Post #12: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

For my last post, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss an advertising medium which is rich, robust, and instantly adaptive to change. This medium is a lot like you. In fact, it IS you.

Companies such as Under Armour, Adidas, Puma and others have ingeniously persuaded their consumers to wear shirts, shorts, hats, socks, bags and other apparel that spreads brand awareness. In postmodern society, many people define themselves and those around them by the images the consume. Wearing a Puma bag, for example, may be an attempt to tell the world "I play soccer. It's a part of who I am". 

By convincing their consumers to express themselves in this way, firms can actually make money on their advertising. This strategy also allows the firms' message to penetrate areas where traditional advertising could never go. A woman in a shirt or a man wearing a hat can go into places where TV, radio, and the internet cannot reach. 

Labeling their products in this way allows firms to double down on their apparel sales. They earn both the sales revenue from the initial purchase and the additional brand awareness achieved by widespread visibility of their logo and brand name.