Influence of Information Cascades with the Canada Goose Coat
The article below discusses the popularity of Canada Goose. Particularly, it focuses on how its marketing strategies contribute to success. The articles highlights how having a backstory about the founders of the company gives the brand a sense of authenticity and is crucial for success. Canada Goose was founded in Toronto in a small warehouse, a location where it continues to be manufactured. The article also discusses how Canada Goose doesn’t do a lot of traditional advertising, but instead relies on strategic product placement and “cultural branding.” In other words, they place the power in the hands of consumers to naturally integrate their product into society through consumer-to-consumer interactions.
The success of Canada Goose can be attributed to information cascades. To explain this, we will consider a scenario. One person may decide to buy a Canada Goose coat because they want the warmest coat they can find and they can afford the steep price. A $1,000 coat may seem outrageous, but the price can also be correlated with quality. So the person infers that if the coat is so expensive, it must be the best of the best. The person purchases the coat and is not disappointed, so they tell all their friends how great the coat is. The friends use this information to make their own rational decisions, often resulting in the purchase of a Canada Goose coat. This can result in an information cascade, where consumers see many others with Canada Goose coats and determine from that information that they too should get one.
One is bound to see a multitude of Canada Goose coats walking around Cornell’s campus in the winter. Students who don’t already have a Canada Goose may consider getting one, with the rationale that if everyone else has it it must be the best. Despite its popularity, the Canada Goose company has faced backlash due to inhumane treatment of animals used to make the coats. Many people say they won’t purchase their coats for this reason, yet that doesn’t seem to deter the majority of consumers. This demonstrates the power information cascades, where consumers may look past certain information due to the actions of others.
Source: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2015/the-success-behind-canada-goose/