I came across an interesting blog by a man named Seth Godin who commented on how “any time reality doesn’t match your expectations, it means that marketing was involved”. His statement was due to the appalling yet non-exaggerated statistic concerning deaths from coal.
This image startled me because it was not what I had expected. Seth comments that the variation between reality and expectations may be from “deliberate story telling by an industry” or advertising.
His blog had got me thinking about how much marketing truly changes our perspective of things. And the more I thought about it, the more concerned I became! To alter peoples’ perspectives and insights on specific topics is the core goal or many marketers. Whether it’s to exaggerate and beautify the ‘benefits’ their product offers or to make competing products seem to pale in comparison, marketers deliver ideas into a consumer’s mind to change how they perceive things.
If we’ve been exposed to marketing since we were children, to what extent have our perceptions been manipulated? How many of our ideas are truly ours rather than planted in our heads through talented marketing tactics? The power of marketing can be illustrated through the deviation from reality and our expectations.