Persuaders Marketing, in General, Refers

¶ … Persuaders

Marketing, in general, refers to a complex set of activities that tries to direct the goods and services flow from producers towards consumers. The central element of the marketing activity is represented by the consumer. Entrepreneurs aim at diminishing business risks by paying special attention to analyzing the battle field, which is represented by the market, and to analyzing the target they want conquer, which is represented by the consumers.

The military-like terms were not selected randomly, as they represent the situation that marketing has become to represent. The market place seems to have become a battle field, where competitors practically fight for each customer they can obtain. Therefore, the saying that states that in war all is fair, seems to be very appropriate to marketing strategies nowadays.

The Persuaders, a documentary produced by PBS, aims at illustrating the above mentioned situation. The documentary presents the transformation of marketing campaigns and strategies and how they started to influence individuals' decisions regarding aspects that range from the type of toothpaste they must buy to the political leaders they must vote.

When discussing the views one may have regarding the marketing strategies presented in the documentary, one must take into consideration the fact that there are several sides to each story, hence, several points-of-views that must be discussed.

From the marketer's point-of-view, one must admit the fact that the marketing strategies presented by the Persuaders are quite effective and quite ingenious. Marketers' job consists in determining people to buy, and for this, they must go to any lengths that would help them achieve their professional objective. The strategies that the documentary focuses on advocate the imagination of people working in the marketing industry.

From the consumer's point-of-view, probably most consumers find themselves outraged by the methods used by marketers when trying to influence people's buying behavior. I do not think that any consumer could appreciate the efforts that marketers put into persuading them in the direction they want.

In my opinion, another category negatively affected by today's marketing strategies in represented by people working in the entertainment industry. As described by the documentary, one of the trends that characterize the advertising industry is represented by branded entertainment. Experts in this business admit that "the aim here is not so much to find a show that people like and then get your ads on it. The aim here is for the advertisers to create a show that is itself an extended ad" (Frontline, 2004).

When people watch such documentaries that expose the intense persuasion campaigns and connect them to the entertainment industry, they feel used, they feel like they cannot even trust the shows that they like. Probably each time they turn on the TV they wonder if the program they are watching is based on solid facts or it is just a manipulation technique.

In my opinion, marketers abuse of the media environment by sending so many advertising messages. I would prefer to see a traditional ad, printed, televised, or on the radio, rather than seeing hidden messages, hidden ads, or product placement. Whenever I discover product placements in the programs I watch, I feel like someone is trying to use me, or to trick me. Sometimes, I even develop aversion towards the respective products.

In my opinion, the Persuaders documentary is very useful. The program should be watched by any consumer. This way, individuals will be able to guard themselves against these persuasion techniques, and decide themselves what products to buy, with no external influence.

However, the documentary also reveals the fact that even if consumers become somehow immune to certain advertising techniques in time, marketers will develop new persuasion methods. In other words, even if the documentary raises some questions, presents certain marketing techniques, and helps the public to make better decisions, it is only a matter of time until we will find ourselves being lured into buying certain items because of marketing campaigns.