(Ch. 8) Segmenting and Targeting Markets

TOMS seperates itself from other shoe brands in various unique ways, as the brand offers quality, stylish & affordable products, it contributes to another human in different parts of the world where poverty exists. Not all shoe brands can pull off what TOMS offer to our society, being a new and upcoming compnay TOMS have caught many people's attention because of the company's ethics.


As I have mentioned before, the company has defined their primary target audience as being college students, aged 19 to 24 males and females. These individuals are creative trend settlers that are socially aware or are becoming more social active. They are also technolocically savvy and are up to date with online and other electronics trends. They live an artistic lifestyle full of self expression. The primary target audience is not afraid to express their individuality through their own unique outlets, whether it be sports, drawing, music, dance or charity work, they strive to be themselves and not be influenced by modern trends. They are music lovers, concert goers, and move fanatics. They are cultural influencers that will push the TOMS message and drive our secondary target audience to the brand.  

(Ch. 11) Developing and Managing Products

We can all get behind the vision of TOMS; as many of us understand the importance of what they do. However, we also want to know what we are getting in return for our hard-earned dollars. There are after all, many other ways to support the less fortunate.

Based on the Argentinean alpargata design, TOMS mostly concentrate on making classic slip on shoes made of either canvas, burlap, or denim. Some designs, such as the Cordones come with shoelaces so you can tie your shoes if you like, however most designs do not have this feature. A few designs are made for cold weather as they are fleece lined but again, most designs are not. These are not shoes you want to get wet. With the exception of the fleece-lined designs, cold and water will penetrate these shoes fairly quickly. TOMS also suggest ordering a slightly bigger size if you plan on wearing socks with your shoes, as they are made true to size and are meant to wear without socks. For example, if your feet are a size 10.5, purchasing a 10.5 size in TOMS shoes and then wearing socks will likely cause your TOMS to be pretty uncomfortable. Of course, all feet are different and TOMS does have a great customer service area for returns or exchanges. 

(Ch. 16) TOMS' Integrated Marketing Communications

TOMS’ business model does not support any form of traditional paid marketing or advertising. TOMS does not have a marketing budget. Instead, the company relies on word of mouth, viral marketing, and social networks for its marketing efforts. Word of mouth is one of the most effective forms of marketing because many consumers believe it to be more trustworthy than corporate advertisements. Now the challenge for organizations is how to convince customers to talk about its products. For TOMS Shoes, many customers are excited that their purchase is going towards a good cause and are ambitious to discuss it with others. TOMS Shoes has taken steps to encourage word-of-mouth communication. Each pair of TOMS Shoes comes with a blue and white TOMS’ flag and a small card asking customers to take pictures of themselves wearing their new shoes and holding up the flag. The customers are then asked to upload those photos to the "HOW WE WEAR THEM" section on the company's website, in addition to other social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. The photos of customers using TOMS products increases both awareness and the credibility of the brand.

Some social networking sites where TOMS fans can be seen representing the brand:

FlickRiver PAGE CREATED BY TOMS FAN  

HOW WE WEAR THEM  

FACEBOOK PAGE 

TWITTER PAGE

(Ch. 10) Product Concepts

TOMS decided to develop its product line and business model around shoes, however after announcing their latest product, TOMS now carry four different types of product; TOMS Eye-wear, Footwear, Apparel & Accessories in many different styles and colors. The brand offers it's products to all different age groups from infants to youth and adults. In terms of style TOMS shoes look better in person then they do on the website. At first glance, you may picture of shoes your grandma would wear. But, once you have the shoes in your hands, it's totally different; TOMS shoes are very stylish, and are available in a variety of colors and styles to fit everyone's needs. They are extremely comfortable, due to their lightweight design and rubber soles TOMS shoes are very comfortable. You can wear TOMS shoes with or without socks and this makes them great for everyday wear, I personally wear them without socks and I love them. Behind all these aspects is one great concept and that's the best part about buying TOMS products; when you slip on your TOMS shoes know that somewhere around the globe is a less fortunate person slipping on theirs. That's what makes TOMS shoes the hottest pair of shoes available on the market today. They're sleek, stylish, and ultimately comfortable.

TOMS YOUTH COLLECTIONS

TOMS BOTAS COLLECTION

   

TOMS APPAREL & ACCESSORIES
COLLECTIONS

TOMS EYEWEAR COLLECTIONS

(Ch. 18) Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

Unlike other footwear brands, TOMS consumers do not depend upon sales. With all the great benefits the brand offers with every purchase; stylish, affordable, and practical product that donates to a child in need when they purchase a pair is a great sale, this is what most TOMS buyers acknowledge including myself. I have been purchasing TOMS for the past two years for me, friends and family and I have never bothered to see if they were on sale because they never are. Retail shops that carries TOMS products, it is upon them to have store sales on TOMS products but usually that never occurs. But when purchasing from online, coupons like the ones in the bottom are found at times on coupon websites like ShopaHolickMommy, Dealigg, Savings and many other cupon websites. 

                                   

As I have mentioned before on Ch. 15, since TOMS do not operate their very own retail store, I've experienced personal selling of some TOMS products at Nordstrom in New Jersey and Journey's in Manhattan. Although these shops do not carry most of TOMS products, the sales associates were however well trained by the management team to sell the products. But the shopping experience were quite different from each other. At Journey's many of the sales associates approached to me and other guests asking "what size do you need?" or "do you need a size?", as I picked up a display pair of TOMS I asked the sales associate "what are these things?", "what is the one for one?"; the sales associate gave me somewhat a ok explanation of what does the One for One stand for. As I entered the men's shoe department at Nordstrom and went to the TOMS area, a associate approached to me and asked "would you like to be part of a cause, and help a child with a free pair of shoe along with your purchase?", I continued "please tell me more". 

Advertisement like these are found at times through out web surfing on different sites.

TOMS Affiliate With AT&T & DIGG

Check out: 

AT&T TOMS Shoes Commercial

Check out: 

TOMS + Digg Collaboration

(Ch. 17) Advertising and Public Relations

ADVERTISING
We see many footwear ads on television from companies like Skechers, Converse, Nike, Jordan and many more. All these companies have one thing in common through their ads, to raise brand awareness among customers to gain attention and to increase sales. Although TOMS does not advertise much on TV, the brand stands above typical brand advertising because TOMS tries to convince you to do good and help others.  Below, I posted a TOMS video advertisement which was featured in local TV channels in California and online during the holidays.
  
This holiday footwear advertisement is slightly different from typical brand advertising. There are not any loud ringing bells, nor are there flashy price tags. TOMS has illustrated what the holidays are truly about: giving. The narrator of the video is a child named Ronnie, Ronnie tells you, the parent, friend or family member, how you can make an impact. Humans have a soft spot for children around the holidays, so why not let a child tell the story? The video is very inspiring, the music is playful which builds-up your joy and happiness; making it emotionally powerful. Dancing with the music are small snowflakes to play on the holidays while symbolizing how each person working together can make a difference. Sometimes, video can make things complicated. TOMS, on the other hand, is not complicated. It’s simple, understandable and approachable. The video has two goals, to explain TOMS’s social mission (one-for-one) and how they create impact (prevent foot disease) and to encourage you to get involved.  The spot illustrates how buying one pair of TOMS Shoes can have a chain reaction, preventing foot disease for children around the world.


You now may be wondering, that was a TOMS ad for the holidays; what about throughout the rest of the year? How does TOMS advertise throughout the year? The brand is involved in various ad campaigns as well as public relation campaigns to get the company out to the public. The brand does not want to force into anyone's lifestyle, therefore it does not advertise massively.


PUBLIC RELATIONS 
Campus Clubs: TOMS currently has existing campus clubs on campuses such as New York University, Ohio State, University of Michigan, Fashion Institute Technology and many other campuses. In order to better reach the desired target market, TOMS will reach out to different colleges and universities asking them to start a campus club rather than having students apply to start one. Being involved in campus clubs will allow students to gain experience in promotions, marketing, and event planning. For more info on TOMS campus clubs check out their official TOMS CAMPUS PROGRAMS website.


As I continue to blog on the brand, I'll be posting more updates on TOMS Advertising & Public Relations from videos to pictures and many more.