Rituals at MSU

Many of our consumption activities-including holiday observances, grooming, and gift giving-are rituals. A ritual is a set o multiple, symbolic behaviors that occurs in a fixed sequence and is repeated periodically. Some Universities developed rituals over the years. I want to share with you some rituals at Montana State University.

The undie run is when students show their Bobcat pride by peeling down to their blue and gold bloomers to run a spirited lap around campus.

Another ritual is the Catapalooza which is a three day festival on Centennial Mall, the main walkway through campus, to welcome new and returning students to campus.

Hiking the"M" is one of the old rituals. The "M" has long been a symbol not only of Montana State University, but of the Bozeman community. The "M" is loved and cared for by the students, faculty, and staff of Montana State University.

Bobcat Fest is a celebration of graduating seniors on Main Street each April that features a live band, free food, and other giveaways.

  

Blue & Gold Fridays are just that. Every Friday, everyone wears Blue and Gold gear to show their school pride. Go CATS!

And last but not least, one of the most exciting rituals at MSU. Cat/Griz is one of the longest standing football rivalries in the country. Each November, the Cats go head to head with the Grizzlies of UM.

There are several more rituals at MSU, But this ones are the biggest ones that occur every year.

Gen Y

Gen Yers were born between 1984 and 2002. They already make up nearly one-third of the U.S population, and they spend $170 billion a year of their own and their parents' money. Members of generation Y value being both footloose and connected to their "peeps" 24/7. Gen Yers tend to hold relatively traditional values and they prefer to fit in rather than rebel.

Millennials are hopeful about the future; almost all of them agree that it's important to maintain a positive outlook on life. President Obama campaign in 2008 tried to reach to the millennials by associations with the word change, new, progress, hope, and excitement.

Brand Personality

Brand personality is the set of traits of people attribute to a product as if it were a person, Brand personality changes over time. If you look at the top five most stylish brands in 1990's compare to what consumers now a days consider the top five stylish brands they are completely different ones. Forging a successful brand personality often is key to building brand loyalty.

Brand personality is a statement about the brand market position. Volvo faces a problem where the consumers don't see the brand they way it makers intend them to and they must attempt to reposition the product. The problem of the swedish manufacture is that their consumers associate their cars with safety, but the drivers don't see them as a sexy or exciting car. This makes hard to sell a sports car, and limiteds your potential customers. Volvo has been trying to change his image for years, but it hasn't been working so far.

Volvo keeps trying to change its image into a sexy brand. Volvo call it's new model the Naughty S60, and to launch the car in Europe, the company hosted underground parties in London, Paris, Milan, Berlin, and filmed a series of experiments. More than 3000 people were secretly filmed and measure guests' naughtiness, conformity, daring, confidence, curiosity and desire.