5/20/2021 IGNITOR Student

NOTES
' i.m.|::. focus

Crocs is a brand of footwear widely worn by young and old alike. Many people own multiple pairs
of the somewhat clumsylooking shoes that are made from a plastic— like foam resin. And for
every product owner, there are several other people who wouldn't be caught dead wearing Crocs.
Regardless of your personal view, the fact is that Crocs became a successful brand very quickly.
The Coloradobased company was founded in 2002 by three buddies who took frequent boating
trips together. While sailing in the Caribbean on one occasion, one of the trio were a pair of foam
clogs he had purchased in Canada. Favorable response from others encouraged the three bud
dies to start their own company to market a footwear item they named Crocs. They purchased
the product from a Canadian company that had proprietary rights to the foam resin from which
Crocs are formed. This resin, called Croslite, is lightweight, antibacterial, and foot— forming. After
adding a strap to the back of the original clogs, the partners started selling Crocs at boat shows
and at other events that attracted potential purchasers. It wasn't long before wordof—mouth iii—
fluence resulted in a rapid increase in sales and widespread distribution in many different types
of retail outlets.
After realizing sales of only $1 million in 2003, by 2007 Crocs generated sales of more than
$800 million from shoes sold in over 40 countries! Much of the brand's success is due to its
fulfilling consumers' functional needs for a comfortable and an easy—tocarefor footwear item——
slip them on and hose them off when they get dirty. The brand’s phenomenal achievements also
can be attributed to creative marketing that has affiliated Crocs with universities, professional
Sports teams, and other highequity associations. in a sense, when purchasing Crocs the con—
sumer purchases a functional product that is laden with emotional connection to, say, your own
university.

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lenging, mentally entertaining, and so on). The Dove advertisement (Figure 4.4) represents
this brand's traditional positioning as an especially flavorful chocolate candy (Seduction by
Chocolate). Consumers are promised the experi—
a registered trademark o w n e d by Mars. Incorporated

Nelson Educational Ltd, Advertisement printed with permission

Incorporated is not associated with Cengage Learning, Inc.,-'

ence of tasting a special product (”A chocolate ex-

perience like no other").
It is important to necognize that brands often
offer a mixture of functional, symbolic, and ex-
periential benefits. It has been argued that suc—
cessful positioning requires a communication 0 .
strategy that entices a single type of consumer
need (functional, symbolic, or experiential) rather . - “\
than attempting to be something for everyone.“ Ÿ
According to this argument, a brand with a ge—
neric (multiple—personality) image is difficult to
manage because it: (1) competes against more
brands (those with purely functional, purely
DÜVE' is

symbolic, purely experiential, and mixed im—

ages); and (2) may be difficult for consumers to
understand readily what it stands for and what _ _
Self-I , t‘ I its defining characteristics are. This argument, al- Figure 4-4 UÜVÈ Advertisement
7.0 Mm though based Ü“ sound logic, is not irrefutable. In Illustrating Appeal to Experiential Needs

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