Emo Subculture Critical Essay

The Emo subculture consists of two distinct groups. The Emo Subculture The term “Emo” that is now applied to individuals originated as short hand for “Emotional music” Traditional Emo Sub-Culture This “emotional music” draws from a broad range of contemporary genres linked with the common consistent themes of emotionally vivid views often associated with adolescence. For many youths of the mid-80s this music functioned as a safe-haven for emotional expression.

Over time a subculture was formed around this mutual appreciation and in turn became a safe-haven where youths could freely express themselves while facilitating social interactions and identity formation for these introspective people. From this sprang the Emo subculture that rejected the mainstream in favor of independent performances. Additionally this culture allowed individuals to express their societal views with like minded people, creating the activist stance they are known for today.

As the popularity of the Emo movement grew it became much more accessible to the mainstream industry. Modern Emo Subculture As a result a re-invention of the music and culture was spawned and became the Modern Emo Subculture. While sharing many traits with the traditional Emo this new subculture embraced the mainstream direction of the Emo-music. In time the modern Emo would drift further from it’s origins and the previously extreme individualism and non-conformist outlook was replaced with the familiar features of a Trend.

This change in outlook paved the way for the signature style Emos are known for today as fans of popular Emo bands began to emulate their idols in both dress and style. The modern day Emo has ironically become heavily influenced by mainstream media and popular figures.

Product

Our product will be differentiated from our competitors in a variety of ways. Our primary method of differentiation will be through the careful establishment of specific product affiliation to key Emo cultural figures and rallying points. We have targeted our approach in this manner to make efficient use of the insular nature of this subculture, making endorsements and sponsorships significantly more effective then those of more traditional consumer bases.

The products we offer will also be recognised and differentiated by design. Our products will incorporate patches and logos with popular political, socio-economic and human interest messages much in the same way that many other clothing lines promote bands and groups. It is our belief that the Emo subculture will respond well to the clothing styles with which they are familiar, coupled with the opportunity to express their beliefs and individualism.

The price management of the product will be integral to the success of this project

Price Entering the Market Place

We plan to enter the market in a less traditional manner in order to take advantage of The Emo’s specific traits In the initial stages of our entry to the market we will be undertaking projects to distribute our products at Indie rock music festivals. In particular targeting specific “up and coming” independent bands and groups Through this we believe we will be able to achieve some portion of the fans devotion to these groups securing customer loyalty while simultaneously achieving our primary goal of brand affiliation.

In tandem with this approach we will be selling our products in our own online stores Only after completing our initial placement will our products be offered in retail stores We make this decision with the belief that this approach will generate a sense of exclusivity and hype within the Emo subculture to appeal to the individual nature of our consumer base We are confident that this can be facilitated through the use of social networking sites, in which the Emo subculture is highly active. Promotion is one of the cornerstones of our product implementation plan

Promotion

In addition to this our clothing range will not be separated into the traditional men’s and women’s categories. Instead we will offer a single androgynous clothing line to match the style and needs of our consumer base. To further facilitate the individuality of the Emo subculture our online stores will allow customers semi-custom design of their purchase through a set selection of logos and logo locations.

Allowing customers to choose which message is displayed on what part of their clothing. E. g. A customer may choose to display a pro-vegan logo on the left shoulder or the right breast pocket. We shall be undertaking a number of promotional activities in order to achieve our brand recognition and product affiliation goals. As mentioned in previous sections it is our primary goal to affiliate our products with popular Emo bands and figures, such as Avenged Sevenfold and My Chemical Romance, as well as with key concepts and issues important to the Emo subculture.

We can achieve this through advertisement at popular concerts either including the acts directly or through banners and posters Additionally we will be hosting giveaway events at concerts with free t-shirts, jackets and other clothing in order to further promote our brand image within the Emo subculture It is also our intention to host sales stalls at charity events with partial proceeds of these sales being donated to the charity in question.

Many charity events are popular within the Emo subculture and this is an important opportunity for our corporation to further its image of sharing the same fundamental values as our consumer base. Of course we will also be implementing advertisement activities though social media such as Facebook and Blogging sites. The Emo culture has an active presence on these sites and it represents a cost effective process of engaging our target market.

In our dealings with a characteristically expressive consumer base it is important to ensure enjoyable interactions People By distributing our products through popular Emo retail stores such as we will be ensuring that the staff will be able to relate to the customer This is important within the Emo culture as fashion is treated as a social statement As we will also be selling our products at concerts, music festivals and charity events, it is imperative we employ staff that can understand and relate to the Emo culture.

This has the added benefit of requiring less training for these low level retail positions It is important to make the purchasing process an enjoyable experience Process This is especially true when dealing with such a close-knit and outspoken community. With such specialist products word of mouth could make or break.

In order to achieve this we will be focusing on our employees being capable of rapport with the customer and individual opinion on choices as well as the implementation of our online customisation options Emos are characterised as creative and expressive, it is our belief that these customisation options and the ability to discuss their choices with like minded individuals will greatly enhance their experience.

Depending upon the success of the customisation function we may implement a custom order system for the independent retailers Physical Evidence Cost plus pricing strategy will be used to target segment with high disposable income Through analysis of the physical evidence we will be able to determine the suitability of our product range Joey Keifouz Ronald Mills Peter Whitehead The Emo Tribe Factors which increase subculture influence Emos and the Macro-environment Demographic environment.

• Increasing diversity:the population in Australia s becoming more ethnically diverse, which increases international exposure through personal relationships. Economic environment
• Increases in consumer spending: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2. 5% over the previous year, which translates to an increase in total spending of the same amount. Natural environment
• Environmental sustainability: Our product will be developed using environmentally sustainable resources.

Technological Environment

• Manufacturing innovation: technology is constantly increasing manufacturing capabilities and reducing production costs
• Social media: The advent of social media has increased advertising exposure for many subcultures including Emo. Political and social environment
• Increased ethical and social responsibility: product designs are politically influenced and promote messages of responsibility.

Factors which decrease subculture influence Emos and the Macro-environment Cultural environment. The increasing amount of the population which believes in natural responsibility will increase the popularity of our product range. Changing age structure: the average age of the Australian population is slowly increasing. The Emo subculture is traditionally comprised of older teens and young adults. This will decrease the available market.Geographical population shifts: populations are moving away from capital cities.

Changes in legislation: increasing legal restrictions may influence our products. Eg, legislation which bans public political statements would cause a sharp decrease in sales. Sales data will be collected from retail and online stores Analysis also reveals success rate of marketing strategies towards Emo segment Online “secret shopper” to obtain consumer perspective on our product range As a subculture based upon a musical genre the “non-conformist” Emo may indeed be more heavily influenced then thers Influences upon the Modern Day Emo are not limited to that of high profile bands and celebrities In today’s society the Emo is easily recognised by their dark fitted clothing, distinctive hairstyles and overall androgynous approach to fashion. Due to the interconnection of the subculture Emos receive significant influence from their peers resulting in partial feedback causing core issues to self maintain within the society Of this group of peers some Emos have themselves achieved semi-celebrity status as bloggers and rallying points for the Emo subculture