Contemporary Issues in Marketing - Coursework Example

Over the past three decades there have been changes in almost every sphere of life. There have been technological advancements, several new categories of industries have emerged, trade has become global, competition has increased due to globalization leading to cutthroat industrial wars and innumerable other things have changed. As Doyle (2000) claims, the lifestyles of people have become affected and everything has become time bound even eating food. Gone are the days when people made homemade meals for their children. Today kids like to hang around fast-food chains and have been literally addicted to the fast-food culture. It started off firstly like a fad and over the decades eating fast-food has become more a necessity than anything else (Gelder). With the changing nature of lifestyles, parents started working more hours or taking up two jobs at a time to keep up with the rising prices and tougher competition and to be able to do that, they often bought fast-food for their children or raised their allowance to accommodate eating out at fast food chains. According to Dev (2005), this saved the parents time and the hassle of cooking at home. At the same time, the children enjoyed the atmosphere that these restaurants provided, and started going out to eat more often. As Doyle (2000) claims they met their friends there and soon these fast-food chains become a hangout for the children. Coupled with that, the reasonably priced products offered value meals complete with deals like a hamburger with fries and a drink. The atmosphere of the restaurants is just what today’s children like: fast music, internet access, clean and hygienic way of preparing food and quick service. Children today spend more on fast-food than any other kind of food globally as fast-food markets have developed across nations with chains like McDonalds, KFC, Pizza hut and Burger King etc (McDonalds, 2008). When the potential was seen in the industry, a lot of investment was made in the industry not realizing the repercussions it would cause. According to Dev (2005), the fast-food restaurants development in nationwide chains and then grew into gigantic multinational firms spread in every nook and corner of the world. With the spread of the industry and the easy availability of fast food everywhere, the children became more attracted to such food as it was delicious and easy to get plus the presence of such restaurants everywhere made it more tempting for the kids and they slowly became addicted to such meals (Gelder). The industry has become so business minded that it doesn’t realize how it is affecting the society and its consumers especially. The industry is playing with the health of their consumers by tactfully marketing their products. It is also using production methods that are not favorable to the society and it is contributing negatively by encouraging global warming. As Doyle (2000) claims, the downside is that there are no laws and regulations for this industry to keep a check on the food, advertising, marketing and production methods. Issues have risen today when visible harm has already been done today. There are certain ethical and ecological issues involved with the development of the fast-food industry that have come into view in the recent years. According to Dev (2005), these issues have to be given importance as children are the primary customers of the industry. If these issues are ignored then the children may suffer drastically in the long run and in turn the whole society would have to face the repercussions (Gelder). Ethical The fast food industry is growing at a tremendous speed as children of the world get addicted to such food and spend more and more in the industry. The extent is such that the lifestyles of children have changed and they have incorporated fast-food as an essential diet supplement. As Doyle (2000) claims what the fast-food industry failed to inform its consumers was that fast-food makes the consumers fat especially if eaten regularly. The result of this has become evident and drastic as the new generation is turning obese. Other things like television also contribute to obesity but the major blame goes to the type of food that is consumed (Keegan, 2004, pp. 150-154). The whole meal including the drink and the fries, the extra cheese and the extra scoop of ice-cream adds to the obesity issue. This leads to drastic problems as obesity is related to a lot of life threatening diseases which these children as grownups would get at a very early age, resulting in a shorter life span and increasing death rates (Gelder). Also, due to this, a lot of the economy’s budget would be diverted to healthcare instead of going into development and as a result economies would suffer. Thus the industry has to keep the health of the children in perspective before marketing products that are harmful for the children and in turn the society. McDonalds has been legally sued for marketing products that causes obesity (McDonalds, 2008).To counter this, some fast-food chains have started marketing healthier options like Subway with its variety of healthy sandwiches and Pizza Hut with its salad bar etc. the industry as a whole should contribute towards correcting this issue so that the children don’t become fat (Gelder). Another issue that the development of this industry has raised is the advertising of the products. The advertising mainly targets young children and offers like free toys and upsized meals attract the children (Keegan, 2004, pp. 130-154). It is not ethical to advertise the products to children using attractive techniques on children’s channels especially when the children cannot understand the potential harm these fast-food products can cause to their health. The main targets of such advertising are five to seven year olds and above. As Doyle (2000) claims, this is a tender age where the children do not understand how harmful fast-food can be for them. When they see attractive and colorful advertisements on the television, they want to go and eat in these restaurants cajoling their parents who have no choice left but to take their children there. Governments should implement legal bounds on these firms and do not let them advertise directly to children. At the same time, the firms in the industry should behave like good corporate citizens and do not indulge in such advertising (Gelder). Most of the fast food restaurants are designed in such a way that they are very attractive for children. The colors are bright and chirpy which attract the children more, the music is trendy and tasteful and the overall atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. It all sounds good but it only contributes more to the addiction the children have to go to these fast food restaurants. As Doyle (2000) claims there are also play areas for the children in almost all the fast-food restaurants. These play areas attract. The children and they want to go to the restaurant again and again. Due to these play areas, the children stay in the restaurant for a longer time and in the process tend to eat more here which contributes more to their health issues (Keegan, 2004, pp. 144-154). The fast-food meals have been especially designed for children like Happy Meal and Chickey Meal. These meals have toys in it and every week there is a new toy. This feature future encourages the children to come to the restaurant every week to collect these toys. The industry is using such marketing tactics without realizing how much harm to they are doing to the children of today and in turn the society (Gelder). Also, as the children spend more and more on the fast-food, the competition is becoming stiffer as the demand is growing tremendously. According to Dev (2005), the industry growth has helped a lot of people by opening up job opportunities for them in the last three decades. However, with the growth in technology, and the ever growing demand, the firms in the industry are fast replacing man with computers and other technology. As Doyle (2000) claims that what is not being realized is that thousands of people currently employed in the industry would soon be out of job and replaced by technology to cope with the demand. Thus the firms have to keep in mind that they may render a lot of their employees render useless in the future if they do not keep up with their training. These firms should upgrade the training of these employees or provide them with other jobs so that the society and therefore the economy doesn’t suffer that much (Gelder).no The children today diverted their spending towards fast food. Previously when they spent on educational toys, healthy food or outdoor activities, today they are spending more on fast food and thus are threatening their health. The same amount of money could have been spent more productively if they did not have the option of spending on fast food (Keegan, 2004, pp. 130-164). They would have spent their pocket money on something more beneficial which would have helped them to improve themselves. The advertising and the developing trend has rendered the parents helpless and they are forced to buy fast food for their children even when they know that it is not a healthy meal for them. Previously girls were interested in cooking and making new dishes at home. This helped them become more creative and they liked to stay in the kitchen and helping with house chores. As Doyle (2000) claims this also helped them later in life in contributing towards home making. Today with the fast food age, girls do not want to waste time in the kitchen making food as they rather spend their money and get food easily form fast food chains. This has changed girls culturally and how they spend their time. Today they spend time hanging out in the fast food restaurant and eat unhealthy food (Keegan, 2004, pp. 130-134). Most of these fast food chains [also provide home delivery. This feature suits the habit of children who are now too lazy to go out and rather sit home watching TV. With the home delivery, the children can now order the food that they wish to have over the phone and the ordering procedure is so easy that any child who can talk can order (Keegan, 2004, pp. 145-154). The food is delivered within minutes. The children love this and enjoy their food watching their favorite TV show. According to Dev (2005), the result of this convenience is that the children have started consuming more fast-food as they are not dependent on their parents to take them out. Instead they just order the food at home. This also saves them time and gives them time to do things that only add to their obesity like playing on the Play Station. New restaurants have started incorporating things like internet and loud music in the restaurant. This encourages the children to sit in the restaurants for a longer time and eat more. The shift in the lifestyle has been drastic. When previously children preferred staying out and playing in the park or with fiends, they now prefer sitting in restaurants in some situations with friends too but the difference is that they all just sit in one place and eat (Keegan, 2004, pp. 133-164). The more time they spend there, the more they eat and in turn gain weight. With the development of the fast food industry, other industries have also erupted noticing how children can be easily lured into buying their products. They have used this to their advantage and have grown their businesses to multinational firms spreading themselves across nations and affecting life patterns of children. Examples of such industries are the television industry which is making money airing advertisements that negatively affect children. Since the children now prefer more indoor activities after eating heavy fast food, products such as play stations, DS, PSP have been invented, further adding to the stagnated lifestyles of children and encouraging such lifestyles. The internet now has innumerable things for children which again encourages them to sit in one place and make virtual friends instead of making actual friends. Even the clothes industry has changed (Keegan, 2004, pp. 144-160). Most children’s clothes industries are now making XL sizes in abundance than size small. Thus there are chain reactions in several industries when the habits of children change and in turn it affects all industries in some way or the other (Prancs). Ecological Global warming has become a great issue in the last two decades as drastic climatic changes have occurred across the globe. This climatic change has occurred primarily due to the industrial sector which has been disposing its wastes without keeping the environment into consideration (Keegan, 2004, pp. 150-160). The fast-food industry is a huge industry throughout the world and it should fight against global warming. This fight should be at a deep level with corporate strategies formulated to fight it. As Gelder claims things like production methods, operations, employees, expansions etc. have to reflect the firm’s commitments. This would of course affect the children also and they would feel a part of this fight against global warming once they buy the products of this firm. With the increasing consumption by the children, this will become essential with the growth of the industry (Prancs). Global warming issue is a prominent issue and the fast food industry is continuously contributing to it. As Gelder claims the procedures etc are such that they are adding to the problem of global warming. The industry uses styro foam packaging, has carbon emissions etc. and if the industry continues to produce in such a way it would be contributing towards global warming. The packaging used in the fast food is disposable and easy to carry. It is made colorful and carries attractive pictures and advertising. However, what is not realized is that most of the material that is used for packaging is not environmentally friendly (Keegan, 2004, pp. 150-160). The result is that the children that are eating fast food are unknowingly harming the atmosphere. What the fast food industry should do is invent creative ways to involve the children consuming their products in disposing the waste products. For instance in McDonalds, Taiwan, where customers are instructed to dispose off the wastes into separate containers for leftover food, regular garbage, paper and liquids (McDonalds, 2008). This helps in more efficient disposal of wastes and thus this helps in quicker recycling of the waste. If all the firms of the industry incorporate such methods of disposing off wastes then the issue can be curtailed to a large extent. As Gelder claims at the same time the children will grow learning the etiquettes of disposing off wastes in the most efficient manner and will have a feeling of contentment knowing that they are not contributing towards global warming. The fast food industry also wastes a lot of cooking oil in the process of production. This is sheer wastage. The industry should device ways to use this wasted oil for transportation, heating systems and other things, by converting this oil into bio fuels. For this of course the industry has to invest initially but in turn the firms will only benefit. Also, the economy of the respective countries will also benefit as less oil will be imported now (Keegan, 2004, pp. 140-160). The fast food industry should also have NGOs of their own or perhaps they should support NGO’s which have similar causes like theirs. For instance, McDonalds and KFC both are supporting NGOs (McDonalds, 2008). As Gelder claims these firms should devise attractive marketing strategies especially on child children’s products and the proceeds from these can go to the NGOs. For example McDonalds can say that in the month of June and July all proceeds from the sales of Happy Meals will go to an NGO that help the poor children or it would go to fight against global warming(McDonalds, 2008). This will encourage children to spend wiser and at the same time they will have a feeling that they are contributing to the society. As Doyle (2000) claims this may encourage the children to buy fast-food which they do anyways, they would have a good feeling that they are contributing towards society and this would also spread awareness about global issues like poor children and global warming(Prancs). Conclusion The fast-food industry has drastically affected children and the way they spend their money. When previously they spent on toys and books, today they rather hangout in fast-food outlets. With the invent of fast food chains, the lifestyle of children have completely changed. The way they spend time has also changed (Prancs).Fast food makes them lethargic and they spend more time at home in front of the TV rather than outdoor activities. Seeing this interest of the children in fast food, the industry has captured the opportunity completely and has successfully lured children towards fast-food with attractive advertising targeting children who are not old enough to understand how harmful fast-food can be to them. Fast food has made the younger generation obese as they consume fast-food as an essential part of their diet. As Gelder claims this causes diseases and will eventually lower the life span of those who consume fast-food regularly. Economies have to spend more on medical when they could have spent on development. Also, children today spend time loitering in fast-food chains instead of other sorts of useful entertainment. Fast-food has also caused ecological changes affecting the environment. The use of styrofoams, wastage of oil and the packaging used all contribute towards spoiling the environment. The industry should take positive measures like recycling oil, using better packaging, introducing healthier food options and supporting NGOs to help improve the environment as this industry has become big and its contributions can make a big change (Prancs).The spending habits have been shifted towards fast-food and the industry should accept that by excessive consumption of the products it is negatively impacting the children. Reforms should be made to help make the society better. References McDonalds, 2008. Accessed on: 4th August 2008. Available at: http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat/features/dollar.html Dev, C & Don E. Schultz, D. 2005. Mix into the 21st Century. Marketing Management, vol.14, no.1. Doyle, P. 2000. Value based marketing. Wiley, Chichester, 2000. Gelder, S. General strategies for global brands. Accessed on 4th August 2008. Available: http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/GLOBALBRANDSTRATEGIES.pdf Keegan, W. 2004. Strategic marketing planning: a twenty-first century perspective. International Marketing Review, vol.21, no.1, pp. 130-164. Prancs, L. Product branding affects kids more than taste, says research. Accessed on: 5th August 2008. Available at: http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=78848-mcdonald-s-branding-marketing-to-kids Read More