‘Merchants of Cool’ is a Frontline documentary by David
Rushkoff. In this documentary, he talks about how marketing companies market to
teens and how the teens are not just the influencers of marketing but are also
influenced by marketing. He talks about different techniques companies’ use and
what works with the young consumers. If you haven’t watched it, the link is added
at the end of this post.
‘Merchants of Cool’ is an eye
opener to show us the true side of teen marketing today, and how it is leaving
the teen society empty and meaningless. Marketers put in so much energy in
finding out about teens, because they are a huge market - a huge source of
profits. Teens do come to know when they are being marketed to, or to be more
precise - they used to. When the traditional, direct kind of marketing
techniques were being used, the teens knew that they were the audience and that
made them unfavorable towards those corporations. But today, the marketers have
outwitted the teens, by finding new techniques that are much more subtle and
indirect. And with these techniques, they’ve become the Merchants of Cool.
Today’s teens have more access to money
than before. With both the parents going off to work, they give their children
more money as a way of compensation of not being able to spend enough time with
them. This is what makes these teens a huge market for products. Thus the
resources marketers invest in research are well capitalized.
Today’s teens also like to be in
control and they like to have options. Marketers provide the teens with these
options. When they get the opportunity to choose, they feel they have power. Although
in today’s reality, they are still being played on by the marketers. The choice
they really have is only between products; which mean they only control where
to spend the money. However, they do not control whether to spend the money at
all in the first place. More choices means more likelihood of the teens
spending up to their spending capacity. They are being manipulated by making
them feel like they have the power, while in reality they don’t.
Also, teens are always looking for
opportunities to be ‘cool’. They want to find trends to follow. This is where
the cool hunters come in play. The research by these cool hunters is put in
practice to attract more teens through the new cool products. Over the years,
marketers have built their credibility about knowing what is cool through this
mechanism. They have now reached the point where they have started becoming the
trendsetters for the teens, because the teens trust the judgment of coolness of
these marketing tycoons more than their own. Apple products are a good example
of this. Apple started out with the iPods, targeting the cool trend of music.
But today, Apple products in general have become cool. This is because the
teens trust Apple to only come out with products that will be cool.
Today’s teen society is becoming more
and more ‘empty’ because they are becoming mere puppets at the hands of these
big tycoons. Earlier in time, they used to be the trendsetters, the influencers
of the market, the makers of cool. But now, the tides have reversed. Now they
have become just mere receivers of cool. What’s worse is that most of them
don’t even realize it!
Sources
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