Marketing Creates Customer Needs Essay

Marketing creates customer needs. The following paper will elucidate how consumers are made not born. Marketing entices customers to try new products or do new things that they may never have thought of before. Commercialism is everywhere you turn. From the glossy ads, pop ups on their computer screen, billboards, emails, tweets, radio, television, telemarketers, etc. You can’t get away from advertising wherever you go. The marketers would not be continuing if it was not so successful in getting people to buy more of what they are selling. The following paragraphs will give examples of successful marketing advertisement campaigns and how they were effective. According to Forbes, for advertising to be effective it needs to be: memorable, connect with the consumer by delivering a person meaningful message that tells them how their product would make their life a better place, stand for values beyond the product itself, and be intricately tied to the brand not to be confused with the competitor. (Greewald, 2014). The article gives several examples of successful ad campaigns. First, the Red Bull gives you wings campaign. The ads are inspirational telling consumers if you use our product you will do everything better from studying to doing your job better. It empowers people and gets them to relate to the product. Next, the Beats Dr. Dre advertising campaign. The advertisements tell the consumer that by wearing these headphones you will be able to overcome your critics and be empowered to believe in yourself. They depict athlete Kevin Garnett blocking out his critics and allowing him to focus on positive thoughts and the music he loves. Both advertisements connect with the consumer on a psychological level. They focus on you relating to our needs to do better and finding greatness in ourselves. It is what most of us  tell ourselves every day- don’t listen to the people that are our critics and believe in yourself. Find greatness and believe in yourself sounds more like a motivational s peaker however it works to connect the consumer to the product. According to Forbes both campaigns met all the aspects to be effective. Both these products are not necessary for humans to survive. Both products are considered a want not a need. The advertisers have convinced students far and wide to drink Red Bull because it will help you concentrate more and be successful. We all survived before without these products. They have successfully changed the mindset of consumers who now believe the opposite that they now can’t survive without them. One of the most successful marketing campaigns has been Apples’ I Phones. Hundreds of people stand in line when their newest product becomes available. Everywhere you look people have an I Phone. It is a sign of stature to have the state-of-the- art technology which includes the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer. It has become an item people can’t live without. I lost my I phone for 24 hours and thought I was going to have an anxiety attack. All my personal information, contacts, bank card information is all in the one little phone. I can’t remember any of my important phone numbers anymore because I don’t need to – they are all in the phone. They have made it irreplaceable in our day to day living. This is the ultimate in marketing and sales of a product. I lived 36 years without ever having a cellular phone and survived just fine. Now I see 8 year olds with I phones calling their friends and tweeting! Marketing provides a value to business in that it helps showcase their products and engage consumers in purchasing them. The value to society is that some of these products may make our lives easier and we can benefit from them. In conclusion, I believe that marketing creates a need we didn’t know existed until they showed us their fabulous products. They connect with us, make us believe that what they are offering will improve our lives and are necessary for our existence. I agree that marketers encourage consumers to spend money they do not have on non-essential items. So many Americans have credit card debt. The average American household has nearly $7000 of credit card debt as of December 2013. (Credit Card Debt Statistics, 2013). We continue to spend money on things we don’t really need with money we don’t have. It is a vicious cycle for many Americans that leave them broke and in some instances homeless. References: Credit Card Debt Statistics. (2013). Credit Card Debt Statistics. Money-Zine.com: http://www.money-zine.com/financial-planning/debt-consolidation/credit-card-debt-statistics). Greewald, M. (2014, July 10). Secrets of 7 of the Most Effective Ad Campaigns. Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michellegreenwald/2014/07/10/secrets-of-7-of-the-most-effective-ad-campaigns/