The End of the Golden Era.
Move over Don Draper, this isn’t the 1960s anymore, your Mad Men marketing tactics won’t work on modern day consumers. The Golden Era of Advertising is long gone, we’ve now progressed into the Relationship Era - an era filled with distrust.
How did it get to this? Advertising was once a part of American Culture, with the Golden Era taking place during the 1950s to 1980s. Advertisers and marketers of the Golden Era possessed power and were prosperous. The purpose of advertising back then? SELL. SELL. SELL. Unfortunately, this led to consumers being wary of marketers. No one likes a shady salesperson. Which has led us to the Relationship Era, where priority is placed on word of mouth, relationship building with consumers, and most importantly - authenticity.
We’re going to take a step into the minds of the consumer and marketer to understand both perspectives. Are marketers really out to manipulate you? Or is it all in your head? Read further to find out.
The Dividing Line and Execution: No One Wants to Hear Your Sales Pitch!
Marketing can be used for any business in any industry, whether it be non-profit or for-profit. One can even market themselves. It can be used to bring good, or it can be used for evil purposes. In fact, marketing can bring awareness to many issues taking place around the world.
But many consumers have become wary of advertisements. They know they’re trying to be sold a product or service they may or may not need. They have come to realize that marketers take advantage of human psychological weaknesses by aligning their company with its consumer's values to boost sales. However, consumers can easily realize if a company is being authentic in their values or simply using it as a sales tactic.
One article written by journalist David Himmel, “Is Marketing the Root of All Evil?” argues that “Money isn’t the root of all evil. Marketing is.” Despite this take, he adds that there is a dividing line between good and evil marketing - intention. His article did a great job at compiling examples from big name companies Pepsi, Walmart, and Starbucks that have received backlash for their failed marketing attempts and comparing them to a successful authentic advertisement produced by Gillette. The most memorable being Pepsi attempting to align themselves with the Black Lives Matter movement, which later spewed Internet jabs at the company (Kendall Jenner just ended racism with a can of Pepsi!).
Himmel embeds the examples throughout his article to allow readers to witness the advertisements in all of its absurdity (albeit, two are now unavailable) followed by his critiques, supported by hyperlinks to related articles. The three advertisements encapsulate what Himmel meant about intention. Consumers saw the true underlying motive behind the ads, they knew it was inauthentic, and nitpicked everywhere they went wrong. He clearly values genuineness, when comparing Gillette’s ad to the three aforementioned brands he states,
“Gillette doesn’t feel like a sales pitch. It felt genuine. It is a marketing success. But also, “Buy our razors because Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s ain’t woke like we are.” There’s just no escaping it; for-profit companies need our money and they’ll do anything to get it. In this case, Gillette did it right.”
His last two lines hit the nail right in the head. At the end of the day, for-profit businesses need to make money. Although the intention may have been the same, to stand in support of a humanitarian movement, the execution was done poorly. When executed correctly, we get ads with similar effects to Gillette’s short story on #MeToo. Gillette took their slogan and asked themselves, “Is this the best a man can get?” There wasn’t a single razor in sight, no product was pushed, just a message - to take action against the issues under #MeToo by becoming a better man for future generations.
Consumers are tired of hearing phony sales pitches. We want authenticity, real authenticity, not ‘fake wokeness.’ Marketers are on a constant lookout for possible target markets; in this case ‘progressive’ advertising is used to further entice liberal leaning consumers or the politically correct, appearing as if the brand is woke. Himmel calls out the hypocrisy in ads designed to appear as public-service campaigns, specifically Walmart’s attempt to defend the working conditions their employees endure. “Walmart is all about helping millions of families save money and live better” - except when it comes to their employees. Intent and execution will make or break an ad. Learn from the failed marketing attempts, don’t be like Pepsi, instead emulate Gillette.
Focusing on Consumer Wants.
Now, you can talk about how your product or service is better than your competitors, boast about the fancy features and benefits, but truthfully…no one cares. As mentioned before, consumers don’t want to hear sales pitches.
We live in a time where consumers can choose when they want to pay attention to ads (even blocking them out entirely with adblocks), and unless they’re looking for something specific or want a change, most advertisements go unnoticed. The market is saturated with ads. Therefore, marketers must take a new approach to capture the attention of their target audience.
Entrepreneur and Digital Marketing Consultant, Sandeep Mallya elaborates on a new approach to marketing in his article, “7 Lessons I Learned from ‘All Marketers are Liars’ by Seth Godin.” Mallya argues about the “[importance] for marketers to enhance their offerings by telling compelling stories to consumers.”
The article begins with Mallya highlighting an issue that marketers face. The problem? Marketers are receiving little to no attention on their ad. In attempts to provide a solution to the problem, Mallya refers to seven lessons from Seth Godin’s All Marketers are Liars. He clearly identifies each lesson using topical organization. Within each subsection, Mallya quotes a line from Godin’s book which he then elaborates on how the lesson contributes to successful storytelling and advertisements receiving more attention.
One such lesson discussed is focusing on consumer wants versus needs. Seth Godin’s novel discusses how commodities have long fulfilled consumer needs, causing the strategy of ‘satisfying needs’ to become unsustainable. That leaves us focusing on how to satisfy consumers' irrational and subjective wants instead. To do so, Mallya reveals that consumers do not simply buy into what’s being sold to them because it fills a need, but because it creates an emotional desire.
Let’s imagine here for a second. Imagine that you’re walking around the grocery store, you wander into the aisle full of coffee grounds and K-Cups. Now you could go for the generic brand, it’s cheaper and it fulfills your need for caffeine.
Or you could go for your favorite brand (Lets use Starbucks for this example), it’s more expensive and it gives you the same amount of caffeine. Therefore you don’t necessarily need Starbucks branded coffee. You would be better off financially buying the cheaper option. But that still doesn’t change the fact that you want it and so, you go ahead and buy it, willing to pay the extra cost.
“Marketers profit because consumers buy what they want, not what they need.” - Seth Godin
How did one's desire for a specific brand outweigh the benefits of purchasing a cheaper brand? What did that brand do to capture that consumer's attention and sale that the other didn’t? Why is that brand their favorite? The answer - They told a story that the consumer resonated with.
Another important lesson Mallya covers is how authentic marketing thrives. He brings to light the downsides of being inauthentic - namely the lack of word-of-mouth reviews. As mentioned, the marketing industry is currently undergoing the Relationship Era where word-of-mouth is paramount. If you can’t trust an ad, you sure can trust a friend's experience and review. Godin claims, “Once fooled, a person will never repeat your story to someone else.” In the long run, telling an authentic story will lead to increased business and brand loyalty while deception will tarnish a brand’s image.
Marketers must create an emotional desire through authentic storytelling, not only appealing to their senses but also agreeing with the audience’s worldview. In simpler terms, tell stories that the audience already believes.
Think of the discourse between Androids versus iPhone. Both companies have generated narratives surrounding their products. An Apple user believes Apple products are superior, meanwhile Samsung users believe Android phones are superior. This is caused by strong brand loyalty.
One of the biggest illustrations of brand loyalty is seen between two large tech companies: Apple and Samsung. Both market and create stories to those who believe in and support the company rather than attempting to market to and change the worldview of its non-believers (Try as you might, I won’t switch to an Android). It is difficult to change the minds of those who are set in their beliefs, it’s easier to convert believers into buyers because they already agree with the narrative being promoted.
Justification: If You Believe It, It’s True.
As a consumer and Marketing undergraduate, I can easily put myself in both shoes and understand the frustrations from each side. My two cents? I don’t think the majority of marketers are purposely out to manipulate their customers.
Sure, there are a fair share of failed marketing attempts. Execution plays a huge role in whether a marketing campaign comes across as manipulative, but it is not the goal of the majority. Realistically, not everyone in every industry is good at their job. We’ve experienced salespeople who come across as pushy and are purely after sales but we’ve also met salespeople with terrific customer service and genuinely want to assist you in your wants, needs, and concerns. Manipulative marketers are bad, unskillful marketers. Successful marketers realize their strengths and build on them.
If people believe you’re being deceitful, you have failed to tell a story you believe in. Brands who are genuine in their advertising do not contradict themselves. They’re consistent, they follow through and take action in what they believe in (I’m calling you out Walmart). Brands such as Patagonia. One glance at their website and you can see that Patagonia isn’t simply pushing products, they promote a lifestyle that their consumers regularly partake in.
The novel Sandeep Mallya utilizes in his article to support his argument, All Marketers are Liars, reveals a truth that we as consumers aren’t consciously aware of. We’re the ones lying to ourselves. How? Through the way we tell ourselves and create scenarios of how a product or service will benefit us in attempts to justify our unnecessary purchases. Marketers get the ball rolling by telling a subtle story that essentially allows consumers to form their own lies.
San Diego State University’s Marketing IMC Professor Doron Malka ran a study about the placebo effect Nike has on its consumers. The results revealed that those who wore Nike shoes ran faster than their initial base time while those who believed they were still wearing the off-brand shoes ran slower. In reality, both groups were wearing the same exact shoes. Those wearing Nike believed that the shoes would make them faster, so they ran faster. Those who didn’t have Nike believed that since they don’t, they would be slower. It’s not true that Nike shoes make you faster or a better athlete, but if you believe it does then it’s true.
This placebo effect takes place across numerous brands. Wine tastes better in a Riedel glass. Nike shoes make me run faster. Hydro Flasks keep my water colder than any other insulated water bottle brand. None of these placebos are fact. They are, however, true in the eyes of the consumer. We are essentially lying to ourselves. We know it’s a placebo but we buy into it anyways.
So to answer my question, are marketers manipulating us? No. Not all marketers are out to manipulate you, just those who are bad at their job and don’t know how to form a successful promotional plan utilizing authenticity. For the most part, the power lies within the consumer. Consumers dictate when they want to view ads by downloading ad blockers. We choose which ads we want to see and scroll past those that are of no interest to us. Commercial on TV? We have the power to fast forward or change the channel, zipping and zapping through advertisements. Marketers cater to the consumer, not the other way around. Consumers possess the power to destroy or uplift brands, so it’s best for marketers to stay in their good graces to avoid bad publicity.
Concluding Insights: More Complicated than Consumers Realize
This debate brings to light that the marketing process is far more complex than consumers realize it is. As consumers we see the end product. We don’t see the process and research that goes behind creating an ad that will continue to resonate with consumers. The process continues even after a consumer has made a purchase. It’s not as easy as simply manipulating people.
We learn about the mental process consumers undergo when faced with marketing efforts. Specifically the effects of placebos, the mental hoops we as consumers jump through to justify our purchases and how marketers capitalize on them. Furthermore, we learn about the negative impacts of inauthentic, ‘manipulative marketing’ versus the positive impact of authentic storytelling, primarily being word-of-mouth reviews during the Relationship Era of Marketing. Marketers must continue to further analyze consumer values and opinions in order to continue to produce ads that permeate the minds of consumers in a positive way rather than drawing negative publicity. By reducing the amount of ads that appear to be ‘fake woke,’ the opinions of marketers would improve.
While consumers have become more aware of marketing campaigns and feeling as if they’re constantly being pushed to buy a product, they have yet to become more self-aware of their purchasing habits and how they have come to be. Before becoming a Marketing undergraduate I was only somewhat aware and have only become more aware once it was brought to my attention. Consumers need to identify and examine the influences surrounding their purchases. By understanding the buying process, consumers will make better purchasing decisions when reviewing products they do not need.
Marketers will continue to market products and services, and consumers will continue to purchase them. It is a non-ending cycle. But with both actively considering one another whether it’s what they want or how they’re being marketed to, consumers and marketers can form better relationships with one another. Doing so would help diminish the amount of distrust in marketers during this Relationship Era.
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