) social visibility. Of the four involvements I think that my consumer involvement is mostly based on previous experience. If I am shopping for something specific and I know that I like the product/brand and am satisfied by it, I will most likely buy it without much hesitation. I am not a huge shopper and generally only buy what I need so I know what I like, what works for me, and my preferences. There is no need to really research things for this or weigh my decisions. I almost always base my purchase decisions on previous experiences with certain products and brands.

Do you think that it is bad to make your purchasing decisions based on previous experiences? When would this be a good thing?

Sarah's post can be found here.

Herbal Essences

Bringing Back Old Scents & Packaging

Some of you may use Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner. I am a big fan of the "Hello Hydration" (blue bottles); it smells great and leaves my hair amazingly soft. As you can see in the picture, the blue, hot pink/red, and purple bottles are very vibrant and appealing to the younger generation.What you may not notice in the picture are the light pink and yellow bottles on the top shelf... These are the older scents and packaging before Herbal Essences released the brighter bottles targeted towards younger women. 

When I was in about middle school my mother used to use Herbal Essence (the ones of the top shelf of the picture) and I had always associated Herbal Essence with "old people". When the brand began making new, "hipper" shampoos and conditioners I wasn't completely convinced of their "coolness" but have gradually began to use and enjoy their products.

Today I was at CVS buying shampoo and noticed that Herbal Essences is bringing back some old scents. I think that they decided to do this because they probably lost a good share of their regular consumers when discontinuing some of the shampoos and conditioners. I think it's a great idea to bring back the previously brand loyal customers and also keep the new market as well; it allows them to market towards a wider range of people.

What do you think of Herbal Essences bringing back old products? How will this effect the brand?