Plotted a perceptual map for new balance and their competitors...
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Perceptual map
Plotted a perceptual map for new balance and their competitors...
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Opinion Former Outfit Decisions...
Our opinion former's wardrobe and a few of his other lifestyle trainers.
Sunday 6th March
Going out for lunch with his family, after he played outside with his friends whilst wearing the trainers also.
Friday 25th February
Going out to his Aunty and Uncle's house to spend some time with his family, asked their opinion of his new trainers.
Saturday 19th February
Going outside to play a casual game of football with his friends, all aged between 15-17.
Posted by Hannah Thomas
Sunday 6th March
Going out for lunch with his family, after he played outside with his friends whilst wearing the trainers also.
Friday 25th February
Going out to his Aunty and Uncle's house to spend some time with his family, asked their opinion of his new trainers.
Saturday 19th February
Going outside to play a casual game of football with his friends, all aged between 15-17.
Posted by Hannah Thomas
Friday, 18 March 2011
Male Focus Group Script
New Balance Focus Group Script
Attendants:
Liam Hurst – Age 16
Ryan Foster – Age 16
Daniel Tebbs – Age 16
Josh Thomas – Age 16
Louis Summers – Age 16
Ryan Pallett – Age 16
Script Writers:
Hannah Thomas & Hannah Wills
Moderator:
Lucy Stevenson
Moderator:
Hi everyone, thanks for coming, I would like to start by asking you to go round the table and tell us your name, age, and what you do. For example, are you a student, what are your hobbies etc?
Liam: Hi I’m Liam, I’m 16 and I’m still at school. My main hobby is football, I used to play at Leicester City’s academy but have just been released and I’m now on trial at Coventry.
Ryan Foster: Hi I’m Ryan; I’m 16 aswell and am still at school. Like Liam said, my main hobby is football aswell.
Daniel: I’m Dan, I’m 16 and my main hobby is spending time with my mates and going to school. I also play cricket in the summer but apart from that I don’t do much more.
Josh: I’m Josh and I’m 16. Outside school I spend all my time playing for Nottingham Forest football club. I have been there since I was 8 and train 5 times a week so don’t have much time for anything else (laughs).
Louis: Hi I’m Louis, 16 and like Dan my main hobby is mostly spending time with my friends and I like doing card tricks (everyone laughs).
Ryan Pallett: I’m Ryan, I’m 16, go to school and don’t do much else apart from hang around with my mates.
Moderator: Thanks for introducing yourselves; I’m going to ask you a few questions so if you have something to say feel free to speak whenever.
Have you ever heard of the brand New Balance?
Ryan Foster: Yeh I have heard of them, they make running shoes don’t they?
Liam: Yeh they do.
Josh: Yeh, I have a pair of them.
Moderator: Have the rest of you ever heard of them?
(Louis, Ryan Pallett and Dan all say no).
Moderator: Liam and Ryan is there a reason why either of you don’t own a pair of New Balance trainers?
Liam: No not really, I just prefer other better known brands.
Ryan Foster: No.
Moderator: Which brands do you mean Liam?
Liam: Well my favourite trainer brand is Adidas. I wear the normal trainers when I go out and things like that and I wear Adidas football boots aswell.
Moderator: What is it about Adidas that you like so much?
Liam: I just think that are really stylish and comfortable and look the best. You can wear the plain trainers with anything so they are practical.
Moderator: Ok thanks that’s great, what do the rest of you think? Which brands do you most prefer?
Louis: Well I do like Adidas but my favourite brand is Nike because I think they are the coolest. You see celebrities wearing them all the time, especially footballers. They just look ace with everything.
Ryan Foster: Nike shoes are the best for your feet aswell. Yeh I think my favourites are Nike aswell.
Dan: My favourite is Adidas for the same reasons as Liam, I just think they go with everything, they are really comfortable and you know you’re fashionable when you wear Adidas (laughs).
Josh: Yeh Adidas are really cool. I prefer the football boots but the normal trainers are really smart looking and go with everything.
Moderator: Ok thanks a lot. What media channel do you pay most attention to? So when I say media channel I mean things like adverts on tv, in magazines, on billboards etc. Which ones do take more notice in?
Ryan Pallett: I’d say tv adverts because I watch a lot of tv. I don’t really notice billboards because I don’t see many.
Josh: Yeh I notice the tv adverts more. I also sometimes buy sports magazines and they have quite a lot of adverts in so I take notice of them aswell.
Liam: I see quite a lot of adverts on my laptop and I only take notice in them because they pop up all the time which is annoying, but I guess it works when it gets your attention (laughs).
Ryan foster: they are so annoying!
Moderator: Louis and Dan which ones do you take most notice in?
Louis: TV definitely, don’t really read magazines.
Dan: Yeh tv for me aswell.
Moderator: Which TV adverts are your favourites at the moment?
Liam: Ermm I don’t know if it is still on the tv now but I like the one where the people are playing basketball and making the different sounds which makes the music. Its for Nike I think.
Josh: Yeh that ones really good. I like the one with Rooney in it where he is playing himself at football. The Powerade one.
Ryan Foster: Well I love the one with Cheryl Cole in it (everyone laughs).
Louis: I think that Yeo Valley advert is really funny where they are rapping!
Dan: Yeh that is good (laughs).
Ryan Pallett: I like the Evian one with the babies on roller-skates and the Cadburys gorilla advert just because they are so random and funny. The funny ones get my attention.
Josh: Yeh I hate the ones that are boring like the claims for you and stuff!
Moderator: So it’s definitely the funny adverts that you remember most?
(All say yes).
Moderator: Has an advert ever made you buy the product?
Josh: Yeh I bought some Powerade after I saw the Rooney advert.
Dan: Yeh I bought some Nike trainers once because they looked really cool on the advert so I went on the website to see them and ended up buying them.
Moderator: Have you ever seen any New Balance advertising?
(All say no.)
Moderator: Ok thanks. What do you look for most when you buy a new pair of lifestyle trainers?
Josh: I think the most important thing is the way they look.
Liam: Yeh definitely, you don’t want a pair that people will make fun of you for wearing (laughs).
(All agree).
Moderator: So do you all consider being fashionable and in style to be a big part of what you wear?
Ryan Foster: Yes! Especially in a group of lads, and all the girls go for the best dressed lads! (Everyone laughs).
Dan: Yeh I think it is important to have all the latest styles and trends. And when a new pair of trainers comes out, I always want them!
Josh: Yep me too.
Moderator: Ok then I think that is about it for the questions. Thank you all for taking part.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Attendants:
Liam Hurst – Age 16
Ryan Foster – Age 16
Daniel Tebbs – Age 16
Josh Thomas – Age 16
Louis Summers – Age 16
Ryan Pallett – Age 16
Script Writers:
Hannah Thomas & Hannah Wills
Moderator:
Lucy Stevenson
Moderator:
Hi everyone, thanks for coming, I would like to start by asking you to go round the table and tell us your name, age, and what you do. For example, are you a student, what are your hobbies etc?
Liam: Hi I’m Liam, I’m 16 and I’m still at school. My main hobby is football, I used to play at Leicester City’s academy but have just been released and I’m now on trial at Coventry.
Ryan Foster: Hi I’m Ryan; I’m 16 aswell and am still at school. Like Liam said, my main hobby is football aswell.
Daniel: I’m Dan, I’m 16 and my main hobby is spending time with my mates and going to school. I also play cricket in the summer but apart from that I don’t do much more.
Josh: I’m Josh and I’m 16. Outside school I spend all my time playing for Nottingham Forest football club. I have been there since I was 8 and train 5 times a week so don’t have much time for anything else (laughs).
Louis: Hi I’m Louis, 16 and like Dan my main hobby is mostly spending time with my friends and I like doing card tricks (everyone laughs).
Ryan Pallett: I’m Ryan, I’m 16, go to school and don’t do much else apart from hang around with my mates.
Moderator: Thanks for introducing yourselves; I’m going to ask you a few questions so if you have something to say feel free to speak whenever.
Have you ever heard of the brand New Balance?
Ryan Foster: Yeh I have heard of them, they make running shoes don’t they?
Liam: Yeh they do.
Josh: Yeh, I have a pair of them.
Moderator: Have the rest of you ever heard of them?
(Louis, Ryan Pallett and Dan all say no).
Moderator: Liam and Ryan is there a reason why either of you don’t own a pair of New Balance trainers?
Liam: No not really, I just prefer other better known brands.
Ryan Foster: No.
Moderator: Which brands do you mean Liam?
Liam: Well my favourite trainer brand is Adidas. I wear the normal trainers when I go out and things like that and I wear Adidas football boots aswell.
Moderator: What is it about Adidas that you like so much?
Liam: I just think that are really stylish and comfortable and look the best. You can wear the plain trainers with anything so they are practical.
Moderator: Ok thanks that’s great, what do the rest of you think? Which brands do you most prefer?
Louis: Well I do like Adidas but my favourite brand is Nike because I think they are the coolest. You see celebrities wearing them all the time, especially footballers. They just look ace with everything.
Ryan Foster: Nike shoes are the best for your feet aswell. Yeh I think my favourites are Nike aswell.
Dan: My favourite is Adidas for the same reasons as Liam, I just think they go with everything, they are really comfortable and you know you’re fashionable when you wear Adidas (laughs).
Josh: Yeh Adidas are really cool. I prefer the football boots but the normal trainers are really smart looking and go with everything.
Moderator: Ok thanks a lot. What media channel do you pay most attention to? So when I say media channel I mean things like adverts on tv, in magazines, on billboards etc. Which ones do take more notice in?
Ryan Pallett: I’d say tv adverts because I watch a lot of tv. I don’t really notice billboards because I don’t see many.
Josh: Yeh I notice the tv adverts more. I also sometimes buy sports magazines and they have quite a lot of adverts in so I take notice of them aswell.
Liam: I see quite a lot of adverts on my laptop and I only take notice in them because they pop up all the time which is annoying, but I guess it works when it gets your attention (laughs).
Ryan foster: they are so annoying!
Moderator: Louis and Dan which ones do you take most notice in?
Louis: TV definitely, don’t really read magazines.
Dan: Yeh tv for me aswell.
Moderator: Which TV adverts are your favourites at the moment?
Liam: Ermm I don’t know if it is still on the tv now but I like the one where the people are playing basketball and making the different sounds which makes the music. Its for Nike I think.
Josh: Yeh that ones really good. I like the one with Rooney in it where he is playing himself at football. The Powerade one.
Ryan Foster: Well I love the one with Cheryl Cole in it (everyone laughs).
Louis: I think that Yeo Valley advert is really funny where they are rapping!
Dan: Yeh that is good (laughs).
Ryan Pallett: I like the Evian one with the babies on roller-skates and the Cadburys gorilla advert just because they are so random and funny. The funny ones get my attention.
Josh: Yeh I hate the ones that are boring like the claims for you and stuff!
Moderator: So it’s definitely the funny adverts that you remember most?
(All say yes).
Moderator: Has an advert ever made you buy the product?
Josh: Yeh I bought some Powerade after I saw the Rooney advert.
Dan: Yeh I bought some Nike trainers once because they looked really cool on the advert so I went on the website to see them and ended up buying them.
Moderator: Have you ever seen any New Balance advertising?
(All say no.)
Moderator: Ok thanks. What do you look for most when you buy a new pair of lifestyle trainers?
Josh: I think the most important thing is the way they look.
Liam: Yeh definitely, you don’t want a pair that people will make fun of you for wearing (laughs).
(All agree).
Moderator: So do you all consider being fashionable and in style to be a big part of what you wear?
Ryan Foster: Yes! Especially in a group of lads, and all the girls go for the best dressed lads! (Everyone laughs).
Dan: Yeh I think it is important to have all the latest styles and trends. And when a new pair of trainers comes out, I always want them!
Josh: Yep me too.
Moderator: Ok then I think that is about it for the questions. Thank you all for taking part.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Female Focus Group Script
Moderator: Hannah Wills
Scribes: Lucy Stevenson
Hannah Thomas
Attendees: Alisha Abraham
Jasmine Anderson
Alexandra Burnham-Stevens
Emily Fleming
Alice Fry
Sophie Rose
Gemma Sparrow
Jessica Taylor
Sophie Thompson
Hi, thanks for coming everyone. I’d like to start by going round and asking you to introduce yourselves and what you do. You can start (looking at girl to the right) with your name, age, occupation, any interests you have, sports you do and anything else you think is relevant.
Jasmine: Hi I’m Jasmine, I’m 21 years old and I’m a Student studying Media Studies. I took a year out in between High School and university to go travelling. I love sports- I go to the gym and take Salsa lessons.
Sophie Rose: Hi my name is Sophie and I’m 20 years old. I live in Marbella in Spain but I came over to England to go to University. I’m studying Architecture and I do pretty much the same as Jasmine in the sports sense: I go to the gym and we go to Salsa together as well. I go swimming sometimes too.
Sophie Thompson: Hello my name is Sophie. I’m 19 and I’m studying American Studies. I don’t really do very much apart from going out with my friends! I’m pretty useless in the physical sense. Don’t do any sports. I know I should but I just can’t be bothered!
Alexandra: Hey my name is Alexandra and I am 19 as well. I’m from Spain too and came to England for University. I’m studying Business with Spanish. I’m not really that into my fitness either, I go to the gym the odd time but not as much as I should! That’s about it really!
Gemma: Hi my name’s Gemma and I’m 20 years old, I’m a student too, studying Sociology. I go walking the odd time but not much other exercise I’m afraid! I do all the normal things like going out with my friends and all that too. Just not much in the way of sports!
Alisha: My name’s Alisha, I’m 20 and I’m a second year student doing Architecture. I moved here from India a few years before I started university and hope to go back there to live when I graduate. I don’t have much spare time because my course has such a high workload but I try to go to the gym whenever I get the chance.
Jessica: I’m Jess and I’m 19. I’m in second year too studying Broadcast Journalism. I used to go to the gym a lot last year but I seem to be going less this year, I just can’t be bothered as much and I feel like I have more work to do! Apart from that I don’t really do a lot else.
Alice: Hello, I’m Alice, I’m 21 and I’m currently studying Fashion and Textile Management. I also go to the gym quite a lot with my housemates, if they didn’t encourage me I don’t think I’d have much motivation to go!
Emily: My name’s Emily, I do fine art and I’m 20. I don’t really like going to the gym or running, I don’t enjoy sports like that. I do like going swimming occasionally though.
Thanks, I’m going to ask you a few questions so if you have something to say then please feel free to start a discussion.
Do you wear lifestyle trainers at all, as in not for sport but for casual wear?
Emily: No not really. I’m not really in to trainers. They should be for sports and not fashion. (Everyone laughs.)
Gemma: No I don’t either.
Jess: I don’t wear trainers except if I’m going to the gym. Then I wear Nike.
Alisha: Yeah I wear Nike to the gym but I quite often wear Converse outside of it.
Alice: Yeah I like Converse too, I definitely think they’re better for fashion than for sport!
(Sophie Thompson and Jasmine nod in agreement.)
Sophie Rose: I have a few pairs but I prefer wearing other shoes really if I’m honest.
Alexandra: Me too, I wear them from time to time but I wouldn’t say I’m some kind of sneaker freak or anything! (Laughs.)
What are your favourite brands for lifestyle trainers, if any?
Alisha: Definitely Converse, just because they’re so comfy. Their reputation is good too, like they’re just known for being cool. (Everyone nods in agreement.)
Jess: Yeah I always think your Converse look good, I just don’t tend to wear them myself, it’s not really my style. But yeah, I’d say Converse are my favourite on other people, they always seem to look stylish.
Sophie Thompson: Well as I said before I’m not really big on my sports, but I do love throwing on a pair of Converse and just lounging around.
Jasmine: Yeah I love converse too. They’re great for throwing on to go to Uni.
Sophie Rose: The actual brand doesn’t really matter to me as long as they look good. I like to look good at all times, regardless of whether I’m sweating at the gym or just out and about. I’m wearing Reebok at the moment.
Alexandra: Personally, I’m an Adidas woman. I don’t know...I’ve been wearing them since I was a kid and I’ve never worn anything else! They look good and they perform well. Well...when I actually bother to go to the gym! (Laughs.)
Jasmine: I don’t know about their lifestyle ranges but for sport I love Nike. I think they’re a great running shoe. I wear them to the gym all the time!
Gemma: I don’t really care. A pair of trainers is a pair of trainers.
Emily: I don’t really like trainers, I just don’t think they look nice.
Alice: Some do! Obviously I wouldn’t wear trainers that are specifically designed for sports just for everyday but I agree with what everyone’s been saying about Converse. I like Gola too, they have some nice stuff.
Alisha: I like hi-tops, (to moderator) I like the ones you’ve got on.
Oh thanks, these are Ecko Red.
Alisha: Hmm I haven’t really heard of them.
Jess: Me neither but I often look at people’s trainers and think ‘Oh they’re cool’ without knowing the brand.
So the brand isn’t always that important?
Jess: Well not to me, no. But that’s probably because I don’t really buy trainers. I just look at them.
Emily: Yeah I’m the same. I look at some pairs of trainers by a brand and I’ll think ‘hmm maybe they’re not TOO bad’ and then I’ll see another by the same brand and just think they look vile. It doesn’t bother me though because I’m not going to buy them anyway.
Alisha: Yeah I know what you mean but if I’m going to spend money on them I’d like the brand to have a good reputation, I wouldn’t be too keen on buying a brand I’d never heard of before.
Jess: No, because you don’t really know what kind of quality they’ll be.
Alice: And it’s kind of nice if someone asks you where your trainers are from if you can say a brand that has a great reputation rather than one that people know to be a bit dodgy.
So quality is important to you Jess and the rest of you think brand reputation is important?
All: Yeah definitely (nodding).
So when you buy trainers, is this what you look for the most?
Jess: Well for me to even notice trainers they have to look good, like a mix between sporty and stylish. I don’t like really bright colours though, like you get a lot of them that are neon and orange or whatever. I don’t like that.
Alisha: No I don’t like weird colours, I like red Converse though just because they’re so classic. I suppose that’s what’s important to me yes, prestige and reputation. But mostly comfort to be honest.
Emily: If they’re not comfortable then what’s the point in even wearing trainers? You might as well just wear something else. (Everyone nods in agreement.)
Alexandra: That’s true, I usually wear trainers when I want to wear something really comfy.
Have you ever heard of New Balance?
Alisha and Emily: No. (Shaking of heads.)
Jess: New Balance? Yeah, they’re quite in at the moment aren’t they? All the indie boys wear them, I’ve noticed a couple of people I know wearing them recently.
Alice: Really? I’ve only ever seen people running in them. To be honest I didn’t think they were really considered cool enough to wear outside of sports.
Gemma: Nope.
Jasmine: Yeah I have, I used to have a pair for playing hockey in school! They were pretty good actually!
Sophie Rose: I’ve heard of them but I’ve never owned a pair or anything.
Alexandra: Yeah the name sounds familiar.
Sophie Thompson: Nah I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them.
What do you think of New Balance Jess?
Jess: I don’t really know much about them, I’d not heard of them until recently. But
the ones I’ve seen people wearing look alright.
I take it none of you own any New Balance though?
(Everyone shakes their head.)
Jess: Nah, like I say I don’t wear trainers normally and when I do sports I use Nike, just because all the pairs I’ve had have been really good so why change?
Jasmine: Like I said, I used to. I don’t own any anymore though.
Alice: I wear Reebok for sports. I’m really not a runner though, otherwise I might use them.
Alisha: And I’ve never heard of New Balance! (Emily nods in agreement to this.)
Have you ever seen any New Balance adverts?
Alisha: Nope.
(Alice and Emily shake their heads.)
Jess: No I don’t think so. I’ve only noticed the trainers on other people. If I have seen any adverts I haven’t remembered what they were for!
Gemma: Well I’ve never seen any advertising for them I don’t think.
Sophie Thompson: Yeah they’re a bit under the radar aren’t they?
Jasmine: The only reason I’d heard of them before I went to buy a pair was because our teacher had recommended them! I’ve never seen any advertising either.
What are your favourite adverts or advertising campaigns at the moment?
Jess and Alisha: That cat one!
Emily: With the thumbs? What’s that for again?
Alisha: Milk, Cravendale I think.
Jess: (Nodding) Yeah, I love that advert! It makes me laugh every time I see the gang of cats clicking their fingers. Jog on kitties! (Starts laughing.) Apart from that the Fosters ones are always funny, where people ring them up with their problems. (Everyone nods.)
Sophie Thompson: Nadal is advertising something right now. No idea what it is, but I know he’s in it and I know he looks good! Mmmm...
Sophie Rose: That’s a good advert then if you don’t even know what it’s advertising!
Sophie Thompson: I don’t know...something sporty!
Sophie Rose: (Laughs.) Yeah, remember the old Diet Coke adverts? They were so good! With the sexy men? And that Aero Bubbles advert with Smyth Jerrod from Sex and the City...now that’s what I call effective advertising! AND I remember what the advert was about! (More laughs.)
Sophie Thompson: (Laughs.) Yeah you are right!
Jasmine: I used to love those Dr. Pepper adverts. They always made me laugh!
Gemma: Yeah they were good! I like that advert with the cow on the beach and it wants to be a horse! It’s so funny!
Alice: Yeah! (Laughs.) She’s called Mary isn’t she?
Gemma: Yeah! Love it.
Alice: Oh, and Innocent! Where the smoothies are superheroes, I love that one. I think it’s because the song always ends up in my head and it’s such a weird idea, that the smoothie is a superhero. I like his cape.
Jess: Hmm that one annoys me a bit. I also like the McCain ones just because they’re all about family and I think it’s cute.
Emily: Urgh, I find things like that boring! I’m not interested in ‘cute’ adverts.
Jess: Why? It’s nice! What about Oreo’s? I love that advert! That little boy and his dog are adorable.
Emily: Nah, they’re the kind of adverts I’d flick the channel for. I like the rapping farmers one for Yeo Valley, that really makes me laugh.
(Everyone nods in agreement.)
Gemma: It makes me laugh every time! I hate the way they’ve made it into a shorter version now though!
Alexandra: Remember that one last year with the fish? I think it was advertising Cadbury’s Spots v Stripes. It was so weird! It was like why are there fish advertising for the Olympics? It was a good laugh too!
Jasmine: Yeah I like the WKD adverts too. They’re always funny ‘cause someone is always doing something stupid in them!
So on the whole you’d say you like entertaining adverts better?
Alisha: Definitely, if they’re funny or just really random then they get my attention and I’ll sit and watch the whole thing to find out what it’s all about.
Jess: Yeah really unusual ones are more likely to get my attention if I’m just passing but if I’m watching the TV anyway I tend to pay attention to most of them and I like the sweet ones too, with cute animals or children in them.
Emily: The thing I really hate is when adverts TRY to be funny but really aren’t!
Alice: Yeah, I can’t stand that! If you’re not funny then don’t try to be, surely brands can see those adverts are terrible?
So what do you count as bad adverts? What adverts do you dislike?
Gemma: I really really REALLY hate those Go Compare adverts. They are SO annoying.
(Everyone nods in agreement.)
Sophie Thompson: Oh I hate that advert!
Alexandra: Yeah and those Compare the Market ones too. The meerkat thing was funny at first but it’s just been so overdone now.
Jess: Oh no! I still like that one, I think it’s hilarious!
Alisha: No I agree with Alexandra, it’s been done too much and has no relevance whatsoever.
Jasmine: I don’t like any kind of insurance adverts really. They’re all crap!
Sophie Rose: I’m not a big fan of the Crunchy Nut advert with the man doing the news really fast ‘cause he can’t wait to get his cereal. It’s just stupid. And I hate that Ryvita advert with Lisa Snowdon. When is that woman going to realise that she’s just not famous? So she went out with George Clooney like a million years ago...so what?
Jasmine: (Laughs.) Bit harsh Soph?
Sophie Rose: I don’t care. She’s so annoying!
It’s interesting that you automatically refer to TV adverts, would you say this is the media channel you pay most attention to?
Alisha: Yes definitely, I don’t have a lot of spare time on my course but when I’m not doing work I enjoy relaxing in front of the TV so that’s where I see the majority of adverts.
Alice: I like to look at magazines and I’m really interested in photoshoots for campaigns because I used to do photography but I can’t really afford magazines any more! I don’t really listen to the radio either so yeah, TV would be the main place I see adverts.
Emily: (nodding) I only listen to my iTunes rather than the radio.
What about outdoor advertising, that’s surely quite hard to miss?
Jasmine: Yeah I suppose but I kind of tune it out. I mean, if I’m walking somewhere I just focus on getting there quickly rather than looking around at posters and stuff.
Alexandra: What about billboards though and trams? Those adverts are massive!
Jasmine: I know but they never seem to advertise anything interesting, all the ones I’ve seen in town are like for government campaigns and McDonalds and stuff. I don’t pay attention to them because they’re boring!
Sophie Rose: Yeah I suppose you’re right.
So if a brand did an interesting outdoor campaign you would pay more attention?
Gemma: Yeah probably, like Alexandra said, some of that stuff’s hard to miss. It just doesn’t capture my attention because it’s usually pretty standard. If it was amusing or something really really different then I’d definitely stop and look because I’d want to know what was going on.
Jess: Like the T-Mobile adverts.
Gemma: Yeah exactly! If it was something like that, you’d kind of know that everyone would be talking about it in a few days so it would be really cool if you could see it first hand rather than on YouTube. Then you could say to people ‘Yeah I was there when that happened!’
(Everyone nods in agreement.)
Speaking of YouTube, what do you think of online advertising?
Alice: Honestly? It annoys me a bit.
Emily: (nodding) I know what you mean, I hate pop-ups. I don’t think anyone actually looks at them because they’re just so annoying being in the way all the time when you’re busy.
Jess: Sometimes if I see an advert that looks interesting in the corner of a webpage or something then I’ll click on it to see more. But that’s very rarely.
Alisha: If I’ve heard people talking about a really cool advert they’ve seen and I haven’t seen it before then I’ll often go online to have a look but only if it’s funny or just weird. Like that Cravendale cat one, I hadn’t seen it before but my housemates were like ‘I love that advert with cats with thumbs, I can’t believe you’ve not seen it yet!’ So I decided to check it out on YouTube.
What brands, if any, do you think have consistently good advertising?
Sophie Thompson: Erm I don’t know really. Nike? They always have loads of big names in their adverts so it gets a lot of people talking. And my boyfriend wouldn’t stop talking about that one they did for the World Cup last year because he said it really got him in the World Cup spirit. What a loser!
Alisha: I don’t know either, I usually think brands have a really good ad campaign then when their next one comes out I’m like ‘oh, that’s nowhere near as good as the last one!’ Probably Coke. I mean, I quite like their adverts and they’re usually quite original, not to mention their Christmas adverts are so iconic now.
Alice: Oh yeah definitely. And Fosters actually, they’re normally really funny.
Do you think celebrity endorsements are a good or a bad thing?
Emily: I don’t think celebrity endorsements are exactly necessary, I mean most of the adverts I like the best don’t have any celebs in whatsoever.
Jess: I agree but I think some campaigns just have more impact when they’re full of celebrities. Remember that Pepsi advert ages ago where Pink, Beyoncé and Britney were gladiators for the emperor Enrique Iglesias? That advert wouldn’t have got half the attention it did if they hadn’t been in it!
Gemma: I don’t know. It can be quite tricky. Every celebrity has people who love them and people who aren’t so keen. Like the L’Oreal adverts with Cheryl Cole. I know loads of people absolutely love her but personally, I wouldn’t buy anything she advertises. I think she’s so over-rated.
Jasmine: Yeah I agree. I think if you like the person it’s great but if not then it doesn’t do any favours for the brand. That whole Tiger Woods scandal is a prime example. Everyone thought he was such a great sports man but as soon as he did something that harmed his likeable reputation, his advertising contracts were all torn up!
Sophie Rose: Yeah it was the same as Kate Moss and that whole coke thing.
Alice: But at least she managed to bounce back after that. Tiger Woods isn’t having any luck at all!
Well thank you very much for answering my questions, it’s been a great help.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Scribes: Lucy Stevenson
Hannah Thomas
Attendees: Alisha Abraham
Jasmine Anderson
Alexandra Burnham-Stevens
Emily Fleming
Alice Fry
Sophie Rose
Gemma Sparrow
Jessica Taylor
Sophie Thompson
Hi, thanks for coming everyone. I’d like to start by going round and asking you to introduce yourselves and what you do. You can start (looking at girl to the right) with your name, age, occupation, any interests you have, sports you do and anything else you think is relevant.
Jasmine: Hi I’m Jasmine, I’m 21 years old and I’m a Student studying Media Studies. I took a year out in between High School and university to go travelling. I love sports- I go to the gym and take Salsa lessons.
Sophie Rose: Hi my name is Sophie and I’m 20 years old. I live in Marbella in Spain but I came over to England to go to University. I’m studying Architecture and I do pretty much the same as Jasmine in the sports sense: I go to the gym and we go to Salsa together as well. I go swimming sometimes too.
Sophie Thompson: Hello my name is Sophie. I’m 19 and I’m studying American Studies. I don’t really do very much apart from going out with my friends! I’m pretty useless in the physical sense. Don’t do any sports. I know I should but I just can’t be bothered!
Alexandra: Hey my name is Alexandra and I am 19 as well. I’m from Spain too and came to England for University. I’m studying Business with Spanish. I’m not really that into my fitness either, I go to the gym the odd time but not as much as I should! That’s about it really!
Gemma: Hi my name’s Gemma and I’m 20 years old, I’m a student too, studying Sociology. I go walking the odd time but not much other exercise I’m afraid! I do all the normal things like going out with my friends and all that too. Just not much in the way of sports!
Alisha: My name’s Alisha, I’m 20 and I’m a second year student doing Architecture. I moved here from India a few years before I started university and hope to go back there to live when I graduate. I don’t have much spare time because my course has such a high workload but I try to go to the gym whenever I get the chance.
Jessica: I’m Jess and I’m 19. I’m in second year too studying Broadcast Journalism. I used to go to the gym a lot last year but I seem to be going less this year, I just can’t be bothered as much and I feel like I have more work to do! Apart from that I don’t really do a lot else.
Alice: Hello, I’m Alice, I’m 21 and I’m currently studying Fashion and Textile Management. I also go to the gym quite a lot with my housemates, if they didn’t encourage me I don’t think I’d have much motivation to go!
Emily: My name’s Emily, I do fine art and I’m 20. I don’t really like going to the gym or running, I don’t enjoy sports like that. I do like going swimming occasionally though.
Thanks, I’m going to ask you a few questions so if you have something to say then please feel free to start a discussion.
Do you wear lifestyle trainers at all, as in not for sport but for casual wear?
Emily: No not really. I’m not really in to trainers. They should be for sports and not fashion. (Everyone laughs.)
Gemma: No I don’t either.
Jess: I don’t wear trainers except if I’m going to the gym. Then I wear Nike.
Alisha: Yeah I wear Nike to the gym but I quite often wear Converse outside of it.
Alice: Yeah I like Converse too, I definitely think they’re better for fashion than for sport!
(Sophie Thompson and Jasmine nod in agreement.)
Sophie Rose: I have a few pairs but I prefer wearing other shoes really if I’m honest.
Alexandra: Me too, I wear them from time to time but I wouldn’t say I’m some kind of sneaker freak or anything! (Laughs.)
What are your favourite brands for lifestyle trainers, if any?
Alisha: Definitely Converse, just because they’re so comfy. Their reputation is good too, like they’re just known for being cool. (Everyone nods in agreement.)
Jess: Yeah I always think your Converse look good, I just don’t tend to wear them myself, it’s not really my style. But yeah, I’d say Converse are my favourite on other people, they always seem to look stylish.
Sophie Thompson: Well as I said before I’m not really big on my sports, but I do love throwing on a pair of Converse and just lounging around.
Jasmine: Yeah I love converse too. They’re great for throwing on to go to Uni.
Sophie Rose: The actual brand doesn’t really matter to me as long as they look good. I like to look good at all times, regardless of whether I’m sweating at the gym or just out and about. I’m wearing Reebok at the moment.
Alexandra: Personally, I’m an Adidas woman. I don’t know...I’ve been wearing them since I was a kid and I’ve never worn anything else! They look good and they perform well. Well...when I actually bother to go to the gym! (Laughs.)
Jasmine: I don’t know about their lifestyle ranges but for sport I love Nike. I think they’re a great running shoe. I wear them to the gym all the time!
Gemma: I don’t really care. A pair of trainers is a pair of trainers.
Emily: I don’t really like trainers, I just don’t think they look nice.
Alice: Some do! Obviously I wouldn’t wear trainers that are specifically designed for sports just for everyday but I agree with what everyone’s been saying about Converse. I like Gola too, they have some nice stuff.
Alisha: I like hi-tops, (to moderator) I like the ones you’ve got on.
Oh thanks, these are Ecko Red.
Alisha: Hmm I haven’t really heard of them.
Jess: Me neither but I often look at people’s trainers and think ‘Oh they’re cool’ without knowing the brand.
So the brand isn’t always that important?
Jess: Well not to me, no. But that’s probably because I don’t really buy trainers. I just look at them.
Emily: Yeah I’m the same. I look at some pairs of trainers by a brand and I’ll think ‘hmm maybe they’re not TOO bad’ and then I’ll see another by the same brand and just think they look vile. It doesn’t bother me though because I’m not going to buy them anyway.
Alisha: Yeah I know what you mean but if I’m going to spend money on them I’d like the brand to have a good reputation, I wouldn’t be too keen on buying a brand I’d never heard of before.
Jess: No, because you don’t really know what kind of quality they’ll be.
Alice: And it’s kind of nice if someone asks you where your trainers are from if you can say a brand that has a great reputation rather than one that people know to be a bit dodgy.
So quality is important to you Jess and the rest of you think brand reputation is important?
All: Yeah definitely (nodding).
So when you buy trainers, is this what you look for the most?
Jess: Well for me to even notice trainers they have to look good, like a mix between sporty and stylish. I don’t like really bright colours though, like you get a lot of them that are neon and orange or whatever. I don’t like that.
Alisha: No I don’t like weird colours, I like red Converse though just because they’re so classic. I suppose that’s what’s important to me yes, prestige and reputation. But mostly comfort to be honest.
Emily: If they’re not comfortable then what’s the point in even wearing trainers? You might as well just wear something else. (Everyone nods in agreement.)
Alexandra: That’s true, I usually wear trainers when I want to wear something really comfy.
Have you ever heard of New Balance?
Alisha and Emily: No. (Shaking of heads.)
Jess: New Balance? Yeah, they’re quite in at the moment aren’t they? All the indie boys wear them, I’ve noticed a couple of people I know wearing them recently.
Alice: Really? I’ve only ever seen people running in them. To be honest I didn’t think they were really considered cool enough to wear outside of sports.
Gemma: Nope.
Jasmine: Yeah I have, I used to have a pair for playing hockey in school! They were pretty good actually!
Sophie Rose: I’ve heard of them but I’ve never owned a pair or anything.
Alexandra: Yeah the name sounds familiar.
Sophie Thompson: Nah I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them.
What do you think of New Balance Jess?
Jess: I don’t really know much about them, I’d not heard of them until recently. But
the ones I’ve seen people wearing look alright.
I take it none of you own any New Balance though?
(Everyone shakes their head.)
Jess: Nah, like I say I don’t wear trainers normally and when I do sports I use Nike, just because all the pairs I’ve had have been really good so why change?
Jasmine: Like I said, I used to. I don’t own any anymore though.
Alice: I wear Reebok for sports. I’m really not a runner though, otherwise I might use them.
Alisha: And I’ve never heard of New Balance! (Emily nods in agreement to this.)
Have you ever seen any New Balance adverts?
Alisha: Nope.
(Alice and Emily shake their heads.)
Jess: No I don’t think so. I’ve only noticed the trainers on other people. If I have seen any adverts I haven’t remembered what they were for!
Gemma: Well I’ve never seen any advertising for them I don’t think.
Sophie Thompson: Yeah they’re a bit under the radar aren’t they?
Jasmine: The only reason I’d heard of them before I went to buy a pair was because our teacher had recommended them! I’ve never seen any advertising either.
What are your favourite adverts or advertising campaigns at the moment?
Jess and Alisha: That cat one!
Emily: With the thumbs? What’s that for again?
Alisha: Milk, Cravendale I think.
Jess: (Nodding) Yeah, I love that advert! It makes me laugh every time I see the gang of cats clicking their fingers. Jog on kitties! (Starts laughing.) Apart from that the Fosters ones are always funny, where people ring them up with their problems. (Everyone nods.)
Sophie Thompson: Nadal is advertising something right now. No idea what it is, but I know he’s in it and I know he looks good! Mmmm...
Sophie Rose: That’s a good advert then if you don’t even know what it’s advertising!
Sophie Thompson: I don’t know...something sporty!
Sophie Rose: (Laughs.) Yeah, remember the old Diet Coke adverts? They were so good! With the sexy men? And that Aero Bubbles advert with Smyth Jerrod from Sex and the City...now that’s what I call effective advertising! AND I remember what the advert was about! (More laughs.)
Sophie Thompson: (Laughs.) Yeah you are right!
Jasmine: I used to love those Dr. Pepper adverts. They always made me laugh!
Gemma: Yeah they were good! I like that advert with the cow on the beach and it wants to be a horse! It’s so funny!
Alice: Yeah! (Laughs.) She’s called Mary isn’t she?
Gemma: Yeah! Love it.
Alice: Oh, and Innocent! Where the smoothies are superheroes, I love that one. I think it’s because the song always ends up in my head and it’s such a weird idea, that the smoothie is a superhero. I like his cape.
Jess: Hmm that one annoys me a bit. I also like the McCain ones just because they’re all about family and I think it’s cute.
Emily: Urgh, I find things like that boring! I’m not interested in ‘cute’ adverts.
Jess: Why? It’s nice! What about Oreo’s? I love that advert! That little boy and his dog are adorable.
Emily: Nah, they’re the kind of adverts I’d flick the channel for. I like the rapping farmers one for Yeo Valley, that really makes me laugh.
(Everyone nods in agreement.)
Gemma: It makes me laugh every time! I hate the way they’ve made it into a shorter version now though!
Alexandra: Remember that one last year with the fish? I think it was advertising Cadbury’s Spots v Stripes. It was so weird! It was like why are there fish advertising for the Olympics? It was a good laugh too!
Jasmine: Yeah I like the WKD adverts too. They’re always funny ‘cause someone is always doing something stupid in them!
So on the whole you’d say you like entertaining adverts better?
Alisha: Definitely, if they’re funny or just really random then they get my attention and I’ll sit and watch the whole thing to find out what it’s all about.
Jess: Yeah really unusual ones are more likely to get my attention if I’m just passing but if I’m watching the TV anyway I tend to pay attention to most of them and I like the sweet ones too, with cute animals or children in them.
Emily: The thing I really hate is when adverts TRY to be funny but really aren’t!
Alice: Yeah, I can’t stand that! If you’re not funny then don’t try to be, surely brands can see those adverts are terrible?
So what do you count as bad adverts? What adverts do you dislike?
Gemma: I really really REALLY hate those Go Compare adverts. They are SO annoying.
(Everyone nods in agreement.)
Sophie Thompson: Oh I hate that advert!
Alexandra: Yeah and those Compare the Market ones too. The meerkat thing was funny at first but it’s just been so overdone now.
Jess: Oh no! I still like that one, I think it’s hilarious!
Alisha: No I agree with Alexandra, it’s been done too much and has no relevance whatsoever.
Jasmine: I don’t like any kind of insurance adverts really. They’re all crap!
Sophie Rose: I’m not a big fan of the Crunchy Nut advert with the man doing the news really fast ‘cause he can’t wait to get his cereal. It’s just stupid. And I hate that Ryvita advert with Lisa Snowdon. When is that woman going to realise that she’s just not famous? So she went out with George Clooney like a million years ago...so what?
Jasmine: (Laughs.) Bit harsh Soph?
Sophie Rose: I don’t care. She’s so annoying!
It’s interesting that you automatically refer to TV adverts, would you say this is the media channel you pay most attention to?
Alisha: Yes definitely, I don’t have a lot of spare time on my course but when I’m not doing work I enjoy relaxing in front of the TV so that’s where I see the majority of adverts.
Alice: I like to look at magazines and I’m really interested in photoshoots for campaigns because I used to do photography but I can’t really afford magazines any more! I don’t really listen to the radio either so yeah, TV would be the main place I see adverts.
Emily: (nodding) I only listen to my iTunes rather than the radio.
What about outdoor advertising, that’s surely quite hard to miss?
Jasmine: Yeah I suppose but I kind of tune it out. I mean, if I’m walking somewhere I just focus on getting there quickly rather than looking around at posters and stuff.
Alexandra: What about billboards though and trams? Those adverts are massive!
Jasmine: I know but they never seem to advertise anything interesting, all the ones I’ve seen in town are like for government campaigns and McDonalds and stuff. I don’t pay attention to them because they’re boring!
Sophie Rose: Yeah I suppose you’re right.
So if a brand did an interesting outdoor campaign you would pay more attention?
Gemma: Yeah probably, like Alexandra said, some of that stuff’s hard to miss. It just doesn’t capture my attention because it’s usually pretty standard. If it was amusing or something really really different then I’d definitely stop and look because I’d want to know what was going on.
Jess: Like the T-Mobile adverts.
Gemma: Yeah exactly! If it was something like that, you’d kind of know that everyone would be talking about it in a few days so it would be really cool if you could see it first hand rather than on YouTube. Then you could say to people ‘Yeah I was there when that happened!’
(Everyone nods in agreement.)
Speaking of YouTube, what do you think of online advertising?
Alice: Honestly? It annoys me a bit.
Emily: (nodding) I know what you mean, I hate pop-ups. I don’t think anyone actually looks at them because they’re just so annoying being in the way all the time when you’re busy.
Jess: Sometimes if I see an advert that looks interesting in the corner of a webpage or something then I’ll click on it to see more. But that’s very rarely.
Alisha: If I’ve heard people talking about a really cool advert they’ve seen and I haven’t seen it before then I’ll often go online to have a look but only if it’s funny or just weird. Like that Cravendale cat one, I hadn’t seen it before but my housemates were like ‘I love that advert with cats with thumbs, I can’t believe you’ve not seen it yet!’ So I decided to check it out on YouTube.
What brands, if any, do you think have consistently good advertising?
Sophie Thompson: Erm I don’t know really. Nike? They always have loads of big names in their adverts so it gets a lot of people talking. And my boyfriend wouldn’t stop talking about that one they did for the World Cup last year because he said it really got him in the World Cup spirit. What a loser!
Alisha: I don’t know either, I usually think brands have a really good ad campaign then when their next one comes out I’m like ‘oh, that’s nowhere near as good as the last one!’ Probably Coke. I mean, I quite like their adverts and they’re usually quite original, not to mention their Christmas adverts are so iconic now.
Alice: Oh yeah definitely. And Fosters actually, they’re normally really funny.
Do you think celebrity endorsements are a good or a bad thing?
Emily: I don’t think celebrity endorsements are exactly necessary, I mean most of the adverts I like the best don’t have any celebs in whatsoever.
Jess: I agree but I think some campaigns just have more impact when they’re full of celebrities. Remember that Pepsi advert ages ago where Pink, Beyoncé and Britney were gladiators for the emperor Enrique Iglesias? That advert wouldn’t have got half the attention it did if they hadn’t been in it!
Gemma: I don’t know. It can be quite tricky. Every celebrity has people who love them and people who aren’t so keen. Like the L’Oreal adverts with Cheryl Cole. I know loads of people absolutely love her but personally, I wouldn’t buy anything she advertises. I think she’s so over-rated.
Jasmine: Yeah I agree. I think if you like the person it’s great but if not then it doesn’t do any favours for the brand. That whole Tiger Woods scandal is a prime example. Everyone thought he was such a great sports man but as soon as he did something that harmed his likeable reputation, his advertising contracts were all torn up!
Sophie Rose: Yeah it was the same as Kate Moss and that whole coke thing.
Alice: But at least she managed to bounce back after that. Tiger Woods isn’t having any luck at all!
Well thank you very much for answering my questions, it’s been a great help.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Focus Group
We decided to hold two focus groups. We began by holding a focus group for girls of our own age. This consisted of 19 to 21 year old females.
After we had done this, we decided we needed to hold another focus group for younger boys the same age as our opinion former. This consisted of 16 to 17 year old males.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
After we had done this, we decided we needed to hold another focus group for younger boys the same age as our opinion former. This consisted of 16 to 17 year old males.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Our Opinion Former
From carrying out questionnaires and focus groups with both our opinion former and also his peers, we discovered that the type of adverts they pay most attention to are the ones that make them laugh...
In order for an advert to stick in their minds, we found it needs to be both original and humerous otherwise they don't really remember it.
Here are the top adverts in which our target age demographic (16-17 year olds) like most, and always remember.
Posted by Hannah Thomas
In order for an advert to stick in their minds, we found it needs to be both original and humerous otherwise they don't really remember it.
Here are the top adverts in which our target age demographic (16-17 year olds) like most, and always remember.
Posted by Hannah Thomas
Saturday, 5 March 2011
The Tipping Point
In Malcolm Gladwell's book 'The Tipping Point' he tries to explain how trends arise, from existing amongst just a few people to becoming social epidemics. The Law of the Few is the idea that a product or trend only has to become popular to 20% of people before it spreads, reaching a tipping point and reaching the masses. This means that New Balance only have to connect with 20% of people before their products will become a must have and their popularity will spread beyond control. Of course, these 20% have to be the right types of people. The key people for brands to aim their products at are connectors, mavens and salesmen as they have influence over their peers and are key in trendsetting. If New Balance target their marketing towards these types of people within their target market then it will increase brand awareness and credibility for them within the lifestyle market. Roger's Innovation Adoption Curve shows a similar idea, where aiming new ideas at the masses is pointless and won't work, whereas if they are aimed at innovators and early adopters (other types of trendsetter) the idea will take off and eventually gain popularity within the masses.
Other Competitors
As well as the sportswear giants like Nike and Adidas that are now just as popular for their lifestyle shoes, New Balance have other competitors in this market such as Converse Gola and Vans. These brands have a much lower profile in terms of advertising and instead rely more on the prestige they have within popular culture and amongst sneaker freaks.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
Friday, 4 March 2011
Competitors
New Balance has many competitors in the lifestyle area of the market that they are looking to raise their profile in. Unfortunately for New Balance a lot of their competitors have very strong advertising campaigns that they will have to try to outdo. Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Puma all have powerful advertising and especially Puma have really managed to gain a unique position in this market through their After Hours Athlete Campaign. It links to their roots as a sports brand yet reaches out to those who aren't keen athletes by mocking sports to some extent.
Adidas's campaigns for their lifestyle range Adidas Originals also focus on socialising but more specifically on house and street parties. Their adverts are celebrity filled and depict crowds of people enjoying themselves at late night parties in their Adidas Originals. The fact that they are either house or street parties makes it more intimate and the consumer feels like they would fit in amongst the famous faces if they were wearing Adidas Originals. The campaigns also celebrate originality which makes it feel like there is the right pair of trainers available from the brand for every individual. The adverts appeal to young people because they feature the kinds of things they find fun and the parties are a world away from sports so if that's not what you're into, the brand still has a lot of appeal.
Reebok have also used celebrities to advertise their lifestyle trainers under the campaign 'I Am What I Am' which aimed to use contemporary heroes to encourage young people to celebrate their individuality. It sounds similar to the ideas behind the Adidas campaign but it is more aspirational and celebrates the stars as icons rather than making them more human and easy to relate to which is what the Adidas campaign does.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
The After Hours Athlete
This is an ad campaign from Puma, some of New Balance's competitors in the lifestyle trainer market. I think it is brilliant and really appeals to a whole new market of young, sociable consumers who may not play traditional sports but instead are 'after hours athletes'. It is a very unique concept and it really speaks to the people it is aimed at while still linking the brand to sports. This is exactly the kind of idea that New Balance needs to better reach out to consumers in their lifestyle market.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
Monday, 21 February 2011
Humour
The use of humour in advertising can be a great way to get your message across to the consumer, simply because the advert will be more memorable and people will want to talk about it to their friends.
Here is a great example!
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Here is a great example!
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Use the Facts
Scientific facts used in advertising campaigns is very common in adverts for hair and beauty products. This technique is proven to be very effective when persuading potential customers to go and have a better look at the product and I feel that it could work for other brands outside the hair and beauty perimeter.
Perhaps something to think about when developing the New Balance campaign.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Perhaps something to think about when developing the New Balance campaign.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Famous Faces
A famous face in your advertising campaign almost ensures it's success. However contracting a famous person to your brand would be very expensive but definitely something to keep in mind.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
New Balance 758
Quite a different approach that New Balance have taken here... there is a male and female version with this advert. Both stating how New Balance trainers help you overcome difficult times in the day.
An occuring theme that has been consistant throughout a number of New Balance's adverts is the idea of them 'caring/considering' their consumers in every aspect. This is a good way to increase brand loyalty as the customer will feel like they have got a positive relationship with the brand.
Posted by Hannah Thomas
An occuring theme that has been consistant throughout a number of New Balance's adverts is the idea of them 'caring/considering' their consumers in every aspect. This is a good way to increase brand loyalty as the customer will feel like they have got a positive relationship with the brand.
Posted by Hannah Thomas
Sunday, 20 February 2011
"Different" ad campaigns are always the most effective
As far as the "market giant" phrase goes, it is fair to say that Adidas and Nike are deffinitely up there with the main rivals of the moment. So what makes them so much more successful? Why are they so different when their products are no better than any other premium sports brand? Advertising with an innovative idea is always key and an advertisement that really grabs the viewers attention is always the most effective. Below is an example of how Nike have done this. They used a simple game of basketball and turned the sound effects into a song. This idea is simple but different and very effective.
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Posted by Lucy Stevenson
Puma
After learning about Puma's lifestyle range I decided to look for their past advertising campaigns, and like Nike and Adidas, Puma jumped on the football band wagon during the world cup.
This ad shows South Africans playing football (in Puma trainers) which is very much like the adidas advert.
It seems that the top footwear brands decide to do the same ad but with different trainers!
Posted by Hannah Thomas
This ad shows South Africans playing football (in Puma trainers) which is very much like the adidas advert.
It seems that the top footwear brands decide to do the same ad but with different trainers!
Posted by Hannah Thomas
New Balance's Lifestyle Competitors
Here are just a few of the brands that have also extended their ranges to a lifesyle range.
Adidas
Puma
Posted by Hannah Thomas
Adidas
Puma
Posted by Hannah Thomas
Saturday, 19 February 2011
New Balance
New Balance 'Delivering performance to the next level...'
This video shows hundreds of people running (in New Balance trainers of course) to different places all over the country delivering a pair of trainers. I think this is clever as it is trying to portray that New Balance care for every customer individually. The only strange thing is... the customer at the end of the video doesn't buy the trainers! Posted by Hannah Thomas
This video shows hundreds of people running (in New Balance trainers of course) to different places all over the country delivering a pair of trainers. I think this is clever as it is trying to portray that New Balance care for every customer individually. The only strange thing is... the customer at the end of the video doesn't buy the trainers! Posted by Hannah Thomas
Keep Running
One of New Balance's more creative print campaigns is Keep Running, created by Rediffusion in 2007. They thought outside the box and used images of two of the world's biggest fugitives, Osama Bin Laden and Dawood Ibrahim, to tie the strapline of 'keep running' in with two people who are on the run. I thought this was a really witty idea as it is one of the few New Balance campaigns that doesn't focus on the trainers themselves but it still has strong links with the brand and their running heritage.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
New Balance Love/Hate Campaign
The New Balance Love/Hate Campaign from 2008/2009 focused on encouraging runners to love the sport more and aimed to eliminate their hate for the first mile. The idea behind the campaign was that runners have a love/hate relationship with running and the adverts focused on this relationship.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
New Balance Party
Whilst looking into New Balance's past campaigns, I came across this New Balance Party advert which was part of the brand's 2008/2009 campaign called Love/Hate which focused on the love/hate relationship between runners and running. The campaign aimed to highlight that through their unique fit, New Balance shoes can create the right balance between love and hate and help runners enjoy the sport more.
I found this interesting after looking at the Adidas House Party and thought how it could be turned around to create an advert for their lifestyle trainers by showing the same advert from the party goer's perspective rather than the runner's. The advert could show him greeting the runner as in the original before following him into the house party where they are all wearing New Balance lifestyle trainers, in a similar way to the Adidas House Party. By airing these alongside each other it would show consumers the two sides to New Balance and enable them to recognise the brand in both sports and lifestyle scenarios.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
I found this interesting after looking at the Adidas House Party and thought how it could be turned around to create an advert for their lifestyle trainers by showing the same advert from the party goer's perspective rather than the runner's. The advert could show him greeting the runner as in the original before following him into the house party where they are all wearing New Balance lifestyle trainers, in a similar way to the Adidas House Party. By airing these alongside each other it would show consumers the two sides to New Balance and enable them to recognise the brand in both sports and lifestyle scenarios.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
Adidas House Party
In terms of lifestyle trainers, Adidas nailed the cool, fashionable image they were after with their 2008 House Party adverts for the Adidas Originals line. Featuring celebrities from Missy Elliot to Katy Perry and sports stars such as David Beckham, the adverts depicted a massive house party with guests all enjoying themselves whilst wearing the brand, immediately helping Adidas gain even more credibility as an on trend lifestyle brand.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
Steven Gerrard hits clay pigeon in Adidas viral
The seemingly impossible stunt took fewer than ten takes, according to 180 Amsterdam, the agency which produced the virals.
The film, promoting Predator boots, is reminiscent of a viral from 2005 for Nike, where Ronhaldinho apparently returned a football ball to himself from a crossbar a number of times in a row.
Posted by Hannah Thomas
The seemingly impossible stunt took fewer than ten takes, according to 180 Amsterdam, the agency which produced the virals.
The film, promoting Predator boots, is reminiscent of a viral from 2005 for Nike, where Ronhaldinho apparently returned a football ball to himself from a crossbar a number of times in a row.
Posted by Hannah Thomas
Nike - Write The Future
Another hugely popular campaign by Nike was their Write The Future campaign which was shown during the 2010 World Cup. The big budget adverts featured World Cup stars from Ronaldo to Rooney in a series of exciting and dramatic matches which not only helped Nike's brand awareness at this time but also raised anticipation for the World Cup itself. This one was widely recognised as the greatest advert of the World Cup and it's easy to see why.
If only the real World Cup had been as great as this Nike ad.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
If only the real World Cup had been as great as this Nike ad.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
Adidas Viral Campaign
Adidas has launched a 60-second viral which celebrates the success of the F50 Adizero as the top-scoring boot at the 2010 Fifa World Cup, despite rival Nike claiming to have scored more goals overall.
'The Goal Counter', created by 180 Amsterdam, tells the story of a South African boy who is an obsessive fan and defaces a poster ad for the F50, by adding to a painted tally every time a player wearing the boot scores a goal.
The strapline "The Lightest. The Fastest. The Deadliest" appears, before the text "2010 Fifa World Cup Top Scoring Boot" at the end of the 60-second spot. Adidas will also put the ad on TV across Europe, including the UK. - Posted by Hannah Thomas
'The Goal Counter', created by 180 Amsterdam, tells the story of a South African boy who is an obsessive fan and defaces a poster ad for the F50, by adding to a painted tally every time a player wearing the boot scores a goal.
The strapline "The Lightest. The Fastest. The Deadliest" appears, before the text "2010 Fifa World Cup Top Scoring Boot" at the end of the 60-second spot. Adidas will also put the ad on TV across Europe, including the UK. - Posted by Hannah Thomas
Past Adidas Adverts
A past ad campaign by Adidas - 'All day I dream about sneakers'. Posted by Hannah Thomas.
Nike Extreme - Just Experience It
Nike just do it. And they do it bigger and better than almost any other sports brand. Access Agency have created a number of Nike Extreme experiences around the world, using the Nike swoosh as the key feature to get people talking and to get the brand noticed on a massive scale. This campaign has gone viral because people love the fun, clever use of the infamous Nike swoosh and enjoy being part of the Nike Extreme experiences.
Posted by Hannah Wills.
Innovative Advertising Campaigns
Volkswagen - Getting there is just as fun.
Bounty kitchen roll ad. Large items were put in the street and made to look like they have been spilt. Another one that allows interaction and captures the public's attention.
'The kids who can fly' book ad campaign. A large picture is put onto the street to make it seem as though you are on top of a building looking down. Adds an element of fun/fear for people to interact with.
Denver Water - Only use what you need. Enables people to interact with the campaign.
Panasonic ad campaign for their new hair trimmer. Made it very funny so people remember it.
A Coffee brand campaign in New York - 'City that never sleeps, wake up!'
The advert was placed over a manhole cover which steam cameout of making it look like a hot cup of coffee.
Advert for 'Science world - 12 ft sneeze'. When you pressed the button it sprayed water at the person making it seem like a sneeze. Aimed to create awareness of how far a sneeze can travel.
Posted by Hannah Thomas
Thursday, 17 February 2011
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