Beats Brand Analysis
As an Extern for Beats by Dre, I conducted a Gen-Z brand sentiment analysis and synthesized my findings with external research to provide marketing solutions for how to effectively reach Gen-Z consumers.
Brand Marketing, Product Marketing
2 weeks
Beats by Dre - Extern
The Rundown:
As my interests in technology, fashion and entertainment have developed, I find myself wanting opportunities to study and work with data in these fields to sharpen my data collection and marketing skills. This inspired me to become an Extern at Beats by Dre, analyzing their brand and ways it can find and interact with Gen-Z consumers better.
My primary conclusions were to create opportunities for consumers to personalize and stylize their own products, maintain and improve on the quality of Beats products, and take advantage of curated Gen-Z spaces and communities online.
The Research:
My journey involved two subjects to research: Beats by Dre and Gen-Z consumers. While I had to investigate how Gen-Z buys their products and develops brand loyalty today, I had to study Beats by Dre's previous marketing strategies and their mission and vision for the brand.
My research began with a Mind Map on all things Gen-Z:
After gathering my previous knowledge on Gen-Z, I created a digital survey for eight Gen-Z participants to complete about their consumption habits.
Some of the most important questions I included in my survey were:
How often do you listen to music every day?
In-ear or over-the-ear headphones?
What features/qualities do you look for in headphones?
How do you discover new trends in fashion and technology?
Do you hold any strong brand loyalty to any tech companies?
In addition to my survey, I found more insights through cultural analysis reports on how the pandemic affected Gen-Z, sales reports and projections on over-the-ear headphone sales, and tech reviews on the latest tech products and leading headphones in the market.
The Response:
My research led me to an extremely clear conclusion: Gen-Z consumers heavily prioritize individuality and fashion sense.
The combination of the pandemic with the rise of short-form content like TikTok and IG Reels has made Gen-Z simultaneously obsessed with connection through online spaces, yet constantly striving for personal and private experiences in analog spaces. The result is the resurgence of over-the-ear headphones, a trending piece of technology that allows one to cancel out all background noise.
From these conclusions, I developed these solutions for Beats by Dre:
Create opportunities for consumers to personalize and stylize their products. This satisfies Gen-Z consumers' passion for individuality and a refined fashion sense.
Maintain and improve audio quality. While almost all the subjects in my survey agreed that fashion sense was important to them, audio quality was an absolute non-negotiable in buying headphones. While style is a nice addition, excellent quality is a must-have for Gen-Z consumers.
Interact with Gen-Z where they are: online. Social media, live streaming, and online communities are main sources of connection for Gen-Z. These channels are crucial in marketing strategy for increasing brand recognition and brand loyalty.
The Results:
The final part of my Extern experience involved presenting my research findings and insights through video. After completing my video presentation, I successfully completed my externship and walked away feeling more assured in my abilities to speak confidently in tech and entertainment spaces, conduct brand sentiment analysis, and tap into the voices and feelings of Gen-Z.
The Final Presentation:
