How I have the biggest role in what I buy

Lifestyle and personality are important topics we touched on in class recently, discussing how who you are is used and manipulated by marketers to influence your purchasing. Many brands and product lines are well aware of where their largest target market lies, and thus try to appeal to such groups by replicating their personalities and lifestyles in their own advertisements.

Shortly after discussing this topic, I started to take note of how true this really is in virtually any advertisement or marketing effort. A particular example of this being true with a product I purchased, was Carleton's Ski and Board club organizing the annual Tremblant trip 'Snow Butter'. Although the organizers and advertisers of this event aren't marketing students or business professionals at all, they were right in line with targeting their audience through their consumers' lifestyles. 

Had this been a simple advertisement for a weekend ski trip at Tremblant with Carleton, I probably would not have been interested and not have spent my money on it. However, the executives of this Carleton University club amped up the trip so much, in so many ways it really got me excited to go and sign up. The students advertising this event knew exactly what group would want to go to this trip and exactly how to get us there. They posted videos of previous years at Snow Butter, gave loose agendas of how time would be spent, talked about all the night life and parties that go on after the skiing or boarding, and generally got a large crowd excited about something many of us knew little about. 

This particular Tremblant Snow Butter trip could be classified as a consumption constellation, which is a set of products used by consumers to define, communication and perform social roles. (SWD, p.168) How this trip can be classified as a consumption constellation is it gives those who purchase their trip the opportunity to show others who they are. The particular social role given from this trip is the "laid back" individual or "partier". It not only reflects on the consumer's lifestyle choices (skiing/snowboarding, partying) but their personality traits too. 

The trip advertisers replicated the personalities and lifestyles of those they had suspected would have interest, and incorporated it into the publication of the event. They used Facebook to post about the event, which could also be a cue of them coinciding with our lifestyles. 

Circular Motivation

My motivation has become a complex, circular force.What has motivated me to buy, has now been motivated by my purchase. Confused? Let me explain.

In September, after a summer of seeing several of my friends completing obstacle courses, triathlons and half marathons I decided to create my own goal of running a half marathon for the next summer. In creating this goal I recognized my need of new running gear. Although I already have appropriate running and training attire, I believed getting new, attractive sports apparel would better motivate me to actually train for this goal, as well as achieve it.

Couple of the items I purchased                       

After making the purchase of several items including shoes, shirts and shoes, exampled above, and spending quite a bit of money, I felt there was no backing out of this goal now. The actual purchase of these products had increased my overall motivational strength, by now making me more willing to expend my energy to attain my goal. Just as I had predicted, I became much more motivated to workout and train for my half marathon.

This is relevant to what was discussed in class recently about why we buy in terms of motivation. We discussed two main theories of motivation in consumer consumption; 1) Drive Theory, 2) Expectancy Theory. Drive theory is related to an inner biological need, something that is rooted into us. Hunger for example would be an excellent example of drive theory motivation. This is not something we control, it is simply something that happens to all of us. Thus, our hunger drives us to purchase food. Expectancy theory however, is behaviours pulled by expectations of achieving desirable outcomes rather than pushed from within. My goal would be a perfect example of expectancy theory. 

With my goal, I have expected that with the purchase of new running apparel I will train harder and more frequently, with an end result of running a half marathon. This is not a biological need, it is something I have consciously created for myself. 

When really choosing my goal of what I wanted to do in terms of fitness (I knew it would be something fitness related) I considered several options. Perhaps a full marathon or the Tough Mudder obstacle course. However I thought more about what was discussed in class and remembered SMART goal setting. The 'R' is what stood out to me for the marathon, should I really be running a full marathon before even attempting a half marathon? So I decided to choose the option of a simple half marathon. Then I focused on the 's', was it specific? Fairly so, but I added a few details such as which specific event. I chose the Scotiabank half marathon. Was it measurable? Yep! Realistic? I believe with training, yes this goal can be achieved. Lastly, is the goal time-bound? This as well was checked off my list. The Scotiabank half marathon in Ottawa occurs around the same time every year in May, so beginning my goal in September gave me 8 months of training. 

Future me (in male form)

To participate in this event requires the purchase of a ticket, which proves how a simple goal can motivate multiple purchases. Not only was I buying running gear, and a ticket for this event, I was also purchasing sports drinks and good meals. Thus, again showing my point that motivation is a circular force in purchasing.