Keeping Up with Consumer Behaviour

I've decided to write about Dr Dre Beats- simply because they are amazing ! Not just as a product itself but through the way they have marketed their brand. 

"A high-performance headphone and sound transmission company intent on recapturing the fidelity of the studio in an age of ear buds and tiny laptop speakers"

So I have chosen this product because when Beats first came out they didn't appeal to me. They were overpriced and Sony, Bose and other established brands had electrical devices for less that were just as good. When it comes to headphones, or musical gadgets I'm not too fussy, so it just seemed like a big waste of money. 

However Dr Dre was able to sell an experience! Being a producer we already know that he has a good ear for music, and he knows the effort and hard work that producers / general musicians go through to make a song sound the best that it can. Both Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine; co founders of Beats; realized that it wasn't fair for artist to work so hard on their music and not have their fans hear every part that they want them to hear. On the website they have a slogan saying ' People aren't hearing all the music', generally people want to hear every part to a song, especially if your blazing it loud through your stereos or headphones - you want to hear as much as possible. Beats are telling their customers that they can finally hear what the bass sounds like in songs, it solves the problem of not being able to hear all the elements music- they can now enjoy their favorite artists to the max!  Beats took electronic devices to a whole new level, even making it 'cool' to wear big headphones. 

Dr Dre ( Andre Romell)  is highly respected in the music industry, he has been producing and rapping from the early 90's. Reasons as to why he is so highly respected in the music industry is because he has produced albums for some incredible artist such as, Eminem, Xibit, 50 cent, Kendrick Lamar, Burt Bacharach, Snoop Dogg etc. his judgment with music is very much respected. He was probably one of the most ideal producers to actually come up with an electronic musical device. He is known to be a perfectionist with his music, so when this product was launched in 2008, people had high hopes initially because of his musical reputation. 

Jimmy Iovine is the co-founder and CeO of 'Beats by Dr Dre'. Jimmy is regarded as a legendary figure in the music industry,and also known to have a progressive mindset. Jimmy worked with some significant musicians like Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon, Tom Petty, Patti Smith etc, this is also a fantastic factor that adds to the success of the Beats. Not only having support from mainstream 'top of the charts' artists but also musicians from different genres, attracting different type of consumers. Jimmy was also a judge on American Idol, usually judges that are chosen for these positions are worldwide appreciated experienced musicians. To add to Jimmy's success he is the co-founder of Interscope; one of the record labels regarded as the home of music.  A quote by Jimmy when he co-founded Dr Dre Beats ;

 “Dre’s and my mission for Beats was to introduce premium audio to a generation that had never experienced the emotion of music as intended by the artists because of substandard ear buds and PCs”

Being highly respected by celebrities, they all supported Dre and Jimmy,we all know that celebrities set trends, so once people like LeBron James, Lady Gaga, David Guetta, P Diddy and Justin Beiber came out with special editions of the beats, they were guaranteed to be at the top of their market. Dr Dre Beats didn't just stick to headphones,they expanded on ways to include as many people as possible, so Beats could appeal to all. Beats has so many different styles, so many options are available, if something is too big or too small, too expensive then they have a range of options for their customers. 

In 2008 Dr Dre Beats had headphones and speakers that had a significant difference in the level of volume and music heard, compared to existing brands. Along with this they had a range of colors to appeal to both genders and ages.

In 2009 they partnered with HP, and they produced the HP Envy Notebook, which integrated with beats audio. This was very smart, as they were able to attract new customers, those who weren't always into music, had to option of reading and having a good audio to their books. 

That same year the Beatbox Ipod dock was introduced. Apple is a very popular product, so appealing to those who use iPhones/iPads was a great way to keep up with the demands from their consumers.

Not only did Dre and Jimmy think of the beatbox but they introduced different types, some smaller than others, most easy to carry around and still projecting the best sounds.. One of the ways I found out about how powerful, but small Beatbox's can be was when I was in New York, JFK Airport. I heard a song that I love-but I couldn't see where the sound was coming from. It was reggae song, and being Jamaican I was so excited to see where this could be coming from, so I followed the sound. I couldn't believe the size of the speaker when I spotted  it, it was so small but projected such a great sound and base and yes you guessed it they sold me the most expensive Beatbox at their stall- $400 I didn't plan to spend- but it was well worth it.

This is a great feature by Dr Dre Beats, they have compromised with their consumers and made the speakers sound as effective as possible being as compact and easy to carry around.

Dre and Jimmy also helped the Beats brands status grow because in May 2013, they gave a $70 million endowment to the University of Southern California to create the UCS Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business Innovation; described to be the new model for training and inspiring a generation of young innovators. The fact that they have initiated this program to start in 2014, means that more and more consumers will support the brand, both parents and youth. This is just one of the many great accomplishments from Dre and Jimmy,  its becoming a legendary company in its market.

I love one of the latest commercials by Dre Beats, because it features a rapper that I absolutely love and respect lyrically- Kendrick Lamar. The use of a celebrity in this advert is genius, and it couldn't have been a more perfect time to use Kendrick for a commercial, he's a popular artist, around the peak of his career, and of course as Dre produces most of his music, it makes sense to use him.

In this commercial it shows a regular studio session between Dre and Kendrick, its in a big empty space suggesting the power of the sound that comes from the Beats is strong even in big open spaces. The whole fact that they are in this commercial like its an actual rehearsal and Kendrick starts over again and again, like he would do in a regular studio session. It makes you feel like you are just simply watching them rehearse on a normal day. Its entertaining, it doesn't feel like an every day advert. Kendrick continuously messes up in the rehearsal, so Dre adds 'something is missing'. In the time that they separate to figure out why the track isn't giving off the vibe that they want, Kendrick goes to a local barbers and plays the song he was just recording on a tiny beatbox- certainly its loud as ever and in the mean time the other scene shows Dre standing around thinking really hard. He then calls Kendrick and tells him that it needs 'Drums', Kendrick records again and its perfect. The whole message behind this is that in the same way Dre figured out that drums was missing from the recording, is the same way Dr Dre Beats allows you to hear anything from a song that could be missing when you use another electrical device. Ultimately this advert spells out 'Dr Dre has the answers when it comes to music'. 

Another technique that the Beats brand used to keep their consumers coming in is by offering accessories to go with their products. Here's another commercial that not only advertises the beats but the new accessories that come with them too.

This commercial again features two well known celebrities in the music industry,Nicki Minaj and Ice Cube. It is made with light humor, as when Nicki walks out of the room because her 'man' in the commercial ; Ice Cube; is messaging another women, the speaker talks and snitches on him. We notice that the speaker isn't just alone, its being held by a pretty accessory ,something that looks useful and ideal, to keep the speaker safe as well as look good. The commercial ends nice and simple by playing a Nicki Minaj song ( just in case no one can put the song to face), it shows the beatbox name at the end 'PinkPill', with a statement mentioned the new cordless feature. Nicki Minaj is also another celebrity that is highly popular,once all the young girls see this they will want the beats. 

Ultimately since 2008 when Dr Dre Beats was founded, they have managed to appeal to their consumers and attract new ones like myself. They have always kept up to date with trends and found new ways to keep up to date with demands in their market. I believe they will continue to evolve as a company and keep up to date with all the expectations of consumers.