http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/view/
Answer the questions. Start another posting if you run out of room!
What in "The Persuaders" surprised you? Name one new thing you learned about marketing or politics from watching the film. Name one new thing you learned about yourself from watching the film.
* "The Persuaders" begins by questioning the increase in the amount of advertising we typically encounter in our daily lives. How would you assess the amount of advertising you see? Too much? Too little? Just right? In your view, what difference does it make to know that people today see much more advertising in their daily lives than people 20 or 30 years ago?
* What surprised you in the descriptions of how much demographic information marketers have about potential customers? What kinds of information would you be willing to share about yourself or your family in order to: enter a contest? Get a discount? Get online? Get a cell phone? Use a credit card? Would you be willing to reveal your name, address and phone number? What music you listen to or your favorite snacks? The grades on your last report card? How much your parents earn? What medications people in your family take? What kinds of information would you want to keep private and why?
* In "The Persuaders," marketer Kevin Roberts uses the term "lovemarks" to identify brands to which people are loyal even when devotion is not logical. Are there brands (or music) to which you are devoted? When you stop to think about it, is your loyalty to any particular brand logical or a "lovemark"? If purchasing a particular brand isn't logical, why would you (or other people) do it?
* Advertising executive Douglas Atkins argues that purchasing branded merchandise now provides that same sense of belonging that was once provided by community institutions like schools, churches, civic groups, or fraternal orders. What provides you with a sense of belonging or identity? What role, if any, does marketing play in what you identify with or where you hang out the most?
9 comments:
What amazed me is that advertisers would take that much amount of time and money to try to get us to buy their product, also some now use movies to advertise their products without making it obvious. I learned that some advertisements catch my eye without me noticing it.
I think the advertisement maybe a little too much but it doesn't really bother me because I'm already used to it.
It's amazing how much advertising tries to have a true target audience by what their personal information is, but I would most likely not care about what I kept private unless if it's information that isn't mine to give away, like things about my parents and such.
I don't really have a "lovemark" because I'm into mostly everything. Relating back to music I like all different types of music whether its rock or r&b or rap, etc. I'm not really loyal to much of any product because there will always be something that's better and newer, which would then change my mind about what I want.
It's true about what they say because these days you need most of the new technology to really fit in, because most of these new products are used in our everyday lives and we're now used to it so much that we depend on it. Using our cellphones as an example, I know for a fact that nowadays I can't really live without being able to stay in contact with my friends, and it comes to the point where I depend on my cellphone and without it I'd be lost, since everyone else would be able to communicate with each other but me.
I think i see way to much advertising. Honestly if anyone has ever tried to watch FX you know its impossible to turn the channel on without catching an advertisement before seeing the show. I don't think there is much of a difference with the increase in ads socially. I'm pretty sure its just business wise.
I'm not really surprised about how much information Ad companies have on us. If people are told they'll get something for free its likely that they'll give up something for it. I wouldn't give up any crucial information, like my address but stuff like my favorite song or something i don't care about. That's because I don't really want to be solicited by calls, but I can't be solicited by my favorite music.
I don't really know if I am loyal to any kind of brand. I guess I'm loyal to apple, but if something better came along I'd probably ditch them.
I'm not sure what provides me with a sense of identity or belonging. I guess thats what makes me a teenager. The music I listen to is extremely varied, so that doesn't help. Same with movies. Advertising and brands certainly won't help me find an identity though. And it certainly won't take over personalities.
One thing that I learned that I found interesting was that advertisers spend so much money on trying to make their product seem wonderful and how sometimes it doesn't even work. What I learned about myself is that I probably wouldn't buy half of the products that advertisers are trying to sell because they probably aren't as good as they make it seem.
I think that there is too much advertising going on. People usually don't pay attention to commercials or even mute them because they don't want to watch them. I think that people now are realizing that maybe if they promote their product everywhere, people will be more apt to buy it.
If I was going to enter a contest, I wouldn't want to give out all of my information. I would probably give out my name and address, but nothing too personal such as medicine or grades.
I think that brands that truly prove they are loyal are considered lovemarks such as Åpple. My family and I usually don't get specific brands because they tend to be more expensive. The cheap grocery store brand is just as good as the expensive brands. I don't know why people buy the expensive brands because they are just as good as any other brand.
I don't think that marketing makes me hang out in certain places. I also don't think merchandise gives you a sense of belonging because it's not the brand that makes you feel that way.
It was surprising seeing how advertisers take it to the extreme when trying to sell a product. I learned that advertisers use doublespeak to try to lure the consumer to buy their product and even I have been gullible enough to believe them before.
I encounter advertisements every day. I see people wearing a specific brand of clothing every where I go, as well as seeing ads on buses, or watching t.v. Everyone sees it everyday of their lives, because it varies in form and I believe advertising has increased tremendously in the past 20-30 years.
It amazed me how much marketers have the ability to find out information about me, and sell me their products. Nowadays, people have to be careful of what kind of information they give out to the public because you never know who can get hold of that information.
This question is kind of funny because I have bought products just having to do with the lovemark, not the logic. For soccer season, I bought these specific kind of cleats that nike made, just because famous soccer players wore them in their matches, and that drew me in to buying them. Know I realized that advertisers pay these players to wear their products so it can reach out to people. That's another form of advertising.
Marketing has brainwashed people to think and act a certain way, and if you don't, than you can't "belong." I think everyone wears a specific brand of clothing that they like, so they can express their personality.
One thing that amazed me in The Persuaders video was the different advertisers that would spend tons of money persuade people to buy their products. Today not that much but it's an everyday thing to everyone. I wouldn't ever do that because my parents would be disappointed if i gave out information online. I keep my business to myself and never give out my social security. I am not into lovemarks because i am mostly into everything. I listen Rap, Hip-Hop, and R&B. I'm not loyal because if something new comes out then i am going to be interested in that product more than the previous one. Computers is one example. Without the internet I wouldn't be able to live because I talk to a lot of friends and use it for school projects.
what surprised me was how many advertisements there really were and how much they paid to have an ad. I learned that I many like a commercials but I might not like the product itself. For example you could like the cheerios commercials but hate eating cheerios. What I learned about marketing was that they try to make commercials and ads say that their more than just what they are. For example they say that tides not just a detergent its a liberator as they guy who was talking about tide said. I think there are way too many commercials about a single product or company.The airline song went way overboard with their green people walking around Boston with a TV, and how they have a huge store in mall, I think that just unnecessary and plus then people start to question if the airline is really good.
I wouldn't give them my address or phone number or anything like that i would just give away info like my favorite type of music or food, etc. I would like to keep my phone numbers and stuff private because they shouldn't need to know those things and if i give them my address and phone number them i would get my calls and receive many ad mails and i just don't want that stuff.
I'm not really devoted to anything like some people will be devoted to only coke a cola and they will not drink pepsi but there really isn't much of a difference.
* I think I am exposed to an amount that is just right. However, I could just be completely brainwashed by the advertising companies, and only believe that I see a "just right" amount, whereas in reality, I see far too much advertising. The amount of ads one sees is really relative; compared to people living in New York City, the land of advertising clutter, I don't see much advertising. However, compared to someone living in the woods, I see far too much advertising. All in all, I guess I see just as much advertising as anybody else in Watertown.
* Given the size, budget, and power of certain advertising companies, I'm not a bit surprised at how much personal information advertising companies can get on people. I wouldn't be very willing to give out much if any personal information in order to get things; once I give it out, it's no longer JUST mine.
*I wouldn't immediately say I am undyingly loyal to any specific brands, but after noticing that I'm typing this on a mac, and listening to the documentary using earbuds from my iPod, I suppose I'm loyal to Apple.
*I don't really think any ONE thing gives me a sense of belonging; Its really a combination of things in my life (music, friends, ways to kill time, etc.) that make me feel like I belong. I guess school gives me a sense of belonging if any one thing has to. Marketing does play a role in "fitting in" somewhat. Not crucially, but it's there. People see others listening to iPods, so they decide to go out and buy one. People see THEM listening to an iPod, to they buy one, etc. If someone doesn't have an iPod, they aren't necessarily isolated in any way, but the iPod has definitely established itself as a status symbol. --iPods are just an example I used; that idea can be applied to other things, too.
One of the main things I noticed and thought through out the video was that companies don't even realize how many people actually do see their advertisements. I think that they try way to hard to be noticed more than they need to be. I believe that people see much much more advertising then people did 20-30 years ago. Back then they didn't even have things like the internet where you can't go to any website without seeing an add for some product from a company that their trying to sell.
I entered a survey once online and gave them my e-mail address, and since then I've never stopped getting advertising e-mails. So because of that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to give out my address either just because of all the things they send to you. Maybe i would give my name, but thats probably all.
I know there is music and some clothing companies I'm devoted to but I never called them my "lovemarks". But most things I'm not loyal to at all. I'll just buy the cheaper brand of whatever it is for the most part.
I believe and i know for me that most adds don't make a difference on how i feel about a product. Things like my cell phone and music or what i do with my friends. No company is going to change something like that.
Post a Comment