Reverse Engineering Pleasure

This week is all about Reverse Marketing Analysis for an imaginary target user. So, everyone, meet my (not-so) little imaginary friend, Adam. Now, go think I'm mad for being able to conjure up an imaginary friend.

Adam is a 26-year old Marketing Executive, and an essential "yuppie".

Physically attractive, well-spoken and well-presented. Adam believes that he has to "look and sound the part, to sell the part," be it in terms of his job mantra or his personal image. Thus, Adam spends a huge sum of money on clothes and fashion accessories to keep himself looking trendy and fashion-forward. His choice in fashion lies mostly in the range of "smart casual," and tends to steer towards the sleek, polished look; and favours innovative niche brands over well-established. His heavy-investment in self-grooming pays off though, as he is almost universally recognized as "well-dressed" amongst his co-workers and friends, and he knows this and rightfully regards himself as such, while trying to maintain the image consistently.

Socially, Adam keeps a VERY hectic schedule, which is mostly ad-hoc. He often meets with co-workers or old friends for drinks after work, and goes out hard-partying at the hottest clubs on weekends, places where he goes to see, and be seen. He is generally flirty by nature, and seriously non-committal in relationships, believing in casual dating more than anything serious, and dates up to 3 different girls on some weeks. A big spendthrift, with little savings monthly, Adam spends a large portion of his pay on wining and fine dining, for he believes that the money he earns is only a means to an end for a more pleasurable and desirable life.

Career-wise, Adam has been almost as non-committal with his jobs as he is with his women, job-hopping through 3 jobs since he graduated from University with a Bachelor in Business. However, in most of his jobs, he is often held in high-regard by his bosses, not only because he is well-presented and make excellent presentations, he is also one to think very quickly on his feet and is able to generate ideas on-the-fly when it comes to marketing. Due to these reasons, his bosses often put him in the front line to meet up with the clients as they are confident that he can deliver his ideas convincingly and effectively. Adam is somewhat ambitious, and hopes to reach the top sooner rather than later, all in the name of making a better life for himself.

In his free time, when he is not out socializing or partying or working, Adam likes to spend some time alone at home, at his own bachelor pad. The nicely-coordinated glass and metal decor of his pad reflects his taste for sleek and minimalistic design, enhanced by some designer furniture pieces that he has collected over the years. His parents have retired overseas and he has little family here. A not-too-devout Christian, Adam doesn't particularly hold strongly to any particular set of beliefs or values. He spends time working out in his home-gym to keep in shape and look good; and is also an avid techno-phile as he believes in owning the latest technology, especially in consumer electronics such as HDTVs, hi-fi sets and game consoles, ESPECIALLY game consoles. All in all, Adam leads a rather balanced lifestyle where he nicely juggles work, pleasure and alone time.

Four Pleasure Analysis of Adam

Physio-Pleasure

• Working out in his home-gym keeps him in shape and feeling good and healthy. - Need Pleasure
• Loves to indulge in alcoholic cocktails when he is out for drinks to unwind. - Appreciation Pleasure
• Relishes the pleasure of good food and fine wine when out on dinner dates, partially to satisfy his love for food and to gratify the taste buds. - Appreciation Pleasure.
• Spending a quiet evening in his home appreciating the ambiance, look and atmosphere of his own apartment, over a book or a movie relaxes his mind and body. - Appreciation Pleasure

Socio-Pleasure

• Enjoys the company of old friends and colleagues over drinks. - Appreciation Pleasure
• Enjoys making new friends and interacting with new people through clubbing. - Appreciation Pleasure
• Enjoys the thrill of the chase in dating, reinforces his beliefs of being attractive and desirable. - Need Pleasure.
• Takes pleasure in knowing that he is recognized as "fashionable and well-dressed", by his friends and colleagues. - Appreciation Pleasure

Psycho-Pleasure

• Being good at his job gives Adam a sense of job-satisfaction. - Appreciation Pleasure.
• Takes time alone at home watching movies and playing games to unwind from the pressure from his job and his hectic social schedule. - Need Pleasure
• Games give Adam a sense of mastery and stimulation when he is playing them. - Appreciation Pleasure
• Adam appreciates owning and fiddling with the latest technology, as it keeps him feeling fresh and trendy. - Appreciation Pleasure

Ideo-Pleasure

• Adam is ambitious in terms of career and wants to be seen as successful. - Need Pleasure.
• He doesn't need to look socially sound, as he is secure enough on his own, but does like the image he portrays as being socially popular. - Appreciation Pleasure.
• He wants to upkeep his image of being well-dressed and well-groomed. - Need Pleasure.
• Appreciates things in accordance to his taste for the sleek and the minimalistic. - Appreciation Pleasure.
• Takes joy in sourcing for an owning niche products that are unique and exclusive among his circle of friends, be in his choice in clothes, accessories or furniture. - Appreciation Pleasure.
• Spends majority of his pay on enjoying life through food and goods, as it justifies the reason for him working hard, which reinforces his belief on earning money to enjoy a better life. - Need Pleasure.

Product Benefits Specification

• Sleek exterior that looks good to use and nice to hold. (Physio-Pleasure/Appreciation)
• Preferably some sort of designer / limited edition phone. (Socio-Pleasure/Appreciation)
• Colour and style must compliment the young, fashion-forward, trendy look for a young executive. (Ideo-Pleasure/Need)
• Must be technologically advance with cutting edge specs and innovative functions, such as touch screen design or (Psycho / Ideo- Pleasure/ Appreciation)
• Must be able to support effective high-tech communication, such as 3G, lots of memory space.(Socio-Pleasure/Need)
• Built-in camera for storing photos of contacts along with their numbers (especially the girls picked up from clubs). Especially useful if the camera is inclusive of flash for the dark club environment. (Socio-Pleasure/Need)
• Would be best if it supports a platform to play games on so that Adam can play games on the go. (Psycho-Pleasure/ Need)

Recommended Phone:

LG Prada Phone:

• Sleek in design, available in black and silver, light and slim exterior.
• Designed under the Prada label, makes it a designer phone.
• Technological advance touch screen display, with handwriting recognition.
• Document viewer and Macromedia Flash UI.
• Built-in 2M CMOS camera with LED flash.
• Supports 3G technology with 8MB internal memory.
• Music and Video Player.