Vans shoes suggest the originally intended wearer’s skater lifestyle. “Off the wall,” as indicated by all of the little skateboards on the top of the site, is the catch phrase of this company, which shows that the consumer might be attracted to the product if he or she is involved in extreme sports, specifically X-game type sports. Since the first day of March, 1966, Vans Shoe Company has been open for business. The company started out making a “classic” type shoe. It turned out that BMX riders and skaters became attracted to Vans shoes because of the wild colors. In more recent years, these colors have turned into wacky designs, from the checkerboard to stars and other designs.
The type of style you would see accompanying the shoes would be ripped jeans, which we can assume were torn from skateboarding. Another generalized look at the consumers of Vans is that they have a very laidback style for comfort to skate around in all day. Vans are actually very comfortable, as I have a pair myself and can wear and walk in them all day without my feet hurting at all. That brings me to the point that not all people that wear Vans skate. For example, Vans are my shoe of choice, but I only skated a bit when I was younger.
The way that Vans Shoe Company was able to attract people besides those who were into extreme sports was to heavily incorporate music into their marketing strategy. The Vans Warped Tour, which is a music tour sponsored by Vans shoes that goes all around the United States, is just celebrating it’s 15th anniversary this year. That means that 15 years ago, Vans Shoe Company made the important business move of expanding their market of consumers to not only those who skate and love the wacky designs, but also to those who love music and concerts. Although the fan base has expanded, the website’s news section still has stuck to its roots of skating.
It is very interesting to see how this company has evolved, but has stayed true to its beginning as well. Although very many people now wear Vans for all of the above mentioned reasons, one can still ponder and end up knowing that Vans shoes are true blue skating shoes.
I totally agree with this. Vans are the best skate shoes ever, I've had about 15-20 pairs of Vans and have loved every pair of them. I actually got to meet the owner of Vans this past year and he is a really cool guy who knows what people want. Vans will always be the company that truly understands the underground culture of skateboarding, bmx, surfing, music, etc...
ReplyDeleteI really liked this. I was a "Vans" kid when growing up, and you're right I was taken away by all the colors and patterns they had marketed. Also, I need to agree with Johnny up above, this is one of the few companies that actually knows their audience.
ReplyDeleteThe evolution you mention is a huge aspect in maintaining popularity, and Vans made an excellent choice in broadening their target audience. If Sprite, for example, did not expand its coverage to a more urban demographic and style choice, it might have ended up another failed flavor put out of production. It's important to note how these companies are not only competing with the consumer, but they are competing with other producers. If Vans did not take the step to broaden its fans another company would have eventually filled that void. But anyways, I also love the crazy designs Vans have, so I'm glad they are still around =).
ReplyDeleteI Have a couple pair of vans and would have to say that thet are some of my favorite shoes. Vans has a great company and really know their audience. Recently i have seen more and more people wearing vans.
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