It's all about marketing
Achtung! This post is not related to MBA, at least not directly.
I observed target marketing in all its glory today at Mac. Have you ever observed a diet conscious overweight person at a fast food joint? She invariably looks at the nutritional information provided on the tray. And guess what product is ideal for advertising on that tray, right below the calories info? Yes .. it's Total Body Makeover endorsed by Oprah, whose audience typically consists of calorie conscious women!! So you have a celebrity endorsed weight reduction book in front of the "target" while she is eating a supersized burger with extra large fries and strawberry shake. The target probably feels guilty enough to stop at Borders on her way back and pick up a copy of that book. Marketing can be so effective, yet so cruel!
I am not fat (not by any stretch of imagination) and have nothing against fat people. But I am sick of the weight loss marketing programs that plague the TV channels and other media. And now they have infected my lunch tray!
I observed target marketing in all its glory today at Mac. Have you ever observed a diet conscious overweight person at a fast food joint? She invariably looks at the nutritional information provided on the tray. And guess what product is ideal for advertising on that tray, right below the calories info? Yes .. it's Total Body Makeover endorsed by Oprah, whose audience typically consists of calorie conscious women!! So you have a celebrity endorsed weight reduction book in front of the "target" while she is eating a supersized burger with extra large fries and strawberry shake. The target probably feels guilty enough to stop at Borders on her way back and pick up a copy of that book. Marketing can be so effective, yet so cruel!
I am not fat (not by any stretch of imagination) and have nothing against fat people. But I am sick of the weight loss marketing programs that plague the TV channels and other media. And now they have infected my lunch tray!
posted by FSM | 11:14 PM
6 Comments:
Well, maybe the target audience will buy the book and actually succeed while following the plan (whatever that may be). This way the marketer AND the person who fell for the ad are both happy...no? I don't think it is cruel, if anything it can be the motivation a person needs.
What you say is a possibility, but a very remote one. But the majority of the readers of the book are likely to try out the plan for a couple of weeks and then quit. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but this has been shown to be the case in the past with all the wonder diet plans.
what disturbs me are the hoards of dieting/dietpill advertisements on the E! Channel during their hour-long specials ("How Thin is Too Thin?") that speculate what eating disorders are afflicting the celebrities...
I haven't stepped foot in a fast food place in years. Admittedly, I will dabble in the 2am drunken Taco Bell Bean Burrito, but that doesn't count since it's alcohol induced, right? Fast food and marketing, have you heard the new ads by Jack in the Box completely targeting drunk, late night eaters?! It cracked me up. But I digress. My point: marketing is marketing...they know what they're doing and how to reach their target demographic. Someone at the Oprah ranch is doing their job right! And maybe one of them will get lucky and do some good for him/her.
Oops. Forgive my typo, that one line that doesn't make any sense was supposed to read "speaking of fast food and marketing..." Sorry!
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