Image courtesy of giffconstable.com
I’ve always felt a little bit uncomfortable with marketing. Just in that it’s very nature is to influence and manipulate others. It’s not always just about communicating a product or an idea. If we were just doing that we wouldn’t go to the great lengths we go to measuring the effectiveness of our campaigns and watching intently how many tweets or mentions we get. As an industry, we are highly concerned with results, sales, followers, brand loyalty and reputation. Many brands engage in social media today, not because they think it is the right thing to do, but because they think that it is necessary in order for them to survive in this new age economy.
In the old days of marketing, it was pretty simple really – I “Mr. Corporate Manufacturer” want to reach you “Mrs. Decision Making Consumer”. I would place ads, buy television spots and go to great lengths to have you believe that my product is just what you’ve always been looking for, until you eventually go out and buy it. I take nice pictures of my product, expose you to images of happy people using it (highlighting how great your life could be if you were to buy it), and further attract you with a great price point that you can’t refuse.
Even though some will disagree, I think marketing was more honest back then. It was simpler and uncomplicated. As a consumer you knew that companies were turning a profit and that you were being swayed with ads, but if you didn’t really want something you wouldn’t go out and buy it. Marketing was a stage production. An act. It was all about looking good and sounding good. But nobody tried to hide that.
Today, it is about all of that, but it is also more complicated and a little more desperate. Marketers now try to hide from their very nature as marketers by appearing to be more human and avoiding discussions about what they are really after – profit.
You have companies who have traditionally been private corporations – only concerned with their bottom lines pretending to be “social” and friendly. You have ambassadors out on the internet “befriending” people in order to get them to visit and “Like” a Facebook page or retweet an offer. Brands are acting more like humans, which in some ways is nice, but is it really?
Marketing is still marketing. Consumers are still consumers. The end result is still that these companies are laser focused on profit (just without being upfront about it) and have revenue objectives to meet.
By tapping into the social structure and psychological nature of people, marketers are using emotion and basic needs to appeal to people on a one-to-one intimate basis, but still with their objectives of achieving their bottom line.
How is this honest or transparent? When they are talking about everything OTHER than the fact that they want to make money from all of these “connections”?
Transparency would look more like “I am a marketer. I am interested in your opinion because I want to sell more of my products and have you promote them to your friends so they will buy them too.”
NOT
“Connect with us on Facebook so you can share your experiences and win cool prizes.”
Corporations and private companies are routinely engaging in Greenwashing (pretending to be Environmental in order to win the hearts and minds of customers). Why do they do this? Because being environmentally friendly sells! So marketers use words like “Green, Sustainable, and EcoFriendly” to attract a very large demographic of concerned citizens of the earth.
Why? So they can sell more stuff.
Social Media is at an all time high with marketers. Many of them are using it for social good, change and to do amazing things. But why? Is it because they are do-gooders who just want to run around changing the world? Or is it because they want to have you believe that – so you will buy into their company and… Oh and let’s not forget, sell more stuff.
I don’t claim to have all of the answers, but I do think that something has to change. Consumers are currently being used for their opinions, networks of friends, and creative content. Eventually, they are going to start feeling used and say “hey wait a minute”.
It is really only a matter of time before this happens.
So what will marketers do then? When no one wants to befriend them online, retweet their content, play their games or contests, or click their ads? What will happen to marketing?
Imagine if companies only produced what people asked for and didn’t try to mass produce or manipulate people into buying. Imagine if we did business in our local area with the people we know and like. Imagine if we only shared information about products because we wanted to, not because we wanted to win something or get something for free.
Is it possible to live in a world where companies grow organically without marketing? But simply because they create great things and people like them? People should be free to draw their own conclusions about products and services based on their own intellect and experience.
Is there a way to make marketing actually become more honest, or is it by it’s very nature manipulative and smarmy? Some of these views are radical for marketers, I know. But really… Why do we need marketing if we make great products and are confident in them?
These questions and ideas are somewhat abstract, but they represent an undertone of sentiment that I can feel brewing amongst consumers and society in general.
People don’t want to be sold to or told what to think.
I believe the extreme marketing through the internet based forums, ie. twitter, linkedin, facebook etc. is just the progression from what was available in the past to businesses, ie. radio, tv, billboard. It is just another means of businesses getting the word out about their product or service. Yes, it definitely through the voice of others connecting them, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt they were burying the truth of the fact that they are trying to earn a profit…I take that as an obvious factor. Why else are they producing a product or offering a service? There’s no one that really wants to work for free in this world. And, although I believe that there may be some dishonesty connected to a company turning ‘green’ just to become more socially acceptable, rather than their own belief that it is the right thing to do, but it is still beneficial to all that they are doing this, even if it is for the wrong reasons, so once again, I still have no issue with this. At the end of the day, the product or service has to stand on its own once purchased or put to the test. How it made it’s way to my attention really doesn’t matter to me.
Thanks for reading Marlyn. Some good points. You are right about social being another avenue for marketers to reach the masses. I think our society of consumerism is inherently flawed – from production, to marketing to sales. The focus on more, bigger and better is part of the problem that has put us where we are globally today.
It is nice to see when marketers do good things and companies make a difference in our world, even if they are doing it for the PR. The fact that they are doing something good for the earth is more important. It’s just the ones who use the Green buzzwords in their marketing and then don’t live them that are a nuisance.
Thanks for reading and commenting
Vintage TV Commercials
K some of those are just classic!!! I love the egg boil with a bandaid. LOL! So reminiscent of infomercials. And the awkward hand pause at the end of the Remington one.
Thanks for sharing!
Really interesting perspective, particularly the part about marketing in its early days being more honest than it is now.
I think one reason that customers do actually appreciate marketing is that sometimes the customer really does want a reason beyond the product/service features to buy the product.
I completely understand how obnoxious some brands can be, attempting to intertwine your very identity with their product, just to get your transaction.
But you know what, when I am in the target audience of a brand, say a craft brewery, I actually do enjoy the various attempts to engage me in the brand. I actually enjoy staring at the ads, listening to their “pitch”, watching the videos, seeing pictures of the brewery, seeing what they have to say on their blog, etc etc.
Actually, I immerse myself in this brand experience while maintaining a clear head. I consider the message and the medium carefully before doing anything impulsive. So it isn’t as if I’ve trained myself to enjoy being controlled or materialistic either.
Like you, I am equally annoyed by 97% of the marketing noise out there. But that’s because I don’t fit in any of those brands’ target audiences. But in the 3% of the time I do fit, I hardly care or notice that I am being bombarded.
Thanks for reading and commenting Chad. You have a great blog btw! Gonna add you to my blogroll.
I think our society of mass consumerism has impacted our culture to the point of distortion in some respects. We are no longer citizens but consumers, and our identity is sometimes rooted in the manner in which we consume or the brands we represent.
Marketing fuels the machine. The machine of consumption and mass industry, which robs us of our planet’s natural resources, creates pollution and even war.
Marketers themselves are just caught up in the machine, like a spoke on a wheel. But it would be nice to see some changes. Some brands do an excellent job at creating that brand affinity with their customers. I am an Apple fan girl so I am not exempt from the effects of this machine either.
Interesting stuff to think about though. Have you ever checked out The Story of Stuff by the way? It’s awesome. Check it out if you get a chance: http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Hey thanks Selina! I added your blog as well. Thanks for the storyofstuff recommendation too, I checked it out and want to read a little more in depth later.
I completely understand what you mean about the “Green” rhetoric being (mis)used these days as a veil for companies who haven’t changed a bit.
I am curious, have you come across a brand that has truly shifted their ethos in the right direction?
Story of Stuff is great. They have one for bottled water, electronics and cap & trade too! All from the same site.
One company i really have a lot of respect for is TOMS: http://www.toms.com/ They have a one-for-one philosophy and give a pair of shoes to a child in need with every purchase of a pair of shoes. And even though there are no fair trade practices per say for footwear manufacturing, it is something they are very aware of and pay a lot of attention to. I just like that giving is a part of their overall business model and always has been.
I so enjoy your blog. Your take on the subjects always make me think and your style usually makes me laugh! Thank you for writing: http://redawakening.com/2011/03/18/im-versatile-who-knew/
Are you sure you still want to be friends with some of us Marketers Selina?! Lol
Honestly though, and not to point fingers, aren’t you as a business owner, someone else as an entrepreneur, someone else as a sales rep, etc. by using social media in relation, just trying to sell a product or service? Aren’t we all then guilty of what you just preached about Marketing and Marketers?
Let’s face it, anyone on social media whether Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, You Tube, Tumblr etc is suddenly a Marketer, whether they actually do it professionally for a living or not.
Just wanted to offer another perspective.
Hey Carleen! Thanks for visiting and commenting. Glad that you find the posts interesting and engaging
I do my best.
Craig- Totally see what you are saying. And yes, as marketers, business owners, entrepreneurs there is a certain degree of necessity with all of this. My points are more “big picture points” about problems that exist within our society in general. The fact that everyone is trying to sell something is precisely the problem. We have built an entire society (or machine rather) on mass consumption and marketing. We are all trying to “connect” through marketing, but really we are less connected than ever before and our relationships are thin online because they are an attempt at winning influence, business or stature in some manner.
I am a part of this machine too, we all are. Unfortunately. As a consumer and a marketer, I am observing what I am seeing (and feeling). There aren’t necessarily any answers right now. Just food for thought.
Thanks for reading and expressing your thoughts. Much appreciated.