Response to Drew's post

Do you think Nike does a good job at branding themselves? Is there product is easy to identify and distinguish itself from competitors?

Nike does a great job at marketing themselves. They have a HUGE market. They market all the way from basketball players  to soccer stars to snowboard pros. Each one of these groups believes that nike is a top brand for their sport because they market and produce their products in the best way possible. It wasn't always this way. About ten years ago Nike was not known as one of the top brands. They figured out how to market themselves to be a "cool" brand beginning with the air force one basketball shoes and using Michael Jordan as their campaign. Using such a role model for marketing made everyone think that their brand was the best. They then tapped into another market with Nike 6.0 shoes which were appealing to skateboarders and snowboarders. This gave them the idea that Nike was a desired company to represent. A couple years later they came out with snowboard boots that are top of the line performance giving snowboarders the idea that Nike is one of the best companies to use. They target different groups of people at different times making it seam like Nike is specific to their sport and they need to have it. Nike is easy to identify from its competitors with their logo and style.

Bottled Water

Bottled water is the second largest commercial beverage category volume in the united states. We buy bottled water for the convenience, but certain types are marketed differently. Fiji water has a price per bottle of up to $1.50. Smart water reaches almost $2. Your general local gas station water is usually the cheapest around 99 cents. It is surprising to me that people are willing to buy water for a higher cost because of the way it is marketed. I find Fiji water and smart water to be the most popular and most expensive. I believe this is because their marketing makes you feel like their water is healthier and better than other brands. It gives off a more sophisticated feel to it and Fiji water is said to be blessed by the Buddha in Fiji. When in reality there is no difference between your local gas station bottled water and a type of water labeled fiji or smart water. The water goes through a filtration system and it there is no extra health benefits from one type of bottled water to the next. I always go for the cheapest price but if I do know many people that are will to pay extra for the more prestigious brands of water. This shows how big of an effect marketing has on people. If you took the exotic label off of a fiji bottle and left the price tag, next to a "cumberland farms" water bottle 50 cents cheaper, people would most likely choose the cheaper bottle.

Do you buy Fiji water or Smart water over a brand like "Cumberland Farms Natural Spring Water?" Even though it is more expensive, why would you buy it?