6 2 Integrity of Communication
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the ethical implications of advertising in connecting with customers. It discusses the spectrum of communication from persuasion to coercion, highlighting the risks of manipulation and the importance of transparent, honest messaging. The speaker uses examples of advertising techniques, such as 'assumption' and 'technique,' to illustrate how brands can mislead consumers. The talk emphasizes the critical role of ethical communication in building trust and avoiding damage to brand reputation, especially in the age of social media where information spreads rapidly.
Takeaways
- đ Advertising is a form of communication between buyers and sellers, extending beyond word-of-mouth to reach a broader audience.
- đ Social media and digital marketing have revolutionized advertising, allowing for real-time interaction and immediate feedback from consumers.
- đ The communication spectrum in advertising ranges from simple persuasion, highlighting product features, to coercion, which can involve pressuring buyers into purchases.
- đ« Ethical concerns arise when advertising uses psychological manipulation or exploits consumer vulnerabilities, potentially damaging brand trust.
- đ Transparency and honesty are crucial in advertising to maintain consumer trust and avoid misrepresentation of products or services.
- đ Coercive advertising tactics, such as creating a sense of urgency to buy, can be unethical and harmful to thećçćœąè±Ą.
- đ The homogenization of products has led to a shift in advertising focus from product differentiation to more aggressive marketing techniques.
- đ Advertising can subtly abuse consumer relationships through 'assumption' and 'technique', which involve making unspoken implications or connecting unrelated ideas.
- đ Deceptive advertising practices, such as 'Quaker Oats' misrepresenting reduced sugar content or 'Natrell' overemphasizing bacterial content, can lead to legal consequences and brand damage.
- đŹ Clear and straightforward communication is essential to avoid misunderstandings and maintain ethical standards in advertising, especially in sensitive areas like insurance or healthcare.
Q & A
What is the primary purpose of advertising according to the script?
-The primary purpose of advertising is to communicate between people who want to buy stuff and people who have stuff to sell, reaching a wider audience than word of mouth.
How has social media changed the way sellers and buyers interact?
-Social media allows sellers to connect immediately with buyers in real time, and it has given buyers the ability to rate and evaluate the integrity and ethical behavior of sellers through ratings and comments.
What is the ethical concern when advertising moves from persuasion to coercion?
-The ethical concern is that coercion may intimidate buyers into making purchases, which is not in line with allowing customers to make free will choices and can damage the brand's reputation, especially in the age of social media.
What is the difference between 'assumption' and 'technique' in advertising?
-Assumption in advertising involves manipulating consumers by tapping into their subconscious beliefs about what is desirable, such as youth or beauty. Technique, on the other hand, is connecting two unrelated ideas to misrepresent the product, making consumers believe they are connected.
Why is it considered unethical to use assumptions about societal values in advertising?
-Using assumptions about societal values in advertising is unethical because it manipulates consumers by leveraging their beliefs about what is considered good or beautiful, potentially leading them to make purchases based on false premises.
Can you provide an example of advertising by technique mentioned in the script?
-An example of advertising by technique is Quaker Oats marketing their cereal as having 'one third less sugar' when in reality, the package size was reduced, thus deceiving consumers about the actual sugar content.
What is the importance of transparency in advertising as discussed in the script?
-Transparency in advertising is crucial because it ensures that the communication with customers is honest and not manipulative. It helps in maintaining trust and a positive brand image, especially in the context of social media where information can spread quickly.
How can advertising that is not transparent or ethical affect a brand's reputation?
-Non-transparent or unethical advertising can lead to a damaged brand reputation as consumers may feel deceived or manipulated. This can result in loss of trust, negative social media feedback, and potential legal consequences such as fines or the need to destroy misleading packaging.
What is the significance of the pleasure principle in the context of advertising as discussed?
-The pleasure principle is significant in advertising as it refers to the understanding of what motivates consumers to make purchases. Advertisers may target these pleasure buttons to influence buying decisions, raising ethical questions about whether this constitutes manipulation.
Why is it essential for advertisers to be aware of the gray area between persuasion and coercion?
-Advertisers must be aware of the gray area between persuasion and coercion to avoid unethical practices that could lead to negative consequences for the brand. It's essential to strike a balance that respects the customer's autonomy while effectively communicating the product's value.
How does the script suggest advertisers should approach communication with vulnerable groups like children and the elderly?
-The script suggests that advertisers should be particularly careful and ethical when communicating with vulnerable groups like children and the elderly, ensuring that their advertising does not coerce or unduly influence these groups, and that it remains transparent and honest.
Outlines
đą Advertising and Ethical Communication
The speaker begins by connecting the concept of the pleasure principle to advertising, emphasizing the importance of ethical management in communication with customers. Advertising is described as a broad-reaching form of communication between buyers and sellers, facilitated by new mediums like social media and digital marketing. The speaker discusses the dynamic nature of buyer-seller interactions on social media, where buyers can rate and evaluate sellers, influencing the ethical behavior of sellers. A spectrum of communication is introduced, ranging from persuasion to coercion, with examples of coercive advertising tactics. The paragraph concludes with a cautionary note on the dangers of manipulation in advertising and the importance of allowing customers to make free choices.
đ§ Exploiting Psychological Triggers in Advertising
This paragraph delves into the psychological aspects of advertising, questioning whether tailoring messages to a consumer's lifestyle or pleasure triggers constitutes manipulation. The speaker addresses the ethical implications of using psychological understanding to persuade consumers, suggesting that such tactics might be seen as using consumers' own psychology against them. The paragraph also introduces the concept of 'assumption' in advertising, where advertisers exploit societal beliefs about beauty, youth, and other values to manipulate consumer choices. The speaker warns of the potential damage to a brand's reputation if such tactics are perceived as coercive, especially in the age of social media.
đ Advertising Techniques and Deceptive Practices
The speaker provides examples of deceptive advertising techniques, such as 'technique' and 'assumption,' which mislead consumers by creating false connections or assumptions about products. A personal anecdote about Quaker Oats is shared, where a marketing claim of 'one third less sugar' was misleading due to a reduction in package size, not actual sugar content. The paragraph discusses the negative impact of such practices on brand trust and the legal consequences that can follow. The speaker stresses the importance of transparent and honest advertising to maintain consumer trust and avoid the repercussions of deceptive marketing.
đ¶ Ethical Considerations in Advertising to Vulnerable Groups
The final paragraph discusses the ethical responsibilities of advertisers when targeting vulnerable groups, such as children and the elderly. A case study of an insurance company in Quebec is presented, where a telemarketer simplified a discount offer to 'buy two, get one free' to make it more understandable for customers. The supervisor's intervention highlights the importance of accurate representation to avoid miscommunication and maintain trust. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the critical nature of transparent and ethical communication in advertising, especially in a market where information can spread quickly through social media.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄPleasure Principle
đĄCommunication
đĄAdvertising
đĄEthical Management
đĄSocial Media
đĄPersuasion
đĄCoercion
đĄAssumption
đĄTechnique
đĄTransparency
đĄManipulation
Highlights
The concept of the pleasure principle is introduced as a basis for understanding consumer behavior.
The importance of ethical management in advertising to maintain a positive brand image is emphasized.
Advertising is described as a communication medium between buyers and sellers, extending beyond word of mouth.
The evolution of advertising through new mediums like social media and digital marketing is discussed.
The dynamic nature of buyer-seller communication on social media platforms is highlighted.
The spectrum of communication from simple persuasion to coercion in advertising is outlined.
The ethical implications of using psychological triggers in advertising are examined.
The danger of appearing coercive in advertising due to the immediate feedback on social media is noted.
The concept of 'assumption' in advertising and its potential for manipulation is explained.
The technique of connecting unrelated ideas to misrepresent a product in advertising is criticized.
A real-life example of deceptive advertising by Quaker Oats is shared to illustrate the concept of 'technique'.
The negative consequences of misleading advertising on brand trust are discussed.
The case of Natrell milk and its misleading 'many times less bacteria' claim is analyzed.
The importance of transparent and honest communication in advertising to avoid legal repercussions is stressed.
An example of misrepresenting an insurance offer and the potential for customer trust violation is provided.
The necessity for clear and understandable communication in advertising to prevent misunderstandings is emphasized.
The overall importance of ethical and transparent communication in advertising to protect the brand's reputation is summarized.
Transcripts
okay so
now that we've
spoken
about the pleasure principle
hopefully you understand the concept
clearly
so let's take a look at some of the ways
that we connect
to our customers and certainly
um
when we use the connect the word connect
rather i think it's reasonably safe to
also use the word communicate
so i want to talk to you today
about
communication
through the medium of advertising
so that we can appreciate
how we apply the principles of ethical
management
to the vehicle
of advertising as part of the way that
we connect and relate
to the customer
now on a simplistic basis advertising is
just a way to communicate between
people who want to buy stuff and people
who have stuff to sell
instead of word of mouth which is one
person talking to the next person it's a
form of communication that has a very
wide uh reaching
uh scope and allows the buyer to excuse
me it allows the seller
to engage a much bigger portion of his
target market
than if he would try to basically talk
to each person
one-on-one
now today it's an amazing weapon for
business because we have all kinds of
new mediums
the most significant of which are
obviously social media
and digital marketing
today with social media
a seller
can connect immediately with a buyer
uh in real time
have a whole discussion and and make the
sale
and by the same token social media has
given
the buyer a tremendous
tool
that allows them to rate and to evaluate
the integrity
and ethical behavior of the seller and
we see that in all those little ratings
and
and comments that the buyers
leave
it's a very dynamic and fluid
environment
when we are
communicating
with a customer
there is kind of like a spectrum of
communication that we have
that runs from simple persuasion where
we're trying to make the case for our
product
to coercion
where we are trying to
intimidate
the buyer to buy the product
you can kind of sometimes see it there
are these commercials now
on tv for uh
for these
companies that sell cars on the internet
and they have all of these scenarios
where the person has gone into the used
car showroom and he's really being
coerced
and forced to sign a contract and buy
the car or you don't get the deal today
at this minute
so we understand that that concept
definitely exists
from an ethical perspective
we can move along that same
continuum when we use persuasion
what we are trying to do
is communicate with the seller sorry
with the buyer
about the features and the
and the
important things
that our product has
but as
products become more and more
homogeneous and we can't tell the
difference between them
so you'll see that the marketing and the
communication tends to move along
that
that continuum and kind of swing into
that
zone of coercion and i'm going to cover
that example in the story i'll tell you
um about quaker oats once we get a
little further on you'll see what i'm
talking about
so
we are trying in our communication
that uh
to to
allow the customer to make a free will
choice
while at the same time getting our
message out there
so we are trying as a
concept in principle not to manipulate
the situation
however there's a tremendous danger
in that happening
first of all if you understand what my
pleasure button is
your messaging is going to be targeted
towards that pleasure button because you
understand that's the reason why i buy
stuff
so if i'm buying a product for a
lifestyle
connection
you're going to feature that lifestyle
in your
communication to me and the question is
going to be is that some form of
manipulation
are you using my psychology basically
against me
um
so we'll have to see how that plays out
and we're going to talk about that a
little bit later
the danger of course is that we don't
appear to be coercive
and because that will if it comes back
against us especially now with social
media that will damage the brand
so hopefully you can understand that as
we move along the spectrum
and we're moving from persuasion to
coercion
there is this giant gray area in the
middle and it's something you have to be
cognizant of
because again because of social media
because the of the fluidity of
communication
we have to be very careful
that when we present our story to the
customer
it's transparent
it has integrity it's honest and it
doesn't appear to be
manipulative
or as they might say
fake news
so there are two ways that we can subtly
abuse the consumer
relationship that we have
these are called one of them is called
assumption and the next one is called
technique
the use of
assumption
is reaching deep into the psyche of the
person
and understanding those things that
they don't even understand about
themselves on a surface level for
example
youth is considered
something good
by our society
um
a certain size is considered beautiful
and other sizes on either side of that
whether greater or lesser
are not considered beautiful
those are subtle things
they're not
spelled out and they're not necessarily
even a part
of this of the of the produced message
um
therefore
by assumption what happens is if i
present my product
as being youthful
if i present my product if it's makeup
for example as not giving you wrinkles
as making you beautiful
and i show you pictures of people that
are in the weight range that is
considered to be beautiful
or the color range that's considered to
be beautiful or however you want to
understand it i am manipulating you
through a technique that is called
assumption
because you believe that in order to be
beautiful
you've got to buy this product that i'm
selling whether it's clothing
makeup
a location you know a vacation
locale there are many different ways
that we can use
this type of assumption
you know back in the 50s they used to
have
models sitting on top of cars
and since most of the cars were targeted
towards young men between the ages of 25
and 45
there was this assumption that if you
bought that car you'd end up with a
girlfriend that looked like the girl
that was sitting on the car
that probably never happened
but there was an attempt to communicate
to you
using this methodology called assumption
and that would be considered unethical
because your product doesn't provide the
girlfriend
and and therefore the suggestion that it
does is a problem
the other
technique of advertising
that
that is that is used
is something that's called technique
now
technique is basically
telling you and connecting two unrelated
ideas
which you think are connected
and in that connection and that
conflation
uh they misrepresent the product and
i'll give you my classic story and then
i'll give you a few others
quaker oats
has an instant cereal that they sell all
different flavors
and
i'm in the i'm in the grocery store i go
by the aisle i normally don't buy it
because it has so much sugar in it
but i see that that now
they've got this giant uh on the
packaging giant banner
that reads one third less sugar
now that makes a big difference for
someone like me who's trying to avoid
eating sugar
so i said you know what i got to get it
i love the taste of this and now i can
have uh you know this included in my
in my uh breakfast
so i buy the cereal i get it home
and my wife looks at it
and she says let's see what's in the
claw in the cupboard because i think
we've got some of the stuff there and
sure enough we put a package she looks
at both of them
she says uh
you see a difference between the two of
them you know i'm looking at quaker
roads
uh apple and you know apple and cinnamon
flavor apple and cinnamon flavor i don't
know they both look exactly the same to
me i don't see the difference
so
normal response from her is look more
closely not going to help but i look
more closely i still don't see the
difference
she says look at the packaging size
the original package
was 345.
the new package was 228.
of course there's a third less sugar
there's a third less food in the package
that's called
advertising by technique
it's deceptive
and all of that product was by the way
removed from the store shelves
and it's terrible for a brand
because once that becomes known
the trust factor for the brand
diminishes
there was another case like that
with uh nattrell
the trell makes milk which is a pretty
homogeneous product
they had a giant uh
going across their milk cartons
that said many times less bacteria
so the minute the average customer hears
the word bacteria
that frightens them
because nobody
wants bacteria
in their
you know their food
and many times less bacteria makes it
appear as if there's something unique
about their milk
that's way better than any other milk
because certainly they have many times
less bacteria compared to other milk
the reality of the case was
that the nattrell milk
was 97
bacteria free because you need some
minimal bacteria in the milk to make it
healthy
and the competition
which means all the other milk companies
were 96.7
less bacteria
so the difference was point three tenths
of one percent
how does that become many times
that doesn't seem like it's even
significant
and the end result in their case was
that they were
obliged they paid a fine to the
government
for misrepresentatives advertising and
they were obligated to have all of that
packaging returned to them
and the packaging was destroyed and the
milk inside
obviously couldn't be recycled and so it
was destroyed
so you can see that these
attempts to
communicate
using uh subtle techniques
at the end of the day they don't they
they don't really work effectively
and they don't really protect the brand
and especially today
with social media
and with the ability for people to
communicate virtually
immediately
it becomes a very wise choice on the
part of the seller
to be careful that all of the
advertising and communication that they
have
is far more transparent
and far less subject to misunderstanding
we want to be sure that people have
the ability to make real free choice
and that they are not being coerced or
unduly affected
especially vulnerable groups like
children
in some cases
and the elderly in other cases
there was a case
in quebec
of an insurance company
who
was trying to sell insurance
and
uh
there was a they were using
telemarketing as their methodology
and basically the promotion that the
insurance company had come up with
was that if you buy
three of their products together
you would get
one third off the price
of the three products
so they had one of their representatives
that was working there
and he was calling people up and he saw
that with many of the people he called
it was difficult to explain to them
what one-third off meant
because many of them didn't really grasp
math easily
and they just didn't understand
so he simplified it for them
he said look if you buy two you get one
free
that's pretty simple it's the same thing
as getting one third off
but people were listening to buy one buy
two
get one free
all the calls from the from all
telemarketing of course are monitored
and when his supervisor heard that
conversation
she called him into the office and she
said
you know i realized that you're
producing tremendous results he his
sales shot up like 48
but she said um
you can't keep doing that
because you're misrepresenting the
product to the customer
he said what do you mean
it's costing them exactly the same
if they would have spent thirty dollars
let's say ten bucks for each one of the
different products we sell
so we're giving it to them for twenty
that's the same as
buy two get one free and they don't
understand one-third off
it's a whole complicated explanation and
they don't get it at the end anyway
she says i hear you
but please understand that when the
customer gets the bill
and they're only going to see
a one-third off
so they're going to see that they're
being charged for all three insurance
policies and only at the bottom of the
page where we calculate the amount due
are they going to see the one-third
reduction
and since they're already having a
problem as you've explained
understanding what that means
they're going to feel as if they're
being charged
for something that they were told was
free
and
naturally since it's an insurance
company
that will appear to them to be a
violation of trust
between us and them
and then the end result will be
that all the sales you've made will be
cancelled because they'll feel that we
misrepresented the product to them and
so we don't want to have
that issue
so
communication with your customers as you
can see
is critical
it's important
and especially in today's marketplace
according to the
strategy that you employ you have to
make sure
that your communication is transparent
and ethical
you
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