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A friend referred me to a new internet educational initiative called Engage Today . I suggest you have a look. There are a few short video presentations worth seeing.
The reason for this post is that one of the presenters evoked from me a comment that got too long, and I prefer dealing with it in length, here.
Marketing and Morality
I bought a few Holosync (By Centerpointe) disks, a meditation aide that I have used and recommend. So I’m happy with the product, and don’t hesitate to tell people about it. However, since my (only) purchase a couple of years ago, my (physical) mailbox has been filled with endless reams of offers, both from the parent company’ company and others that they include in their mailings. Think of all the trees… The emails offers were easy to stop. But the mailings just don’t go away. The cost, of course, is probably factored in to the price of the few (relative to the many who receive the mailings and toss them away… with or without reading them) products that are sold. What a shameful waste of resources and money!!
So why does this bother me?
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In a short marketing presentation, made by the director of Centerpointe correctly states that the sixty odd years since World War II is the first time in history that consumer debt has become an issue (see the video to the right for the consequences of that).
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This period has also been marked by increasingly manipulative, aggressive and psychological marketing practices. These practices have helped “unload” enormous amounts of goods and services that people bought, at least partially, on credit. Regrettably, these practices have attained tacit legitimacy and are considered not only acceptable, but many marketers today are taught and teach that this the way to go .
The two are closely related, in fact, they are two sides of the same coin.
Marketing is NOT (necessarily) Immoral
Marketing is today the most encompassing aspect of the global marketplace. Not only does it employ more and more people directly and indirectly, it has become an end in itself. The name of the game today is find ( or create) a need, provide the solution, and connect those with the need with the knowledge of your solution. So far, so good. When you create value, you get paid and everybody is better off for it.
My issue derives from the “solutions” to non-existent needs. When marketers aggressively use psychological manipulation to move merchandise that has no intrinsic value, except for the glitz and hype with which it is presented… or when slight value is magnified by manipulation to reap exorbitant prices.
True, consumers have responsibility of their own. Promoting consumer education, while calling for strict self regulation of marketing ethics are a priority we should all support.
