The questions I will address in this particular blog are: Are there brands to which you or I are devoted to? When you or I stop to think about it, is our loyalty to any particular brand logical or is it a “lovemark”? And if purchasing a particular brand isn’t logical, why would you or I do it?
I would like to start by explaining the term “lovemarks”. Lovemarks is a marketing technique that was developed by Kevin Roberts, Chief Executive Officer Worldwide of the advertising agency “Saatchi a Saatchi,” who wrote a book by the same name. The idea behind his marketing strategy is the one that builds consumer loyalty to a brand beyond reason or logic. The three main ingredients he uses to target the consumer and achieve his goal are: mystery, sensuality and intimacy. With that term being explained let see where you and I fit in this picture since we are the target audience for this marketing strategy.
Advertisements fill up nearly every available inch of the landscape and are present in every aspect of our lives. They are on television where advertisers spend billions of dollars a year to reach their target audience or in other words us, take a look at the super bowl where advertisers spend three million dollars for 30 seconds of commercials. As consumer and technology get more and more sophisticated so do the advertisers. With the common use of the TiVo where consumers can skip the commercials by a click of a button the advertisers use the products as a part of the program as in: sex and the city which combined entertainment and advertising in very clever ways. We can see this trend in the movies as well, in the movie cast away the whole movie was used as a product placement for FedEx and the brilliant concept of the movie was that the targeted audience actually paid to see this advertisement for FedEx by purchasing tickets to see the movie.
I couldn't speak for you, but the answer to the question: Am I devoted to any particular brand beyond any logical reason? Is NO!!! I am not. I consider myself to be an educated consumer that uses logic and not emotions while shopping and I hope for your sake that you are too. I compare prices and quality and don’t just buy a product blindly because of its brand name. I must admit that in my younger years I did go for brand names and brands played a major role in my purchasing decisions, so I believe that age and experience play a major part in my consuming habits. As indicated by “The Merchants of Cool” major part of the advertising budget of corporate conglomerates is aimed at young adults since they have the funds and want to look cool and fit with their friends due to peer pressure.
The reason that I feel to be in the minority in is my daily interaction with the target audience of the advertising industry, the majority, in my opinion, is influenced by advertising and “lovemarks”. Let’s look at the reason to my opinion, if no one would respond to advertising the advertising industry would have collapsed a long time ago. But it seems to me that the advertising industry is a thriving multi-billion dollar industry which is being used by countless companies to promote their products and sales. Therefore the target audience must be influenced by the advertisements, in other words this strategy is working.
The three main questions the advertisers need answers to are: what works? When does it work? And with whom? These are the three billion dollars questions sort of speak.
So what do advertisers do to keep with the consumers? They keep creating more and more messages in hope of reaching us, as one advertiser put it “consumers are like roaches the more you spray them and spray them after a while it doesn’t work anymore”. The advertisers are trying to fill the empty spaces where noncommercial institutions like school or churches might have once done the job. For these reasons I believe people will purchase a particular brand although it doesn’t seem logical. There are some brands out there that could be considered “cult brands” where consumers buy with their need to feel as a part of a group this particular brand becomes part of their life style, that’s who they are and that’s how they identify themselves, Harley Davidson Motorcycle riders are an excellent example of that behavior.
For these reasons the logical conclusion, in my opinion, is that most of us are influenced by “lovemarks” and do have loyalty beyond reason to brand names. We all have the feeling of satisfaction and happiness when we buy something new but how long do this feeling last? An hour a day? or maybe a week? But then we need another quick fix in the form of another purchase. Let’s face it we live in a capitalistic society with lots of choices as to the brands we can purchase so the majority of us will be influenced by “lovemarks” while others won’t. In closing, I’d like to present you with a couple of questions: Do you want to be a smart shopper and base your purchasing decisions on logic or just follow the latest trend and imitate the majority? If its o.k. for them its o.k. for you, or is it? You decide which group you want to belong to the “smart shoppers” or the “followers”; I’ll leave it for you to decide.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Blog# 2
BLOG#2-SHOULD REASONING SKILLS BE TAUGHT IN PRIMARY SCHOOL?
Should reasoning skills be thought in primary school? Why or why not? I am strongly in favor of teaching reasoning skills in primary school and I will elaborate as to my reasons why as well as the reasons of the opposite opinion that those skills should be thought later in life.
I would like to start by defining the term reasoning skills and how do they relate to children. Reasoning skills are utilized in the decision-making process and refer to specific cognitive abilities, some of which include assessing probability and thinking systematically or abstractly. Decision-making is the process of choosing what to do by considering the possible consequences of different choices. Reasoning skills allow children to go through a clear and logical process when coming to a decision. They are than able to give reasons for having reached that decision. Reasoning involves explaining, opinion forming, decision making, interpreting and giving reasons. Reasoning is a key skill for problem solving therefore the ability to reason out a problem and then give a clear explanation of the thought process needs to be developed in children throughout their educational careers.
I believe that reasoning skills as well as problem solving skills are crucial and important tools for everyday life and decision making. Given that we are faced everyday with countless options and choices. These skills cannot only help us make the right decisions but also explain the reasons for our choices and the path we took to reach them.
In humans, the frontal lobe reaches full maturity in their early twenties, marking the cognitive maturity associated with adulthood. The executive functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. Therefore, it is involved in higher mental functions. For that reason some might argue the point that it is more effective to teach reasoning skills at a later age rather than at early childhood. I disagree I believe that Children at a young age have the capability to absorb information very easily their minds are like a sponge to illustrate the similarity. They are open to new ideas and can be introduced to new ways of thinking. As children mature they are less likely to except new ideas.
Another reason is that we live in an age that is describe by many the “Information Age” we are surrounded by technology within every aspect of our lives from computers and cell phones to electronic media and television. Although technology has made our life easier in many ways there is a flip side. We are constantly bombarded by media and advertisement that try to persuade us to buy countless products and services to make our lives “EASIER AND HAPPIER” according to them. It does not stop there however, given that the political process takes its place on our television and electronic media where the candidates are trying to sell us on their agendas and try to win our vote.
So how do we make the right decisions? The answer is reasoning skills. We judge the situation with the tools we acquired throughout our education and through a logical process come to our decision. For this reason reasoning skills can help us think for ourselves and be leaders and not followers. They give us the power to make better decisions as individuals and not follow and do what everyone else is doing (the herd mentality). Knowledge is power! The more we know the better our decision making process is. Accordingly we need to teach our children at an early age to think for themselves and not just follow their peers and be copycats. Let us educate a new generation of thinkers with the ability to reason and problem solve. Let us reverse the current reality where only 25% of the population thinks for themselves and 75% don’t maybe through education we can switch these numbers around. A world where people can make decisions and think for themselves will definitely be a better place for all of us.
Should reasoning skills be thought in primary school? Why or why not? I am strongly in favor of teaching reasoning skills in primary school and I will elaborate as to my reasons why as well as the reasons of the opposite opinion that those skills should be thought later in life.
I would like to start by defining the term reasoning skills and how do they relate to children. Reasoning skills are utilized in the decision-making process and refer to specific cognitive abilities, some of which include assessing probability and thinking systematically or abstractly. Decision-making is the process of choosing what to do by considering the possible consequences of different choices. Reasoning skills allow children to go through a clear and logical process when coming to a decision. They are than able to give reasons for having reached that decision. Reasoning involves explaining, opinion forming, decision making, interpreting and giving reasons. Reasoning is a key skill for problem solving therefore the ability to reason out a problem and then give a clear explanation of the thought process needs to be developed in children throughout their educational careers.
I believe that reasoning skills as well as problem solving skills are crucial and important tools for everyday life and decision making. Given that we are faced everyday with countless options and choices. These skills cannot only help us make the right decisions but also explain the reasons for our choices and the path we took to reach them.
In humans, the frontal lobe reaches full maturity in their early twenties, marking the cognitive maturity associated with adulthood. The executive functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. Therefore, it is involved in higher mental functions. For that reason some might argue the point that it is more effective to teach reasoning skills at a later age rather than at early childhood. I disagree I believe that Children at a young age have the capability to absorb information very easily their minds are like a sponge to illustrate the similarity. They are open to new ideas and can be introduced to new ways of thinking. As children mature they are less likely to except new ideas.
Another reason is that we live in an age that is describe by many the “Information Age” we are surrounded by technology within every aspect of our lives from computers and cell phones to electronic media and television. Although technology has made our life easier in many ways there is a flip side. We are constantly bombarded by media and advertisement that try to persuade us to buy countless products and services to make our lives “EASIER AND HAPPIER” according to them. It does not stop there however, given that the political process takes its place on our television and electronic media where the candidates are trying to sell us on their agendas and try to win our vote.
So how do we make the right decisions? The answer is reasoning skills. We judge the situation with the tools we acquired throughout our education and through a logical process come to our decision. For this reason reasoning skills can help us think for ourselves and be leaders and not followers. They give us the power to make better decisions as individuals and not follow and do what everyone else is doing (the herd mentality). Knowledge is power! The more we know the better our decision making process is. Accordingly we need to teach our children at an early age to think for themselves and not just follow their peers and be copycats. Let us educate a new generation of thinkers with the ability to reason and problem solve. Let us reverse the current reality where only 25% of the population thinks for themselves and 75% don’t maybe through education we can switch these numbers around. A world where people can make decisions and think for themselves will definitely be a better place for all of us.
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