It's the Final

After reflecting on the past semester and what I had learned in Consumer Behavior particular, I came to realize that I look at advertising and commercials completely differently now. Before I would see a commercial and be your typical consumer who would just blankly stare at the screen and later purchase that product without realize what the company is actually selling. For example, learning about the four models of consumer learning made me start understanding advertising and how a consumer learns through different models. Also, surveying and using the information to form a targeting strategy allowed me to understand more about making commercials and why companies use certain information and exclude others. Consumer Behavior class showed how advertising is not only based on the consumer needs but there is a lot more that companies have to take into consideration.

Peace, Love, Consumer Behavior!

Reference Groups

JCPenney is a well-know department store that is highly trusted in the fashion industry. Using reference groups is part of JCPenney's marketing strategy. Reference groups are persons, groups, and institutions one uses as points of reference. There are three forms of reference group influence and JCPenney's Back to School commercial uses the normative influence which occurs when a consumer's decision or action is based on his or her desire to conform  to the expectations of someone else. In the ad for JCPenney, the expectation is to have fun and be dressed to impress on the first day of school . The ad shows teenagers having fun and dancing around with their friends, dressed in stylish new clothing. An important aspect of a teenagers' life is fitting in and looking cool around your friends. The targeted audience for this ad and the reference group influence used all makes sense by showing the clothing and the teenagers having fun with friends and fitting in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V-0pW-tZX8

Ladies, it ain't easy bein' independent

My primary VALS type is Experiencer and my secondary type is Innovator. When we took the survey in class, we took a vote to see how many people were Experiencer and majority of the class fell into that category. The reason for that would be our age group and our generation. We are impulsive consumers and we want to have the latest and greatest of the product. The defition of Experiencer says that we spent a large portion of our income on fashion, entertainment and socializing. And I am a prime example for that. I spent more than half of my paycheck on clothing and I always feel like I don't have enough. I always feel the need to see the latest movie or go out to the best restaurants. I do believe I am Experiencer and I do place looking good and having "cool" stuff up on my priority list. 

My second VALS type is Innovator. The first sentence of the definition of Innovators is "take-charge people with high self-esteem". I do a lot at Roger Williams and I like being in charge of projects or at work. I am a perfectionist and I like to make sure that everything is getting done the right way. Also Innovators are "change leaders" and embrace new ideas and technologies. I recently invited Will Perez, a Brown medical student involved with medical programs in Haiti to come and speak with Roger Williams students. The idea was all mine and I organized the event. I loved how many students showed up and how it was a different program from anything we had done before at our school. Also, Innovators are conserned with image, not as evidence of status or power but as evidence of their taste and independence and I fit that category very well. I don't do projects or events because I want to be popular on campus but I want people to look back on the things I've done in life and say that I've made a change. 

I think the VALS types that I had fit my personality lifestyle very well and I agree with most things that the defition explain about each one. 

Peace, Love, Innovator/Experiencer

Brite Lites, Milf Town

Milford, CT is a second city in Connecticut, right on the coast 45 minutes away from New York City and 10 minutes away from New Haven. I did not grow up in Milford, however I went to high school there and I consider Milford to be my hometown. Milf town, as most of my classmates would call it, is a city with two high schools, always into sports and very family orientated. The primary PRIZM clusters for my hometown were the Brite Lites, Li'l City, Home Sweet Home, Young Influencials, Pools & Patios and Second City Elite. All of those have something in common and that's that most of the families are younger with some or no children who work white collar jobs and spent their weekends grilling by the pool. We are small city with a big heart, as our slogan would indicate. We have a gorgeous downtown area where familes spent weekends watching and feeding the ducks, as well as shopping in the little boutiques around the main street. Most of the families would in the New Haven greater area or the New York/Stamford area. However, they love coming back to Milford to relax, quickly shop at Stop & Shop and relax by the pool. As I've said earlier, many of the teenagers refer to Milford as Milf town. To my generation Milf means Mother I Like to....(I think you get the point), this relates to my town's PRIZM because my town has a lot of young families with attractive spouses who my generation would consider Milfs. I think you can get the reference and how it pertains to the PRIZM cluster of my town.

Jingle, Jingle-Bracelet girl

Thinking about a possession that is closely tied to my sense of identity was hard and stressful. However, I took a little survey and asked my friends about what's the first thing that pops into their head when they think of me and the survey was unanimous-my bracelets. I have 13 bracelets on my hands currently and every single one has a meaning in my life. On my left hand, I have two friendship bracelets from my roommate, Erica that I have had for 2 years now; a bracelet from Mexico, which I got on a trip with my parents over winter break; a Bulgarian bracelet; my Pandora bracelet; a white stone thin bracelet from my aunt and two bracelets(one pink, one turquoise) from the previous summer. On my right hand, I have a red string which is against bad luck and bad fortune; a blue and gold friendship bracelet and a Spirit chain bracelet from Orientation Team; a thick multi-color bracelet from a friend who went to Hawaii and a black and gold friendship bracelet from my good friend, Shannon.

Now you have a visual of all my bracelet, I guess I should explain why they are so closely tied to my identity. I adore jewelry and I like having a lot of bracelets on my hands. However, most of the bracelets that I have, have a deep personal meaning and value in my life. I like to have my friends close to me and some of my bracelets represent just that, my friends. Also, people now just listen to the jingle that my bracelets make and assure I am in close proximity. I suppose one day I will take most of them off but in the near future, they are not going anywhere.

I hear a lot of times people make comments if their phones are not near them that they feel "naked" and I feel the same way without my bracelets-naked. I don't hide behind my bracelets, quite the opposite actually. I express myself through them. They are wonderful conversation starters and people love playing with them. I, on the other hand, love them and consider them a very valuable part of my identity and well-being.

Peace, Love, Bracelets =)

Priming

Ever wonder, what you want to do before you die. Me neither, until a show on MTV became a huge part of my life and made me realize how much time we have on our hands and how that time could be occupied by doing things you would have never thought of doing before. The Buried Life is a TV show on MTV that started with four guys from Canada who decided they wanted to accomplish 100 things on their list before they died, the catch was for every things crossed off their list, they would help someone on the road achieve something on their list. They kept a video blog which they then sold to MTV and that's how I was exposed to the best show. You are probably wondering at this point, how is this priming. Isn't it obvious? By showing a show like that, MTV is priming us, (the teenagers), to start looking at our life in a different light. We become more involved and we start thinking in terms of what exactly do I want to achieve before I die, how can I not waste my precious time I have left and why am I not helping other people around me do the same. After watching the show for the first time, I told all my friends and we all started our bucket lists and now, a year later, we are all patiently awaiting the second season of the show and we have crossed out plenty on our own lists. This is a prime example of priming.
So please, go on your computers and begin your list of things to do before you die and don't forget to help out other along the way.

Peace, Love, What do you want to do before you die?

Joining In/Staying Out

Before I began writing this particular blog, I had a conversation with  my friends about all the different groups we all belong to. I am a college student, a New Englander, a now generation member, a student leader, a hippie/fashionable woman, an active humanitarian and more. One that stood out for me was a hippie/fashionable woman. I love fashion and I am highly attracted to clothing that has a story or clothing that expresses my mood in a particular day. The group that I belong to is the Peace Generation, as I would like to call it. Our symbol that we identify with is the Peace symbol and we all believe in peace and love. I purchase clothing from various different stores but I try to purchase things that have a better cause than just making me look "cute". For example, the brand TOMS shoes, is my favorite shoe brand. The founder, Blake Mycoskie is also a part of the Peace Generation and his brand is all about giving back to the world. For every pair of TOMS shoes sold, a pair of shoes is donated to child in need. The shoes come in various colors, patterns and designs but the general aspect of them is the comfortability and the good feeling that comes after purchasing them. Our community, (The Peace Generation), associates with companies that offer comfortability, as well as a good cause and of course fashion sense. Something that stood out when I was reading Walker was that you don't have to participate in the community  in order to be a part of it. The example he used was about skateboarding and the community around it. With the Peace Generation, you don't have actually believe in peace and try your hardest to help the world in order to be a part of the community around it and wear TOMS and feel accomplished. 

A group that I don't belong to is the J.Crew generation. J. Crew stands for clean, beautiful shapes that are professional looking and bright colors all into one. The brand the group associates with is J. Crew. The stores all around the country are very "preppy" like with a professional spin. The reason why I don't belong to this group is not because I don't like the clothes, and I am an owner of J.Crew clothing, but the style is not me. I love the way their clothes look on certain people but I don't seem to fall into that category. Maybe one day, I will be a J.Crew follower and look like the girls in the magazine ads but for right now I will stay true to  my believes and sense of style and stay a Peace Generation child. 

Peace, Love, Joining In/Staying Out

The Pretty Good Problem!

After reading about Seth Godin's "remarkable" purple cow, I came to think about my lately purchases and one really stuck out. I think everyone is familiar with Longchamp, a handbag, luggage and leather company. If you walk around our beautiful campus, you might start noticing a trend in the girls' handbags. Vera Bradley, North Face and then Longchamp. The handbags are very durable and the material they are made of is very strong. The leather handles and the clasp all add to the appeal of the company. Now, I purchased my first Longchamp right at the end of May. I was on a family trip with my family in Canada and I walked into a store where the brand was available. What makes my Longchamp "remarkable" is the fact that rigth across the bag are four numbers 2708. I have no idea what the significance of the numbers are, however they are the "purple" to my handbag. Everytime I walk around campus and see all the Longchamp handbags I think to myself, thank you Canada for providing me with my "remarkable" Longchamp!

Peace, Love, The Pretty Good Problem!

I Got The Magic In Me!

There is magical place called Savers. Located on a busy street in Fall River, MA, with a catchy line "Good deeds, Great deals", Savers is the place to go if you want to escape from your everyday life and become a character in a fairytale or an 80's flash dancer. I have been to Savers multiple times in the past few months due to the fact that I was part of the Orientation Team and we had theme dinners which asked for dressing up as different characters and as I have mentioned before Savers is the place to go for such things.
Now, my most recent purchase was for the 80's day at my Student Advocate training. Being an 80's child I was more than excited for this dress up day. The trip began with me, my roommate Erica, my friend Matt, Erin and Matt pilling into the car and driving away, blasting B.O.B's hit "Magic" and dancing up and down. We started seeing signs for Fall River, the boys began questioning where exactly Savers was and I, being the frequent visitor, knew exactly what exit to take. Once at Savers, we went a little crazy in the beginning. As I said, Savers is a magical place and you can get lost very easily inside. The boys started looking and touching everything they could get their hands on. I, on the had hand, had a bigger mission. From the get go, I saw light yellow skinny jeans in the midst of a ray of blue jeans. YES! BINGO! They were perfect. Perfect size, perfect color, perfect fit. I was so excited! My excitement carried on to everyone, because once I found my jeans, everyone started to find all the perfect 80's attires. Matt found beautiful, multicolored leggings (which I know own) and Erica acquired neon orange shorts. Despite the fact that we were only going to Savers to buy 80's clothes, Matt managed to find a rocking chair that fits his personality better than a glove. Not only is his last name, Rockett, but the rocking chair was everything he had ever wanted from a chair. It was a match made in heaven.
To end this beautiful story, my trip to Savers and my purchase of the jeans was all great but seeing my friends purchase things that describe them or that fit their lives perfectly made me love Savers even more. Not only is Savers a magical place where magic truly happens, it's a place where I can spend precious moments with my friends and enjoy the laugher and the giggles of a young, worry-free family-me, Matt, Erica, Erin and Matt.

Peace, Love, Savers!

The Now Generation?

Lately I have been listening to a lot of music and one song has really stuck with me. The Black Eyed Peas-"Now Generation". If you haven't had a chance to listen to it, I suggest you do. The beat is great and it's a catchy song. But once you get past the beat and actually listen in to the lyrics, the song has a deep meaning that has me questioning a lot about our generation and what our role in this life really is. The basic summary of the song lyrics is that the "Now Generation" wants and needs everything right now.
"Google is my professor, Wikipedia, checker" "Myspace is your space, Facebook is that new place" "Text me and I text you back, Check me on the iChat, I'm all about that http, you're a PC, I'm a Mac".
I am part of the "Now Generation" and the lyrics to this song prove that. My generation is always concerned with being connected, being in the know and always being present. If we are not on our phones constantly, we are checking our Facebook or looking up things online and checking up YouTube videos. I was talking to my friends the other day and our conversation was all about the internet, who we emailed, what we saw online, the new most viewed video on YouTube and of course who texted us and who we texted back. But is it a bad thing? I mean, yes we are way too concerned with technology and we are always wanting things immediately but could it be that bad? We are a generation that is always in the know and always creating and trying new technologies that are making life easier and more informative. I do agree with the fact that sometimes we get too wrapped up in our busy, online lives but if Facebook didn't exist how would be able to network for jobs and keep in touch with families in different continents.
My "huh" moment came about when I realized that we get judged based on our generation and being part of the "Now Generation" a lot of generalizations come with being a part of that group. However, I want to prove to people that despite the fact that I am part of the "Now Generation" I can still carry on an intelligent conversation and sit patiently in line and wait for my coffee and bagel. Yes, I do love being informed, getting my mail directly to my phone, and texting my friends about lunch, but I always do love sitting at home on the couch and reading a good book or catching up with parents.

Peace, Love, The Now Generation member

All About Me

My name is Polina Angel, and I am currently a junior at Roger Williams University. I am a Marketing major and Graphic Design minor. I was born and raised in Bulgaria and I moved to the States in 2004. I currently live in CT with  my parents and my older sister, who recently became engaged. I am very involved on my campus and I really believe in making a change. I love fashion and I want to work in New York City, hopefully in a fashion magazine. I love my friends and my family is my everything. I'm very motivated and driven. I tend to overwhelm myself with all the projects but the end results are always rewarding. =)
Peace, Love, All About Me!