I am not a shopper. I really dislike trying on clothes and tend to get quickly impatient when walking around a mall going from store to store…….however, I do love the occasional warm, whimsical feeling I get when walking into a store that has character, some kind of certain aesthetic that makes shopping seem more like an adventure than a task to find this and that. It’s amazing how much little details about a store’s layout, music, decorations, etc. can make me excited to shop….make me want to experience the life of a certain persona.
Take J. Crew for example, there’s just a good vibe or something, right? It’s welcoming, calm, peaceful, classy. I could go on about the J. Crew men’s store in New York for hours. The wood walls, woodsy scent in the air, hardware items alongside men’s work shirts, Fleet Foxes playing in the background. It has this whole persona, so to speak, of the classic working man who knows how to dress impeccably and get the closest shave while still liking the outdoors. Being in the store alone makes me want to meet that guy, or become the girl for that guy….it’s like being in a movie or walking amongst a stage set.
Two summers ago I had the wonderful opportunity of working in the public relations department of Ralph Lauren in New York. And I will tell you that even in the offices of corporate Ralph Lauren the experience is of highest importance. You know what I’m talking about: the polo riding, cigar smoking, bourbon-drinking gentleman who would never be seen in athletic shorts and dirty t-shirt. Mr. Lauren is pretty much the founding genius of this retail aesthetic idea: the whole concept of shopping as an experience rather than a simple purchase. His corporate offices are exactly like the retail stores: mahogany walls, oil paintings, black and white portraits of himself, plush couches and coffee table books. He knows that in order for his designers and marketers to maintain the Ralph Lauren persona, they need to be surrounded by it while working. In corporate meetings Mr. Lauren constantly emphasizes the importance of creating a customer experience. Working retail at Ralph Lauren is no joke. You have to greet customers a certain way, conduct yourself in a certain way. The music playing is something soft and classic. The stores are actually designed to feel like your home, your own closet.
Following in Ralph Lauren’s footsteps, his son David Lauren started the store Rugby. Rugby is marketed towards college students; the feel is definitely preppy, sophisticated, and yet hip. The music is indie/preppy (Vampire Weekend), the walls are adorned with old sport team photos, college paraphernalia etc. He also carries Tom’s shoes and FEED bags geared towards the generation’s desire to help globally. Walking into this store almost feels like a college party. The kids who work retail are hip New York students, the music is loud, the clothes are scattered everywhere, people are bustling all over the place. Part of my job as an intern was to give feedback on how to help the customer experience at Rugby. David constantly wants to ensure that when kids walk into the Rugby store that they feel as if they become part of a cool scene that makes them want to buy clothes in order to live out what they feel in the store.
Creating this customer experience in a retail store really is a science. It is marketing in a physical form. There are entire studies devoted to creating this sensory experience in stores. This form of customer experience includes multiple aspects of Bernd Schmitt’s Strategic Experimential Modules. It is definitely something that appeals to the senses, and it also causes you to feel a certain way, it can even remind you of meaningful memories. Being in a store like Ralph Lauren makes you want to act as well…it inspires you to become someone else or to practice certain hobbies. And maybe most important to Mr. Lauren himself is the ability to make people relate…to connect people to a certain idea and culture….to build community… and to constantly inspire people to dream.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Kathryn, Texan but New Yorker at Heart
How would I describe myself? Deciding on my persona and what aspects of my life are interesting or unique requires a little bit of inner searching. So let’s just start with the basics, my demographics….
I’m a 21 year old girl, Caucasian, from Houston Texas. I don’t really have an income of my own yet because my parents are supporting me through college and I’m hoping they won’t leave me to be completely self-sufficient the second I graduate….
Onto behavioral, I’m a senior marketing major in the business school but I often question why I chose this path. I mean I know it’s a great degree but I am actually really interested in careers pertaining to film acting and the fashion industry. However I wanted to graduate with a stable degree that would ensure a job allowing me to pursue other hobbies on the side. And I guess the reason I chose marketing within the business school is because it’s the most creative and definitely relative to the magazine world as well as many jobs in the fashion industry.
When it comes to school I care about my grades etc. but I don’t usually put in more than what is required. At this point in my life, as a senior, I am ready for the next chapter of my life of having a career etc. (although I know I’ll be missing student life once I’m out).
I am from Texas, and I love home as well as Austin, but I am dying to move to New York City where I’ve lived the past two summers while interning. I feel that New York is the best place to pursue a job within fashion and acting….and I just absolutely love the energy (yikes…I said energy) and the feeling of endless opportunity awaiting around every street corner. Cheesy I know, but I just loveee it. I would also really like to move to Spain for a year after school so that I can become fluent in Spanish (the language I took in high school and a bit in college) as well as so that I can travel before I settle down in a job.
I want to have a job that I love, I want to be able to support myself and not have to rely on anyone else. I can’t sit at a desk all day, I want to be running around meeting with people. I want to have a job that I feel like is having a positive impact on others, and that is “in the know” of what’s going on in the world. I love traveling and it would be wonderful if my job entailed it.
More interests/personality…..Along with traveling, I am really interested in other cultures and want to learn about them and experience them as much as possible. I really enjoy reading and am currently in a Dostoevsky course at UT which might be my favorite course to date. As far as fashion goes, I don’t want to sound like a ditzy girl who “loves fashion and clothes,” but more so that I really do believe in the industry and its artistic nature as well as the incredible impact it has on people of any background.
I am a people person and enjoy hanging out with my friends and am always up for exploring a new restaurant or new indie film. I really enjoy wearing fashionable clothing but do NOT like to shop. I am on a student budget so I love finding great buys as well as activities around Austin that do not require spending.
Well, I feel as though I have rambled sufficiently about myself. But you know what they say, that people love talking about themselves more than anything else.
I think that a marketer could look at rambling like this and definitely develop a persona. From this information one could come up with specific questions to ask that align with the research goal.
I’m a 21 year old girl, Caucasian, from Houston Texas. I don’t really have an income of my own yet because my parents are supporting me through college and I’m hoping they won’t leave me to be completely self-sufficient the second I graduate….
Onto behavioral, I’m a senior marketing major in the business school but I often question why I chose this path. I mean I know it’s a great degree but I am actually really interested in careers pertaining to film acting and the fashion industry. However I wanted to graduate with a stable degree that would ensure a job allowing me to pursue other hobbies on the side. And I guess the reason I chose marketing within the business school is because it’s the most creative and definitely relative to the magazine world as well as many jobs in the fashion industry.
When it comes to school I care about my grades etc. but I don’t usually put in more than what is required. At this point in my life, as a senior, I am ready for the next chapter of my life of having a career etc. (although I know I’ll be missing student life once I’m out).
I am from Texas, and I love home as well as Austin, but I am dying to move to New York City where I’ve lived the past two summers while interning. I feel that New York is the best place to pursue a job within fashion and acting….and I just absolutely love the energy (yikes…I said energy) and the feeling of endless opportunity awaiting around every street corner. Cheesy I know, but I just loveee it. I would also really like to move to Spain for a year after school so that I can become fluent in Spanish (the language I took in high school and a bit in college) as well as so that I can travel before I settle down in a job.
I want to have a job that I love, I want to be able to support myself and not have to rely on anyone else. I can’t sit at a desk all day, I want to be running around meeting with people. I want to have a job that I feel like is having a positive impact on others, and that is “in the know” of what’s going on in the world. I love traveling and it would be wonderful if my job entailed it.
More interests/personality…..Along with traveling, I am really interested in other cultures and want to learn about them and experience them as much as possible. I really enjoy reading and am currently in a Dostoevsky course at UT which might be my favorite course to date. As far as fashion goes, I don’t want to sound like a ditzy girl who “loves fashion and clothes,” but more so that I really do believe in the industry and its artistic nature as well as the incredible impact it has on people of any background.
I am a people person and enjoy hanging out with my friends and am always up for exploring a new restaurant or new indie film. I really enjoy wearing fashionable clothing but do NOT like to shop. I am on a student budget so I love finding great buys as well as activities around Austin that do not require spending.
Well, I feel as though I have rambled sufficiently about myself. But you know what they say, that people love talking about themselves more than anything else.
I think that a marketer could look at rambling like this and definitely develop a persona. From this information one could come up with specific questions to ask that align with the research goal.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Design Philosophy
This first blog post got me thinking about the way design truly impacts all aspects of our life. As consumers we look for the most efficient as well as the most aesthetically pleasing options. Being consumers ourselves gives us the advantage as business students of knowing how consumers operate and what they are looking for in products. Our challenge is to create the unknown and to think outside of the constraining box of the norm. Designers must constantly be thinking ahead whether it is in marketing, products, interiors, or fashion.
I really enjoyed reading and learning about the designers that Jeff Mulhausen discussed. Specifically, I was interested in Charles and Ray Eames because I had seen their work at the Museum of Modern Art over the summer while I lived in New York City. In order to better understand their design philosophy, I researched them further and was very intrigued by their “banana leaf parable” explaining how a banana leaf is the most basic eating dish in India and how this demonstrates man’s ability to transform an unsophisticated object into a functioning entity. I love this mantra and believe it to be incredibly relevant to our role as marketing majors to see products in a new light and creatively present our useful discoveries to consumers.
The past two summers I have constantly been surrounded by design philosophy while interning at Teen Vogue and assisting in the launch of Lonny, an online interior decorating magazine. Design philosophy is utilized not only in the marketing of the magazines themselves, but also in the layouts and presentations of the clothing and furniture within the magazines. In the magazine industry is it imperative to know your target market so that you are constantly creating and innovating to please your consumers and to maintain their interest.
Recognizing the market for a new interior decorating magazine after Domino folded, as well as noting the future in online magazines, Michelle Adams, a former Domino editor, created Lonny as a consumer-friendly online publication. Like the music industry, the magazine and print world in general is drastically changing. Sadly, less and less people are moving away from print and exclusively to reading online publications. Many magazines are going under and therefore the market for online magazines, newspapers, etc. is greatly increasing. Since Michelle launched Lonny, she has gained a ton of support from many well-known and respected interior decorators as well as former Domino editors. She is an incredible person and a great role model who recognized an opportunity and pursued it with enthusiasm and motivation.
I really enjoyed reading and learning about the designers that Jeff Mulhausen discussed. Specifically, I was interested in Charles and Ray Eames because I had seen their work at the Museum of Modern Art over the summer while I lived in New York City. In order to better understand their design philosophy, I researched them further and was very intrigued by their “banana leaf parable” explaining how a banana leaf is the most basic eating dish in India and how this demonstrates man’s ability to transform an unsophisticated object into a functioning entity. I love this mantra and believe it to be incredibly relevant to our role as marketing majors to see products in a new light and creatively present our useful discoveries to consumers.
The past two summers I have constantly been surrounded by design philosophy while interning at Teen Vogue and assisting in the launch of Lonny, an online interior decorating magazine. Design philosophy is utilized not only in the marketing of the magazines themselves, but also in the layouts and presentations of the clothing and furniture within the magazines. In the magazine industry is it imperative to know your target market so that you are constantly creating and innovating to please your consumers and to maintain their interest.
Recognizing the market for a new interior decorating magazine after Domino folded, as well as noting the future in online magazines, Michelle Adams, a former Domino editor, created Lonny as a consumer-friendly online publication. Like the music industry, the magazine and print world in general is drastically changing. Sadly, less and less people are moving away from print and exclusively to reading online publications. Many magazines are going under and therefore the market for online magazines, newspapers, etc. is greatly increasing. Since Michelle launched Lonny, she has gained a ton of support from many well-known and respected interior decorators as well as former Domino editors. She is an incredible person and a great role model who recognized an opportunity and pursued it with enthusiasm and motivation.
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