Personality

Based on the reading, there are a number of ways to describe my personality. Personality can be more accurately and holistically assessed by observing day-to-day behavior and purchases for marketers to analyze. While many consumers may fall into a particular category of buyers, they are also simultaneously a part of another group. For example, I am in the demographic for high-end technology such as iPods and smart phones, but also fall into a purchasing category for musical instruments.

Personality traits are the identifiable characteristics that define a person. For example, marketers can distinguish people by the degree to which they are socially outgoing, innovativeness, materialism, self-consciousness, need for cognition and frugality.

In my own case, I am an extremely outgoing individual with a need for recognition and consistent attention. I consider myself to be extremely creative and willing to experiment with new products, whether they are for necessary or novelty purposes. Furthermore, although I do not consider myself to be a greedy consumer, I am somewhat materialistic and desire products that are innovative and trendy. I am only self-conscious if I am wearing clothing that is unbefitting to my environment. Finally, I am frugal to some extent, but do enjoy making unusually large purchases on occasion to satisfy my need for new technology and for social mobility.

Who are you?

There are many ways to describe who I am to a marketer. Demographically speaking, I am a 22 year-old Caucasian male from the upper-middle class of the Midwestern United States. I am college educated, technologically savvy, slightly athletic and have a strong interest in pop culture.

In regard to psychographics, I am a musician who tends to gravitate toward music and creating my own art. I also enjoy people watching and learning about history, new technology, politics and sociology. I am pursuing a career in public relations, a field that is highly communicative and fast-paced.

I do not think that it is necessarily "fair" for marketers to create unrealistic expectations of who we ought to be. This, however, does not mean that they do not utilize such practices. An unrealistic expectation would be that I plan to become a grad student and need a more high-powered laptop. In reality, I will probably keep my old computer and use a newer one provided by my new employer. It is also slightly unfair to make the assumption that I will get married and have children at a certain age and market to my age group based on this statistical analysis.

Conversely, I understand marketer's need to assess each age group or cultural group in order to more effectively use marketing dollars to increase sales or improve reputation. Statistical data and trends can be a highly effective tool in ensuring that the correct target audience is being reached. When utilized correctly, this can be a mutually beneficial relationship, provided both businesses and consumers with the best value possible for a product or a service.

On a personal level, I disagree with the notion of tattoos and cosmetic surgery. However, I do see and understand the value that some place on have such modifications to their bodies. Tattoos can be a form of self-expression, but this does not exclude them from the stigma that society may place on having one. A mistake marketers should be careful to avoid is assuming that having a tattoo or cosmetic surgery automatically means that you fall under a certain category of purchasing power or demographic. Essentially, there is an extremely wide variety of consumers that have had tattoos or cosmetic surgery, therefore making marketing campaigns not necessarily applicable to all who have had that type of modification.

Journal “Who are you? Tell your story as you would to a marketer. Do you think that it is fair of marketers to create unrealistic expectations of who we ought to be? How do you feel about tattoos and cosmetic surgery?”

The hardest purchase

The most difficult purchase I ever had to make was my laptop computer before beginning college. I had just graduated high school, only had a little money, but had just received a large amount of cash and checks from my family and friends as graduation presents. I knew that Ohio University already provided computers in each residence hall room and had countless computer labs scattered across campus available for free usage. Although many of my friends had already ordered or obtained their own computers, I still felt reluctant to spend so much money on an item I wasn't sure I needed.

My ultimate decision was influenced by my parents, convincing me that despite my perceived lack of need, having my own computer would come in extremely handy once I began school. Fortunately, I had a relative who was an employee at Dell and was eligible for a sizable discount. Unfortunately, I had to foot the bill for the entire cost of the computer. More than four years later, however, my computer has never had to be fixed or rebooted. This type of fix is common among laptop computers, especially the Dell brand. Despite my initial anxiety about the large purchases, I have experience no cognitive dissonance whatsoever. In addition, I am confident in its speed and capability and can name countless occasions when I was immensely thankful for having access to my own machine.

My two most influential values were based on the utility of my purchase and the social status associated with owning one's personal computer. I realize that there are still very few people in the world that even have the option of owning their own laptop or desktop. Among my peers, there is a further divide between those who own more high powered computers and those who own a Mac vs. PC. Owning no computer at all sets one aside into an entirely different category. While I am thankful for the needs that my computer is able to fulfill, I am well aware of the status boost associated with it. Therefore, it can be accurately described that I own my computer and enjoy it based on it's value for my work as well as the social mobility.

Marketing through music

Over the course of my life, there are many songs which I have identified as being "my favorite song." What I have come to realize, is that my favorite music genre, artist or song is contingent upon my mood and time of day. When I think of how music may be used to influence my buying decisions or marketing impressions, I immediately think of modern hip-hop music. In retail stores where I shop, I am almost always put into a better mood when a popular, up-beat song is played over loud speakers. The reason is likely to be because it reminds me of evenings I spent with friends at college. In addition, I often workout listening to music in that genre, which makes me feel "pumped-up" and energetic (positive association).

In commercials, I can also specifically remember certain campaigns that appealed to me because of the song that was played in the background. Freecreditreport.com is a highly success TV advertising campaign that composed it's own songs using a variety of musical categories. The songs and jingles are highly catchy and easy to remember, regardless of whether or not one likes the song to begin with.

Apple Inc. also does an excellent job of associating popular songs with ads for the popular iPod mp3 player. Because the product has a direct use for playing music, associating it with mainstream popularity has obvious advantages. I particularly remember when a new popular music video was distributed by the popular artist called Feist. The iPod commercial featured the video and integrated the iPod in a glamour shot in only 30 seconds. This is obviously very memorable, given that I can easily recall the details and visual effect of the advertisement.

Time disposal

I general dispose of time in a structured manner, planning each weekday as it seems most productive to me. I do not like the feeling of having wasted time or money and planning in advance is a critical step to avoiding such a result. In regard to shopping, I loathe browsing shops with no particular purchase in mind. In my opinion, this is the beginning of what can dangerously become a way to waste one's money.

I am certainly a "keeper" when it comes to items that I have purchased at various times throughout my life. I like to keep documents, old equipment and clothes for both novelty purposes and perceived utility purposes. I have often have ill-feelings that I were to dispose of something, I may need it at a critical moment sometime in my future. That being said, I have plastic bins and boxes stored at various locations in order to retain some of my oldest possessions.

I also enjoy thrift store shopping, or "thrifting." While I do not shop at these locations to find clothes to wear on a day-to-day basis, I almost always visit one of these locations first when shopping for a "fun" outfit, Halloween costume or deliberately funny clothing. In the past, I have purchases sport jackets and t-shirts from these places. I realize that many people are forced to shop at these stores out of necessity, and sometimes feel bad for buying something someone else may have needed more than I. On the other hand, I think thrifting is an activity that should be enjoyed by people of every socio-economic status.

Buying counterfeit items

I shop to win. Most of my purchases are made out of necessity, but I do occasionally indulge in items that are not critical to my day-to-day lifestyles. Generally speaking, I follow the consumer decision-making process. However, the rate at which I go through the process varies for each product. Grocery shopping, for example, is an activity where I typically buy the same or similar items on a week-to-week basis or bi-weekly basis. At one point in my past, I went through the buying decision process on some level, but no long have a need to execute this tool now that I know what I need.

When I think of counterfeit items, there are two items that immediately come to mind: Oakley sunglasses and designer purses. In my own experience, I have never purchased either although I have shopped for both at one time or another. On a trip to New York City, I traveled to Chinatown simply for the novelty experience of being taken in a backroom to see the rumored knock-off purses. There are even episodes hosted by network television that document the production and sale of such products. Oakley sunglasses hold a similar status advantage for men. In my case, I feel that I almost never look good in any sunglasses, and therefore am less tempted to spend $50-$100 on a pair of sunglasses that I may never wear. In addition, I tend to break sunglasses easily which further deters me from wanting to make any superfluous expenditures.

I do not have a problem with others purchasing counterfeit items,unless the practice is blatantly illegal for a particular item. If the person knows the item being purchased is an emulator of knock-off, there is some novelty in owning an item that brings some happiness to a person's life. Status symbols come in a variety of forms and I believe everyone has a right to purchase what they like with money they have earned (within all legal boundaries).

How has your favorite song been used to market to you?

I have had many favorite songs over the years and it would be inaccurate to claim just one. There are some artists and songs that I have intensely enjoyed for short periods of time and others that I continue to listen to years later.

Most of my favorite music was created in the '90s era, a time when I was growing up as a teenager. I recall my first favorite song as "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind.

There are innumerable ways which marketers use music to aid their strategies and tactics. Apple's iPod commercials are an especially good example of this method. In each ad, popular mainstream songs are often featured, which play while people listening to iPods dance and have fun. This immediately associates the positive feeling of listening to a particular song and using an iPod to do it.

Retail stores almost always use music to augment a particular atmosphere of their store. In an antique store, for example, a marketer may choose to play primarily oldies music to evoke feelings of nostalgia or era-loyatly. In chic designer stores such as Abercrombie & Fitch, marketers often choose to play loud, club atmosphere music to create the feeling of being in an exclusive setting.

Wherever there is audio available, music can used in virtually any marketing plan.

How marketers capitalize on your senses

I have a nose that rivals that of a bloodhound. Especially when it comes to identifying food. Ever since I was a child, if a scent is present even in the slightest bit, I can almost always pick out what my nose is detecting.

In today's consumer society, there is an infinite number of ways that marketers capitalize on the sense of smell. Every (respectable) store one has ever visited is suited to have a unique scent. Not only does a unique olfactory presence create a more pleasant environment, but it helps consumers associate a good shopping experience with a specific brand.

Abercrombie & Fitch, for example, has the same smell in every retail store I have ever been inside. The aroma is typically modeled after a line of cologne of perfume that is being sold, which is 100% unique to the Abercrombie brand. This is brilliant on Abercrombie's strategic approach, since you can purchase the same smell at the counter and take it with you following your clothing purchases.

Any successful food store (bakeries especially) take great pains to ensure that what you smell is enticing. A hungry shopper is apt to buy anything that looks and smells delicious to them. Freshness, healthiness, and taste can all be expressed through a carefully engineered scent.

Conversely, a poorly planned or unpleasant smell can be detrimental to a business. As a student at Ohio University, I recently went to Walmart for weekly errands. While many Walmarts tend to be enormous, there are a variety of smells that impact a shoppers experience. While browsing the produce section, I was disgusted with both the appearance and odor coming from a pile of cantalopes. Not only did I not want to purchase the cantalope, but I was then hesitant to buy anything from the produce department.

While a cantalope is considered a smaller purchase, my experience had a negative effect on my willingness to buy anything from the whole section of food. While I still purchased a few small items, I did not feel good about the money I was spending. As a result, I will likely shop more frequently at Kroger to get fruits, vegetables and other perishable foods. In all, I spent about $15 on food at Walmart in that particular section, as opposed to my normal $30+.