Contemporary Marketing Practice - Essay Example

Contemporary Marketing Practice College: Introduction It is common to hear among the consumers that they are not subjects to marketing strategies. Most consumers never want to admit that advertisements have immense influence on their tastes and preferences as far as purchases are concerned (Kotler et al, 1991, p. 1-3). The question that this paper endeavours at answering is “does marketing strategies drive the customer’s demand?” Even though it is claimed in the market place that every person has a freedom of choice (Every Kitchen Table 2009, p. 1), the concern on this paper is whether in reality this freedom is exercised or customer’s tastes are subject to marketer’s strategies. Every marketer is out to attract customers (Hiam 2009, n.p) towards purchasing their products. Thus, marketers are tactful in identifying the products features that are most likely to attract the client towards ordering for the product (Nankervis 2005, p. 182). Could it be argued that food marketers are to blame for the contemporary status of obesity in the society? In answering this question, there are a number of things that this paper endeavours at exploring. This study endeavours at digging deep into the strategies employed by marketers in making clients use and overuse their products, despite the fact that some of these foods are not only unhealthy especially when overused but also because the foods entice the consumers to take more and more of them. Marketers to Blame for Obesity Among the issues that receive immense attention during allocation of funds in organizations are advertisements. Manufactures are using billions of dollars in advertisement alone. Actually, in many food manufacturing companies, advertisements receive the hugest amount of money in allocation of monies to various departments. Unilever, in advertising her products such as Bertolli, Hellman’s, Slim-Fast, Ragu, Klondick, Bryers, and Jerry’s uses an average of $2.4 billion on advertisements alone, triggering an average sales of about $59.6 billion. Kraft Foods uses an average of $1.3 billion on advertisements for products such as Chips Ahoy, Oscar Cool Whip, Mayer, Kool-Aid, Oreos, Nabisco, DiGiorno, Lunchables, and Ritz, triggering sales of about $42.2 billion. PepsiCo uses about 1.3 billion on advertisement causing sales of about 43.3 billion and Nestle uses about $1.2 billion on advertisement causing an increased sale of about $101.8 billion. Some other companies that heavily invested on advisements include General Mills ($1.2 billion), Kellogg Co. ($820 million), Coca-Cola Co ($752 million), Campbell Soup Co. ($711 million), and ConAgra Foods ($352 million) (Every Kitchen Table 2009, p. 1). It is obvious from the observations above that food manufacturing companies are investing heavily on advertisements. Thus, it is obvious that these companies are gaining a lot in terms of sales as far as advertisements are concerned. Some leading fast food companies are using billions and others millions of dollars in advisement every year to attract the customers to buy their foodstuff. For example, a company such as McDonalds uses an average of $1.2 billion on advertisements every year as YUM Brands use about $960 million and Wendy’s/Arby’s use almost $500 on the same (Every Kitchen Table 2009, p. 1). Leading supermarkets such as Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Kroger Co are also using hundreds of millions dollars on advertisements alone in attracting the customers to buy the foodstuff and the other products that they are selling. All these leading manufacturers, supermarkets, retailers, and fast food companies cannot be directing billions of their profits towards the advertisements if they are not beneficial in increasing their sales. In the big debate of 2010, with the subject of food advertisements and obesity, it was observed that the marketing rules established by the states’ concerned bureaus have not been effective in abolishing damaging adverts from the market place. Food industry has claimed to have succeeded in dramatically shifting the balance of products, which are advertised for children who are under the age of twelve since the major brands signed European Union pledge in 2005. Various food companies direct their advertisements towards making potential clients to deem their products as the best in market. Some adverts go to the extent of making decisions for the clients, whereby a client is convinced that it is only through the use of the advertised product that the customer could realize the desired affinity. By the time an advert is done, the customer is persuaded that all the other products are lacking in very basic components that the customer is looking for, thus convince him/her to buy the product being advertised (EurActiv 2010, p. 1). As much as the product in question might contain whatever the customer is seeking, seldom will the marketer tell of the side effects of the product one is just about to buy. For example, Coca-Cola Company might convince a client that a certain brand of their products such as “Fanta” is the best drink to quench one’s thirst. However, the advertiser cannot explain to this potential client that the excessive sugar is such a product might be among the agents that cause obesity. In support to the debate that food adverts are to blame for increased obesity, EurActiv (2010) article has observed that over the years, companies and firms, including food firms, have shifted advertisement from the originally known media such as TV and radio to video games and internet. The emergence of the digital marketing strategies has created a gigantic platform for advertisements, with online adverts spending increasing by 40 percent in 2008. European soft drinks industry has admitted that the internet is among the primary platforms for adult and teenagers’ products. Food companies are branding products in such a way that a client is enticed to buy such a product, which when overused could result to obesity. Food companies, in the endeavour to attract more clients, are using nutritional criteria which make clients to go for the product in question. Nutritional criteria unlike scientific criteria might not have a rational explanation but potential clients find themselves in pursuit of specific products, even without the basis. The criteria entice the potential client to feel that the advertised food is the only one that qualifies to meet his/her needs (Pride & Ferrell 2011, p. 200). Jay Ehret (2010) has observed that consumers are very funny from the owner’s of business perspective. Often, there is a tendency to think that they are rational creatures who make logical arguments in making purchases decisions, basing their choice of product on availed information. However, this is not usually the case: Often, consumers buy products, not because they are in need of them, but because the manufacturer has made them believe that they are in dire need, and thus they have no otherwise other than to buy them. Actually, studies have observed that the more information the manufacturer provides to the consumers, the harder they make for the consumers to buy the product in question. Customers look for conviction in buying products: Thus, the purchasing decision is influenced by the marketer’s effectiveness in convincing the customer that he/she is in need of the product in question (Kotler et al, 1991, p. 1-3). Therefore, advertisers of the foods that cause obesity do not bother to inform their customers that the products they are just about to buy can cause obesity if they are excessively taken. The manufacturers always want to convince the customer that there is a need to buy one extra product, thus enticing them towards being obese (p. 1). For example, the advert of farmers’ choice sausage always includes the phrase, “One is never enough”. Such adverts play a very significant role in influencing the customer’s decision. In exploration of the ways through which advertisements contribute to obesity among children in Canadian society, Sara Rosentha has noted that soft drinks are among the largest contributors to obesity among children. The marketing departments of soft drink companies have formed relationships with schools, which gives them opportunities to supply them with products that have logos in exchange for some exclusive rights to vend within the school institutions. A single bottle of a soft drink, 360 ml, could contain as much as 160 calories and some caffeine levels that could exceed 100 mg, which is equal to a cup of coffee. The advertisements tend to put it to the potential clients that the soft drinks are very beneficial to the body, but seldom do they inform them that a soft drink has no nutritional value. In the packaging of the soft drink, just as in many other foods, the manufacturer ensures that ensure that the images on the cover are those that a client might be looking for (2009, n.p). According to Rosentha (2009), it is common to find images of fruits on the packaging of a soft drink that has no single fruit in it (n.p). The brand names are also catching points for clients: A soft drink might have a name that entices a client to think that the drink is very nutritious, only to take in chemicals that causes obesity. For example, “Fanta Orange” has no single fruit in its components despite the fact that the name “orange” is strategically placed on the adverts of the soft drink. Among the primary connections between increase of obesity and advertisements are the adverts of junk foods to children. Since 1980s, the world has experienced an explosion in advertisements of food products. According to a study that was conducted in 1987, adverts on Saturday morning network television totalled to 225 commercials, of these, 71% were junk foods adverts. Less than a decade later, the number of adverts had increased to about 997, with majority of the adverts again being on junk foods such as sweet cereals, fast foods, candy, salty snacks, and cookies. The study further observed that there were very few adverts on fruits, bread, vegetables or the other real foods. If such a study is something to go by, then it is obvious that most of the people are exposed to wrong information, which influences their decisions (Rosentha 2009, n.p). Marketers are very strategic in their adverts: They take time to understand the customers’ inclinations, thus they prepare adverts with the aim of pleasing potential clients, thus enticing them to making decisions in regard to their products (Schlosser, 2001; Piercy 2009, p. 10-11). Way Forward The contemporary situation cannot be allowed to continue: Obesity provides a favourable environment for occurrence of some health complications (Lindh, Pooler, & Tamparo 2009, p. 969) such as cardiovascular diseases (Iacobellis 2009, p. 151) killing millions of people every year, cancer (Jet 2003, p 22) among many other health problems. The Jet (2003) article has observed that through losing weight, one in every sixty deaths which take place in the US could be stopped. Thus, there is a need to focus on the adverts: The responsible departments in the government should lay down laws that prohibit fast food companies and other obesity-causing food producing companies from placing adverts that are misguiding. The companies should be required, along with their advert, to list the side effects of the foods that they sell. Moreover, campaigns on the relationship between obesity and fast foods among other foods should be augmented. Most people act of ignorance, and thus it is the responsibility of the state to protect her people through enlightening on the hazards they might indulge themselves in. Research Methodology This study involves the issues of advertisement in relation to increase of obesity in the society. The paper is generally a review of various literatures. In conducting the study, I explored a number of books, magazines and website articles on the relationship between obesity and advertisements. One thing that was very common in all these sources is that adverts influences the decision making of the consumers, who tend to buy the products, despite their harmful effects on their bodies. The study drew much information from previous studies, particularly from published online books. In conducting the study, I also explored the advertisement strategies of some prominent companies such as Unilever, Coca-cola, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Nestle, General Mills, Kellogg Co., Campbell Soup Co., and ConAgra Foods, all of which had one common feature; they all use a significant amount from their coffer in advertisements. To increase the authenticity of the study, I drew most of the sources from academic sources: Majority of the sources are books, which have explored the subject matter, “Contemporary marketing practice: Obesity”. The study has also compared opinions of various stakeholders in the subject matter such as scholars, advertisers and manufactures. There were two key readings that had to be included in the study: Market Led Strategic Change fourth edition Principles of Marketing fifth edition. In completion of the assignment, I explored the opinions of the two books’ authors, analysing them and comparing their opinions of the other experts in the field. To ensure that the ideas are not from the same school of thoughts, this study involved experts from diversified fields, among them being nutritionists, educators, critical analysts, scholars and healthcares providers. References Ehret, J 2010, Consumerology: How Choice Affects Customer Purchase Decisions, The marketing Blog. EurActiv, 2010, The big debate: Are food ads to blame for child obesity? http://www.euractiv.com/specialweek-foodandresponsiblemarketing/big-debate-are-food-ads-blame-child-obesity-news-500114 Every Kitchen Table, 2009, Food Marketing: Impacts on Consumer Choice, http://everytable.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/food-marketing-impact-on-consumer-choice/ Hiam 2009, Marketing for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons New York. Iacobellis, G 2009, Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Jet 2003, Health: New Studies ties Obesity to Cancer deaths, Johnson Publishing Company, Chicago.  Kotler, P., Wong, V., Armstrong, G & Saunders, J 1991, Principles of Marketing fifth edition. FT Prentice Hall Pearson Education, London. Lindh, W., Pooler, M, & Tamparo C 2009, Delmars Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, Cengage Learning, New York. Nankervis, A 2005, Managing Services, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Piercy, N 2009, Market-Led Strategic Change, Fourth Edition: Transforming the Process of Going to Market, Elsevier Ltd, Oxford. Pride, W & Ferrell, O 2011, Marketing, Cengage Learning, New York. Rosenthal, S 2009, The Canadian Type 2 Diabetes Sourcebook, John Wiley and Sons, New York. Schlosser, E 2001, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York. Read More