Chapter 6: Consumer Decision Making

    Cartier is a high luxury company that generously allocates their resources to promote their company image,  product exclusivity, and increase their marketing efficiency.  The marketers at Cartier spend a great deal of time trying to properly understand the needs of their target market,  the capitalistic and upper middle class throughout the world. To understand the needs of the consumer, the marketer must first ask "What is the desired outcome of the consumer after purchasing our product?". In the case of the consumers of Cartier, one major driving factor influencing them to desire Cartier jewelry is to reinforce their social status amongst their peers. Throughout it's history, Cartier was a company known for elegance, luxury, and the highest standard of quality and customer service. The maison's rich history and prestigious reputation is what draws consumers to their jewelry, acting as an external stimulus on the consumers' decision.  

     To promote their company image and influence consumers to desire their jewelry, Cartier creates luxurious ads that appeal to the senses of consumers and strategically places them where there the  target consumer is likely to reach it, such as in the pages of the Wall Street Journal, Playbills for opening nights at The Metropolitan Opera, and even television commercials. Cartier's ads are dynamic, eye-catching, and extravagant creations designed to entice the viewer and captivate their heart, seducing them to enter the world of Cartier jewelry. These ads are designed to appeal to esteem needs, portraying a life of full of passion, elegance, luxury, success, and glamour making the viewer believe that is the lifestyle that comes with Carter.

This extravagant commercial for Cartier, made for the winter holidays, makes the viewer feel as if they are in a fairy tale filled with magic, suggesting the idea that Cartier jewelry is the source of holiday magic. 

This Cartier ad encourages feelings of romance and passionate love, choosing the romantic setting of Paris, overlooking the Eiffel Tower in the background 

This ad appeals to Russians as it incorporates the Russian winter and captures the beauty of it, making it highlight the luxurious Cartier pieces, resembling those adored by the Russian aristocracy making the viewer of this ad feel as if Cartier jewelry is what compliments the beauty of nature. However, this ad can also appeal to consumers worldwide that are celebrating the beauty of winter.

      Cartier loans exquisite jewelry pieces to celebrities that serve as aspirational references for the general public as well as for the upper class elites, to wear at Red Carpet events which further develops Cartier's image as a leading luxury jeweler and develops their idea of product exclusivity. Cartier's rich history of high profile clientele,their widely known reputation of excellence, and their satisfaction guarantee policy encourages buying confidence to consumers with feelings of dissonance. Cartier offers a lifetime policy on all of their jewelry as well as documentation to prove the authenticity of their products. 

Chinese model and actress Fan Bing Bing wearing Cartier at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival 

    As the spending power of the emerging upper middle class in various parts of the world such as China and India grows, so does their desire for a lavish, luxurious lifestyle and items of the highest quality. This growing want-got gap is encouraged by marketers through grand events such as the exhibition that took place in May 2004 in the Shanghai  Museum and grand opening events of new boutique locations. What draws many Chinese and Indian consumers to Cartier is the incorporation of their cultures into some of Cartier's jewelry pieces, such as the Tutti Frutti collection inspired by Indian culture and the Chinese Chimera jewelry inspired by Chinese culture, which dates back to the 1920s. 

Ad for a Cartier exhibition that took place in China, highlighting the companies ties to the Chinese culture