Chocolate Advertising (Short)Essay Preview: Chocolate Advertising (Short)Report this essayExecutive summaryAn example of everyday marketing activity will be described. The aspect of marketing which this activity will be identified and explained. The ethical, social and enviromental implications will then be highlighted. This is followed by comments on how the issues could be addressed.
A Personal Experience of Marketing ActivityAs a proud father of two girls aged eight and nine I have become more aware of the lengths companies go to, to target children and their doting parents. This can be tv adverts for the latest craze toy or the images in kids magazines. For this essay I will draw attention to the sale of chocolate.
As with most children, mine have healthy appetites and a sweet tooth. As with most parents, my wife and I like to please our children and have a quite life. But we also wish our children to be healthy and well fed. When I last went to purchase petrol at a filling station I took my two children. As I walked to the counter with them we had to walk past a display of confectionary. The wrappers of which have been carefully designed to catch the eye and are each distinctly familiar to the purchaser of chocolate. The inevitable happened and I was bombarded by requests for the purchase of a variety of products, high in sugar and low in the charts for healthy eating.
Identification of Marketing ActivityA parent therefore finds themselves subject to all four of the marketing stimuli (Source: Kotler et al., 2001 p.191); Product – desired by consumer in the Place they are at a relativley low Price having distinctive wrapping being the end product of a Promotion campaign. The product is not essential and is a consumer choice. This deliberate effort to affect the consumer shows the activity can be placed as buyer behaviour. With the low price and few differences between the products this is a habitual buying behaviour according to Assael (1987). Manufacturers none the less have attempted to diferentiate their products to the customer, one to help you work, rest and play, another you can eat between meals without ruining your appetite or something just enough to give your kids a treat. The ability to recognise a products advert from a short line is a testament to the quality and quantity of the advertising we as potential customers have been subjected to. The product placement previously refered to highlights the targeting of impulse buyer behaviour.
Ethical, Social and Enviromental ImplicationsThe targeting of any product at children is always cause for careful consideration. When this is one which a parent may have difficulties in saying no to it becomes an area of concern.
With the known problems in this country of obesity especially amongst children and the effects of sugar on teeth it could be argued this high profile marketing and placement is unethical. Cigarrettes have health warning. Other intrusive forms of product placement such as unsolicited telesales are highly criticised (Smith & Quelch, 1993). But the confectionary manufacturers have been able to retain a good, clean fun image. It has been thought of as customer choice. They have been able to distance themselves from much of the animosity generated by their product placement as this is the choice of the seller. This is despite advice such as this from Cadburys Key brands should occupy key positions: the availability of heavily-advertised lines will trigger extra sales. (Source Foodcomm.org).
[42] The marketing for alcohol is often very well-known. In fact, it is one of the main reasons why pubs are so successful in persuading their drinkers.
[43] Alcoholism: An Epidemic Is At Work and In Need of a Solution, by Dr. Richard V. Williams, PhD
[44] In 2011, the Journal of Drug Addiction found that drinking is linked with a 4.4 per cent higher risk of developing an alcohol-related condition such as depression, depression following stroke, schizophrenia, substance use disorders, depression and suicidal thoughts and thinking. [Source]
[45] [4] The report was based on research that found that 4% of alcoholics, 15% of heavy drinkers and 17% of binge drinkers had their problems diagnosed as the result of a drug problem. A 2011 British study found that those who got into trouble for a drug problem were 15% less likely to get back to the community and were 8% more likely than those who did not get the issue addressed, 15% more likely to make it to specialist rehab, 10% less likely to report problems with substance abuse and 1% more likely to go on to go to work that they might otherwise have to deal with. [SOURCE: B.W.’s Addiction Center] [48] The National Institute of Mental Health reported in 1999 that the suicide rate among high school-aged kids dropped for the first time in 15 years and 13% of 15- to 24-year-old college students were involved in suicides. [49] [50] There has also already been a rise in the suicide rate in Australia and the Western Australia region. [51]
[52] In the United States, people reported more suicide attempts after they stopped using alcohol. The US Department of Alcohol and Tobacco said in December 2003 that the current use of alcohol in young adults was 5% of the average adolescent use across the United States, and that it was 2.8% by age 20. [52] In the United Kingdom there was no association between the number of suicidal ideation attempts and the number of alcohol use attempts, although this may be because people did not report more suicidal thoughts. [54]
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[42] The marketing for alcohol is often very well-known. In fact, it is one of the main reasons why pubs are so successful in persuading their drinkers.
[43] Alcoholism: An Epidemic Is At Work and In Need of a Solution, by Dr. Richard V. Williams, PhD
[44] In 2011, the Journal of Drug Addiction found that drinking is linked with a 4.4 per cent higher risk of developing an alcohol-related condition such as depression, depression following stroke, schizophrenia, substance use disorders, depression and suicidal thoughts and thinking. [Source]
[45] [4] The report was based on research that found that 4% of alcoholics, 15% of heavy drinkers and 17% of binge drinkers had their problems diagnosed as the result of a drug problem. A 2011 British study found that those who got into trouble for a drug problem were 15% less likely to get back to the community and were 8% more likely than those who did not get the issue addressed, 15% more likely to make it to specialist rehab, 10% less likely to report problems with substance abuse and 1% more likely to go on to go to work that they might otherwise have to deal with. [SOURCE: B.W.’s Addiction Center] [48] The National Institute of Mental Health reported in 1999 that the suicide rate among high school-aged kids dropped for the first time in 15 years and 13% of 15- to 24-year-old college students were involved in suicides. [49] [50] There has also already been a rise in the suicide rate in Australia and the Western Australia region. [51]
[52] In the United States, people reported more suicide attempts after they stopped using alcohol. The US Department of Alcohol and Tobacco said in December 2003 that the current use of alcohol in young adults was 5% of the average adolescent use across the United States, and that it was 2.8% by age 20. [52] In the United Kingdom there was no association between the number of suicidal ideation attempts and the number of alcohol use attempts, although this may be because people did not report more suicidal thoughts. [54]
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Another factor that has been highlighted by the press in recent years are the low prices paid to farmers who struggle to raise their families whilst relativley high prices are paid by the consumer.