Role of Advertising, Marketing and Branding - Essay Example

RUNNING HEAD: Role of Advertising, Marketing and Branding Name Institutional Affiliation Instructor’s Name Date Introduction For many years, the advertising industry has been receiving a lot of complains from the consumers because of the implied and manipulative effects it has been creating on the way consumers intend to buy particular products. The criticisms against the industry are also based on the fact that some adverts and brands have the potential of shaping the culture of the consumers or audiences. This essay is unbiased argument seeking to explore whether the consumers often fall victims of not only advertising but also marketing and branding. To understand the impact of advertising, branding and marketing on audience, it is important to have an insight of aspects like consumer and promotional cultures, as discussed below. Basically, the term ‘consumer culture’ refers to a type of capitalism under which the economy is geared to the selling of goods to the consumers, and the corresponding spending of money by the consumer. Consumer culture emphasizes on the consumer’s lifestyle and achievement of satisfaction and happiness through the use of material things. By concentrating on consumer culture-based marketing, any business can capitalize regardless of its size. A section of the economy is made up of the consumer culture. However, the consumer culture is not in itself in the economic system. Consequently, consumer culture comprises several behaviors associated with buying and selling e.g. The yearning to keep up with one’s economic peers, the belief buying a new brand or merchandise would change or increase the kind of life one lives and stressing on shopping just for leisure. All these behaviors are influenced by the works of advertisements and marketing. Branding, advertising and marketing stimulates more than ordinary products in the culture of the audiences. The images that are used in various ads are normally idolized hence creating an imaginary impression on the kind of life consumers ought to live. There exist potential within the advertisers to promote negative image which affects the consumer’s culture unknowingly. Majority of audiences often fall victims of certain adverts, branding as well as activities associated with marketing (Rodgers & Thorson, 2012). The reason behind this is that most ads find the audience unprepared. For instance, a skilled advertiser and or an aggressive public speaker would capitalize on the weaknesses of the audiences like their ravenousness and desire, to sway them to buying what they never intended to. The will of the audiences are therefore pre-determined by the advertiser’s marketing techniques and brands. The outcome is gain on the advertiser’s side and victimization on the consumer’s side. Examples of these cases include: The fashion and cosmetics industries constantly tell audiences that they have the ability to boost their self-image through the use of certain cosmetics and fashions. Also, the manufactures of junk food keep telling people that they can only have fun if they consume their products. Furthermore, those industries concerned with car manufacturing and trucks convince its audiences often by telling them that they have to buy their car models or new brands available in the markets. Because insufficient knowledge and curiosity, some consumers find themselves victims of such adverts (Rogow, 2008). Most groups of customers are most likely to engage in impulse buying because consumer culture puts emphasis on satisfaction and happiness that comes forth from material things. Most audiences thus fall victims of personal debt. With time, a sense of greed develops within consumers hence creating a nasty cycle in which a person repeatedly purchases commodities either to keep himself happy or just because he wants to be like his neighbors. (Solomon, 2004). Use of Consumer Culture in Marketing The theory of consumer culture is by itself a marketing philosophy school, which stresses on psychological impacts of purchasing. Any marketing agency takes advantage of consumer culture through emphasis of the importance of a particular good and how lit would change life. Women are in most cases the victims of this. For instance, a woman may be shown in a relaxing position while reading a novel, is a way of marketing a bathtub or bathrobe which is oriented by consumer culture (Fowles, 1996). A business can utilize the marketing theories of consumer culture to highlight the lifestyle advantages of products. For this reason the weak audiences can be swayed to see products as the source of fulfillment and a better life that is meaningful. Understanding Promotional Culture This is the culture that surrounds us. Promotional culture is inevitable. The culture of the 21st century is more of capitalism. That is, it is made up of both political and socio-economic ideologies, which is production-oriented with the objective of making proceeds. Capitalism is paved way by the attribute of the prices and values to everything for the purpose of making profits. Promotional culture plays a crucial role in promoting the capitalism culture globally. Promotion cuts across branding, packaging and advertising. It also extends to other activities which are beyond the immediate commercials. Advertising takes the function of promotion of what is to be sold in the public eye. Selling of any merchandise is highly reliant on the intensity of advertisement. Advertising is nowadays present everywhere. Among the common areas are streets, the internet and social media, schools, places of work and most interestingly within us. One is advertising himself or herself through the brands he or her has put on (McGuigan, 2009). The actual value of promotion, advertising, marketing and branding is to pass a message or information to the public about the existence of certain product and let them make their own free will to either buy or not buy the product, and not forcing their products on the consumers. The unexposed truth is that, the consumerism cultures which exist in nearly all nations of the world, is damaging the society we live in by inspiring people to buy continuously, enter into debts and avoid recycling. Nonetheless, children are greatly becoming the target victims of advertisements. Their development has been influenced by the content being advertised especially in televisions and childhood areas amongst them, schools. Clay, in her “Advertising to Children”, mentioned that young kids are more vulnerable to influences of advertisements which affect their dreams and makes them insecure. Many children grow up portraying the desire for materialistic things which are of little or no value to them (Clay, 1997). With this influence, children become convinced that they are nothing, inferior and incomplete if they lack access to boundless variety of products. The survey conducted by Sally Young on how political advertising was in Australia during the post were reveals how democracy was eroded in Australia through advertising. Those in influential political positions took the advantage by directing public funds into the advertising media during the elections in order to get themselves advertised. Such political advert has since then been the norm in Australian politics with the “swinging voter” being the point of focus. Young people are victims of advertisements as well. Alissa Quart exposes the bothersome kinds of branding associated with teens. In this girls are seen as possessed with cosmetics surgeries would do all manner of this just to resemble a woman on television. Also in Quart’s, the Branded, those teens who are seeking to be admitted into a name-brand are exposed. On the other side, male teens indulge in the most dangerous and unhealthy activities like extreme eating, anorexia and exercise because of impractical prospects about the way they should be. This is an indication of how advertising industry has negatively influenced the behaviors of the vulnerable audiences. Teens are becoming a very sensitive segment in the market which and companies are doing spending more time and finances to conduct research on them and how their spending habits could be explored. Peter Zollo in his Why Teens Are Important Consumers says that teens have quit incredible spending power. He further noted that the money they spend is not only theirs but also include that from their families. Teens, being viewed as the ones being responsible for setting trends means that adults, children and marketers looks up to them for upcoming fashions in the marketing and,advertising industries. Therefore, advertising has seemingly lost its empowerment value, and instead focus on victimizing its audiences for selfish gains. Conclusion I conclusion, it can be said that not all consumers have been empowered by acts of advertisements, branding and marketing. Instead, majority of them have become victims of their activities. Majority of advertisements present ideas that are not realistic about certain aspects of life like beauty and weight. Female and teens are in most situations victims of these unrealistic pictures created by various brands and advertisements. Teens are forced to set themselves high limits and expectations which are unreasonable.Unfortunately, the world is, being sent down slowly by the harmful effects of advertising branding and marketing. Invaluable amount of dollars is spent by many companies annually hoping to pull their wool over the eyes of consumers and subsequently make gains out of such action. Generally, some adverts and brands give the wrong impression of certain products and leave the consumers with no gain and naïve. Consumers unknowingly find themselves victims of gimmicks as well as the tricks of these advertisements and emerging brands. References Clay, R. (1997). Advertising to Children: Is it ethical? Tarrytown, N.Y: Benchmark Books. Fowles, J. (1996). Advertising and Popular Culture. Thousand Oaks [u.a.: Sage Publ. McGuigan, J. (2009). Cool Capitalism. London: Pluto Press. Quart, A. (2004). Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers. Reading, MA: Basic Books. Rodgers, S., & Thorson, E. (2012). Advertising Theory. New York: Routledge. Rogow, M. (2008). Faces of Courage: Young Heroes of World War II. Vancouver: Granville Island Pub. Solomon, M. R. (2004). Consumer behavior: Buying, Having, and Being. Delhi, India: Pearson Education (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Zollo, P. (2004). Getting Wiser to Teens: More Insights into Marketing to Teenagers. Ithaca, N.Y: New Strategist Publications, Inc. Read More