In this weeks episode of COMM296, we learnt about social reference groups and the consumer decision process. According to marketers, we are all pre programmed to absorb information, process it based on the perceived benefits and costs, external influences and psychological needs, then decide after we’ve bought the product whether or not it was a smart move. Indeed it seems that in order to have a successful product all you need is a good marketing team. In the same way that Don Draper and his team sell their ad ideas to the very people that are paying for it, so that they can in turn push their products onto the masses.
But we all know this is not the case. Not usually anyway. I mean we’ve all at some point or another been enticed to make an impulse buy based on a flashy ad or charming sales person, only to instantly regret it once we’d bought it. And this is the point. In the world of marketing today, we are not simply looking to get as many people to buy our product as possible. Sure, boosting sales is still a great way to please the man, but the real world of modern marketing is about building a brand name, instilling a sense of attachment in the purchaser, focusing on the post purchase evaluation rather than just the selling point. Indeed in today’s world we are all defined by the purchases we make. We dress, smell, eat, drink, watch, read and listen to different brands, we interact in ways influenced by these brands and in turn influence others, becoming cogs in the giant marketing machine that drives our society. It used to be said that we are what we eat. But this no longer rings true. Instead, we have now become an amalgamation of our favourite products. We eat what we are.
Some might say that this is not a good thing. Some might even say that this is evil, the product of corporate giants interested only in maximising their share price at the cost of debasing society. But I think the people that say this are failing to see the big picture. Society is driven by people’s attitudes and perceptions of others. It is how we define what is right and what is wrong, what is favourable for society and what is not. If a brand builds its reputation on sucking people in to buying its product, then that brand has acted myopically, and its strategy, like that of the ad men of the 1960’s, will fail to instil in its buyers a sense of value, fail to build a psychological connection with the consumer, and will eventually fail. But what of all the products, I hear people scream, that are bad for us, yet which we are compelled to keep on buying, despite the adverse affects these products have on us? How come McDonalds, which has absolutely no nutritional value, is one of the recognisable brands in the world? How come cigarette companys, despite all the health warnings, have continued to rake in revenue? The answer is simple. These brands, like society, are created by people. People who make up their own mind about the costs and benefits. These people can only be influenced, the final decision to continue to buy a product is completely up to them. Remember, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.