BOC Week Nine: Own Personal Brand

How would you create your own personal brand?
My own personal brand would be an evening gown line called Haley Blaine. Haley Blaine is my first and middle name, it already has personalization to it. The gowns would be luxury and exquisite. Along with the dresses, there would be a line of luxury cosmetics and makeup artists available for makeovers for each girls special day - the day when she will wear her glamourous dress she purchased from Haley Blaine.


What would your logo be?


How would you design business cards?
I would want my business cards to resemble my brand, so they would have to a have a unique and glamorous touch. Either a unique shape, fancy font, imprinted text, or even glittered would be some ideas for how I would create my cards.








What would your theme song be?
If I were to have a theme song a good one would be "Perfect Day" by Hoku.

Lyrics: "On this perfect day, Nothing's standing in my way. On this perfect day, When nothing can go wrong. It's the perfect day."

I chose this song because the purpose of my brand is to make every woman's "special day," (prom, homecoming, wedding, event) the perfect day.



What would you sell?
Haley Blaine would sell high end formal evening gowns for special occasions. Also, a line of somewhat customizable bridal gowns, with corresponding bridesmaid dresses. Finally, there would be a luxury skincare/cosmetics line inside the shop.


And who would your target audience be?

• The target audience would be women ages fifteen to twenty-seven.
• Upper class families with be the majority who shop from the brand due to the high price points
• The demographics of the girls will have a feminine and glamourous style

Finally, where would you show your brand? On television, in a store, or on the Internet?


My brand would be in its own Haley Blaine boutique, or in the formal section of stores like Nordstrom, Sax Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, and Neiman Marcus. The marketing would be shown in teen, women, and bridal magazines. Magazines such as: Cosmo, Vogue, Seventeen, and InStyle

There would also be lots of internet marketing especially through social media (Facebook, Pintrest, Twitter)

Finally, if the budget allowed, there would be a billboard in a popular and "rich" area of town.

Week Seven BOC: Visit to a Retailer

A retailer I visited was TJ Max. Being a discount retailer, the store layout wasn't fancy, but it was organized in a specific way. There was a section for purses, a section for women's, men's, children, and young adults. I was pleased with TJMax's cleanliness and organization for being a discount store. Typically stores like Ross or Marshals feel dirty and unorganized, TJMax does a good job of making their store a pleasant place to shop.



Their customer service was there when needed, but not "in-your-face" like some retailers. I noticed every so often, a voice recording would come on over the speakers with a woman saying "Hey Maxinista..." and would say something to make me feel good about shopping there. In the dressing room there was a sign that said "Get it! You know you want to!" I though that was a good marketing scheme to promote sales.



I was very pleased with my trip to TJMax and I am convinced that it is one of my favorite discount stores to shop in. I came out with some great items and didn't get the typical buyers remorse I tend to feel after a shopping trip.

Week Six BOC: Bruce Weber

BRUCE WEBER

Bruce Weber is a celebrity photographer who has worked for an unlimited amount of well known brands. A few examples are Abercrombie and Fitch, Ralph Lauren, and Vogue. Webers work has caused much controversy due to its content. Much of Bruce Webers photography is not necessarily pornographic is what is called "homoerotic." Homoeroticim is Concerning or arousing sexual desire centered on a person of the same sex. However, regardless of the innaproproat and shocking images, it's hard to deny that Weber is a talented photographer.


Bruce Weber first gained attention for his images in the 1980s shooting for Calvin Klein. The public loved his black and white toned images. Weber is most famous for his work with Abercrombie and Fitch. The sexy pictures of attractive young men and women bring much attention to the Abercrombie brand. Weber also produced a file titled “Chop Suey”; the named relating to the film showcasing a mix and variety of all his work. Along with his photography, Bruce Weber also does film work for music videos. Weber has produced videos for Pet Shop Boys and Chris Isaac.


My personal opinion of Bruce Weber is that he is great and talented photographer. In fact, I would be more than happy to model and shoot with him (as long as he let me keep my clothes on). I’ll agree that some of his images make me slightly uncomfortable, but I also find many of his images beautiful and pleasing to look at. I think his style fits the brand that use his images for their advertising.

Week Four BOC: Hawaiian Tropic

After 30 years of tradition, Hawaiian Tropic has retired their annual bikini competition. The brand used to hold a yearly Miss Hawaiian Tropic Pageant to find the new face for their product. “Ending the pageant underscores a shift that began when the personal care division of Energizer Holdings acquired Hawaiian Tropic in 2007.”

Instead of having a bikini competition, Hawaiian Tropic will chose “the new face of Hawaiian Tropic” for their brand. There was much shock amongst the public; it's hard to imaging ending a thirty year tradition! The brand is attempting to go a for a “neck up” approach to beauty.

“Bikini contests as a tactic just don’t resonate with our consumer and don’t fit with who the brand is now,” said Danielle Duncan, the brand manager for Hawaiian Tropic.

It is, however, understandable that the brand would want to steer away from a stereo type Hawaiian Tropic girl. Maybe Hawaiian Tropic hoping to show the public that beauty can come is all shapes and sizes. Even though the competitions are exciting and men love them, it just isn’t the image that Hawaiian Tropic wants anymore.

These days social media is ginormous. Almost everything is tied with social media in one way or another. Moving the contest to Facebook is saving time and money. Girls on Facebook are counting the days until the competition starts; there are many girls excited to be a part of the change.

“ I believe in Hawaiian Tropic, and it's new innovations to change the face of the company.” Says a comment on the Hawaiian Tropic Facebook page. It will be interesting to see the effects of the new change.

Week Three BOC: Apple Juice Scandal

Many are aware that companies may not always tell the entire truth in their advertisements or marketing. A smart person will know not to always trust a label. Business is business and companies have to make a profit, even if it means bending the truth a little. A smart consumer will know how to read between the lines when they hear a brand slogan. But what if a company skipped right over bending the truth and completely lied to its consumers. As if that wasn't bad enough, what if their consumers were babies? Beechnut Apple Juice completely lied to it's customers back in a case during 1987. The company made their juice from sugar water and a little flavoring, and had to the nerve to call their product apple juice.

Beechnut was a trusted brand by mothers who fed apple juice to their babies when doctors would recommend the sweet drink to their patients children who needed more fluid. Moms thought they were purchasing apple juice made from actual apples, when all they were really buying was colored/flavored sugar water. "The product that Beech-Nut had been marketing as 100 percent apple juice was actually made from beet sugar, cane sugar syrup, corn syrup and other ingredients, with little if any apple juice in the mixture. Prosecutors said at the time of the indictment that the bogus apple juice cost about 20 percent less to make than real apple juice."

''We believe that Beech-Nut's fine represents the largest fine ever paid under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by at least sixfold since the act's enactment in 1938,'' Richard K. Willard, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the civil division, said in Washington.The phony juice caused the company to pay a $2 million fine. "He said that the misrepresented juice, although not pure apple juice, contained only ''safe food ingredients'' and had presented no danger to health." It is still dishonesty. Sugar isn't good for babies to have to much of; the company basically “poisoned” their consumers and has forever scarred their brand. Niels L. Hoyvald and John F. Lavery were the men responsible for such a scandal. They were both sentenced to jail time and owed thousands of dollars for their dishonesty. It's amazing what people will do for an extra buck.