Marketing Strategies That Deceive You

You may have seen the hit film Confessions of a Shopaholic. I know I did-it’s a cute and  easy to relate to film. Sometimes I go to the store for one thing but before I know it I’m swept up in this fanatical “I have to have this” mode.I end up spending all of my hard earned money on tons of things that I didn’t need or particularly wanted but it all just looked so good, I couldn’t help myself. There is a reason for this, it’s marketing strategy.

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Marketers spend years learning what appeals to the consumer’s eye. Many commercials feature products that compare themselves to other brands(in which they say the actual name)but what they fail to mention is that they also are the distributors of that other brand. And after sales go down on the “better brand” after a few months, the other one gets a come back. And lets not forget that microscopic writing that appears for two seconds at the bottom of the screen while a commercial is playing.In school I had to analyze an article from The Onion that was a satirical piece on marketing strategies. The article was entitled Revolutionary New Insoles Combine 5 Forms of Pseudoscience.This was an interesting article that really got me thinking about the marketing industry.It reflects the medical jargon that is used in commercials that we often can’t understand, however, it sure does make the product seem like a work of genius from a “credible”and “qualified” source. While the article is fictional it really made some great points. We often do not have time to think while viewing these ads;instead our minds are focusing on all of the great features in this product. They often show physicians in their white coats describing the wonders of the product(who are of course paid actors). Along with cellophane- like statements by the actors such as, ” I broke my toe while wearing heels a few months ago but after wearing Dr. Boles heel inserts for 8 weeks my toe healed.It was like magic!” Okay, well we know that it is possible that a toe would heal in 8 weeks with or without the heel inserts and anyway how many credible people do you know who would wear heels with a broken toe? One of the oldest marketing ads we have come to know about is tobacco. Tobacco was glorified for decades by the beautiful women with their mystic, smoking that cigarette and of course that handsome, masculine Marlboro man. Oh and lets not forget those lovable camels that endorsed cigarettes. Who wouldn’t want to buy a cigarette from a camel-hmmm. Of course years later there was the infamous lawsuit brought against the Marlboro company by the Marlboro man from the lung cancer he got due to endorsing all of those “glamorous” cigarettes.

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Some drinks seem like a sure win for kids when they reveal that they contain “real fruit juice” but when you actually read the fine print on the label it may say, “less than 5 real fruit juice”.We often purchase low fat foods to watch our weight. However, what we do not know is the tricks behind the purchase. Many “low fat” foods do not clarify the fact that while “low” in fat they may have a lot of sugar or other things in them that make up for the “low fat”.In 2005, the Associated Press presented a study that found that many cereals who claim to be lower in sugar had no significant nutritional value than the higher sugar counterparts. -These cereal’s sales went up 50%! Other products claim things like they have fewer calories than competitors but don’t tell you that that is because they are in smaller portions.

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When browsing through a store you may see this elaborate stack of can goods or bleach etc. with a big sign reading “FREE” you automatically react but when you look closer the sign really reads “Buy 2 Get 1 FREE”. Every detail, color, and emphasized word is premeditated for your viewing-and purchasing. Then there are the brochure offers and ads that, as with commercials, offer the tiny little phrase at the bottom “conditions may apply” and they often do.

Stores are strategically laid out so that you will end up spending an abundance (a trick I fall for most of the time). Haven’t you ever noticed all the little things near the checkout that you can’t help to see and feel that you should pick up because they’re so conveniently laid out for you?Also,when you enter clothing stores, there, magically laid out are perfectly folded clothes that look like a fantasy.Have you also ever noticed that when you try something on at the store, it looks exquisite and divine and you can’t live without it. However, when you put it on for a date or to look great for that guy at work-it just doesn’t look fabulous.This may have something to do with the “trick mirrors” that stores use. Not to mention the 6 ft. tall size 2 mannequins who feature the clothing items.

The movie I mentioned earlier, Confessions of a Shopaholic, definitely emphasizes the mind track we often get when shopping-we feel that we have to have the product; that it will make us prettier, look smarter, be thinner etc. How can we resist when we are getting such a good deal? When the fantasy wears off, you realize that the “good deals” add up, and all of those little “have-to-have” items at the check out or end of the isles weren’t really a necessity and that that new dress you bought looks horrible and really just dipped into your monthly budget. So what to do when you’re surrounded by such a debauchery? Well, start my looking at the small print and rather than focusing so much on the commercial or ad.Focus on the conditions that apply. Also, it is smart to read labels to correctly compare the “deal” that you are getting. And if you are really bad at this, as I have been, make a list and stick to it. Ask yourself,”is this a necessity”, “will this take away from my budget” and “will this be something that will just be laying around in my house next month that is out of sight”? Marketing specialists are trained to catch the eye and literally make us want these products and feel like we won’t be able to live without them. Well, as I am sure you’ve discovered in the past, we can; we can live without it. And when in question-just say NO!