ETHICS for Media Psychology |
Resources for Week 6- Consumer ethics
Consumer ethics, advertising supplementary pageSpecial guest presentation: Dr. Carrie Perry, who has been teaching about advertising for many years, will present a video conference webinar about the history and psychology of advertising. Here are links to the documents she used the last time she presented to this class:
Let's look at a belief that guides most media persuaders. To marketers we are simple machines when it comes to being persuaded, largely because our emotions reduce us to gut reaction. We would rather not think; critical thinking takes work. We are already overwhelmed with things to consider and decisions to make. So, we are ready to be told what to do. Besides, is it really possible for us to conduct a detailed analysis of every product we want to purchase, or for marketers to present a thorough assessment of their product in 30 seconds? So, we relax, and let advertisers pierce our neo-cortex and guide our actions. It is simply easier to do so. How Jack Trout sees us. In his book, The New Positioning, Jack Trout makes this case very well and codifies this outlook in his 6 Rules About the Consumer Mind, shown below. His book is widely considered to be a very influential consumer psychology reference manual for marketers:
From this, we can conclude that people want to be told what to buy (because they can't cope with insecurity and confusion, and have limited ability to focus), want to feel good about it (because they don't like feeling insecure), and want to buy what they already know they want (because minds don't change). So, advertisers need to give consumers what they think they want, and do so clearly in a way that makes them feel secure about their purchase. Are we really this simple? Your Head on Advertising
I see things a bit differently. After all, every media psychologist has a theory (or two) about how advertising works, and I’m no different. I will boil this down to a single point that is depicted in the graphic: "The goal is to pierce the judgmental mind while simultaneously feeding it." That is, we buy based on our feelings, but we also want enough information about what we buy so that we could justify our purchase to ourselves and someone else. So, we buy an SUV because we connect with the power and domination it presents, but we tell ourselves and others about its safety record and aesthetics, and maybe even its reasonable gas mileage, given all the metal it hauls around. As we look at ads and advertising, keep this in mind: Purchases are made from the gut, but we need to feel rationally secure about them. We want what we want, but we don't want to appear inept or unintelligent, to ourselves or others. So, we need a story that places our purchase in the context of our lives in a way that makes sense. This is applicable whether what we are buying is a thing, a service, an idea, or a perspective. We need to feel rationally secure about what we acquire. The next time you are having a political discussion with someone, listen to how s/he (and you) leads with a feeling, but supports it with a selective use of the facts. The facts often don't drive the feeling - it is the other way around. We keep bumping into what appears to be a pervasive aspect of human psychology: We make up our mind based on our prior beliefs before we have the facts. Then, like the Catholic church in the time of Galileo, we use the facts not to challenge the belief system but to support it.
From a more technical point of view... So, how does this happen? That is, regardless of how advertisers view us, how do they work their magic? “Eyeballs on product.” I heard Dr. Isbouts use this phrase to describe what media sponsors were looking for when considering whether they wanted to finance a media project. I am sure if he were involved with a radio project, he would have said ears on product (or inner images, the kind we create when we listen to radio, on product). In the world of theory, theorists talk about Mere Exposure. Jed Walls explains in his QE: "Mere Exposure is the idea that people develop a preference for things because of familiarity with them (Zajonc, 2001). Through mere exposure, individuals are more likely to associate with a brand or product, even if they are exposed while unaware. Studies have shown that non-aware exposure produced substantially larger exposure effects than stimuli consciously perceived (Bornstein & D’Agostino, 1992). In other words, showing a brand through a non-conscious method can potentially build familiarity and awareness. " Sometimes this is coupled with "evaluative conditioning." Walls explains: Another means by which values and branding are combined is through "evaluative conditioning." Evaluative conditioning is the idea that when a stimulus is coupled with desirable objects it is perceived favorably, and when coupled with undesirable objects, it is viewed unfavorably (De Houwer, Thomas, & Bauyens, 2001). Together, mere exposure and evaluative conditioning work to produce unconscious influence over an individual. The goal here is clear- audience members can’t buy something they don’t know about. Eyeballs on product solves that problem. It is another way of saying “awareness,” the first step of five in Everett Rogers adoption of innovation, explained in his highly regarded book The Diffusion of Innovation. From there, sellers hope audience members develop curiosity that leads to identifying need fulfillment, which leads to purchasing. Sometimes there is another step involved: need identification. That is, sometimes consumers need to be told that something is a problem, like body odor, or the need for individualized cell phone plans within one family, or the need for continuous GPS connectivity in a car. Then, having convinced a purchasing public of this need, sellers step forward with a way to fulfill it. The need for “eyeballs on product” has been true ever since humans have tried to sell things to each other. It is not unlike "location, location, location" as a mantra about where to locate a storefront. What has changed are the means and methods of putting eyeballs on product. In the days of mass media v 1.0 (broadcast mass media), a good deal of advertising was broadcast advertising. That is, advertisers deliver a scatter shot message into the crowd and hope it connects with someone who cares. Gillette would advertise during a football game because guys watch football, and guys shave. Soap operas, so named because they were funded by detergent companies, advertised things they thought homemakers wanted, because they figured that's who was watching their show. These are best guesses, using the scatter shot approach. Here are a few other perspectives to consider:
Overall, these theories help us know how corporate and business interests interplayed with society and helped establish the framework from which advertising narratives were created. Cultural theory helps us understand the transition from monitorial advertising era [JO1] to the digitoral era in which we find ourselves today. Overall, general critical/cultural theory claims that there is no entertainment without prejudice, thus culture is a set of discourses that can be understood by how social artifacts are produced, distributed, and consumed (Durham & Kellner, 2006). In this way, advertising is no different and can be viewed as a powerful social artifact that highlights unique aspects of our culture. This draws on the work of the Frankfurt School, versions 1 and 2, Habermas, a promiinent member of the 2nd Frankfurt School, viewed advertising this way: Habermas’ central claim was that private interests prevail over public interests, which lead to a commercial domination of public life. Because of this, the public sphere is made impossible, when private interests have more or less destroyed the primary function of public spaces. To Habermas, newspapers were a prime example, which show that commercial interests trump politics and even trump news, which is shown in the deference that monetized space is given in advertising. (Walls QE 2015) This was later supported by Barthes: Roland Barthes discussed structuralism and applied semiology to the study of culture (Barthes, 2006). In his work he assumed that society and culture are texts, and looking at the codes and meanings of its texts, one could understand and articulate its mythologies. In Barthes estimation, commercial interests used tautologies, which are self-justifying sentences, to obfuscate qualities. Tautologies allowed those in power to make statements that could not be falsified but were still seemingly appealing, and subsequently put culture above criticism. Other mythologies were supported by reducing things to quantity alone, and to make the unnatural appear natural. In these ways entire histories could be disappeared, as images were idealized over realities and contingent factors were stripped of their context and essences. (Walls QE 2015) This is a vast, important theoretical area and we are just skimming along the surface here. There are other theories, some of which we have already looked at, others we simply don't have time to in this survey course. Consumer Culture Theory Another theory you should be aware of is Consumer Culture Theory. From Wikipedia: Consumer culture theory is the study of consumption choices and behaviours from a social and cultural point of view, as opposed to an economic or psychological one. It does not offer a grand unifying theory but "refers to a family of theoretical perspectives that address the dynamic relationships between consumer actions, the marketplace, and cultural meanings".[1] The article goes on to say that CCT is often misunderstood, and has competing definitions. The many kinds of marketing However, as the technology changed, approaches to product awareness changed. In all cases, the goal was to link producers and consumers more intelligently, emotionally and directly. Here are just a few ways that happens. Niche marketing evolved as we realized we could gather statistics about which specific demographics watch particular TV shows, listen to particular radio stations or read certain magazines and newspapers. Therefore, advertisers would advertise to just a particular segment of the population. No sense selling dish soap to teenage boys. We see here the beginnings of "big data." When storage is plentiful and cheap, and we can store and analyze all the data we want, then we can obtain a very detailed idea about characteristics of a niche. Most importantly, big data is not just broad, it is also very deep. That is, we can analyze not only demographic groups, but also individuals, the ultimate niche. Search-based advertising is what we are all familiar with on Google. We search for "Hawaii" and up comes paid ads on the right hand side of our screens, or pop up ads in the middle of our screens, that have only to do with Hawaii vacations. You told the advertisers what you wanted, and they sent that information only to you, or anyone else issuing the same search. Based on what the web already knows about you, it might even know that you have a price range you are working within, or a time of year you typically like to go, as well as a specific Island in Hawaii you like to visit. The Web has learned this from previous searches, from surveys you have filled out, and so on. This is related to push advertising, described next. Companies freely admit they do this, but often claim that all information is anonymized. Critics use the term pseudonymous "which emphasizes that you’re not really anonymous, you’ve just been assigned a pseudonym. If your identity becomes known you’ve lost your imagined privacy, and there are many ways that could happen" (Hill). To read more about this, I encourage you to read Hill's full article: How much do online advertisers really know about you? We asked an expert By Simon Hill — June 27, 2015.
Primary viewings: (Family reminder: Watch this with friends and family!) 1. The Cost of Free. Here is more information about the video: "...Dr Aleks Krotoski continues her investigation of how the World Wide Web is transforming almost every aspect of our lives. She gives the lowdown on how, for better and for worse, commerce has colonised the web - and reveals how web users are paying for what appear to be 'free' sites and services in hidden ways. Joined by some of the most influential business leaders of today's web, including Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon), Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google), Chad Hurley (CEO of YouTube), Bill Gates, Martha Lane Fox and Reed Hastings (CEO of Netflix), Aleks traces how business, with varying degrees of success, has attempted to make money on the web. ...Aleks explores how web advertising is evolving further to become more targeted and relevant to individual consumers. Recommendation engines, pioneered by retailers such as Amazon, are also breaking down the barriers between commerce and consumer by marketing future purchases to us based on our previous choices." 2. Rapaille and Luntz via the Frontline documentary, The Persuaders. We will hear about consumer psychology from two of the most successful marketing consultants in the business: Clotaire Rapaille and Frank Luntz. The clips identified below come from a PBS Frontline Show,The Persuaders. The Persuaders is presented on the PBS site in chapters. You are going to watch parts of Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. You only need to watch specific segments of this video, though you are certainly encouraged to watch the entire documentary:
From Popular Media 1. Cool Hunting via the Frontline documentary, Merchants of Cool. Again, you are only required to watch part of the video, in this case Chapter 1 about how marketers "hunt for cool" to lead trends in teenage purchasing. This link takes you to the chapter on cool hunting. Watch the entire 10 minutes. You don't need to watch the other chapters of the video, but I recommend it. This is a fascinating documentary. 2. Google Ventures On How To Design A Killer Website. In this article a former Walmart researcher talks in very specific terms about the tools he used to figure out what people wanted to buy. It is all about "shopping funnels." 3. Digital Advertising Produced $49.5 Billion In Revenue In 2014. "Each year, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC US) team up to provide a report on the growth of digital advertising industry. The 2014 edition of the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report has now been released, and it details a banner year in which digital advertisements generated $49.5 billion in revenue." Web resources to consider: It is not required that you visit any of these resources. But it is recommended:
Moodle discussion:
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e-Portfolio posting:
Week 11 - Neilsen and Neuromarketing (July 13 - 19 / 2015) Essential question(s): What is neuro-marketing? What is its psychological basis? What is its future? Overview: Neuromarketing is exactly what it sounds like: using advanced neurological understanding to enhance marketing effectiveness. Matthew Price, a student in the Media Psychology program at Fielding, will talk to us about his work at Nielsen. He will talk to us not only about neuromarketing, but leading trends in brands and advertising, new technologies and techniques in the field. Of particular interest to us as media psychologists are how neuromarketing reflects our understanding of psychology and human behavior. He will be joining us via video conferencing at a time to be determined. We will also visit the work of Dr. Christoph Morin, a graduate of the Media Psychology PhD program, who is a leader in the field neuromarketing. Primary sites to visit Visit Neilsen We begin by looking at the work of Matthew Price and Nielsen. Please read the information at the following sites. From Matt Price: For most PhD students, I think its important to know Who Nielsen is: (I love our infographic video style – I worked on most of the videos you will see on Nielsen.com) http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/about-us.html And how we measure stuff: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/solutions/measurement.html Then my day job is in Consumer Neuroscience Research - http://www.nielsen.com/content/corporate/us/en/solutions/capabilities/consumer-neuroscience.html Matt will also talk about how he connects what he does with the world of Media Psychology. Visit Salesbrain We begin this week by scouring Christoph Morin's web materials, created by one of the leading neuromarketing firms: Salesbrain. Go to the main page for Salesbrain. On the top horizontal menu select "View the Neuromap." Clicking on it will produce the menu that you see to the right. Read through all the options. Pay particular attention to the first one, "The Three Brains." Of particular interest is that ancient part of us that persists, despite our attempts to civilize it, and that responds to carefully crafted advertising. The other options - particularly 6 stimuli, The 4 Steps - will fill in some gaps about how a neuromarketing firm views us as potential consumers. Primary reading(s): Next, please read Christoph's paper, Neuromarketing and ethics: a call for more attention and action to raise standards. Primary viewing(s): Watch Christoph Morin of Salesbrain. This recording does a good job of summarizing his work and the work of his company. Got extra time? Then poke around Mindlab.org. From their website: "The M.I.N.D. Labs are a networked consortium of ten labs located in seven countries spanning universities in the United States and Europe. The labs conduct research in human-computer interaction, communication, and virtual environment design. For a summary of the activities at individual labs, choose from the drop-down menu in the top navigation bar." Consider reading, if you have time:
Additional materials, if you have time I have suggested some viewings on the topic of neuromarketing. These are basically ads, thus, I do not claim to vouch for their authenticity. However, of this I am very certain: it is inevitable that we will marry neurobiology, neuropsychology and advertising. When we do, marketers will know exactly what we like, how we like it and when we like it. So, imagine playing the Technology Innovation Game and combining, for example, Facebook and Neuromarketing, with a goal of increasing sales of Facebook T-shirts (I'm not sure these exist) or column ads. That is, what happens when biology intersects with buyology? It is a little staggering to think about. Also consider this. Neuromarketing will eventually go mobile. It has to. Imagine an unobtrusive GoPro camera fixed to someone's hat as they go about their day, particularly as they shop. Now imagine adding a special hat to the mix, which detects brain responses. This would mean rather than asking someone which coffee they prefer, we could simply watch them in the act of being themselves, Candid Camera style, and collect brain response at the same time. Now imagine thousands of people doing this, perhaps for an organization like Neilsen. Results are beamed wirelesssly to a central collection hub. I would say that something like this is inevitable. Watch the following, if you have time:
Also read, if you have time:
e-Portfolio posting:
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