Growth and the Brand - How the Product Is Shaping Up In the Present Day Scenario - Essay Example

Growth and the Brand - How the Product Is Shaping Up In the Present Day Scenario Table of Contents Introduction 1 Report Plan 1 The Method 2 Analysis 4 References 8 Bibliography 10 Introduction Report Plan The Microsoft Journal once noted, “The job of a marketer is to create a “want” and then turn that into a “need”. The rationale behind the study need with respect to brand is that human beings from the very early times required certain things that they cannot live without like food, shelter or home, cloths, etc. These necessities can be termed as needs for a human being to live a normal life. From the inception of the strategy of marketing is associated with a brand to promote a product. They have transformed the desire into a demand in the human mind. In the earlier times, humans were satisfied with whatever they came across to live with. But through the time, with the advent of marketing the desire for getting an extra thing beyond their daily needs have changed the thought process of humans. The marketers have developed the thought process of the human beings as they have turned them into consumers. They have made the items like jewellery, entertainment items, games etc which were a part of ‘want’ has turned them into ‘need’ for present customers. The purchase decision by a consumer is generally based on the ‘want’ factor, but through the influence of marketers the wants have turned onto needs as most of the purchases are made now a days based on the need factor. This report looks at some brands which have been through a long past history and have utilised the need and want factor and have changed the consumer mind set and have placed their products as a things to desire for or need of the product. The research report has scope of looking into certain factors like the historical perspective of the items, how the product is shaping up in the present day scenario, who are the target market of the product and how the market has grown over the years, the marketing strategy that the product has used and is using to keep up with fluctuating consumers needs and demands, and how the item is shaping up for the future and whether it can stay at the upper market position or not. The Method Marketers have the task of creating a desire for a certain product. They create the desire in the minds of the consumers by the use of media. The marketers use media tools like advertisements, brand promotion, etc to create the desire. So, in the minds of the customers they place the product at the need position. The customers become so used to with the product that they place the product at a similar ground as their daily need items like food, shelter, etc. The method used by the marketers to make their products a ‘need’ for the customers are like targeting a certain personality or type of customer who would prefer their product and would become emotionally attached with it. Also, marketer provide certain offers to the consumers from time to time like discounts, etc for encouraging them to buy the product thus making the product a thing of need for the customers. Product promotion and low pricing of the product are all strategies used by the marketers. Also, marketers try to highlight the best that their product is to offer against the products of the competitors (Hannah, 2001). Secondary research is the process by which a collection of data are read and interpreted from information published at a secondary data source like journal, magazines, and online sources (Heaton, 2000). In the report the analysis of a brands growth and becoming a global success is interpreted by using secondary qualitative research method. In this method, the secondary data from already existing sources are interpreted and analysed. Denim is taken as the research object. The findings are analysed with detailed description (Bishop & Corti, 2006). The research is completed by gathering information various sources like words, objects, pictures. A research is conducted to see how the product was placed in earlier times and how it has positioned itself into the need of a consumer. Denim as brand has emerged as a global success. It has survived the test of time and has placed itself in minds of consumers as a need product. The research will analyse how Denim have been able to evolve through the different ages and consumer choice era but still has been able to keep them as a consumer favourite brand (Neil, 2007). Analysis Denim The name denim has been derived from French phrase ‘Serge de Nimes’. Denim is considered to be a hard wearing fabric sturdy in nature. It is generally suitable with heavy labouring. Levi Strauss is the inventor of Denim Jeans. Denim was once considered an American work wear but through the ages it has evolved to becoming a fashion statement. In the past couple of decades, Denim with its array of products like variety of Jeans products, shirts, jackets, skirts, hats, dresses have become a must have item in many fashion event catwalks. The brand has been considered a fashion icon for around 50 years. In this duration people, society, the fashion sense of consumers has gone through a sea of change. The fabric used in denim is more comfortable to the consumer. The fabrics used become all the more comfortable after washing. The faded flourish on the indigo blue colouring gave it a unique look. The jeans are famous for its particular cut styling. Denim is considered a cotton fabric of different class. The fabric is considered as one of world’s best and oldest but it has kept itself forever young. In earlier times Denim was considered as a work cloth. It had both durability and comfort. It was completely considered a work wear fabric. Denim is considered as serviceable and also strong in nature. They are mainly strong in wrap direction. In the beginning, when Levi Strauss came to San Francisco he noticed that the mine workers had a requirement for sturdy, strong pants. In the 1940s, when the Second World War occurred Denim was a part of it. The American G.Is used the denim pants for wearing during the war time. The production of denim items went down during the war due to shortage of raw material. The raw materials were needed for the war effort. After the end of the war, a huge change took place in society. It brought about a change in an era, starting of another. Denim pants changed from being considered a complete work wear to being associated with activities like leisure and relaxation. The denim products were being sold nationally in the 1950s. Also Zippers came in to fashion in pants in 1950s. This was done because of complaints from non western people who did not like their button fly system. The attitude towards denim that it belongs to only physical, hard and laborious work changed (Downey, 2007). The use of the product by famous people like singer Bing Crosby contributed to the changing mindset. The consumer segment of the product also changed after the Second World War. As the Denim introduced a variety of products and also became a part of not only adults but also young teenagers. The World War also contributed to the product being recognised world wide. People from Japan, Germany, United Kingdom all came across the denim product and also loved the product. Later on the product went through other changes that made it friendlier to the consumers. Like personalisation of Jeans was a huge hit in the United States. Designer jeans and other denim products later ruled consumers’ thoughts as the products became a craze world wide (Patrixk Taylor, n.d.). The jeans gained iconic status in 1950s under the influence of film stars who portrayed the product. Stars like Elvis Presley, Marlon Brando sported them. Denim evolved their product to create Denim mini skirt. They have used Lycra in their jeans in 1990s to make it more comfortable and fit. In the past decade, status driven buying of a pair of jeans has gained momentum. Therefore, denim jeans competitions has increased but the quality provided by denim and with value addition in deep dyeing, pre washing technique used for avoiding colour loss has made denim a must have brand. Denim has used sulphur dyeing technique to make colour products. The jeans have evolved according to the needs of the customers and have kept their position in the market for its superior quality (Thomas, 2010). Conclusion The creation of want and converting them into need is a very important marketing strategy. The marketers play a very crucial role in developing the need factor of a product among the customers. The customers since long have chosen products like Denim. They always demanded a product which gives them a value addition. The consumers demand has been fluctuating from the ages. But one similarity in all the products discussed above is the quality of the product. Generally, for creating a need among the consumers and also for placing the brand at the zenith of consumer need quotient of a product has to be of a superior quality. The brand like Denim has always had an extra value addition factor in their products. They have always evolved their product according to the variation in consumers demand and also according to their target market segment. They have though never compromised on the quality of their products. Thus, they have been able to maintain their position in a competitive industry. The brand creation factors also revolve around the marketing strategy of a product. The product becomes a brand identity with the help of marketers’ promotion and value creation strategies. The brand also gains high end recognition among the consumers if the brand becomes a luxury item. The marketers also look to add glamour and glitz to their product by adding the names of celebrities to their brand. This indulges a lot of consumers to feel the need of buying that product. Thus, a brand becomes cult figure and icon recognition like Denim Jeans. Marketer also looks to cater to a concentrated target market for their products. They look to cater a range of product so that they don’t loose out their competitors. Thus, through marketing strategy a brand becomes a need for consumer segment. References Bishop, L. & Corti, L., 2006. Secondary analysis of qualitative data: using Atlas.ti explore archived sources. IASSIST. [Online] Available at: http://www.iassistdata.org/downloads/W7_CortiBishop.pdf [Accessed June 2, 2010]. Downey, L., 2007. A Short History of Denim. Levi Strauss. [Online] Available at: http://www.levistrauss.co.za/Downloads/History-Denim.pdf [Accessed June 2, 2010]. Heaton, J., 2000. Secondary analysis of qualitative data: a literature review. The University of York. [Online] Available at: http://php.york.ac.uk/inst/spru/research/summs/secondary.php [Accessed June 2, 2010]. Hannah, K., 2001. Turn Your Customer's Want into a Need. MarcommWise Marketing Articles & Advice. [Online] Available at: http://www.marcommwise.com/article.phtml?id=275 [Accessed June 2, 2010]. Neil, J., 2007. 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