The consumer attitude to the Pink brand has proven to be higher than positive, and it is necessary to track the peculiarities of its formation in order to make some feasible conclusions about the secret of Pinkâs success in the market, both as a part of the Victoriaâs Secret brand, and separately, as a cute, young, and bright brand.
1. Buyer Decision Process of Pink consumers. The typical customerâs decision-making process concerning the purchase of the product under the Pink brand may identified the following way, depending on whether it is a customer new to the Victoriaâs Secret brand or not.
In case the customer has never bought the Victoriaâs Secret items before, she is likely to perceive the increased accessibility of the aspired brand, and buy the products that she used to want to buy, but could not afford due to the higher than average prices of the VSâs exclusive products.
However, some customers (who are indeed of younger age) may really want to buy an item from the Pink series because it suits their hip and fashionable style more than the luxurious items of the mainstream Victoriaâs secret brand that may look not old-fashioned, but too adult for some young women who want to seem younger.
Those who are not new to the brand, and used to buy Victoriaâs Secret items, may be attracted to the Pink series for two reasons: first of all, because they are loyal to the brand and they are sure in its quality, so they want to diversify the set of their lingerie by some more hip, bright, and cute items of the same brand.
Every woman is versatile, and at times she wants to look serious and mature, but at times she wants to have fun with peers and friends, so wearing cute and bright lingerie may contribute to the playful mood of a woman belonging to any age group.
The second reason is trust to the trend; women know that Victoriaâs Secret is a highly fashionable brand that speaks for itself. Hence, issuing a collection of bright, even childish loungewear may indicate the coming fashion for bright colors and playful designs, which makes it strategically important to have such an item in every womanâs wardrobe.
2. Concept of Aspirational Groups; Limits for Its Application. The concept of aspirational groups also has a very serious impact on the buying decisions in the present case. There are two aspirational groups that produce the influence on buyers of Pink items; first of all, it is the group of upper class.
As it has been mentioned above, the Pink series is much more accessible in price than standard Victoriaâs Secret offers, hence the middle class women who have dreamt of having a VS bra will finally have it, no matter that it will belong to the Pink sub-brand; the main idea is that it is the sub-brand of Victoriaâs Secret.
However, there is one more aspirational group producing impact on the buyers; according to Kotler and Armstrong (2010), aspirational groups are those âto which the individual wishes to belongâ; hence, here not only issues of class but issues of age as well as concerned.
As the case study says, the Pink series has attracted attention of much younger categories such as teens and âtweensâ, who are younger than 18, though the advertising campaign of Pink stated that the targeted segment was between 18 and 30 years old.
The Pink products are very attractive to younger girls because they let them feel older, and the aspirational group is already the group of older, more mature girls. It is obvious from this case that marketers should establish certain boundaries for the creation of the aspirational groupsâ concept through their advertising or promotion.
It is important due to the loss of the brandâs authenticity, specificity, and individuality; in case the brand is suitable for all people in the market segment, or for many market segments, there will be no uniqueness and individuality that is highly appreciated by many customers. More than that, the aspirational group of age is non-ethical, since it creates false images and aspirations in younger categories of customer groups and distorts the brand perception.
3. Positive and Negative Consumer Attitudes towards the Pink Brand. Despite the popularity of the Pink label growing recently, there are clearly both negative and positive attitudes that can be formed towards the sub-brand.
The negative attitudes may arise from the change of focus that was exclusive, limited series of supreme lingerie that is now longing to mass production and attraction of greater masses of middle-class consumers. In addition, Victoriaâs Secret has been traditionally viewed as a deluxe brand for mature women, so the childishness and light-mindedness of the new brand may also be disapproved as negative reputation to the serious, luxury brand.
However, the positive perceptions of the brand are much more popular, and may arise from the accessibility of the brand, at least in a different form, to larger numbers of buyers. In addition, younger women, and girls in their early twenties, may not have to choose between wearing cute, bright lingerie, and buying supreme items thereof. In addition, younger girls may like the brand because it fits their tastes and interests, which is often neglected by lingerie producers â teens already need it, and they should be targeted as well.
4. Role of Pink in the Formation of Teensâ and Tweensâ Self-Concept. It is hard to say what role the Pink brand may play in the formation of the teensâ and tweensâ self-concept, but it is highly probable that a significant change will not occur.
The reason for this is in the design of Pink items â they are cute, funny, even childish, so they, on the contrary, will help teens and tweens wear lingerie and loungewear and still be teens and tweens, without the need of getting old quickly. The hearts and polka-dots, staffed animals, bright colors and hip designs of the Pink loungewear will help young women and teens remain in their age, having all items in the wardrobe that they want and need for their casual life.
References
Kotler, P., & Armstrong, J. (2010). Principles of marketing. (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.