HUMANITIES COMMON ASSESSMENT

By Francis Rosario

THINGS I BUY

Introduction

Through this presentation, I hope to:

Analyze what influences me to buy a product

Look into how important a product’s brand is

See if ads influence me in making a decision about what I want to buy

How my beliefs or other people’s beliefs influence my choices

The Santa Cruz Crocs

The slogan implies comfort The ads show people having fun So many people wear it The brand is so popular My dad wears one almost every day

CROCS SLOGAN = “FEEL GOOD REVOLUTION”

These are factors that influenced me to purchase this pair of crocs. I had a pair of sandals already and that was very comfortable so I wanted to have a pair of more decent shoes that I can wear for more formal occasions but still be comfortable and have fun. This was it

SONY – PLAYSTATION 3 Sony is a brand associated with

EXCELLENCE Reviews of the product were

very positive and this made me aware of the PS3

I like video games and so a good brand combined with good reviews, convinced me that this is one for me.

My attitude about wanting to have the latest gadget was also a big influence here

It took a while to convince my parents but I got it.

Globalization made it available for me because Sony is a Japanese brand but people can buy it in most cities in the world.

Percy Jackson Book Series

My family and I enjoyed the movie based on the first book – FAMILY VALUES

The books were in the bestsellers list, so my perception was, these books must be good

And so when I read the first first book and I liked it, I bought the rest

This fed my interest in Greek mythology and Greek gods

My values for love for family was also reflected in the first book, so I looked forward to reading more about it in the other books.

Philippine Shirts•My sense of individuality and commitment to my country influenced my purchase of this shirt• Living overseas, I miss my country and wearing this somehow makes me feel like I am not so far away

I saw this shirt for the first time when Noynoy Aquino announced that he will run for president during the last May elections in the Philippines. I thought it was a nice gesture on his part, to be wearing a shirt, not with a brand logo, but instead with the map of the Philippines. Then when we went home to Manila for our summer break, I saw many Filipinos wearing it. There seemed to have been renewed culture of nationalism, and I identified with that. It was a good way of showing love for country, so, I asked where I could buy it and I bought several colors.

Yonex Badminton Racket• When we were still living in Manila, we always met with my cousins, uncles and aunts every Sunday to play badminton. So to me, I associate this with FAMILY FUN• I needed my own racket when I got older, and my coach told me Yonex was the best, so BRANDING was the strategy that influenced my purchase. •I found out later that Yonex is one of the top brands for badminton and my cousins also told me this, so that definitely made me decide to buy Yonex. That is conformity because I wanted to use what my cousins were using. • The Facts and Figures on reviews saying that this is one of the best, also helped.I see my Yonex racket as a tool in helping me to have fun with my family. My family is important to me and I associate this racket with fun with family.

RACLETTE CHEESE• QUALITY AND BRANDING – I love cheese including Raclette. One producer of this particular cheese is a company called President, a well-known French company that is known for good quality cheese. I have tasted other brands but this is what I like. It is so good!• My belief that any cheese is good led me to try this product. Raclette cheese emits an odor which some people do not like, but that did not bother me at all. I believe any cheese is good, so I went for it, and as expected, I loved it.

Reflection

Looking at the organizer I put together, I can see that the common trend in my purchasing habit is my interest and values

The most common influence in my buying choices is my attitude about wanting to have the best brand of a certain product and so I also rely on product reviews and what people around me say about a product that I may want to buy. Most of the purchases I listed above are influenced by this. Crocs – a well known brand of footwear; PS3 – very popular game console by Sony; Percy Jackson books – was on best seller list; Yonex – top Badminton brand; President Cheese – a company from France known to produce fine cheese.

I think there are common values associated with the products and brand I purchase. Most of these things I bought is for me to have fun – fun with family and friends. I also think my purchases reflect my value for knowledge and love for family and country.

Seeing the things I have , some of my friends say I am spoiled. I have to admit, I may be – because the things I buy, with my parent’s approval, are not cheap but I value my purchases and my friends see that.

The products that I buy feed my interests and reflect my value for family, quality and of course fun.