The relationship between the mass media and the popular culture has always been a controversial issue with over a million media messages which tell us what to eat, what to wear, what to listen and what to watch. No matter how hard we try to avoid being influenced by these promotions, we still get this beamed to us. Volumes have been written on the subject of advertising, popular culture and brand promotion. Countless research studies have been conducted and published. Seminars, conferences and hearings have been held, going back in my memory at least from early eighties, advertising notched up every space and time in our lives.
In the current context of borderless brands, the world around us, like a chameleon, changes color every second, living the factor of ‘brand loyalty’ to the ad-gurus who work overtime to create befitting global concepts for us to consume. We turn customers overnight -watch every bit of communication - connect to a product or two and eventually decide to buy by swiping a credit card (or is it debit?) at the merchandiser - who happily goes laughing to the bank and you suffer your very own buying decision.
This very itchy-bitchy consumer in you takes a toll much before you realize the pains of your possession, the so called ‘desired products’ aptly turn into your nightmare. For the mega-bucks Corporations, they need a fresh set of ‘innovative’ products to woo you again for another possession—that you might pride and flaunt for others to appreciate.
This seamless consumer behavior is the enemy within you and no matter how much you suppress, it bounces back with the same vigor to engulf your mind again.
Hoardings, paper ads, spots, jingles, cutouts, banners, buntings, pamphlets, fliers, hangers cry hoarse to grab you by your collar and you succumb to the media blitzkrieg. The Amitabh’s, the Aishwarya’s and the Abhishekh’s endorse products and services turn into icons overnight. With stars in your eyes and a hole in your pocket, you realize that it is a rip off. What we get is what we deserve! Coke, Uncle Chips, Sensor Blades shave you off your valuable time and monies. Moreover, the mad rush continues unabated.
It is a game of one-upmanship perpetrated by the czars and czarinas who vehemently voice to find space and time in the media. In the global context, what is politically right gains credence even if it is culturally wrong? Under the guise of entrepreneurship (free) products and services are thinly spread across the globe to maximize on businesses.
Today, global products are promoted by advertisers using local brand ambassadors—a classic case of borderless brands, which grab every other opportunity and media space to convince the consumer in you about the superior products and services offered. Popular media on its part creates a brand out of such promotions. Perceptions are successfully created! Mobile phone—a mere utility item turns into a fashion statement—from how you dial to how you talk (most of us do talk loud anyways) is more of a replica of what you see on the big and small screen advertisement. The natural flair in you takes a beating while the style gets reinforced for multiplier effect. This way we drop our originality and ape the product/screen icon.
In reality, you dream of the gyrating semi-clad young hovering around you asking for your attention while talking - a larger than life-size image drilled successfully in you. Eventually, what you see on the screen is just the tip of an iceberg—the reality/original behavior in you fades in no time into oblivion.
The fresh images (read mountain dew!) resurface to impact you again with renewed vigor. The culture-vultures turn croaky and vent their ire on what is happening in the society—as if heavens would fall the next moment. Mr. G. Natarajan writing in a book titled Communication & Culture says: “the major impact of the present day mass communication in India is the pervasive consumer culture. Luxuries, comforts, luxuries and still more luxuries—this has become the order of the day. Consequently, a large number of consumer products are being mass produced. As a result, consumer goods, advertisements, mass media and consumer culture all form the vicious circles, which are constantly and systematically destroying the basic values of human life. The dominant culture invariably eliminates the people’s innate culture, their rituals, life styles, festivals and even shakes their confidence in their existence. It attempts to establish that the culture of haves and elites is the culture fit for the masses and should be espoused. In advertising promotions, it is people, of course, who always act as brand ambassadors by sharing recommendations with friends and associates. And for decades, marketers have built buzz with preview parties and product samplings, albeit aimed mostly at the influential, often celebrity customers. “Technology has leveled the marketing playing field for brands,” write Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba in their book, Creating Customer Evangelists. “In the new world of marketing, customer evangelists are the key influence on what consumers buy.” People, of course, have always acted as brand ambassadors by sharing recommendations with friends and associates. Now, however, these interactions have become supercharged thanks to a new breed of brand ambassadorship programs that formalize the relationship between marketers and average consumers passionate about their products. These programs “hire” consumers, via incentives and rewards, to act as part PR agents, part sales reps and part evangelists. They mix the spontaneity of buzz building with technology to instigate, guide and measure what repeat customers are saying to each other about their brands. Sony, Unilever, Microsoft and McDonald’s among others, are incorporating such programs into their marketing mixes.
Ms. Mythili Chandrasekar, VP and Executive Planning Director, JWT Chennai, in an interview to exhange4media.com says: “Remember the days when everyone whined and complained about the globalization of India? We should not be allowing serials like The Bold and The Beautiful — this is deplorable erosion of cultural values, we declared. After all, there was no promiscuity in India at all — we had to learn it from Ridge Forrester! Let’s blame multinationals for suppressing Indian entrepreneurship. Let’s blame Kerry Packer for corrupting cricket. Let’s blame Baywatch for changing dress codes.
Let’s blame Barbie dolls for corrupting our little girls. After all, till then, our little girls never dreamed of wearing beautiful dresses. And let’s not forget advertising! Let’s blame advertising too. Advertising is showing Western images. Advertising creates unnecessary desire. Advertising makes us buy products we don’t need. Hey, we don’t need soaps and shampoos — we have shikakai. We don’t need toothpastes — we have neem stems and charcoal powder. We don’t need foreign cars. We have Ambassadors! Some of us did try to argue.”
We went hoarse telling the critics that globalization is an economic phenomenon. That economics creates change. Media only spreads it. Advertising only reflects it. We went hoarse defending ourselves at seminars on “Globalization and its impact on cultural values”. As the world gets smaller, do its inhabitants become more similar? Or do cultural differences across countries remain constant despite diverse influences from across the globe? According to a worldwide survey of consumers in 30 markets, the answers are: yes and yes! Look, we said, don’t worry. India will absorb the new without replacing the old. She’ll be fine.
As audiences become more cynical of the 30-second spot, advertisers scramble for more creative and innovative ways to grab our attention. Learn how the most educated and sophisticated minds are getting involved in the process of surrounding us with product knowledge and influencing our choices. It is worth mentioning here as to how classical conditioning theory can itself be used for bringing about an attitude change? For e.g. a cola drink is a product but Pepsi, Coke, Thumbs Up, Sprite, 7Up are brands. Companies invest time, money and energy in making strong brands as it helps in differentiation in a product category. Brands also stand for quality and value and therefore consumers are ready to pay a premium. Let us try to understand by the example of Chocolates, which was looked upon as stuff meant for kids and youngsters. To change customers’ attitude towards chocolate consumption, Cadbury’s some time back came up with ads which showed people of all ages eating and enjoying chocolates. Not only this, Cadbury’s also launched a series of ads in which Amitabh Bachchan was shown eating chocolates to change customers’ attitude towards chocolates after worms were found in some of the chocolate bars.
A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, logo that differentiates a product from competitors in a given category. Consumers recognize the brand due to the unique name, color schemes, design, and logo and thereby give them the power to choose. Integrated brand communication is the heart of the communication strategy. When all your consumer touch points are conveying the same message, it creates harmony and synergy.
It is the recognition of the advertising industry (i.e. advertisers, agencies and the media) that advertising should be legal, decent, honest and truthful, with a sense of social responsibility to the consumer and society as a whole, and with due respect to the rules of fair competition. This is achieved through the establishment of a set of rules and principles of best practice which the advertising industry voluntarily agrees to conform to in all forums.
March 15th is World Consumer Rights Day. The UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection reiterates the Consumer’s Right to Information which would enable the choice to make the most appropriate buying decision. The ASCI Code bears testimony to the Interests Safety and Protection of all Consumers.
At this juncture, what is pertinent is to ask whether consumer has a choice? Marcio M. Moreira, Vice Chairman, McCann World Group in a presentation on “The borderless brand” rightly says: “Choice isn’t about having choice, it is about believing there is a choice. Showrooms, shopping malls and websites are landscapes surrounding choices that in many cases have already been made.” Cultural puritans say that people have changed – or have they? They still wake up, brush their teeth, eat breakfast, go where they need to go, do what they need to do, return to base, eat and drink, play games and entertain themselves —and go to bed again.
In the rigors of changing lifestyles, the consumerist behavior is in for a change with every altering pitch of products. Do you have a choice in the expanding global markets?