10 WAYS MANIPULATIVE MARKETING TACTICS SELL YOU THINGS YOU DON’T REALLY NEED

10 Ways Manipulative Marketing Tactics Sell You Things You Don’t Really Need
By Gerri, Business Pundit, 2 February 2014.

America is a consumerist society, and an endless number of brands and products are constantly competing for your time and money - even in people who don’t necessarily need what they’re selling. Here are ten ways manipulative marketing tactics convince consumers to purchase products or services that are not only frivolous, but often useless as well.

1. Implicating Unsubstantiated Claims

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Though hand sanitizers do nothing to defend against illnesses like swine flu, hand sanitizer sales increased greatly during the swine flu epidemic when they created an ad campaign which repeatedly asserted “following proper hygiene routines can help prevent the spread of illness.” This statement, while not directly claiming that hand sanitizer can prevent the spread of swine flu, insinuates just that. So while the FTC is constantly cracking down on misleading and unsubstantiated claims, manipulative advertising flies just beneath the radar by subtly and indirectly suggesting that using a certain product will result in something desirable but entirely unproven.

This tactic takes many shapes and forms, from Nike’s insinuation that using its products makes the consumer a better athlete who is more likely to succeed, to the misleading name of ‘antibacterial soaps’ which may not actually prevent the spread of bacteria and germs or even be different than regular hand soap.

2. Life Improvement

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Coca-Cola produced many commercials which depicted communities achieving peace and unity through drinking Coke. But is a soda really going to make life any better, or is it the collective efforts of a group of people that will bring them together in the end?

You should buy a specific chair because it will improve your posture, and improved posture will lead to a longer and happier life. You should purchase a specific type of makeup because it will make you look younger, and looking younger will make you feel better and in turn improve your entire life via a sort of domino effect.

Everyone wants to lead a longer, happier, healthier life, and manipulative advertising often sucks us into purchasing things that make false promises to help the consumer achieve these things through their products. While feeling better about your physical appearance is desirable and can indeed improve general quality of life, one in five people who get plastic surgery admit that this service did not actually improve their lives. Additionally, material possessions are not as strongly linked to happiness as advertisements would have you believe.

3. Referencing

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A marketing tactic called “referencing” is a subtle tactic used by many an ad to inspire consumers to purchase a product in an attempt to emulate a certain lifestyle. Movies and television shows we love often depict characters living unrealistically outside their means, like Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw who constantly dines at expensive restaurants and buys high-end designer clothing on what would realistically be an estimated US$57,000 a year salary (in the show, she’s a columnist for a New York City newspaper).

CNN compiles an entire list of television characters living outside their means, but the shows themselves never discuss these figures. Brand sponsorships which fill fictional characters’ lives with unaffordable luxuries make these lavish lifestyles seem like a casual necessity to happiness; we begin to believe that we need the unnecessary material possessions that populate the lives of the fake people we love to watch.

4. Inspiring Emotional Responses

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Emotion and memory are scientifically proven to relate so strongly to one another that people often see and remember things that are emotionally stimulating more clearly than things that are “mundane.”

Many advertisements exploit the consumer’s emotion in an attempt to create associative feelings of happiness, sentimentality, or patriotism with a certain brand or product. Nike’s “Make it Count” campaign doesn’t focus on telling consumers what makes it better than competitors or even which products you should be buying, but instead shows athletes pushing themselves through gruelling training routines and fighting for athletic accomplishments - all with the help of Nike apparel. Emotional Apple ads tout their products as mediums to help consumers stay in touch with long distance family members, exploiting the idea that their products can help people stay close to the ones they love and miss even from far away.

But do you really need Nike shoes to help you succeed at an upcoming track event? Is using Facetime on Apple’s new iPhone really going to improve your relationship with your parents who live three states away, or can you use Skype’s free service on your 4-year-old laptop to do the same exact thing depicted in their commercials?

5. Instilling Fear

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Ads that instil fear in the consumer manipulate people into believing they need a specific service or product to help them stay “safe,” and it’s a shameful tactic that can effectively sell a worthless product.

Also called fear mongering, this tactic works partially because a perceived threat leaves a deeper and longer impression than a perceived reward. There are mild threats made by advertisers to convince consumers to choose a certain brand over another, like Delta Airlines’ advertisement warning consumers that using other airlines is likely to result in longer flights with more hassles and connections. And then there are more extreme threats, like Life Alert’s warning that without their service, elderly people who fall or experience health problems may actually die or sustain serious injury.

By convincing consumers that they may be negatively impacted by not purchasing a product or service, manipulative advertising is able to sell things like LifeLock, a subscription service which claims to protect against identity theft…and whose CEO had his identity stolen an ironical 13 times despite “guaranteeing” the effectiveness of his product.

6. Exclusivity

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You’re not completely sold on a product you think you want, but know you can’t afford right now. But the shoes, or gadget, or makeup palette in question is part of a limited edition line and is only being offered for the next month before it goes out of production forever, so you buy it even though it’s not in your best interest financially. This tactic is called exclusivity, and it can manipulate consumers by creating an almost panicked desire (often confused with a need) not to miss out.

QVC and HSN are huge advocates of this tactic, often insisting that consumers have to “buy it now” if they want to capitalize on a certain deal, or claiming that they only carry a limited number of a specific product and insisting that the item is selling out fast. These products are often easily obtainable on the internet.

7. Deals

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As Seen on TV products love to tell consumers that they’re getting a great deal, but that they have to purchase the product right now to avoid missing out. The commercial for Eggies, “time-saving containers that cook hard-boiled eggs without having the mess of peeling shell,” is a perfect example of this manipulative tactic. By purchasing via a phone number provided on the commercial, consumers are getting a great deal since As Seen on TV will throw in a “bonus” of a 2nd set of Eggies and include an egg slicer - a total package which amounts to only ten dollars.

Since the price was listed before the mention of these “bonus” products, it may seem like a deal hard to pass up. Except for the fact that Amazon sells these for US$1.49 a package, making the commercial’s “deal” more expensive than purchasing the item online.

It’s been proven that consumers will purchase products when they merely think they’re getting a deal, even when they really aren’t. Manipulative advertising often prices items misleadingly high just so they can later say, “this is 50% off - what a deal!” when the product was truly priced at the so-called “50% off discount” all along.

8. Scarcity

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Diamonds are associated with luxury and happiness partially because they’re so rare…or so sellers would have you believe. The idea of the diamond engagement ring was invented by diamond mining company De Beers only 100 years ago as a manipulative tactic to promote diamond sales, and De Beers has spent millions to “make [diamonds] a psychological necessity.” Despite popular belief, the value of a diamond decreases dramatically immediately after it’s purchased and the idea of diamonds as a rare and infinitely valuable “investment” is nothing more than a scam.

Cheap products can be “scarce” as well - like the McDonald’s McRib, whose commercials depict an actor panicking during his honeymoon and literally saying “I’m gonna miss it” before rushing off to purchase a McRib. As a result, fans have been posting “confirmed” and “possible” sightings about this so-called rare sandwich which would most likely not be nearly as popular if it were as common as McNuggets.

These calls to action create a sense of urgency in the consumer; a person is more likely to purchase something touted as “rare” and “selling out” than something they know will be available for a long time.

9. Testimonials

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There are a few types of testimonials: Those from celebrities and those from “normal” citizens. Celebrities make us want to buy things because we associate them with things we like which they’ve created, such as movies they’ve starred in or songs they’ve written. Because we like a certain celebrity, we’re more inclined to trust them when they instruct us to purchase a certain product after they ensure us that it’s high quality or will improve our lives.

Manipulative on a deeper level are testimonials from regular “users” of a certain product. Weight loss pills constantly show us ‘before and after’ pictures of successful users who then come on screen to happily announce, “I lost X amount of pounds using this pill!” This relatable person inspires a feeling of “if they can do it, so can I” which may be misleading, as many weight loss pills consist of homeopathic herbs that do nothing while others suppress the appetite and will not magically lead to weight loss without a rigorous diet and exercise regime.

There’s also the “expert opinion,” which uses one professional looking individual explaining why a product works in a sombre manner. But one doctor’s statement doesn’t prove the effectiveness of a product, and oftentimes commercials simply use a person dressed as a doctor to promote something that hasn’t been supported by any “expert claims” whatsoever.

10. Data Manipulation

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A popular statement in manipulative advertising is “studies show,” a statement which sounds irrefutable and scientifically based. But we often fail to think about what studies are showing us the effectiveness of a product; if the study was conducted by the company itself, its results can be seriously biased.

Data manipulation also includes neglecting negative data, such as claiming that 40% of users found a product helpful instead of talking about the 60% who did not.

[Source: Business Pundit. Edited.]