Week 7 thought paper
#ufcjconline
Bombas target demographic analysis
Bombas is a clothing brand that produces socks, underwear, t-shirts and more while heavily focusing on philanthropy as part of their mission. Their mission has a large factor in how they strategize for targeted marketing and which demographic to advertise to. Philanthropy and social justice is central to their brand identity: Bombas says that for every pair of socks sold, the company donates a pair to someone experiencing homelessness. In the process, they partner with giving organizations committed to social and racial justice.
The target market for Bombas is anyone, and I use that broad term with intention! They create clothes that do not require certain body types, nor are they limited by the age of their customers (people from newborns to seniors need socks and underwear).
In terms of their demographic market segment, they don’t limit themselves at all. However, they put effort into targeting a certain psychographic market segment. Bombas leans into the values and beliefs of its target market: people who recognize and want to help solve societal issues (even in a small way) and people who want to be intentional with the dollars they spend — knowing it’ll go to a good cause. Inevitably, their profits depend on aligning themselves with a target customer while using organizations/ideals to sway them over. It’s essential to their business model. As mentioned in a recommended article for this week by emplifi, “To achieve this, you need to make sure that every single content piece you put on social media and your landing pages is aligned with your audience’s interests and therefore successful in moving users towards conversion.”
That said, they do have a unique selling point by committing so openly to these social efforts. Nowadays, consumers have become more wary of the direct and indirect effects of their spent dollars in addition to the environmental and social costs implicated in them. More and more, people are aligning spending habits with “doing the right thing,” and they want to know that the brands they shop with are upholding those values to some degree. If I were Bombas, I would continue their current marketing strategies. They have no shortcomings in terms of who (what type of physical and geographic demographic) can buy their product, and they are committed to letting their mission speak for the brand’s main selling point. Likewise, they are competitive in a broad number of economic demographics. In an article published in 2016 by Entrepreneur they recommend that companies like Bombas “Keep tone and demographics in mind” by letting the brand mission guide how marketing strategies are carried out. They are fully transparent with the end result of their philanthropic promises by providing sources and links to their partners and resources. This fosters trust with potential consumers but showing that they are authentic in their promises.
By putting philanthropy and social justice initiatives at the center of their market and brand mission, Bombas created a business that resonates with a broad group of people. Consumers are increasingly aware of the profit-focused companies that disregard social problems and implications of their business practices. Filling a space of trust and transparency within their field, Bombas opens the door for support from many different demographics.
References