Need help with a website dilemma.

Nov 14, 04 11:04

Post #1 of 108 (5921 views)

We are going to do a review of 2 jackets: The Assos windbloc and the GoLite Kinetic. For the review we are shooting photos of the various fabric panels and the fit, the various technical features, etc.

Now, here's the question- and please don't take offense- this is a straight business question and I am asking stright business advice:

We can use an attractive female to model the jackets in the article. WE have three in mind- one is an athlete and looks like an athlete. The other two are just attractive females but not athletes.

Our web numbers from an experiement we did last year proved that if we put an attractive female in the aritcle it WILL get more hits and more traffic. More traffic means better play on the web. That may mean higher search results on Google. That may mean better sales.

The down side is we take the heat for running a photo of an attractive female for exactly the above reasons.

-OR-

Do we just put the jackets on Mike Aderhold and shoot it that way. Totally straight- no cute girl to make the page stickier.

Remember- the last time we put up a "girlie" photo with a model in tri clothes literally thousands of people clicked on it and the clothing sold out in four weeks at full retail- none had to go to off price. but at the same time we got about a dozen e-mails saying "That is in poor taste- that is inappropriate.... blah blah."

So, new Slowtwitch/Bikesport advisory board: What do we do? I need an answer by Tuesday.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Last edited by: Tom Demerly: Nov 14, 04 11:05

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

....

Nov 14, 04 11:06

Post #2 of 108 (5915 views)

best bet is for you to cheat on the price pretend the windbloc is only $120 or so....assos has great clothing but s..w their prices!

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:07

Post #3 of 108 (5914 views)

Uh lets see. Tough Question. CUTE GIRL! HAVE YOU GONE MAD?

customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Mr. Tibbs] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:08

Post #4 of 108 (5910 views)

Come on guys. I'm serious. What should we do here? The debate is raging right now here.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

....

Nov 14, 04 11:11

Post #5 of 108 (5898 views)

put the guy with the assos clothing and the cute girl without them ;-)

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:12

Post #6 of 108 (5898 views)

Do you have to use only women models, or can you use both male and female models? Mix it up a bit. Women like to look at cute men too. And, women also have $ to spend.

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:15

Post #7 of 108 (5889 views)

Where was I kidding and why is there debating? You yourself said the numbers are better with the ladies. Why are you debating? Girls are cuter and sale better.

customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:24

Post #8 of 108 (5870 views)

If the Golite is fender specific put Mike in it. Put either Marcie the Mermaid or the cute girl that appears in red on the trainer on your site in the Assos kit, they both look like athletes and feed both your ethical and business side.

It's all immaterial anyway as Mike is probably tearing up Hines or the gravel road on his bike since he's not having to fix your computers anymore.

"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [JRH] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:25

Post #9 of 108 (5867 views)

Not a bad idea. It is tough to find good looking guys though. It seems easier to find female models. The men here are all fat. Hmmm. Maybe we could use Mikey. He's a good looking guy. That actually is a good idea. At least it pays lip service to political correctness.

That idea moves to the short list. Thank you sir.

Come on guys- more. This is developing now.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:27

Post #10 of 108 (5866 views)

Cute, athletic girl. Yes, more people will read it and more will buy.

But please, use an athetic girl for the photos. I hate when I look at a swimsuit magazines and they have those model non athletic types for advertisement. Or those nonswimmer weightlifter type of guys. Keep it true to the sport.

�The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.� -Michelangelo

MoodBoost Drink : Mood Support + Energy.

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:32

Post #11 of 108 (5852 views)

"The men here are all fat. Hmmm"

Tom, I think both Both Mike A & O' could take issue with that statement.

"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:38

Post #12 of 108 (5849 views)

The heck with political correctness........use the good looking girl and make lots of money! This is business, business is business. You are there to make money!!

If I could sell my B&B rooms that way...I would! But statisitcs say....no people in the pics of the rooms! I've got 22 more months to go before I sell my final Inn....then retire!! Business is business!

.
.
Paul

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:39

Post #13 of 108 (5843 views)

Tom,

Why not market it in action.. Why do you not see if your buddy Frankie would pose for the pictures in action on the jacket. We definately want to see pics of the jacket in action. I also think it would look good to have the attractive female where it in action. Whether we want to admit it or not we all want to see good looking females(for the guys) and males(for the ladies) in action with the products that we are looking at purchasing. You might get some flack from people who say that is wrong but your numbers will tell a different story. Plus seeing it in action helps us to see how the article of clothing looks and how it may perform. Good luck. Will look forward to seeing you site up and running with the pics...

Craig in Alabama

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [tom demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:42

Post #14 of 108 (5838 views)

Tom

Go with what will make your web traffic go up and possibly increase sales. Bottom line is every retailer, athletic or not, tries to have attractive women in the advertising. The ugliest clothes look better on attractive women than ugly women. The goal is to either drive sales through the web or drive traffic to your floor. When your in AZ send me a PM if your in the Phx area. Maybe we can get a ST run together one day.

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Last edited by: desert dude: Nov 14, 04 13:19

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:43

Post #15 of 108 (5835 views)

are these men's or women's jackets? if they're men's, use male models. women's use females. if they're both men's and women's use both male and female models... capisce?

and for the male models, make sure they look good in the jackets. in the world cycling catalogs, the guys look like total goobers - i always think if they look that bad in the clothing, i probably will too!

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:58

Post #16 of 108 (5812 views)

Tom,

I decided to take a break from doing business school homework to check in here, and found more business school homework! :)

You answered your own question. Using attractive models resulted in "literally thousands of people clicked on it and the clothing sold out in four weeks at full retail- none had to go to off price". The flip side was that a few people with nothing better to do emailed you to complain. Since those folks probably weren't potential consumers anyway...who cares.

Using attractive models (of both genders) is a proven effective marketing strategy. And, after all, it's winter cycling clothing, not thongs! I doubt it would be possible to do ads in poor taste. There will always be someone to complain no matter what you do. For what it's worth, if you use a bike shop guy instead of a hot model, I'll email and complain about that. :)

Chris

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Herschel34] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 11:59

Post #17 of 108 (5807 views)

I am also thinking that it won't always be the triathlete himself looking at the site during the holidays (I say "himself" because the majority are male). You will be getting wives/girlfriends/significant others who will be doing the shopping after being told what to buy and where to buy it.

If the wife/gf goes to your site and sees only women modelling the clothes/jackets, she might mistakenly assume that the clothes are only for women, and then not buy the stuff and go somewhere else where the model matches who can wear the clothes.

Holiday traffic is different than rest-of-the-year traffic in that for the most part we do not buy our own gifts.

Have models of both genders so your shoppers will clearly know that their loved one can use whatever it is they want to get them.

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 12:01

Post #18 of 108 (5805 views)

As a woman who really dislikes the girlie type clothing pictures...I would not be offended if the woman in the picture were athletic...also a mix of good looking men and women is another good solution.

In the end, business is business.

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [JRH] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 12:07

Post #19 of 108 (5794 views)

Wow. This is really a good insight.

OK guys. I think we have scrapped the girlie approach. We are going to play this one straight. We're going to shoot the review with some of the guys that work here.

Wow, very good input. Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it. I'll put a note up here when the update goes on our site.

Thanks again,

Tom.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 12:07

Post #20 of 108 (5794 views)

What do I care about a hot woman when all I want is to read a review of a jacket? How does that influence my buying decision? Not at all, because by the time I'm ready to spend money the only thing that counts is performance. So, if the jacket won't keep me dry/warm/whatever, even some hot momma can't help, unless of course she'd be there to warm me ;).

This implication of 'oh, when I buy this jacket I will look as hot as this model' has never worked for me, I've tried. So, put the jackets on people I can relate to, normal looking guys! Hope I could help, Jan

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 12:12

Post #21 of 108 (5786 views)

I say go with the attractive model.

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 12:15

Post #22 of 108 (5782 views)

<You answered your own question. Using attractive models resulted in "literally thousands of people clicked on it and the clothing sold out in four weeks at full retail- none had to go to off price". The flip side was that a few people with nothing better to do emailed you to complain. Since those folks probably weren't potential consumers anyway...who cares.>

I agree with Triiowa.

I prefer seeing athletic models ,but If you got more hits using an attractive model,I wouldnt change anything.

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [jave-mtr] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 12:21

Post #23 of 108 (5773 views)

Hey jave-mtr,

It doesn't work like that. It works like the networks that show the same TV commercial over and over in rapid succession- you are forced to look. Sooner or later, without even realizing it, the brand identity is imprinted at a subconcious level.

Take commercials for carpet sales for example. You nevr pay attentio to them and you are exposed to thousands of them. Literally thousands- but statistics show people only purchase carpeting three times during their lives. So, in between those three purchases there are thousands of little screaming carpet commercials competeing for your subconcious "carpet store file" by hitting you every week in the newspaper, TV, radio, internet.

Then, one day, you need carpeting. And all of a sudden BAM!! You can name the carpet store that has been screaming the loudest- even though you weren't litening (consicously) and you look at them first. That is how it works.

No one can deny our target demographic- males 28-45 with a high degree of discretionary income- are highly reactive to images of attractive females. It is on an utterly subconcious level. They see the image, it loads into their memory somewhere and sticks as some kind of stimulus.

That is how it works. It isn't about looking like the model. It is a method of getting attention.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 12:33

Post #24 of 108 (5758 views)

Tom, you have a world-class idiot-savant at your disposal - LISTEN TO HIM!!

Tibbs posts on the matter may bring a chuckle, but he's hit the nail on the head. You're in this business to make money, no? Well, how do you make money if people zip past your website without slowing down.

Publish the eye-candy, and maybe some stud muffin GUYS too (I'm available ;-o). People will look longer, mutter something politically correct just in case anyone is noticing that they're pausing too long, and then their subconscious will think "damn, I gots to git me one a them, so I'll look that great..."

Ka-CHING!!!

Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
Brought to you by the good folks at Metamucil and Geritol...

Re: Need help with a website dilemma. [Cousin Elwood] [ In reply to ]

Nov 14, 04 12:36

Post #25 of 108 (5753 views)

Damn. Also good points. I am calling the commitee members back for another discussion.

Hmm. ideas.......

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

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