The Attention to Body Image - Essay Example

of Self I pay a lot of attention to my body image and I have a very low self-esteem about my physical appearance. I used to be a very fatgirl during my high school, and my classmates and friends always made fun of it. They even nicknamed me as “piggy”. Even though I know they don’t mean any bad, I still feel uncomfortable about it. I even feel kind of ashamed about my body image. I used to wear sports clothes all the time during that period. I could not go shopping with my mom or friends and I never used to wear dresses. I didn’t have the courage to even face the mirror. It took me two years to lose weight and become the “skinny girl”, which is popular in Asian. I feel more confident since when I lost weight; it makes me feel closer to my ideal self who named Wei Zhao, a very famous actress and singer in China. She is one of the most beautiful and brilliant women I know in the world, and she is the person that I really want to be. Therefore, I always buy the products that she has represented for or the brand that she created. I believe that I will feel more close to her and look like her if I use the same products she uses. In addition, as I play different social roles with different people or different locations, I buy or wear different products. There are 5 major roles I am playing in my life: a daughter, a wife, a mom-to-be, a student and a friend. For example, as a student, I wear the normal simple clothes with flat shoes; always have a backpack full filled with textbooks, notebooks and computer. As a wife, I always go shopping in grocery store, Wal-Mart or places like Costco, and as a mom-to-be, the infant stuffs attract my attention every time I pass by the infant area in the market. Also, with all those different roles, I have more motivations for my life. I want to graduate as soon as possible because my husband will graduate this term. Since we are international students here, we can only stay at US for three months without work visa, after which we have to go back our original country. I don’t want to live in the different region or different country with my husband mainly because I expect to deliver in end of September. Therefore, my primary goal is to study hard and get my diploma. My family has influenced me since my childhood until now am an adult. I was born at a lovely family that includes my parents and my big brother who is seven years older than me. Since I am the youngest member in the family and the only girl, my parents put lots of effort to educate me. As a result, my mother and father played different parental roles in my life. My mother is an authoritative parent, who always makes reasonable objectives for me. She supervises and helps me as I strive to achieve those goals, while explaining to me why some rules and the reasons that I need if I have to reach certain standards. For example, she wants me to have different talent necessary in life. When I was little, she signed all different classes for me, like playing the piano, playing chess, Chinese Calligraphy and the painting class. Therefore, I spent most of my time on those classes in order to satisfy my mother. I had to do my own dish, wash my own clothes since I was 5 years. At first, complained about her being hard on me. I wished I could just be a child and have fun with friends during the weekend, and I could not understand my mother’s intention to keep me in class. However, I appreciated my mother’s efforts when I went to a private middle school and I was popular in school because I was able to enjoy all the different clubs in school. The way that she brought me up makes me have a high level of cognitive ability, self-confidence, a sense of responsibility, self-control and makes me optimistic. Positive Brand Personality Analysis The first brand that I selected and could represent who I am and my personalities is TOD’S. TOD’s are really known for their unique and colorful flat shoes. The characteristics of TOD’S are based on classic style, low fashion orientation, high quality, creativity and emphasis on functionality. Moreover, their brand image could be fun, young, fashion trend and comfortable, which reminds myself as a fun, young, fashionable and easy-going person. For Product, the TOD’S Company has focused on quality and functionality as the hallmarks of the modern life. In addition, they also expanded the workshop and turned it into a factory to manufacture shoes for American department stores in 1970s. They have kept the handmade manufacturing process, and the group has widened its product portfolio to include leather goods and garment over times. The main concept for their business is remaining focused on high quality. The production division for TOD’S is 68.6% of shoes, 13.4% of clothes and 17.9% of leather goods, and the distribution and manufacturing is 54.3% in Italy, 22.7% in Europe, 8.4% in US and 14.6% in Asia. They have the biggest industrial plant in Italy with 50% retail and 50% of wholesale. Even though TOD’S has been defined as a luxury brand in the market, their price is way cheaper than another same level brand and it is acceptable for normal income family. The average price is around between $300 and $400 for flat shoes. The luxury goods market is one defined by superior quality, brand recognition and low price sensitivity. Despite recent economic slowdowns, the luxury goods market is experiencing growth. It is estimated that it will grow from 4% to 6% between 2013 and 2015, driving the market to approximately €250 billion in revenues. Due to rising concerns regarding personal style, TOD’s contends in the luxury goods market, selling shoes and leather goods. All products are authentic, handmade, ‘Made in Italy’ pieces, boasting true craftsmanship, thereby justifying a premium price. This report offers a thorough macro- environmental analysis of the luxury goods market and examines TOD’s micro-environment. For Place, TOD’S has numerous stores around the world, including the large flagship stores in Europe, US, China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia etc. The products can also be bought from online store or other shopping website like Saks Fifth Avenue or shopstyle.com. It is very convenient for customer to buy the products, with free shipping and free return. For Promotion, TODS has a very unique promotion method to advertise their products. TOD’s is introducing its spring/summer 2013 TOD’s No_Code capsule collection through its first all-digital campaign that comes together on a new microsite. TOD’s No_Code is a supplementary men’s and women’s seasonal shoe collection designed in collaboration with Editor Jefferson Hack. This spring, TOD’s established a microsite at http://todsnocode.com where consumers can explore the collection, browse media and register to receive a limited-edition interactive booklet by mail that incorporates mobile touch points. Tod’s established the Tod’s No_Code capsule collection last spring and has pushed it via digital and print marketing to target young consumers. This past fall, Tod’s showcased the collection using channels such as print and social media. The campaign was an evolution of the Tod’s lifestyle in that it was more contemporary and artistic, per the brand. In addition to the print campaign, Tod’s created a dedicated Tumblr page where consumers could access behind-the-scenes content, inspiration and an exclusive playlist. Tod’s established a microsite for the spring campaign as well as future Tod’s No_Code efforts, but microsites can be tricky for luxury marketers, per Ms. Jepson. Microsites can keep outdated content live that is no longer relevant to consumers. However, Tod’s will likely avoid this by regularly refreshing the content. 17565 The second brand I choose to talk about for positive analysis is Nike. For product, Nike offers a wide range of shoe, apparel and equipment products, all of which are currently its top-selling product categories. Nike started selling sports apparel, athletic bags and accessory items in 1979. Their brand Cole Haan carries a line of dress and casual footwear and accessories for men, women and children. Nike’s foremost focus is athletic footwear and apparels designed for sports and everyday usage with the brand name. The production facilities are located close to the raw material to have low labor prices. New product offerings under the name of brand include sport balls, timepieces, eyewear, skates, bats, and other equipment designed for sports activities. The most famous product categories of Nike includes running, basketball, cross-training, outdoor activities, tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, football, bicycling, volley ball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities and other athletic and recreational use. Moreover, they also utilize the auxiliary bodies to sell the sports related raw materials and products including Cole Haan Holdings, Nike Team Sports, and Bauer Nike Hockey.  For price, the type of good that will be marketed is going to affect the price of a product. Nike uses vertical integration in pricing wherein they own participants at differing channel levels or engage in more than one channel level operations. This is also an attempt to control costs and influence pricing practices. Nike’s pricing is designed to be competitive to the other fashion shoe retailers. The pricing is based on the basis of premium segment as target customers. Nike as a brand commands high premiums. Nike’s pricing strategy makes use of vertical integration in pricing wherein they own participants at differing channel levels or take part in more than one channel level operations. This can control costs and influence product pricing. For place, multi-brand stores carry Nike shoes and the exclusive Nike stores across the globe. Nike sells its product to about 20,000 retail accounts in the U.S. and in almost 200 countries around the world. In the international markets, Nike sells its products through independent distributors, licensees, and subsidiaries. Independent distributors need not adapt to local pressures because distributors manage the 4Ps of marketing. Nike has contracted with more than 700 shops around the world and has offices located in 45 countries outside the United States. Most of the factories are located in Asia, including Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines, and Malaysia. Nike is hesitant to disclose information about the contract companies it works with. However, due to harsh criticism from some organizations like CorpWatch, Nike has disclosed information about its contract factories in its Corporate Governance Report. For promotion, Promotion is largely dependent on finding accessible store locations. It also avails of targeted advertising in the newspaper and creating strategic alliances. Nike has a number of famous athletes that serve as brand ambassadors such as the Brazilian Soccer Team (especially Ronaldino, Renaldo, and Roberto Carlos), Lebron James and Jermane O’Neal for basketball, Lance Armstrong for cycling, and Tiger Woods for Golf. Nike also sponsors events such as Hoop It Up and The Golden West Invitational. Nike’s brand images, the Nike name and the trademark swoosh, make it one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Nike’s brand power is one reason for its high revenues. Nike’s quality products, loyal customer base and its great marketing techniques all contribute to make the shoe empire a huge success. Read More