Beats by Dr. Dre

Are Beats by Dr.Dre ahead of the game or all about style and marketing with no substance ?

Introduction of the brand 

Established in 2006, Beats by Dr.Dre is a brand of headphones and loudspeakers as the “brainchild” of the legendary artist, hip hop/rap musician and producer : Dr. Dre. The company’s mission is to provide a high-quality sound experience with -headphones, devices and services- so fans feel the emotion and hear the music the way artists intended it to sound from the studio.

Positioning of the brand 

Beats by Dr. Dre are the most popular headphones on the market. Currently, Beats by Dr.Dre come in in-ear ($99), on-ear ($179) and noise-canceling ($299) versions. Celebrity branded and limited-edition versions can drive the price up to $499.(http://fr.beatsbydre.com)

Users appeared marveled at the sound quality, which seems richer than most of its competitors.

While serious and more professional users may still opt for more traditional headphone companies, most notably Bose or Sennheiser, more regular headphone enthusiasts have been enamored with the loud bass, stylish options that Beats provide, and the competition has taken notice. Beats headphone have fierce competitors which target tech-savvy consumers or those who buy headphones to build self-esteem. 

Beats by Dr.Dre have been on the market for over 6 years now and sales keep growing. According to company spokesman Rick Jennings, 2010 profits were triple those from 2009. One of the most significant moves by Beats was their inclusion in Apple stores and in the largest US electronics retailer Best Buy.

Beats By Dr.Dre : a successful brand

SALIENCE :

If you received this week the Xmas Newsletter from the FNAC, you would have noticed that among the products selected, there is obviously a Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. I clicked on the link and had a look on the Xmas special offers. On the headphones pages, they proposed 29 headphones, 9 of them were Beats by Dr.Dre headphones ! The brand represents 1/3 on the FNAC offers. This is quite relevant that there is a huge awareness about this brand.

Thanks to a survey we posted on our 5 Facebook profiles, we were able to calculate the Beats by Dr.Dre brand awareness.

107 of our connected, trendy and involved friends answered, they are all around 20-25 years old.

1) Which brand do you associate to high quality headphones ?

– 70% answered Beats by Dr Dre

– 25% answered Bose

– Only 5% answered Sennheiser

2) Which of those brands is the coolest one ? and Why ?

– BEATS by Dr Dre : fun, colorful, good quality headphones, an icon of the rap and hip-hop

– Sennheiser : serious but trendy in the same time, good-quality

– Bose : too serious, for older people, very classic design, boring but very high quality product

PERFORMANCE : 

Compared with other brands in his category, Beats by Dr.Dre provides a unique high-quality sound treatment. The headphones are known for their bass-heavy approach. The combination of the extra large advanced speaker driver and the powered digital amplifier create a powerful and crystal sound. You can listen to deep thumbing bass that you can feel to vocals which are clear and natural.

While Beats is providing high-quality sound, customers also get the following extras:

– A scratch resistant coating

– A sonic talk cable for mobile phone : pauses the music while incoming phone calls

– A clean cloth to keep the Beats clean : it not only polishes the headphones but also has antimicrobial agents that remove germs

IMAGERY :

• Design :They’re not just about sound. They’re stylish and trendy.They feature a signature red cord and a small letter “b” on the ear. These are sleek and architectural, and depending on whom you ask, they’re becoming to headphones what iPods are to MP3 players.“The designs are very, very cool,” Rivas said. “They’re very modern, very fresh. It doesn’t look like what you would imagine headphones to be, kind of futuristic.”
• They’ve used popular musicians and sportsmen for branding. They’ve introduced JustBeats Solo by Justin Bieber, Heartbeats by Lady Gaga, DiddyBeats by Sean Combs and PowerBeats by LeBron James. Consequently all those celebrities are used as spokespersons for the brand.

• The headphones often appear in music videos and movies, which subconsciously mean that they are popular and relevant in the music business and/or show business. On headphones official website you can even see pictures and videos of celebrities using headphones.

BRAND RESPONSES :

• JUDGMENTS:

Quality : there is no doubt that Beats by Dr. Dre are considered as very high quality product. Even widely-reconized DJs use these headphones during concerts. They even talk about a “killer sound”. Professionals at B&H (one of the most famous consumer electronic devices in the USA) highly recommend this brand.

Credibility : People respect this brand and the brand always innovates to keep the consumers happy and excited about her products. Dr Dre is an icon but also a person involved in social benefits. For instance, recently, he encourages all the Facebook followers (4.4 millions on the  fan page) to BUY AN ALBUM and ALL PROCEEDS GO TO FIGHT AIDS.

Consideration : today, every young people will recommend this brand because Beats By Dr Dre is fun, trendy and in the same time, headphones are good-quality and high performance products.

Superiority : the brand is very unique. Beats by Dr. Dre is always innovating and creating new experiences. For instance, they recently proposed an entertainment on a POS called : “In Motion Entertainment”. While you are waiting for your flight home at the airport, you can stop by “In Motion Entertainment” to have a free demo for new Beats by Dr.Dre headphones. Amazing right ?

• FEELINGS:

A feeling of FUN : the headphones are very colorful and associated with a cool image because artists such as Lady Gaga or David Guetta are also users. If you have Beats headphones, you are young, trendy and very cool. The brand is also playing with a twit of humor while communicating with the fan community.

A feeling of EXCITEMENT : this is very cool to be part of this Beats community, so cool that Dr Dre wants some lucky winners of his community to be part of the next commercial ! Exciting right ? Believe it or not, more than 20 000 people subscribed to this event called ” The Contest Winners”. At the end, 10 lucky winners from all around the globe won and will be part of the next Dr. Dre commercial. Winners are very happy about this news “this is so cool, amazing”, “I will meet new friends !!”, “I am so excited !”. Have a look to this video, you will be surprised how a brand can gather people from very different background and countries.

A feeling of SOCIAL APPROVAL : you got it, Beats by Dr. Dre is also a sign of social approval. You are at the quintessence of the coolness if you have your Beats headphones. You are fun and open-minded  ! You can’t be a loser, you are part of a community.

RESONANCE :

Loyalty : Of course you are a loyal customer because you are involved in the Beats community !! You experience the brand everyday wearing your great headphones. Beats headphones are very expensive so I guess that people feel this is the only brand which could meet their expectations regarding the design, the performance, the quality and the unique experience.

Attachment : This brand is very special to all the Beats community. It sounds crazy that people are willing to participate to a contest to be part of a Dr Dre commercial, right ? You can feel how people are proud, excited and happy about this brand. Dr. Dre really knows how to make them dream and experience a colorful and nice moment with such Beats headphones !!

Community : 4.4 million of fans on Facebook ! What a community ! Versus only 1.1 million for Bose and less than 50 000 for Sennheiser. You can tell people feel a deep connection about this brand. Beats by Dr. Dre is a LOVEMARK, users are very intimate with the brand.

Engagement : People closely engaged follow news about this brand everyday. They are all always very excited when Beats by Dr. Dre releases new colors or exclusive headphones. They are like part of a collection, a nice piece of jewelry.

SO ARE YOU READY TO JOIN THIS AMAZING COMMUNITY ?