I just returned from a weekend trip to NYC with my 12 year old daughter. Being the brand designer that I am I could not help but notice the different marketing strategies and tactics used by various companies in the Big Apple. Here are my observations:
1. People like New (i.e, the New Coach line that just came out has been flying out of the stores for 3 weeks now)
2. Create addicts: tatoos (saw several ’sleeves’), Apple (I bought a $34 case for my ipod, knowing I could get one elsewhere much cheaper)
3. Atmosphere stimulates the target market’s, “hot buttons,” My daughter enjoyed getting a picture with the male model at the front of Abercrombie and the store feels like a club or a house party, Apple is clean and new, etc.)
4. Bargain shoppers ARE willing to work for better prices on quality products. (Century 21 beside Ground Zero)
5. Avid sports fans don’t like to shop on Sunday afternoon! The ESPN store in Times Square was empty!
6. Reviews/Awards/Top picks are highly influential. I know the car industry makes a huge deal about reviews and ratings. I was totally influenced by the, “top picks,” stickers in the Sophora cosmetic store. -Take home point: get on a list, get rated or ranked!
7. Gracious hospitality makes one want to stay and return. The Today Show hosts and crew were EXTREMELY friendly, welcoming, and genuinely made an effort to make a connection with every individual in the crowd. It was clearly part of their job to make sure the fans had fun, and felt appreciated for making the effort to get up early, and stand and wait for an hour and half to get a chance to be on television. My daughter and I now feel a CONNECTION with the Today Show, not because we were able to be on television, but because we talked to the hosts, the weather lady, the camera man, one of the set up crew members, and the head producer. I noticed the difference because directly behind us they were filming, “Morning Glory,” a feature film with gobs of crew members and a set that took over half the skating rink area at Rockefeller Plaza. We watched a few takes, but did not feel a, “connection,” to that movie like the Today Show evoked.
