Opinion Marketing as manipulation
Europe does not consider marketing to be an economic strength that serves organisations and societies....
Europe does not consider marketing to be an economic strength that serves organisations and societies. Marketing is generally believed to be pure manipulation that sells a product by fooling people. Sometimes its even perceived a vulgar weapon to bulldoze and overdose the masses with. Exploiting the consumers mistrust for marketing,hyper markets and supermarkets started their own retail brands called private labels as extensions of organised brands to be sold only in their stores. Private labels duplicate most fast moving consumer goods and price products at least 25 per cent lower than big brands. Shops like Leader Price in Europe and Dollar Store in the US have emerged to espouse high discount prices. This anti-marketing force against overpriced branded products is a growing business sect emerging in all countries. Private labels cannot think of advertising as they have too many products. They take advantage of the awareness of big brands and create good quality low priced products to sell alongside them at the retail.
Business driven Americans are,in general,attuned to marketing. Americans assign power and recognition when money is quoted. The success of Donald Trump,Bill Gates,George Lucas,Hugh Hefner,Stephan King or Bob Dylan among others is glorified in terms of their wealth.
In every aspect of life,be it business,films,writers,musicians,even literature,success is measured in scale and money. The term bestseller was coined to market literature through quantitative measurement of a specific number of books sold. Should a book be equated to a consuming products multi-mega sale,like beefsteaks sold in kilos in a hypermarket? Shouldnt highly read replace bestseller to define this category that grows intellect or creates fantasy? Being in the Top 5,Top 10 or Top 50 of the musical hit parade originated here to measure a singers commercial success. Money,size and scale for all subjects are entrenched as positive endorsement in American culture.
My observation is that the US context of marketing means being clever and intelligent enough to make money. The more marketing oriented you are,the more respect you gain. Making money is crucial and not negotiable,and having money translates to being on top of everything. Commerce drives marketing,making it a revered subject at both the workplace and in business schools.
American big city lifestyle is dazzling,but in contrast the American farmer says he cannot use any marketing tactics as he is produce strapped for money. As per a research finding,farmers consider theirs to be the countrys most neglected profession,with agricultural imports destroying their earnings. The farmer resents getting short-changed by the consumer who rejects his high priced American produce for imports. This undercurrent of hard times in American farms is likely to reverse their livelihood dependence on agriculture.
When manufacturing of Western branded products is outsourced to emerging economy countries,some American and European consumers doubt the products quality. But anti-marketing consumers for whom brands mean some marketing brush up with no real substance are quite happy with these cheaper products.
After about 11 million Americans lost their jobs in the recent recession,offshore outsourcing has become a dirty concept. To win consumer confidence and be politically correct,US companies are now showcasing their contribution towards American job seekers. American Apparel brand is appeasing the public by advertising their product uniqueness to be Made in Downtown LA,Sweatshop Free.” They earn the consumers wallet share by emphasising US manufacturing facilities,not outsourced to foreign sweatshops. Similarly Starbucks communicates,Every Latte,Every Cappuccino 100% Fair-trade Coffee in every coffee cup,meaning they practice fair-trade in procurement. Ive heard the Governor of Michigan say on television that America should be an exporting country,not import oriented.
Among the best marketing jobs to date is the UKs organised marketing of imperialism. British cultural infusion into their colonies was akin to slow poison that finally consumed their subjects.
Just a handful of British traders spread the English culture into India. Today nobody faults an Indian who does not speak his mother tongue correctly,but if he should use improper English,he will lose his social status. Implementing the British way of life in a colony was the finest marketing action of the British race. Whichever country they went to,they drove the indigenous people to adopt English culture.
Free trade and commerce is pushing emerging economy countries to follow the Western marketing model by default. The English language has been the unsurpassed marketing coup by becoming the globally recognised business language across the world. American marketing has always feted the large,whether in cars or hamburgers,and on getting more value,starting with More bang for the buck as they say in advertising parlance. Western business practices have influenced emerging countries without taking into account the societal aspects of our billions. The dichotomy is that India and China are now downloading new complexities in the front yard of Americans and Europeans by overpowering them with issues relating to outsourcing and organised immigration.
After their World War II defeat,Japan was disallowed from manufacturing defence weapons. So they set out to conquer world markets with the ingenious weapon of high quality miniaturisation. They copied fundamental Western invention and obsessively created high quality miniaturised products to win consumer hearts across the world. India needs to think of how to market Indian brands that reflect outstanding quality,functionality and emotive factor without the constrained perception of cost advantage being considered low profile,low cost and low quality. Only by packaging cost,quality and aspiration at every price point can Indian brands meaningfully surprise global markets and get recognised in digitalised 21st century.
Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at
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