Seven Jeans

In class we have been talking about subjects like brand equity and Vera Wang's line at Kohl's. I have been noticing another brand that has lowered its prices and brand identity to reach a new market and that is Seven jeans. These jeans are now being sold at Kohl's also when I first noticed this I thought maybe that this is okay and it can have a blue label like Ralph Lauren's Polo line or Armani Exchange. The difference is that even though these companies also have blue labels they have been able to retain a level of exclusivity. Seven Jeans does not seem as though there are as successful. Ralph Lauren and Armani are brands that have been around for years and have a faithful consumer base and they also have faithful consumers who though they cannot afford wish they could. Today I went to Ross and they had a pair of Seven jeans for 19.99. I found this to be astonishing. Suddenly I no longer liked the jeans even though they were cute. I am someone who appreciates feeling like I have something that the average person may not. Selling jeans at a major discounter like Ross makes the company much less exclusive. I wonder what the discounted blue label of Seven jeans will do to the overall perception of its brand? I also wonder why I wasn't as disgusted when I saw a cable Polo sweater for 24.99.

Taking advertising too seriously

A few Days ago in class we were discussing ethical advertising. While I do believe it is wrong to advertise overly sexual clothing, such as under wear that says eye candy and things of that nature, to children I think sometimes people simply take advertising too seriously. There is an ad that old navy is currently running that many seem to be taking offense to. The ad is for the new old navy jeans called diva, sweetheart, and flirt. The supposed offensive material was the song playing in the background. The song was a rendition of “Blue Alert” by Madeline Peyroux. Some people apparently felt the lyrics “she said no and no again” promoted sexual assault. But personally I feel that is a stretch. The song never indicates directly what she is saying no to. Also the action being shown also does not indicate any type of sexual assault. None of the women in the ad are even being pursued by men. The first girl, the “Diva”, is the only woman even shown with a man during the ad, and she is receiving a foot message, which does not in any way represent assault. Also at the end of the ad the women all leave together, not with men. Even though the class was told prior to viewing the ad that it was offensive, no one even identified that the song was the offensive material. I think that the song choice had nothing to do with the lyrics “she said no and n0 again”, but had more to do with how the song fit the theme of the commercial. The ad showed the three women in an urban setting and I feel the music promoted the glamorous yet laid back feel the ad was trying to convey. Saying this ad is offensive is simply just taking it too far.

The Gap has Fallen

In class on yesterday we talked about the Gap and how the company's brand equity has been on the steady decline in the past couple of years. We credited their continued demise to the fact that their core customer the middle class consumer is thinning out and becoming non existent. I agree that their target customer may becoming small, but there are some ways that the company could improve its products in order to regain a better position in the marketplace.

The first improvement I believe the Gap could make is to establish differentiation between itself and it's competitors in the marketplace. There have been many times when I have found an identical garment in Old Navy and the Gap. The Gap needs to look at what their competitors are doing well, stores such as Express and The Limited. The stores sell more of a lifestyle geared to the middle class consumer. Though their target price point is middle class, consumers of many economic classes are drawn to their products because they feel the products are differentiated from those of other retailers and portrays a lifestyle they wish to attain. The Gap has failed to differentiate themselves at all.

I believe that the Gap could become much more of a success if they try to differentiate their products with maybe a more fashion forward design. They also could benefit by promoting a certain lifestyle to be associated with the consumer. Portraying exactly whom they choose to target. With these improvements I think that the Gap will have a long future as the flagship store of its company.