Being able to distinguish the difference between a need and a want in the society is a bit of a grey area in society today. Do we define a need as a “must have“ standard that we are used to in our quality of life, or do we define it as the bare necessities of life that we need in order to survive, such as food, shelter, air etc….? From Garrett’s Marketing Blog on “Needs Vs. Wants – Blurring the Lines”, I concur with the idea that besides the physiological needs of the body, and maybe the emotional relationship that the mind needs, “everything else is a want”1.

Marketers have always been criticized for preying on consumers; feeding them unnecessary wants and manipulating their idea of wants into needs. However, I think that marketers need to also have to some degree, a demand or need of a consumer integrated into the product in order for it to be successful. Marketing strategies strongly appeals to people through the way it allows people to define themselves, and the ability it connects people to a “bigger sense of purpose”2. This is the “emotional need” that is being met. What I mean by this is that, people who care about defining themselves by trendiness may buy from Zara, as the company is known for their quick adaptation to the new “it-fashion”, or people will make their purchase amounting to at least $50 from a grocery store just so that the $2 proceeds will go as a donation to some kind of cancer fund. The first was an example of allowing people to identify themselves, and the latter is the greater sense of purpose to life that people like to be a part of. These ideas are brilliantly described in an interview done by Marketplace on “A Marketing Battle of Wants Vs. Needs”.

1 Garrett Marketing Watch, August 2008, “Needs Vs. Wants – Blurring the Lines”, retrieved from the site: http://garrettmarketing.blogspot.com/2008/08/needs-vs-wants.html on January 14th, 2012
2 Ryssdal, November 2007, “A Marketing Battle of Wants Vs. Needs”, retrieved from the site: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/consumed/marketing-battle-wants-vs-needs on January 14th, 2012