Brands Connecting With Their Target

We spend a great deal of class talking about “who is the target?”  We have discussed what makes an ad good or bad.  We have also seen a fare share of commercials that are lets face it, just not funny and sometimes really dumb.  But nine out of ten times we think this, we are probably not the target so our feedback probably means very little to the company.  I always thought that ads should be made for all types of people so that everyone and their mom will want to buy the product.  I recently understood that the point of the target is to convert the most people in a specific demographic to be a consumer of the product and dominate that market before you start to grow demographically.   

For that reason companies have been hosting events, where their target will be, across the country to interact with their target.  I mean I’ve seen Kellogg and Kashi tents at the mother’s day 5k race in chicago.  At events like the 5k, I felt unconnected with the product almost like they were just another registration tent i would pass.  There was a lack of personal interaction.  Granted they were nice and happy, it was just too in your face for me which could be because I may not have been the target even though I was in the race.  It was not until Red Bull came to campus that I truly understood how companies are trying to connect more with their target and have a more personal bond with their target.  They had a contest where three groups of students created a band using only school supplies with the exception of Red Bull cans.  All participants were winners with free Red Bull and one of the three prizes all of which any college kid would enjoy; Summerfest tickets, Tickets off of a website similar to TicketMaster, and a $100 tab at a local bar or restaurant where Red Bull is sold.  I was just in the audience but I can contest that every single participant left that room with a good experience with Red Bull, including those who did not buy Red Bull previously

Smaller venues made the difference.  It was more personal than the tents at the race, there was more interaction and the event was long enough where I felt, even as an audience member, connected with the company and their employees than i ever did with Kashi or Kellogg.  

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