American Apparel-

http://www.americanapparel.net/

1)I like this company because they make quality products that are manufactured in the United States. I really like the way that their clothing fits; they make slim fit t-shirts that fit a lot nicer than having a huge tee shirt, especially if you are skinny. The store is definitely marketed for the young adult demographic.

2)Q1.I believe that the their message is that they are the only t-shirt manufacture that makes there clothing in the United States. I think that the name of the company completely embodies their key message. Their message is important because they keep money in the United States and pay the manufacturing workers a fair salary. Their message is completely believable; there are thousands of companies that manufacture things in the United States.

Q2. I don’t believe that another company can make the same claims as American Apparel because most clothing manufactures outsource their labor to places in which it is less expensive. This is the big claim of the company that their clothing is made in a sweatshop-free environment.

Q3.I think that the product is not the star of the advertisement instead they use the product to make controversial issues. I think that this actually helps the company because it gives them the appearance that them a modern counter-culture appearance that they advertise towards. Examples of this can be found here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/technology/18iht-adco.1.9318254.html

http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/american-apparel-accused-promoting-rape

Urban Outfitters-

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com

1)I really like this store because of the DIY feel of the store itself. They are really not the best store for costumer service or organized merchandise. Though it is a store that usually carries unique looking products.

2)Q1. The company’s message is that they are number one at selling urban chic products from furniture to clothing. The companies message is important because they are the only store that caters to their market on a large scale. I think that their message is completely believable there are many other stores that are targeted to a certain market.

Q2. I don’t think that any clothing store could take the key message expressed by Urban Outfitters, due to the fact that the store targets a certain type of consumers. The average demographic that they target are 18-30.

Q3. I think that the products are the star of their advertising. Most of their ads are showing the products that they sell and it shows how they carry different products than the traditional clothing stores.

Kidrobot-

http://www.kidrobot.com/

1)I like this brand because I really enjoy designer vinyl toys and this is the only brand that I know that sells them. I am sure that there is another company that makes vinyl toys but this company definitely dominates the market.

2)Q1. I think that their key message is expressed very well and that is that they are #1 in the Designer toy market. They are important because they have a world wide domination over the designer vinyl toy market. I think that their message is believable they have made such an impact that they have expanded their brand into apparel.

Q2. No, you can’t replace the name of this brand because no one else is the leader in the vinyl toy market. The market is pretty small so their is not much room to try to compete with a company that has domination over the market.

Q3.Their products are the stars of the advertisements, they always feature what new line of vinyl toys have come out. I think that they have a really niche market so they do not have that much advertising.

Kashi-

http://www.kashi.com/

1)I like this brand because they make great tasting all natural food that is relatively inexpensive. I would say that they are my most trusted brand that caters to all natural food. When you buy a product from them it will most likely taste really good.

2)Q1. I think that their key message is expressed, which is that they are number 1 in organic processed foods. They are important because they were one of the first all natural brand to be produced, beginning in the early 1980’s. I think that their brand is completely believable, it was so believable that Kellogg bought the company out when they wanted to take a position in the all natural food market in 2000.

Q2. I am not really one hundred percent on this I think that other organic food companies name could replace the name but they most likely are not number one in the market.

Q3. The food is completely the star of the advertising with the majority of it being on how the brand promotes a healthy lifestyle. It is heavily promoted as can be seen on the following page:

http://www.kashi.com/lifestyle_tools