Marketing Communications - Report Example

Running Head: Marketing Communications Marketing Communications Marketing Communications Human beings have dynamic mental and physical capabilities. The intellect, we humans have, gives us the ability to chose and make decisions. In addition to that, various stimuli people receive from outside world have great influence over their decisions. For example, how much one has to buy for the New Year kitchen stock depends on the amount of money he have, and the time and knowledge, which he gives to work; depends on how much salary he is withdrawing form that company. The instances in life are very complex and interdependent. One person’s lifestyle often becomes other person’s desire to be like one. In this interactive world scenario, people are informed and vigilant towards other people around them. Self-identities and cultural traditions are so intermingled nowadays that one sees no alterations in this homogenous consumer world. No matter how much one try to remain isolated and strive to retain his true, selfless identity, in the end one fall the victim of the changing needs and demands of the time. One such influence over our lives is of advertisements. In this research report, apart from gathering secondary sources, I have tried to use some consumer insights and observations from everyday life situations. Marketing and advertising is a very vast field of science, dealing with human psychology and profit maximization. From product design to product sales, companies keep in mind their consumers’ needs and wants, so that their efforts generate profitable fruits at the end and this has leads to the very complex possibilities of fraudulent practices. My research includes thorough analysis of consumers’ purchase decisions and their perspective for few of the most used brands, including that of soft drinks, food chains and everyday children products. In order to specifically proof my point of view that advertisements really mould consumer mindset via false claims and inefficient marketing practices, I have tried to gather examples from every walk of lives that may influence the over all market segment and general practice of the companies. While interviewing the consumers, I have realized the fact that if people are told that advertisements often are untrue and misleading, they would first accept that they know the deceptive nature of advertisements. However, talking generally about their most used products amongst the categories defined earlier; they unconsciously agree that they have selected or purchased a particular product because they have seen their ads and liked it very much. My focus, in this research was to propose some practices that are being going on in the industry for quite some time now and people are not aware of it. Such practices slowly and gradually have affected the culture and tradition within the society and have created a homogenous world of aimless consumers. Consumers despite growth in the literacy are not likely to make purchases wisely, because variety of options creates confusion and they have no choice than to weigh advertising contents to make the right decisions. Informal communication, with advertising agencies, also reveals that nowadays, majority of people do no have time to make choices at the point of purchase or think twice at the stores, whether to buy a product or not, but they want to save their time and effort. In addition to that, internet has given the advantage to such consumers to order their shopping list online, while sitting at their homes and doing work. Simultaneous changes in the consumer lifestyles has given the leverage to companies and manufacturing industries to double their marketing tactics and advertisement flow to reach the particular audience at right time. Research also suggests some of the ways that can help people as individuals to think and make their decisions about critical purchases (Phillips, 1997, pp. 107-110). In marketing communication, advertisements play very important role in the overall positioning of the product in the minds of customers. Through positioning, marketers try to register the brand, its attributes and manufacturing industry in the minds of the customers. Most of the ads are very lucrative, while others are misleading. Some ads are for mere information; yet others are re-emphasizing the product benefits. Advertisements, other than making the customers aware of the product, also influence consumer’s habits and ways of lives. The very scene and plot, depicted in the ads, are sometimes so influential that people can do anything to become like the model acting in that commercial. This mostly happens with the children and young adults, who are constantly comparing themselves with their surroundings. When they see their ideal beings in the ads, they start imitating their actions. Moreover, in doing so, they even spend their money to buy the product, endorsed by that model; hence, benefiting the producer. Consumers, in all parts of this world, usually buy products under a particular mindset. In other words, people visit malls and shops, within a particular frame of mind. They have their well-prepared shopping lists and budget in mind, before they go for any shopping extravaganza. Only quite a few people make purchase decisions on the spot. For this reason, marketers try to persuade consumers, using television and internet media to opt for their particular product amongst other alternatives available in the market. Through advertisements, markers can make an everlasting impact on the consumers mind consciously or subconsciously, and make their brands famous amongst the target audience (Plessis, 2005, pp. 198-200). There is a vast majority of population, living in the middle and upper-middle income level and these are the ultimate target audience for most of the marketers. This segment of market has increasing purchasing power, which they spend on becoming like those of the upper class. For example, majority of the population, in the east are under sever complexion of west, so nowadays what companies are doing, is putting the untraditional content in their ads to visualize what is in the minds of common consumers, that is to become like them. On the other hand, consumers in the west have become so techno-savvy and status oriented that any new product coming in the market, is sold immediately. That is because marketers are constantly doing market research and after understanding the market psyche, they make ads, such that it hits the consumers perception well enough to influence their purchase decisions (Arens, 2004, pp. 18-21). Advertising agencies and the manufacturing companies, when designing the advertising scheme and the plot, often opt for catchy and appealing teasers and visuals, in order to attract the consumers. These ads mostly lead consumers into ideal and hypothetical circumstances that do not have realistic appeals. For example, brand image of ‘Mountain Dew’. This soft drink ad, gives the impression to the customers, that after drinking, people will be daring enough to put their hands inside the shark’s mouth (Plessis, 2005, pp. 198-200). This however, can never be true, but young people, after seeing this ad might think to go actually for that particular drink, as their so-called image would be uplift. One Mountain Dew customer share his views that before sometime, he was found of white drinks, as blacks have much caffeine and when this mountain Dew brand came in the market, switched his preference, because it gives him acceptable amongst his friend circle and this drink is not black. Such types of comments can be heard from many Mountain Dew drinkers. Mountain Dew actually makes consumers think that black drinks, as Coca-Cola and Pepsi have much more caffeine than the light colored drinks. Such types of advertisements are misleading and polluting the minds of younger generation in the market. People even alter their present lifestyles, to have that imaginative way of life, which even seems out of their current limitations. Trivial instances in daily lives might not affect the overall organization of people’s life, but advertisements are capable of doing much more than that. Consumers are so likely to alter their purchase decisions that they even forgo the benefits they were getting from the previously used product, for the new in-focus product (Kotler, 1989, p. 200). Efforts that companies are putting forward to bring forth the positive change in the lives of the consumers are sometimes encouraging. However, interfering in the lives of consumers by exaggerating the product contents and thereby increasing company’s profit is unethical. One sees only few companies, marketing their products within ethical boundaries, and as these strategies lack the clamor amongst the audience, fails to retain the audience for the long period (Shields et al, 2002, pp.35-37). Coca Cola ad in Sydney, with the tag line, “soft drinks do not make people fat,” is one of the example, that companies are using to mislead the consumers by using inappropriate and seldom true appeals. In this way, consumers, who have decided to shed some pounds, get attracted and began using coca cola. Such companies, at one hand, may gain some extra profits, but ultimately, this will bring a heavy blow on their financial conditions in the long run. Unethically attracting consumers using deceptive teasers and untrue claims is not a very healthy practice. Only consumers, as ultimate stakeholders can alter this scenario by not falling the victim of such tactics used by many companies (Ians, 2009, p.1). When companies market their products, they spend thousands of dollars on marketing communication, so that their products get awareness amongst the potential customers. They expect to get quantitative sales value back into their pockets, when they invest so many assets into the advertisement. The advertising campaign, model, theme, and design of the ad all require constant efforts to hit the target audience. For this purpose, companies get ready to do, whatever they can to influence, convince and attract customers’ purchase decisions. Here, one thing has to be kept in mind that, any advertisement on air, needs to be carefully analyzed by the consumers before blind belief (Kamal, 2009, p.1). With the rise in the level of production and manufactured goods and services across the world, there has also been an increase for advertisements bombarded to the consumers. Consumers encounter thousands of ads everyday. Whether it is video, audio or print ad; companies are constantly trying to win consumers’ loyalty by making the product so efficient and ‘wanna-be’ that people fall victim of that move and never really give a second thought to what is being shown in these ads (Kamal, 2009, p.1). Companies take benefit from this situation and intentionally make efforts to alter the consumer’s mindset. Children are sometimes the direct target of product advertisements. As they are young and easily get distracted by whatever glittering thing they found on the list, companies take full advantage of this psychology. Moreover, with the increase in the impact of children’s demands and stubbornness, parents often get children what they want. For this purpose, marketers, through the advertisements, easily misinform the children of a particular age group to increase their sales, no matter on whatever grounds (Kamal, 2009, p.1). Companies that are manufacturing children products like, toothpaste, soaps, shampoos, story books, and things like use various creative ways like cartoon characters, gift hampers, free candies that attracts children and these children persuade their parents to purchase that product. One consumer remarked about the Mc. Donald children’s deal. She said that her children every weekend ask for the dine-out at Mc Donald’s because they have to complete their collection of Shrek’s characters. Because of children’s happiness, she agrees to take them to Mc. Donald’s on Sunday evenings, but after ordering, their children would start playing with the little characters and whole food go in waste. This mother of two, have no choice other than to fulfill their children’s demands few times at least, but one can see clearly the impact of catchy slogans and give-aways have on the consumer mindsets. Marketers exaggerate their product characteristic and make that product so much in hype with catchy slogans and beautiful packages that children’s eyes never take off of it. This is very troublesome for the younger generations, as there is no personal intellect and thinking left within the people of this generation. Whatever children see something interesting on the television and newspaper; they consider it right and start spending their money on it (Kamal, 2009, p.23-25). Children also become victim of misleading advertising campaigns, and begin using abusive substances. Harmful products like energy drinks, beetle nut, cigarettes, hard drinks and many of products of that sort are open for children vision and when children observe how macho they would be after they would consume the product, as mostly shown in the ads, they start using that product, without even letting their parents know. Such instances are even more troublesome for the future of these young people (Heather et al, 1985, pp. 237-240). Companies, in order to outmarch their competitors often use comparative advertising strategy. This type of advertising flexibility often makes companies use such promos and misleading promises that affect consumers’ lives badly. Sometimes companies even opt for unethical practices and deceptive advertising campaigns, so that consumers’ set their minds and became loyal consumers of that particular product, and do not prefer their competitors to them. They even make their ads so attractive and idealistic that consumers think that it actually happen in this real world and none other brand is better than this one. This change in the consumer’s perspective, mostly leads them to unnecessary purchases and sometimes even useless ones. Because of the availability of thousands of choices amongst the products ready to sale, consumers are already at a state of confusion. Therefore, they incline their purchase decision to the one whose advertising campaign they liked the most. To win this battle of competition, companies try to make their ads attractive and their products seemed benchmarked amongst other products. Companies sometimes use slogans like, ‘the best’, ‘the largest selling’, ‘the most trusting’, and ‘export quality product’ to create an image of un-matching quality and stability in the product itself. Apart from simple and comprehensive use of comparative advertisements, most of the companies do not hesitate to use deceptive and subliminal messages in their ads so that, not consciously, but subconsciously, people opt for their products over their competitors. Advertising agencies use the societal happening in their advertising content, so that people living in that society do not feel alienated. However, even then, marketers alter the current situation so wisely that cross-cultural and cross-societal habits are generated. When on one hand, society impacts the ads made by the companies, advertising campaigns, on the other had, affects societal mindset. People sometimes blindly follow the crowd and do not realize what are their individual needs and societal demands (Arens, 2004, pp. 54-59). Many of the federal authorities and law enforcement agencies, raise standards and censor those ads which are unethical on grounds of whether they reveal the true attributes of the product or not, but they fail to completely eradicate the possibility of competition amongst the manufacturers. Gaining advantage from the consumers need of developing oneself in status and get influenced by the success stories, marketers create such an aura of influence in their advertising campaigns that people do not register their changing purchase decisions. Identity of the product, get mixed up in the background of the ad and unimportant side of the concept gets highlighted. Some advertisers even misquote the prices on the products in their advertisements. After seeing the ad, when consumer reach the store to actually buy the product, he may find that product cost is much more than he has acknowledged in the advertisement or other taxes and service charges have to be paid, in order to gain access to that product. Such maneuvering in the real cost of the product can be normally seen in the telecom industry. Service providers usually misquote call charges and text charges. They often do not imply the tax and other call rates in their ads, in order to attract youth (Plessis, 2005, pp. 198-200). People sometimes opt for a particular product, not because they need it, but because consuming it would make them more “in” in the society and people would consider them up to date. Similar is the example of telecommunication industry. When one friend amongst the group have bought a particular service provider and he finds that service appropriate, he may want to avail the friend circle package offered by the company. Therefore, he indirectly has advertised the product within his friend circle and has influenced their purchase decisions. As a consumer, people forget that, in this recessionary period, companies cannot offer free of charge services and call packages, if it is not benefiting the company itself. Therefore, when companies advertise their service packages, they are actually taking advantage of the psyche of young people and their habit of text messaging their friends and family on every occasion. Companies very wisely and carefully, construct the design and structure of the ad and very intelligently broadcast to their potential audiences, so that their invested money hit the right profit. Consumers are so busy in their lives that any simple ad, marketing even quality product would not be registered. Companies carefully think about what the general psyche of the audience is and how best they can fulfill it. They maneuver their product content and attributes in such a way that consumers feel that, this is what they have been looking for. When marketers design an ad, they make sure that consumers register the ad sequence in their minds. Although this does not modify their purchase behavior for sometime after viewing the ad, but in the end, attractiveness of the ad subconsciously will persuade them to at least once buy that product. In ads, one can observe the richness in content and general, everyday situations. Moreover, one cannot deny the fact that this may brings forth healthy competition and people get awareness about the contemporary world, but this should not be at the cost of people’s own ability to think. People nowadays are also consuming medicines, without doctor’s prescription, after seeing a particular advertisement. Many pharmaceutical companies are marketing their pain relief, diabetic cure and other precautionary medicines, which are encouraging consumers to medicate themselves individually. This is very hazardous to the lives of the people, who just watch actors getting treatment on television and think that after consuming the particular medicine they will be healthy likewise. Ads sometimes are so common psyche based that people feel related to the concept and began using the product, even medicines. For example, in winter, many companies advertise the cough syrups, balms, and other cough related medicines, every now and then and claiming full recovery after few minutes. However, in actual practice, every person knows that, each body has its own personal characteristic and immune system, vulnerable to even small changes and even medical use of a drug once and make the situation worse. Education and awareness of the marketing tactics used today is very essential nowadays to promote purchase decisions based on individual needs and budget constraints. People should be aware of the greedy strategies used by the companies to increase their own profits and false claims of being customer friendly. It is in the hands of the consumer to weigh every choice on personal basis so that his/her condition do not get worsen in the race of idealizes world. Children on the other hand, should be under protective umbrella of their parents and elders. Not every demand and requirement of children should be foolishly fulfilled, but both pros and cons should be informed to them before making any purchase. Parents should be in constant talk with their children and should be aware of what their children are seeing on television and even on the internet. Because, in this era of information technology, children are more adaptive to technology than their parents, and parents should make sure that their children’s time is spend constructively. In conclusion, I would say that, it is next to impossible to stop companies to use deceptive advertisements and use false claims in their ads, but as individuals there are ways to save oneself from the loss. Law enforcement agencies should also, once again start listening to consumer complaints and implement appropriate policies to reduce the adverse affects. References Arens, William F. (2004). Contemporary advertising. Tata McGraw-Hill. Heather, Nick, Robertson, Ian., Davies, Phil. (1985). The Misuse of alcohol: crucial issues in dependence, treatment & prevention, Taylor & Francis Ians. (2009). Coca-Cola rapped in Australia for misleading ads. As retrieved on October 31, 2009: http://blog.taragana.com/n/coca-cola-rapped-in-australia-for-misleading-ads-24616/ Kamal, Raj. (2009). India- Advertising. As retrieved on October 31, 2009: http://hubpages.com/hub/India--Advertising Kotler, Philip. (1989). Principles of Marketing. Pearson Education India. Phillips, Michael J. (1997). Ethics and manipulation in advertising: answering a flawed indictment. Greenwood Publishing Group. Plessis, Erik Du. (2005). The advertised mind: groundbreaking insights into how our brains respond to advertising. Kogan Page Publishers. Shields, Vickie Rutledge., Heinecken, Dawn. (2002). Measuring up: how advertising affects self-image. University of Pennsylvania Press. Read More