Meet Lauren Mendelson June 16, 2009
Posted by Mark Blei in : Staff posts , trackbackThis week we begin a new feature where we introduce you to a few new staff members at Dynamic Logic every week . Here they will discuss their specialties, new challenges they may have faced and how the challenges were overcome, interesting projects they have worked on and new things that they have learned.
We hope that it will serve as a vehicle to allow you to get to know us better and through this to have a better understanding of our capabilities and the types of unique challenges we meet head on everyday.
I invite you to meet Lauren Mendelson.
My name is Lauren Mendelson and I’m involved in research, working out of the New York City office.
I recently analyzed a study for a car manufacturer, who was trying to expand their image. Traditionally, this manufacturer’s cars were marketed as budget friendly, reliable vehicles. However this new model was positioned as being upscale, luxurious and elite. The brand was not trying to change their image, but rather expand the way in which they were perceived. The manufacturer decided that for this campaign, their target market was affluent respondents.
Then the campaign closed, and I analyzed the results by income. When looking at the target affluent group, I found that they did not react in a positive manner as the manufacturer had predicted. Instead, this group showed no statistical movement at all. What is interesting is that low income respondents responded very positively and increased their persuasion metrics, including intent to buy this new expensive model.
What should this marketer do? Do they change the way they present this new automobile in future advertisements to ensure that the affluent target is positively impacted? Or do they keep their advertising the same, and try to appeal to the lower to mid-range income bracket, that they had previously overlooked when originally designing their marketing strategy?
I’m not sure what direction the marketing team will choose, but it is an interesting dilemma. Historically, it is easier for an elite brand to expand their image for the “everyday” person, than vice versa. For example, now Vera Wang designs for Kohls, and both Roberto Cavalli and Stella McCartney have designed for H&M – all examples of high-end brands that went mainstream. However, it is much more difficult for a low-end brand to successfully appeal to an affluent consumer. If McDonalds were to come out with pricey gourmet meals, it is highly unlikely that affluent people will leave the tried and true such as Wolfgang Puck or Jean George, to venture over to Mickey Dee’s for the same meal.
This car manufacturer faces a similar problem as the hypothetical McDonalds example. Only time will tell which marketing direction they will choose and I eagerly await the results!
When not conducting research, I enjoy traveling, photography, and spending time with my dog. I am getting a new puppy in a few weeks and I can’t wait!
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