Marketing Influences, Purposes and Ethics Research Paper

What is Marketing?

Peter Drucker, an expert in the field of business management theory defined marketing as “a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others” (Strydom 2004, p.2).

He is in agreement with those who say that marketing is beyond selling and advertising. However, most marketing experts are not willing to acknowledge an open secret about marketing; it is the idea, that the fair exchange of goods and services is not always the norm. In the film documentary entitled The Century of the Self, marketers armed with insights into human psychology crafted marketing strategies that did not facilitate the fair exchange of goods and services (Lessig 2015). It is important to look into this type of marketing strategies in order to understand how normal people were persuaded to engage in irrational behavior.

What have changed over the last century and how was it used?

One can argue that marketing is not a modern invention. There is no need to cite sources to demonstrate that ancient peoples were familiar with the techniques of marketing. It is hard to imagine ancient societies engaging in trade without using the principles of marketing that are familiar to people in contemporary times. The only difference is that marketing in the modern age requires the use of scientific principles that will enhance the distribution, pricing, and communication regarding the products or services that marketers offer to their potential customers (Smit & Trigeorgis 2004). These changes are significant when it comes to the evolution of marketing theory in the 20^th century.

Another important change was to use marketing not just to ensure the fair exchange goods, but also to persuade people to buy products and pay for services that they do not need Marketing is always in favor of the business enterprise. Businessmen develop marketing strategies not only to turnover a profit, but also to ensure the development of sustainable systems and cost-efficient systems. As mentioned earlier, the ideal view of this particular business concept is grounded in the fair exchange of goods and services. However, there are two major factors that make it difficult for businessmen and marketers to stay on the ideal path, and these are:

1. competition;
2. uncertainty (Smit & Trigeorgis 2004).

Therefore, in order to assure the sustainability and continuous operation of a business enterprise, it is imperative to increase revenue and increase market share. In a land populated with similar products, it is hard to maintain ethical marketing standards if there is a desperate need to stand out from the crowd. Marketers are not only compelled to resort to marketing gimmicks, they are also compelled to employ dishonest measures in order to gain an advantage over their competitors. Thus, marketing is now used as a means to convince people and influence their decision-making process.

How can marketing influence people’s choices and decisions?

At the turn of the 20^th century, radical changes in the social, political, and economic realms altered the way marketers the necessary strategies needed to influence people’s choices and decisions. One of the key figures in this revolution was a man named Edward Bernays. He was a publicist by trade, and his insights regarding mass media communication were enhanced by his association with Sigmund Freud – one of the most brilliant psychologists of all time.

Bernays grew up in the United States, but he spent his boyhood summers with his uncle in Austria, imbibing Freud’s core beliefs, such as the assertion that human beings “are not always independent, rational beings, because they are subjected to the deep, hidden, urges of the subconscious mind” (Hastings 2013, p.12). From his uncle Freud, Bernays understood the concept of the “subconscious” and the “inner drives” that influence a person’s decision-making process.

Bernays grew up to become one of the pioneers of the public relations industry. He saw how propaganda was used during the First World War, and he also witnessed how propaganda was utilized during peace time, when he came to work for President Woodrow Wilson (Lessig 2015). Bernays married his insights on propaganda and his uncle’s insights about the subconscious mind, in order to produce a marketing matrix that radically transformed the way marketers develop strategies to persuade people to buy product that they do not need. Thus, modern marketing utilizes insights into human psychology to influence the decision-making process of the individual, and at the end, persuades him to do something that he normally will not do.

When can marketing become an unethical tool?

Freud’s nephew got hold of the idea that the appropriate use of communication strategies enables propagandists or marketers to manipulate people by working on their “hidden desires” or aspirations. Bernays’ ideas were proven effective when he collaborated with George Hill, the former president of the US Tobacco industry, in order to eradicate the taboo concerning women’s desire to smoke cigarettes in public.

In this wildly successful social experiment, Bernays persuaded women about the benefits of smoking in public, because it allows them to be on equal footing with men. He recruited rich debutantes “to march in the New York City Easter parade of 1929 brandishing their ‘torches of freedom’ as a way of challenging the idea of male power in American society (Gilman 2004, p.340). It was like a protest rally, and the message was loud and clear: “Light another torch of freedom! Fight another sex taboo!” (Gilman 2004, p.341).

The ploy worked like a charm, however, the mastermind behind it was more than willing to bend the rules in order to accomplish specific goals as revealed by his notes: “To increase the consumption of cigarettes by women and to gain publicity for Lucky Strikes” (Gilman 2004, p.340).

Bernays notes also revealed that he manipulated news events in order to transmit a certain idea (Gilman 2004). One can argue that his actions were unethical based on the ideals of marketing, because there was no fair exchange between the seller and the consumer (Berk, Galvan, & Hattam 2013). Women were manipulated to consume a product that had nothing to do with their freedom of expression. In fact, smoking cigarettes is an irrational act, and the fact that chemicals in cigarettes are known cancer-causing agents adds another layer of deception into the said unethical use of persuasive marketing techniques. Thus, marketing becomes an unethical tool when it is utilized to change the way people perceive reality, especially if the manufactured reality was based on lies.

When is marketing used for good purposes?

The distortion of marketing strategies by the like of Bernays and other public relations experts does not automatically render marketing as a force of evil. If one will follow the ideal path, it is easy to see the beneficial impact of marketing. First of all, it is a beneficial tool for business enterprises eager to showcase products that can hep improve the lives of people (Smit & Trigeorgis 2004). Therefore, it is possible to use it for good purposes if marketing is utilized as a means to enhance the competition between different manufacturers and suppliers, as a means to create superior products for the benefit of the consumers.

Conclusion

The use of manipulative techniques to persuade people in the context of mass marketing is an inevitable outcome of competition and uncertainty in the business world. Unethical practices to gain an advantage over competitors is nothing new.

However, at the turn of the 20^th century, the world witnessed the successful application of psychology and propaganda in marketing goods and services. This new development was ushered in by Edward Bernays, a pioneer in the public relations industry, and the nephew of Sigmund Freud. His relationship with Freud provided him insights into the human psyche, and when he combined insights from psychology with insights from the field of public relations, he radically altered the way marketers influence the decision-making process of consumers. Although men like Bernays gave marketing a bad reputation, the ideal use of marketing is always a force for good.

Reference List

Berk, G, Galvan, D & Hattam, V 2013, Political creativity, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Web.

Gilman, G 2004, Smoke: a global history, Reaktion Books, London, UK. Web.

Hastings, G 2013, The marketing matrix, Routledge, New York, NY. Web.

Lessig, D 2015, The century of the self. Web.

Smit, H & Trigeorgis, L 2004, Strategic investment, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, NJ. Web.

Strydom, J 2004, Introduction to marketing, Juta and Company, Cape Town, South Africa. Web.