Fads: Segmenting the
Fad-Buyer Market
Dr. Charles Blankson
Department of Marketing & Logistics
Introduction
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A fad is defined as a product that experiences rapid,
unexpectedly high sales followed by a decline. These sales
are enthusiasm driven and may follow a decline in sales
only to experience a boost in sales later down the road. An
example of this would be the yo-yo which was created
decades ago but still experiences peaks of popularity.
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The consumption of fad products offers a lens into current
social events and values
Marketing literature has not developed many guidelines or
prescriptions to retailers/firms wishing market fads
Literature has not explored fad purchasing and
consumption
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Enablers
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Purchase fads for others and are typically parents of younger
children. This allows the children to experience group affinity.
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Examples of Enablers
 Poppal ( Little stuffed animal critters that could fold
into a little ball and go into a little pouch)
 My little Pony
 Barbie’s (replaced by Bratz Dolls)
 Cabbage Patch Dolls
 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
 Nintendo (replaced by Xbox, Playstation 2)
 G.I. Joes
 Legos
 Silly Puddy
 Gak
Belongers
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Similar to Enablers, however, Belongers purchase
the product for themselves. Mostly teenagers are
considered belongers. They do this to feel group
affinity.
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Bell bottom jeans
Platform shoes
Glow in the dark stars
Power Beads
Paco/ Jnco Jeans
Polar Bear Jackets
Beepers/ Pagers (replaced by cell phones and email)
Lava Lamps and Blacklights
Mood Rings ( replaced by the livestrong/ cancer
awareness braclets)
Status-Conscious:
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A need to personally feel status achievement, even if this
achievement is not displayed to others. Can also be viewed as
a waste of money.
 Clothing
 Accessories ( Jewelry, watches, belts, etc.)
 Kitchen Appliances ( Bread makers, Juicer)
 Automobiles (classic cars, H2 in California, exotic cars)
 Seasonal Homes ( Having multiple houses in various
locations)
Nonchalants
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Simply liked a product that happened to be popular.
Consumers bought the products due to the fact that
they did like the product, not for the sheer fact that it
was labeled as a fad, or a trendsetter.
Icicle Lights
 Jack-o-lantern garbage bags
 Food (Atkins, Jenny Craig, Simple choice)
 Beverages ( Budweiser, Miller Lite, Corona, Samuel
Adams, Vanilla Coke, The Original Coke, Jolt, Red Bull)
 Cars (BMW, Ford Mustang, Transam, Camero, PT
Cruiser, Dodge Ram, VW Beatle)
 Ipod’s
 North Face Fleece
 Nike Sox
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Current Eventers
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Memorabilia of meaningful events. Interests in
history and current events.
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American Flags after 9/11
Magnetic Car Ribbons
Campaign memorabilia
Berlin Wall
Apollo 11 and 13 remnants
War Memorabilia (bullets, weapons, medals, uniforms,
pin’s)
Beatles memorabilia
Princess Diana
Y2K
Hobbyists
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People who initially purchases products while in a fad state,
while awareness and availability was high. High personal
involvement.
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Stamps
Baseball Cards
Coins
Spoons and Thimbles
Weapons (swords, knives, guns)
Beanie Babies
American Girl Dolls
Fishing equipment
Gambling Chips (different poker chips from various casino’s)
Speculators
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Individuals who purchase fad items with a motivation to resell
the item at a higher profit.
 Cars
 Beanie Babies
 Baseball Cards
 Collectables
 Antiques
 Hummel's
Implications for Marketing Managers
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It’s hard to say if one can really pin point how to
tell when something will become a fad or not.
There is no real way of determining this. For
mangers its definitely a nerve racking process,
cause you don’t know exactly what will work.
When it comes to advertising as a manager have to
know what segment group you are trying to target
your product towards once you decide that, then
you decide whether or not if you should have a TV
commercial, newspaper article, radio
announcement, billboard, etc.)
Implications for marketers Continued
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Marketers should pay attention to fads as
much as they do for trends, because from a
marketing management perspective, one
reason to examine fads is how their short
term nature affects the market share in some
markets.
Understand the seven fad segments, and
how these individuals behave in terms of
buying and spending. Once marketers
understand the behavior and existence of
fads, these should form the basis of
marketing strategies/tactics.
QUESTIONS ?
WHAT OTHER MARKETING
IMPLICATIONS ARE
IMPORTANT FOR
UNDERSTANDING THE FADBUYER MARKET ?