MILESTONE CASE #2: JORDAN DICKS

JBL’S CURRENT TARGET

WHO JBL IS TARGETING, ACCORDING TO THE GIVEN CASE STUDY

JBL is looking for individuals that fit into the descriptive segmentation categories of:

Demographics
“adults between 18-34”

Psychographics
The “everyday extraordinaries” who are experience seekers
Individuals that are “impulsive, yet mindful extroverts”
The people who are passionate about their hobbies yet, they continue to “take it
to the next level”
JBL’S POTENTIAL TARGET
EVIDENCE BEHIND WHO JBL "SHOULD" BE TARGETING: THE POWER OF MUSIC

“We rely on music to help us power through workouts and tackle tasks we’d rather
ignore, and we manipulate our moods with melodies.”
No matter the difficulty of the activity, we rely on music to distract us from the doubt and fear we
have about ourselves. We can redirect music’s influence on our emotions for the better to
motivate and push ourselves.

“Individuals listen to music to feel energized and become more active”

Music serves as fuel for an individuals’ activities

“The power of music became a tool to activate, change, empower, and

alleviate emotions. [...] music has been used to induce emotional states, express,
activate, control emotions, relax, and communicate.“
Not only does music help to calm negative emotions but can be utilized to escalate the positive
high arousal emotions and nourish one’s passions

“Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.” – George Eliot
(Fink (n.d.); Gurgen (2016))
JBL’S POTENTIAL TARGET
EVIDENCE BEHIND WHO JBL "SHOULD" BE TARGETING
 JBL’S POTENTIAL TARGET
SOCIAL FACTS OF THE PEOPLE JBL "SHOULD" BE TARGETING
Adventure-seekers look to their community of “people like them” for music recommendations to fuel their adventures and
motivate them on their everyday activities, and members of the group are quick to share.
Identity: The extroverted experience seekers & everyday adventurers who use music to fuel everything from their
everyday activities to wildest adventures
Cultural Products: sharing stories of adventure, recommending music that fuels their activities to others

Social Facts:
Artifacts: travel/adventure souvenirs (postcards, ticket stubs, etc), speakers and earbuds,
music playlists [*JBL products in the future]
Behaviors: listen to their favorite artists and genres of music to fuel them, taking pictures and
videos of their adventures,
Language: sharing experiences, giving recommendations to others of where to go

Shared Beliefs: They see the world as a fresh start everyday to wake up and do what they love with those around
them; making everyday an adventure
JBL’s mission to target:“I am an everyday experiencer, we believe in doing activities that fuel our passions,
Therefore we listen to music that encourages us to get out of bed and try something new“
JBL BRAND MEANING
NETNOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE ON WHAT JBL MEANS IN THE MINDS OF PEOPLE
Features: Positive
Features: Negative
JBL BRAND MEANING
ETHNOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE ON WHAT JBL MEANS IN THE MINDS OF PEOPLE

“The noise it makes when you turn it on and off”

“It’s cylindrical shape”

“My headphones keep charge for a long time and the sound is good”

“Average quality and average price”

“Speakers are so loud!”

JBL BRAND MEANING
WHAT JBL MEANS IN THE MINDS OF PEOPLE

DISCUSSIONS INVOLVING JBL’S BRAND MEANING

SOLELY INCLUDED THEIR PRODUCTS AND THEIR FEATURES
*battery life, price, sound quality, waterproof, noise cancellation, comfort, etc. = replicable dimensions

People have limited emotional connection with the brand

JBL lacks connection with the consumer limbic system

When brands are only known for their value propositions, to stay competitive, the
only dimension left “is to drop the price“

(Collins (2023))
JBL BRAND MEANING
MEANING IS NOT CONGRUENT WITH THE INTENDED MEANING THAT THE BRAND SIGNALS
JBL’s intended brand meaning
Case:“elevate experiences with immersive audio”
The “Our Story” page: to be “a place of free expression with no restrictions, so one can
experience the joy of being who they are and do what they’re passionate about”
By “celebrating unfiltered, courageous artists, creators, and performers”
(JBL, (n.d.))

There is incongruence between JBL’s executions and consumer meaning-making and

associations made about JBL’s brand (found in the netnography and ethnography)
People do not attribute JBL with “elevating experiences” and “celebrating free expression” but
only bring up product features

JBL is not associated with a network or tribe where members of the group identify “people
like me use a product like this”

There is a missed opportunity for JBL where its brand conviction & beliefs overlap with the
target congregation’s beliefs & ideologies
Where one’s individual music taste is used to fuel their everyday activities and adventures
JBL GETTING PEOPLE TO MOVE
WHAT BEHAVIOR DOES JBL WANT PEOPLE TO ADOPT?

JBL wants people to listen to the music that fuels

their unique, everyday activities and do this through
JBL Products

*Be a part of one’s daily routine and enter their habit loop:
Listening to their “fuel” with JBL products → Bringing them wherever they go → Express themselves with others through their music
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS TO LEVERAGE TO
GET PEOPLE TO MOVE
WHAT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS?
The context and conditions in which we find the “everyday adventurer” and “extroverted
experience seekers” who uses their individual music taste fuel their everyday activities

Defaults Semiotics
The pre-established factors The signs and symbols within a
and actions people take in a particular context and their
specific context interpreted meaning and use
created by people

Placement Nuances
The small details and subtle
Somethings physical location
differences in something’s meaning
based on the subculture it is found
 HOW TO LEVERAGE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
DEFAULTS
Environment: Everyday adventurer’s/ Extroverted experience-seeker’s daily routine
Majority of music-listeners stream their music, so JBL can leverage this default of people
listening to their music and playlists on Spotify or Apple Music
Streaming services was number 1 at 43%, where more than 520 million people utilize services like Spotify and
Apple Music.
JBL can highlight other everyday adventurers’ “fuel” on music streaming platforms by having
people submit videos showing their adventures to the songs that fuels them
Nudge people to see other users being unforgivingly themselves and listen to the music that fuels them
→ Conveying how JBL celebrates free expression and individualism without judgement by sharing the
“people like them“ listening to their “fuel“ [potentially on a JBL product] → “People like me do this“
(CBS Interactive (2022))
Environment: Everyday adventurers/ Extroverted experience-seeker’s using JBL headphones
JBL can make noise cancellation a default on headphones and ear buds
Allowing users to immediately be immersed in the psychological benefits of music that fuels them and keeps
them focused on the activity or adventure at hand
→ Conveying how JBL wants people be fully immersed when they listen to their individual music choices that
inspire their everyday adventures → “People like me engage with products like this“
 HOW TO LEVERAGE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
PLACEMENT
Environment: Everyday adventurer’s/ Extroverted experience-seeker’s daily routine
After automobiles, public transportation is the second most popular method of transportation in
the U.S.
“13 percent of respondents use public transportation”
JBL can utilize this frequency and leverage placement of JBL products here by pairing speakers
together and placing them throughout modes of transportation where they would not commonly
be found like busses, trains, subways, etc.→ Break the schema
JBL can then attach a tablet somewhere in the vehicle for passengers to access and play the
music that fuels them for others
Not only will people utilize JBL speakers to listen to their “fuel” in high quality sound, but the placement
of the speakers communicates how JBL celebrating courageous individuals willing to share their
individuality
While also finding other everyday adventurer’s music to fuel them and inspire them to do the same
→ Creating a space for people who share social facts to ask: “Do people like me behave and
engage with products like this?“; Rebuild with meaning
(Richter (2023))
HOW TO LEVERAGE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
NUANCES
Environment: Everyday adventurer/ Extroverted experience-seeker’s who takes on hiking adventures
Current schema for hikers, there is a 50/50 between those who approve and disapprove speakers
on hiking trails:

Can leverage this cultural nuance of knowledge only known by avid hikers by creating and
placing posters on popular hiking trails
With concise writing, insinuating the message:“Don’t let people judge you for who you are and how
you choose to share yourself with the world. Whether you share the music that fuels you with others
(through speakers) or keep your unique choices to yourself, the joy of being who you are--while doing
what you’re passionate about--should not be punished.”
By breaking the schema of tip-toeing around bringing a speaker on a hike, JBL can
communicate their brand conviction of celebrating those who are truly themselves without
restrictions through the placement of these posters, leveraging a specific nuance of the everyday
adventurer-hiker tribe
for the extroverted experience-seekers → leveraging this nuance targets the “people like me who do this“
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS TO LEVERAGE TO
GET PEOPLE TO MOVE
WHY THESE OVER OTHER CONDITIONS?
When looking into the everyday routine of “everyday adventurers” and the “extroverted experience-seekers,”
to get people to move and carry out their intended behaviors, they look to break their schemas and rebuild
their habit loops with meaning

The environment and the context in which JBL can find these individuals is not always a physical, set location
which can make it more difficult to identify and leverage Semiotics and its Nuances

Defaults, Placements, and Nuances were utilized over Semiotics as “everyday adventurers” and the
“extroverted experience-seekers” all enjoy their own activities and ways to express themselves through their
activities and the music they use to fuel them
Semiotics are complex and often dependent on the specific subcultures and tribes of people within the
“adventurer” congregation and how they define specific signs and symbols

Leveraging these numerous interpretations of signs and symbols would require in-depth ethnography which could be
helpful, but in JBL’s case, they are better off to start with the larger group and finding the defaults, placements, and
nuances in a person’s daily routine and leverage these conditions to make connections with the limbic system
→ to correct the incongruence of JBL’s brand conviction and the interpretation of JBL in the minds of people
CONTENT FRANCHISE RECOMMENDATION
JBL’S CONTENT FRANCHISE
Utilizing the Leveraging Defaults Example:
As most people listen to their “fuel“ on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, JBL
can highlight everyday adventurers’ and extroverted experience-seekers‘ “music that fuels
them“ on the platforms.
JBL can do this by having the “adventurers“ submit videos showing them engaging in
their everyday adventures to the songs that fuel them--using their JBL product--and
highlight new submissions everyday
These submissions highlight the individual with a short bio on the activities they do most often and
why the given song is their “fuel”
→Inspire other everyday adventurers to be authenitcly themselves and submit to JBL to share
their uniqueness with the world
JBL can also partner with Spotify and/or Apple Music to access these users’ listening data
during the “wrapped” season at the end of the year to create infographics for listeners of
their “most listened to fuel” to share with others
CONTENT FRANCHISE RECOMMENDATION
LEVERAGING THE POWER OF STORYTELLING TO DRIVE THE BUSINESS
OBJECTIVES FOR JBL
This content franchise nudges people to see other users being unforgivingly themselves and
share what music they listen to that fuels them
Conveying how JBL celebrates free expression and individualism without judgement by sharing
the “people like them“ listening to their “fuel“ on a JBL product → “People like me do this“
Other “everyday adventurers” and “extroverted experience-seekers” can connect with others
that engage in the same activities and have an emotional reaction to their story
JBL associated with the distribution of one’s story and has the potential to emotionally
resonate with the “people like them”

This franchise leverages the storytelling elements of giving people a people a reason to tell
a story and creating opportunity for people to connect with new “people like them”

Is it share-worthy and designed for propagation as individuals are provided a solo highlight
for all to see, and this can be shared with friends and family. Also, the provided infographic is
pre-curated content utilizing data from the streaming services, so the content is ready for
consumer distribution to others.
THANK YOU
 REFERENCES
CBS Interactive. (2022, June 10). What’s the most popular way to listen to music? CBS News.
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/whats-the-most-popular-way-to-listen-to-music/

Collins, M. (2023). For the culture: The power behind what we buy, what we do, and who we
want to be. PublicAffairs.

Fink, J. L. W. (n.d.). Why- and How- Music Moves Us. Pfizer.

https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/why_and_how_music_moves_us#:~:text=We%20rely%20on%20music%20to,have%20suffered%20significa
nt%20cognitive%20loss.

Gurgen, E. T. (2016). Social and emotional function of music listening: Reasons for listening to music. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research,
66, 229-242 http://dx.doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2016.66.13

JBL. (n.d.). Our Story. Jbl.com. https://www.jbl.com/our-story.html

Richter, F. (2023, May 19). Infographic: Cars still dominate the American commute. Statista Daily Data.
https://www.statista.com/chart/18208/means-of-transportation-used-by-us-
commuters/#:~:text=According%20to%20Statista%20Consumer%20Insights,11%20percent%20ride%20their%20bike.