Looking for the perfect camera bag
My Purchase:
Recently I found myself in the market for a new camera bag. Unfortunately I am very picky and I don't want just a regular camera bag or even a backpack that you have to lay flat to unzip. (click here to see what I mean) I was on the hunt for something VERY specific: A top opening backpack with lots of room, pockets and a cute color at a reasonable price, but wasn't having any luck with the correct product or price point.
Finally, I remembered someone once told me using a nice, well-made diaper bag as a camera bag was their new go-to. I immediately resumed my search and low and behold, I found the perfect one (Linked here).
My Expectations:
Since this idea was recommended to me by a fellow photographer, I figured it would work like a charm and would solve all of my storage problems. My expectations upon ordering this item was that it would have room for my lenses, my camera, chargers, batteries and any additional gear. I figured since it was a diaper bag, there would be many pockets on the inside and out and judging from the product photos there are. Going online and looking at this specific product gave me a source of these expectations which (SPOILER ALERT) were fulfilled.
Where I Purchased:
What do I notice about the store I’m purchasing the product in? If I’m purchasing online, what is the website trying to say to me?
(Again, linked here) Unsurprisingly, I purchased my new camera/diaper bag from Amazon. As much as I hate to admit it, I do purchase from Amazon quite a bit. Although I hate contributing to Billionaires salaries and growing industrial markets, I do love a good deal. Plus, Amazon is great for when I am not finding the exact thing I want locally or on other sites. When logging on to the Amazon.com homepage, I immediately notice the sliding banner of "Holiday Deals" at the top. Below (and this is where Amazon marketing is really good), there are squares of different things such as "Video: Recommended For You" or "Recently Viewed Products" even going as far to start advertising "Early Black Friday Deals". I can't say this isn't a genius marketing tactic because sadly, it is and sadly, it sucks in consumers like me...all the time. Amazon is usually trying to get you to buy anything and everything at the "Best Price" and they do a really good job at personalizing these ads based on each persons specific account.
The Packaging & The Product:
This camera/diaper bag arrived in a box. The bag itself was wrapped in plastic and stuffed with paper. There were also plastic covers on all the metal zippers to ensure no finger prints were left by the manufacture. I gotta say, this bag was packaged VERY well. It did not come damaged or broken but instead with 3 different straps (Handles, over the shoulder, and backpack straps). The color I ordered was the moonstone gray and it looked exactly like the photo. I was truly eager to see all the pockets inside so I ripped out the stuffing and got to sticking my hand in every pocket I could to measure the deepness and plan what would go in it.
Using The Bag
After all the stuffing and plastic was out and off, I arranged my camera equipment inside. I noticed there were pockets designed for bottles which are similar to a lens in that they are long and round. My lenses fit like a glove inside the fun pouches and I felt immediately relieved knowing this bag was going to work. I then made sure my camera fit in the general pocket and affixed all the other accessories in different pockets. The one thing I did not take into consideration was how when the inside pockets are full, that takes up space in the general middle area of the bag which makes it difficult to fit more than one camera or even a camera with the lens attached. Nonetheless, I like this option way more than a traditional camera bag and it looks really cute when carried around on shoots.
Final Thoughts - Consumer Insight:
With all things noticed and considered, the key to understanding this experience is that the right product is out there it's just a matter of searching and regardless of platform, if it seems like the right product for you, then buy it.
Product Recommendation:
Finally, given this insight, try your hand at making a recommendation for marketing this product/service. How would you improve the 4P’s (product, the pricing, the distribution (place) or the promotion) to make it more consistent with your insight?
Product: I would improve this product by making it slightly bigger to account for the space lost in the inside when all the pockets/pouches are full.
Price: The product is priced at $60, (I think I got it on sale for $45) but I would most likely make the price base $50.
Place: Having more options like this offline would make it easier for those actually looking for diaper bag options and someone like me who may use it differently. Since ordering this bag, I have made it a sort of fun game to go into a department store or local store and see what options they have in the way of diaper bags and I can honestly say I have't seen a large variety so I think online was the correct way to go.
Promotion: Although this product is listed under a diaper bag, maybe expanding the products key search words to "bag" "storage" "top-open backpack" might have helped me find it easier without necessarily using the phrase "Diaper bag". I remember searching a lot of key words for top-opening bag and backpack and not being able to find anything remotely close to what I wanted until I specifically typed in "diaper bag".