CB Reflection

      When I first came to this class I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I thought it would just be a boring class that I would have to endure just because it was a requirement.  I was completely wrong though.   

     One of the biggest things that I have learned is that marketers not only use the obvious information about their target market, like where they live, their income, or age, but they also use how those people define themselves through expression and possessions, and also through their lifestyles.  With all of this information, they can create more personalized ads that relate more to the consumers.  I never really thought about why I had liked a particular ad when it was on TV, but now I realize that those marketers that created the ads formatted it in a way that I would like it and think about it.  

     Another part of consumer behavior that I had never really thought about until after this class was how we use objects to represent us.  Even though it may not seem like we do, we buy products that we feel describe who we are and we them display them to the world.  These objects shape the way we buy things for our whole lives. 

     Although I am a marketing major, I really did not know all of the aspects that went into being  a successful marketer.  Seeing some of the processes that we went through in class to see different ways people think and buy things I know I will use later on in my career.  The Nielson Claritas model is one that I have already used for my Advertising project so I could see the demographic of people in a particular zip code.  The VALS system is another tool I can use later on because since it places people into categories based on many different aspects of peoples lives, I can target to specific groups.     

     Overall, I really enjoyed this class because I have found so many tools and ideas that I can bring with me in the future.  Now knowing the way marketers project their ideas to their consumers makes everything a lot more clear to me.    

Reference Group Ad

     There are a lot of ads out in the market today and they all try to reference a particular group in order to appeal to those certain people.  This Hyundai ad focuses on the associative as well as the aspirational reference groups.

      The associative reference group is one that people want to associate with or which they want to belong.  In this ad, there is many people of different "average Joe" jobs such as a group of guys playing basketball, police officers, and what appears to be factory workers on their break.  These people are examples of the average person that this ad says the average person can have this luxury car.  The slogan in the ad is "What if we made luxury available to everyone.  Would it still be called luxury? Or maybe we have made a new word for it.  Oh, here's one, Hyundai."  This is talking about how making this car available to everyone makes everyone happy, in every class. 

     This ad is also referencing the aspirational reference group because it is assumed that all of the "average Joes" want to live luxury.  Because of that statement, advertising this car towards those people who want the luxurious life that others may have is not that hard to obtain.  The average person can have a jump start on their very own luxurious life if they buy this car because it is affordable yet still has all of the accommodations that a very expensive car would have.  

     

     

VALS test results

     I took the VALS exam online to find out which categories I would be associated with.  After the test I found out that my primary category is an experiencer and the second category is an innovator.

     My primary category being an experiencer does not surprise me since my professor had let the class know that we would all most likely be one.  An experiencer is a young adult, roughly around 25 years old, that are full of energy and into social activities.  Spending a lot of money on clothes, fast food, and music is also very common.  This fits me perfectly because even though I am younger then the average age, I am a high energy, big spender.  I love to go shopping and to spend the money that I make because it makes me happy.

      I would say that being an experiencer would fit into my present life goals but not my future life goals because I am only young once.  It is okay to want to spend money carelessly when I am younger at an age when I don't really have any major financial responsibilities but in the future when I have to worry about paying off loans, paying rent, buying groceries, etc. I will not be able to spend my money as freely as I do now.  I am going to need to save my money to focus on the more important things in life rather than buying things that make me happy for a short time. 


        The secondary category that VALS placed me is was being an innovator, which means that I am big on change.  Innovators like to have the "finer things in life" that show my independence and taste.  Also it says that I like to parade things about me because it shows their high self esteem and also a high income.  Although I was put into this category with the VALS test, I would not associate myself with it.  There are some things in my life that I would say that I like the "finer things in life" but it really is not a necessity with the way I function.  I do not have to show everyone my lifestyle or the way I spend my time.  I am actually not a huge fan of change, I sort of like things the way that they are because it makes me feel comfortable.  

     For the future, looking at my life goals, I think my opinion about being an innovator might change.  With my lifestyle now, wanting the "finer things in life" is not at the top of my priorities but when I am older and more established financially, I could want to show all of my hard work through possessions.  Hopefully I will be in the mid-high class with my income so I can have the luxury of obtaining such high quality items.  But I will not know how I will see things later on in life, I guess I will just have to wait and see.  

     So although the first category of being an experiencer was spot on, also placing me in the innovator category was completely off.  But who knows, maybe later on in the future my view about being an innovator will change and associating myself as an experiencer would be far from the truth.       

My very own Prizm Cluster

     So I went on this website to try and figure out what Prizm Cluster I would be apart of from my home town in Newtown Connecticut.  I thought there would just easily be one explanation, but there were five.  But which one do I fit in with?

     The very first group is called "big fish small pond" which is comprised of a bunch of college-educated people around the ages of 45-64 with no kids.  They also continue to say that they live in an upscale area and the ethnicity is white.  But the thing that jumped out at me most was the phrase that said "these upscale, empty-nesting couples enjoy the trappings of success, including belonging to country clubs, maintaining large investment portfolios, and spending freely on computer technology."  To me these people sound like snobs, I am really not apart of this group. 

     The second group is called "country squires."  What are they back in medieval times?  So this group has "the wealthiest residents in exurban America" ranges from the ages of 35-54.  Like the first group, this group is generally white and upscale.  I think we are starting to get closer to where I think I belong in this Prizm.

     This group, "God's country" is extremely similar to the "country squires".  Both of these groups have the same age range, race, background and lifestyle, but in particular this group has no children.  "Country squires" did not mention anything about children on their site but this is one thing that makes the two stand out from each other.  Still have to keep looking I guess.

      In the fourth group, "greenbelt sports" fits almost perfectly with my parents.  This group is full of very active adults under the age of 55 that are upper to middle class.  The one thing that is making my parents not fit into this group is the fact that they do not have children.  They live their active lifestyles alone or together.

     The last and final group is called "traditional times".  In this group, there are  older white couples looking to retire in a nice upper to middle class small town.

     Did they just skip over my whole group in my own town?  Most of these groups had the adults with no children and I am pretty sure there are a lot of children in my town.  Although I do know that this is the average, I wish they could have included every group that is  involved with my town rather than just the ones that look the best on paper.  I need to find my group to break this mold. 

     As I looked up what Prism I am most associated with, I found that my group is called "boomtown singles".  This group is full of singles that have some college, like me since I am only a junior, with lower to middle income and rent.  The best part that I think describes me is "single, and working-class, these residents pursue active lifestyles amid sprawling apartment complexes, bars, convenience stores, and laundromats".  This is very true of me right now because I am not married, I am a college student that loves to frequent bars, everyone needs their laundry done, and I have my own apartment that I rent off campus.  

     So even though I may not fit in with the traditional aspects of my home town, I am proud to be a "boomtown single.

Possessions

      There are many things in my life that I can say I can closely identify with.  In other words, these items are 100% me.  They fit my identity, my lifestyle and my sense of self.  Out of all of these possessions that I can identify with, I think the most, and actually most obscure, is my "craft cabinet."

      My cabinet is filled with everything that I love to do, draw, paint, sculpt, scrapbook, anything.  I am known by my friends as the artist because I love to make anything personalized and colorful.  Not only are all of the contents, like the markers, paint and paper full of color, but the outside is as well.  I have covered the outside of the cabinet with things that I love.  I did not like the gray exterior so I thought I would make it more of my own.  Clippings of my favorite pictures, stickers, drawings and paint cover the outside showing everything that is important to me.  I associate everything with pictures, so why not show it all on something that holds what I love?  

       Another part of my life that everyone close to me knows about is the fact that I am a neat freak.  This may be annoying to some, but to me it just the way I live my life and it is clearly shown with my cabinet.  Everything has it's place.  If someone needs to go in my cabinet to borrow something, it has to be put back into the same place or I will get angry.  If people don't take as good of care of my things as I do, I feel as if they don't appreciate me.  

       Even though I cannot take my little cabinet everywhere, I wish I could.  Just walking into my room, you can instantly see who I am based on that one piece of furniture.  If more people were able to see this piece of me, more people would understand me and get to know me. 

       This is one possession that I think fully describes my personality, my way of life, and what I love.  Without it I don't know what I would really have to express myself as much as I do on this piece of furniture.    

Framing

     This year as a Junior I have an off campus apartment and because of it I had to get all new furniture.  But the top thing on my list that I needed to get was a new mattress.

    My Mom and I went shopping for a new much needed mattress at Sleepy's.  There was a flier for a discounted brand so my Mom thought it would be perfect to check it out.  When we walked into the store, we were the only ones in there...and it seemed like the only ones who have EVER been there.  We were approached by a very nice salesman who was eager to show us the great deals that he had in store. 

     He first started by taking me to a new machine that Sleepy's had developed in order to find the perfect mattress for the way you sleep and your body type.  He stood by me as I laid on a bed hooked up with cords and gadgets asking me questions about the ways I slept.  With this whole test I was confident that our salesman would find the perfect mattress in the price range that I want.

    While we were walking around the showroom looking for mattresses, I fell in love with one that was $100 out of my price range.  The one that happened to be in my price range was much too stiff for my liking, but there was nothing I could do, Mom was footing the bill so I had to go with what she wanted to pay.  After it was decided that I would unfortunately get the mattress that I wasn't in love with but was willing to live with was picked out, we walked over to the desk of the salesman to work out the paperwork.

     As we sat down to talk, the salesman looked at me saying that he personally felt bad that I wasn't getting the mattress that I felt good with.  He immediately started typing on his computer and his calculator.  About two minutes later he looked up and said, Ms. Stacy, I have an offer to make you. Would you be willing to spend $75 more and I would get the mattress that I truly wanted and he would throw in a mattress pad for free.  My Mom JUMPED on the deal.  She said OF COURSE we would take the deal, that way I would get the mattress that originally wanted, we would be paying less for it and we would be getting a free mattress pad.

     A week after we had purchased the new mattress I saw an ad in the local newspaper for Sleepy's.  They were advertising a new deal that for the next month [ including the time in which I had purchased my mattress ] that if you spend at least $150 on a new mattress, you would be given a free mattress pad.  So the only real deal we got was a $25 discount on the more expensive mattress because of our loyalty to the company in buying 2 other mattresses from there in the past 5 years from there.  

     Even though we had thought we were getting the discount, we really weren't.  Just the thought of getting the free items and the discount made us want to get it even though we could have spent only $75 on a mattress and left the store, we ended up spending more just to get a free item and a slightly better mattress.

     As William Shatner says on his Priceline commercials "you can't argue with a good deal."

Joining in & Staying out

  Together We Fight
       There are many groups that I am associated with from softball, students, Connecticut residents, and being a woman.  But most importantly I am a member of a group of women that are brought together by an unpleasant situation.  Breast Cancer.  

Me and my Grandma B

      I have had two of my family members directly impacted with Breast Cancer.  My Grandma Broughton has now had Breast Cancer three times and finally this year she has had a double mastectomy.  She is one of the strongest women I know.  Besides my Grandmother, my Grandma's sister, also known as Grandma T had Breast Cancer.  Grandma T battled for a year but couldn't overcome the tumor and lost her battle in May of 2004.  

     Although I personally do not have this horrible cancer, I am brought together with other women that have lost loved ones or have had run ins with Breast cancer.  We are all a support system for each other, knowing what the other has been through and the pain that they have suffered.  Everyone has been impacted in some way by a sort of cancer.  So having a group of people that you can lean on is very comforting.  

     The universal symbol for Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer awareness is the pink ribbon.  This ribbon is a sign of strength for me.  Any woman who can go through all of that pain and trauma is a hero, this ribbon is just a simple way of pointing out the hero's that we know in our lives.  

  Save the tatas.  I Love You Grandma.  


Why Can't I go?


     Even though there are groups that I can say that I could be associated with, there are a few that I am not.  One of those groups being world travelers.  

http://www.smartlifetips.net/travel-light-smart-safe

     I have never really been out of the country.  Yes I have been to Canada, but I don't think that counts since I grew up in Michigan where going to Canada was a 20 minute drive over a bridge for a day trip.  But I am talking about going on a plane or a boat for hours to arrive in a destination that is nothing like where I have been before.  


     The passport which seems so unimportant like a pair of socks to some is like a golden ticket to all of the places that I have ever dreamed of going.  I have wanted a passport since I was 10.  That is my first step in getting on a plane.  Someday I hope both of my dreams can come true. 

     Today, and especially being a college student, I have noticed that just about everyone has gone abroad.  Now most of my friends and classmates are studying abroad in other countries, traveling to other countries on the weekend, and really getting to experience the world.  My boyfriend in fact, has been to more countries than he can count on his fingers and toes because he lived in France for two years. 

     I am so jealous.  I see ads everyday for resorts on beaches, cruises on the Mediterranean, and explorations throughout the jungles.  The word of mouth around campus talking about other countries has been making me want it and need it in my life.  I am missing out on something fantastic and life changing.  I'm crossing my fingers that it will soon happen for me soon, I'm only 20.  I have a long life of traveling and exploring to go in my future.  

"The Pretty Good Problem"

       There is something that I have bought that under the standards of Seth Godin would be considered "remarkable."  It is a very popular item that still today, even though it debuted in mid 2007.  Even though that sounds like a short amount of time, in today's world, if a product lasts for three years and still has a following, it's a remarkable product.  And that product that I had bought is called the ShamWOW!

http://adaringadventure.typepad.com

      I actually had not purchased the ShamWOW! myself, I had received it as a present for my 17th birthday.  Ever since the extremely catchy commercial had come out on TV, everyone had been talking about getting them.  I think that even still to this day I could quote most of the commercial... sad I know.  But it is true, the product was stuck into peoples minds as soon as it popped up.  

     The fact that a company could make a shammy and turn it into an internet, TV, and world wide sensation throughout many households is amazing. 

     According to Godin, if you can't sell a t-shirt with the item on it, then it isn't remarkable.  Well that is not the case when it comes to this product because there have been shirts, Halloween costumes, ties, hats, bags, etc.  Who doesn't love ShamWOW! ties?

     In reality, I do not even know if the ShamWOW! works that well.  I have never used it.  Even though I have had a ShamWOW! for over 3 years now, I am afraid to use it.  I don't want it to be ruined to tell you the truth.  I actually thought it would "lose its powers" if I used it on a mess, so why use it?  The fact that I had one was good enough.   


     "You will be saying WOW! every time"...again and again....year after year...the ShamWOW! will never die. 

I guess it is cool to like vampires.

     Recently in the past few years there has been an uproar about liking vampires.  I do not know what it is but there are countless television shows, movies, books, and even now toys of vampires that seem to be all of what everyone is talking about.

http://www.sodahead.com/living/
which-is-cooler-a-vampire-or-a-ghost/

     I was watching TV today and a commercial for a new movie came on.  The title of the movie was "Let Me In" which to me sounds creepy and almost like a horror movie.  But I was wrong.  It is about two kids becoming friends and as you can probably guess...one is a vampire.   

      Of course everyone knows about Dracula and even more recently, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which have had some devoted followers over the years.  But the vampire trend really started to burst when the ever famous Twilight books written by Stephenie Meyer hopped on the shelves in 2005.  Everyone [ or just about ] had read these books and raved about how much they were in love with Edward and Bella, the two main characters of the stories.  But as soon as the movies started to come out, there were fights over the vampires and how they were better then the werewolves.

     Really though, fighting over a fictional character who likes to suck blood from peoples necks?  I don't get the craze.  Most of the people obsessed with these vampires find they are romantic, mysterious, and "beautiful" to quote many eight year old girls, but many different people in Hollywood have also noticed the recent love of these blood sucking humans.  True Blood, The Vampire Slayers, Jennifer's Body, and many more have now jumped on the vampire band wagon.     

     Are vampires starting to run our lives?  Can we function as humans anymore without having nocturnal, clip on fang wearing, blood sucking in our lives?  If all we are seeing is vampires in television, movies, apparel, toys, and bedspreads we will not be able to get it out of our heads.  The love of vampires will haunt us all forever.    

    So it us uncertain whether or not vampires will forever live in our memory, but I do know that if a vampire, no matter how good looking or popular was coming my way.  I would hold my neck and run away.  I am personally praying that this fad does not last forever because I don't think I can handle this blood-sucking love anymore. 

     

Why do I keep trying?

     So I have a major problem when it comes to buying fish.  I don't know what it is about my luck in keeping fish alive, but I surely don't have what it takes. 

     Last year I was a sophomore with a car on campus so my roommate and I thought it would be easy and "fun" to get a fish or two since we couldn't our freshman year.  About $60 later, with the purchasing of a new tank, filter, colorful rocks that accented our room, glow in the dark foliage that we really didn't need, plastic rocks and oh yeah the fish...we left the store. Within the week all of the money was wasted because our two fish Emma and Elvis were floating.  With our four more attempts and a total of NINE more fish added to the Bristol Sewage System, we decided to give up.

     So I don't know what I thought would change in my Junior year.  The first day back to campus, my roommate and I decided to go out to Petco and try yet again.  We decided to get two Fancy Barbs for $2.59 that were bright red with black tails.  Being avid football fans, our Fancy Barbs were named after our favorite football players, Peyton and Eli.  I was so excited about my fish.  They seemed active and curious, so why would I think anything would go wrong?

    I spoke too soon.   

    Three days after we had made the purchase of Peyton and Eli, they were gone.  Just like the many fishies before them, they too have not lasted long in the tank of death.

    It does not matter how much money or how long it takes but I am determined to keep at least one fish alive for more then a month.  With the recent passing of Peyton and Eli, I have realized that I need to simplify the fish in order to master it's survival.  

     I have down graded...yes I have already made another purchase.  Goldfish.  27Cent goldfish that are sworn to have lifespans up to twenty or more years.  Paying a lot of money for fish that for me only last a few days is a waste of money.  I now have come to my senses with the amount of money that I want to spend on fish. 

     And thinking about it now, I can buy almost ten goldfish for the price of one Fancy Barb.  So if I keep failing to keep these fish alive, I am not completely breaking the bank.  Lets just hope it doesn't have to go that far...