folio & fable Designs

I understand just how detrimental it is to slam the field of marketing within my first two posts, but I will have a character redemption arch. Just hear me out. Marketing is truly my passion, don’t get me wrong- I absolutely adore the creative and analytical aspect of it. The problem begins after it is published. It begins once the creators, themselves, are influenced to design a discouraging message by someone else’s hand. In other words, marketing sucks.

To begin, I want to introduce the social comparison theory. According to the American Psychological Association (don’t worry, I never liked APA formatting either), the social comparison theory is the proposition that people evaluate their abilities an attitudes in relation to those of others in a process that plays a significant role in self-image and subjective well-being. There are three types of social comparison: upward social comparison, downward social comparison, and lateral social comparison. Six decades of research on reaction studies have shown that people generally tend to choose an upward comparison target. This upward comparison promotes a sense of inferiority and thus are associated with negative changes in self-concept.

Self-confidence is another factor that feeds into the effectiveness for a negative change to occur in an upward comparison represented in an advertising message. Once again, I would like to refer to the APA, as many of my friends are quick to point out: “You are just a business major.” Thankfully, my self-confidence gives me the self-assurance that I need and I am capable of recognizing that they are relying on that downward social comparison we talked about earlier to boost their own egos – I digress. It is the trust in one’s abilities, capacities, and judgment. Because self-confidence is typically viewed as a positive attitude, the bolstering of self-confidence is often a mediate or end goal in psychotherapy.

Similar to the way I am self-confident with my education in the field of marketing, individuals are self-confident in the way they look. So, what’s the point? Well, if an individual’s self-esteem has been recently threatened by some remark or event, this threat has the potential to push her comparison in an upward direction. Here is where I can’t help but hear the echoes in my head: “What’s the harm in that if they are bettering themselves?” But, how much can one better themselves if they are doing so through methods of harm and self-destruct? What is the root of ‘bettering’ oneself, if it stems from a societal standard that was created to sell products and services. Perhaps this is an odd time to quote Grey’s Anatomy, but money is the only language that this country understands.

In my senior year of high school, we had to write an extended essay for the International Baccalaureate program. We could pick any topic and come up with our own research question. I went with: To what extent can altering images featured in magazines, television commercials, and clothing stores through the use of digital enhancements cause moral implications? That was when I discovered what marketing was really about. I recognized that companies use their platform to create manipulation that gives the audience the desire to purchase their goods being publicized so that, they too, can fit society’s standard of beauty. According to my teachers, my research paper read like a magazine article – as you can see, not much has changed – and I didn’t score very high. Nonetheless, my revelation was made and I began to apply to colleges as a marketing major. I wanted companies to stop creating problems that do not exist.

Here’s the thing: I tend to find that marketing has negative effects on consumers. You see it in the social comparison theory, where people compare themselves to others and use products to judge personal accomplishments. Furthermore, you tend to see advertising strategies that misrepresent segments of consumers, either through stereotyping or disregarding them in general. It leads to this resistance towards marketing practices, which will eventually hurt the field in the end. It’s a fair statement to make, considering that it is already hurting the individuals in the market.

Ultimately, many companies go about marketing the wrong way and they boast their pride on their false sense of inclusivity. My overarching unpopular opinion on marketing boils down to the simple fact that traditional marketing tactics of the obsession of societies standards through false images, unrealistic expectations, political influence, corruption of youth, and environmental threats will lead to boycotts, advocacy groups, and individual resistance efforts. Marketing is such a unique tool that possesses an influence that no other field is quite able to accomplish. It is truly the backbone of capitalism, and when used for good, it has the ability to reshape generations and influence cultures. It creates movements that grow into activism and activism that turns into change. Marketing is durable, but the way we present our ideas behind the platform is the delicate aspect that can alter the course of humanity.