Principles of marketing

Marketing Video Games: Social, Psychological, Ethical, And Political Considerations

Marketing has changed dramatically during the course of the twentieth century, as mass media grew from an improbable pipe dream to a reality exceeding anyone's wildest imagination. With radio, television, and now the Internet all providing access to potentially millions of consumers in a single go, marketing has itself become a multi-billion-dollar a year industry and is one of the driving forces of the modern capitalist and consumer-driven global economic system. Developing ever more effective marketing techniques enables business to continue to grow and remain competitive, and is a key concern for organizations operating in almost any industry. This does not mean that anything goes when it comes to marketing: there are certain principles, both in terms of guidelines for best practices and moral/ethical values, that must be adhered to in the practice of marketing.

In addition to the ethical concerns in marketing, which are quite extensive, there are also other factors that must go into marketing decisions if they are to be effective for the organization and generally beneficial to society as a whole. There are significant social and political trends that affect the success of various types of marketing both negatively and positively, and growing understandings of psychology have also come to play a large role in the development of marketing techniques. All of these factors must be analyzed and understood in tandem for effective marketing to be produced, and the principles of marketing essentially speak to these separate areas.

In this paper, the social, political, psychological, and ethical principles involved in contemporary marketing efforts will be examined and described through the lens of a particular industry. Specifically, the marketing of video games in various media will be examined in this regard, providing an understanding of marketing principles that can also be expanded beyond this particular industry. Marketing in the video game industry was chosen due both to the high volume of marketing materials available for demonstration and analysis as well as for the prominence in the media of discussions involving the possible detrimental effects of video games. This latter factor has also led to accusations of unethical marketing techniques and practices that serve to make certain marketing principles more clear and easily discussed than they necessarily would be in the context of other industries.

Social Principles

The most basic and yet profound way in which larger social trends have a direct impact on marketing is the group mentality that is often a feature in consumer buying behavior. Cultural influences are never static, but instead continually shift as the result of changes to group mentality, and these can lead to major changes in the responses of individuals to various marketing efforts (KnowThis 2010). Marketing must respond to these cultural shifts if it is to remain effective; marketing research is conducted on an ongoing basis precisely because the shifts that take place in society's perspective directly influence the efficacy of marketing efforts in many different industries (Global Media 2010).

Of course, the group nature of cultural trends and shifts in social perspective are not total -- not all of any society or culture shifts in the same direction at the same time and to the same degree, and in fact many different cultural trends working towards seemingly opposite ends can coexist at the same time. Some of these smaller changes in specific populations within a culture can be seen as reactive to larger cultural trends, creating a complex mix of consumers in diametrically opposed perceptual camps (Kurukshetra 2009). Understanding the various demographics and social groups that exist within larger populations is just as essential as noting overall shifts in social perception and cultural trends when it comes to developing and implementing effective marketing plans (Kurukshetra 2009).

The video game industry has definitely come to understand the importance of diversifying marketing efforts in order to reach a broad base of consumers, while keeping up with changes in cultural and social trends at the same time. Much of this has to do with the products being offered, but the social influences on marketing even play a direct role in this regard. Companies like Nintendo used marketing research to develop products such as certain games for their handheld Nintendo DS device to appeal to middle aged adults as well as the typical younger player of video games, and drastically different marketing techniques are used to reach market to these different demographics (Carroll 2010). This shows a definite awareness of the social forces currently influencing video game marketing as product lines and capabilities expand into new areas both in terms of function and demographic.

Political Principles

It is incredibly difficult if not impossible to truly separate social and political issues at work in a given society or culture. The two spheres interact and influence each other in innumerable and complex ways, with cultural trends changing the political landscape and political decisions leading to major cultural shifts at times. Still, political factors related to the image of a given producer or retailer can have a major impact on the way a given organization's products or services are marketed to the public (Global Media 2010). Creating and protecting brand image would not always appear to be a highly political endeavor, but almost any company can become embroiled in political issues through little or no fault of their own and this can require major shifts in marketing efforts to combat (Higgins 2009).

One need look no further than the evening news for an example of a political influence on marketing: BP has been pummeled due to the scenes of environmental damage and the appearance of the company as a major, faceless corporation in its handling of the recent massive oil and natural gas leak, leading to marketing efforts to restore the company's image. The political issues of corporate responsibility and environmental stewardship have no become huge influences on marketing in this industry, and a variety of other political issues come into play at various times for other companies and industries (Higgins 2009; Kurukshetra 2009). Responding to these influences by restoring companies' images and demonstrating a responsiveness to political pressures is an important feature of marketing.

In the video game industry, several highly charged political issues have been raised form time to time that have had a direct impact on marketing practices within the industry. The violence contained in many video games has led to a warning and labeling system for parents, after several empirical (though non-conclusive) studies led to accusations that the increased exposure to this violence and the positioning of the gamer as the person responsible for the depicted violence lead to increased violence in the real world and other anti-social behaviors (Cumberbatch 2004). The decreased physical activity caused by video games has also been cited as a problem, and again Nintendo has been an innovator by developing and marketing products aimed precisely at addressing this concern and increasing the demographics to which its products appeal (Carroll 2010). This has less to do with company image, but demonstrates how political issues can be turned directly into advantages through clever marketing.

Psychological Principles

If there is one area of scientific development in the twentieth century that has been essential to the field of marketing, it is psychology. Understanding how the human mind works -- what it pays attention to, how long it pays attention, how memories are created and reinforced, and an abundance of other psychological functions -- has allowed marketing to become vastly more fine-tuned and effective in sometimes subtle ways (Young 2008). The timing of marketing efforts within other media, the style of marketing, and almost every other feature of marketing materials can be manipulated for a maximum psychological benefit.

Much of marketing is built on a knowledge of how perception works -- what it takes to convince people of a certain reality, in other words (KnowThis 2010). As nefarious as this sounds, it is really something that happens on a near-constant basis for all human beings in any situation: exposure to a given stimulus attracts attention, which brings about awareness, and finally a reaction of some sort (KnowThis 2010). In marketing, the desired reaction is to purchase the offered product or service, or (more often in the case of government and non-profit programs) taking or refraining from a desired action. When this last is the case, several of these steps become quite clear -- exposure, attention, and awareness are the explicit goals of public health marketing for a variety of illnesses, for example.

This marketing principle remains just as powerful in the private sector of course, and video game marketing is no exception to this rule. In fact, many innovations in video game marketing have occurred based on psychological influences, aiming for appeal to certain demographics without generating feelings of distaste or resistance from other demographics (allowing violence-averse mothers to purchase violent games for their sons, for example) (Wesley & Barczak 2010). In such instances, there must be enough exposure to specific elements to grab the attention of the desired demographic and create awareness, yet not so much that negative actions (i.e. those that are contrary to the intent of the marketing material) are taken (Wesley & Barczak 2010). Psychological knowledge has allowed this balancing act in video game marketing to be much more finely tuned than it would be otherwise.

Ethical Principles

The first three principles discussed herein relate to the efficacy of various marketing efforts, and the considerations that must be taken into account in order for marketing to reach the people intended and be responded to in the desired manner. When it comes to the ethical principles of marketing it is less about direct efficacy and more about the overall social benefit and cultural values being upheld in marketing materials and efforts. The ethics of marketing are essentially limiting factors on the types and precise design of marketing materials that can be utilized for a given product or industry, but viewing them only as limitation does not really present an accurate view of marketing ethics or what, through its influence on the other major areas of marketing principles discussed above, the use of ethical principles in marketing can do for an organization overall.