PRICING PERSPECTIVES-METHOD, READYMADE MAGAZINE, SEPHORA, VANS, AND ACID+ALL

Setting the right price is one of the most challenging aspects of a marketer's job. How high a price will the market bear? What kind of message does the price communicate? How flexible can our price be? The answer to those and a multitude of other questions relating to price vary by industry, by product categories within an industry, and even by brand and store. This video shows you a wide range of pricing issues and concerns facing new brands, like method, ReadyMade Magazine, and Acid+All, and established brands, like Sephora and Vans.

There are both similarities and differences in the tools each company uses to set and fine-tune its base price. One idea, however, unifies all of the companies: pricing is a considered strategy, not an afterthought.

Questions

1. Compare the pricing strategies of method, ReadyMade Magazine, and Acid+All. Do all of these relatively new brands use the same strategy? Explain.

2. In what ways is the pricing strategy of Sephora similar to that of Acid+All?

3. Does it make sense for method to use product line pricing? Why or why not?

4. What is Vans' primary strategy for setting prices on tickets to the Warped Tour it sponsors?