Consuming: A Celebration of Ourselves

"People often buy products not for what they do but for what they mean." - pg. 16 of Solomon text

One of the hardest thing to do as a consumer is explain what type of consumer we are, or even explain why we buy a certain product. Consumers do know that there is a reason for buying certain products over others, even if they can't pin down that reason. Seldom is their only one choice for a certain product, but many choices that essentially accomplish the same end result.

Consumers love choices because it allows them to separate themselves from other consumers. There is a million reasons a person would pick one product over the other initially. Many of these decision are made using reason and can be explained and others are harder to explain. I liked the textbooks explanation of a persons relationship with a product based on self-concept attachment which is the establishment of a user's identity through the product.

Myself as a consumer will associate a product with a person I know or an event in my past. If I have a deep connection with that person or event then I have already established a relationship with that product.


I loved this hat because It brought back good memories and therefore Adidas represented part of my past and part of me.

Brands Relationship with a Person
Certain brands target certain people from the function of the product and the types of communities they are used in. I took a look at SmartWool company because I believe they did an amazing job of developing the relationship they already had with their customer base and getting new customers without a well known logo. Watch this video to get an idea of what it means to wear SmartWool.

http://vimeo.com/41393072