The spirituality of marketing
Are PlayStation, coffee and Leffe Blondes the new religion?
Saturday, 1 March, 2003
Poor old advertising is copping more than its fair share of flak these days. A recent US Gallup pollput advertising executives at the bottom of the most respected profession list (yes, even lowerthan journalists and politicians). In a survey by the American Advertising Association, 1800 seniorAmerican executives ranked advertising second from the bottom — just above legal and wellbelow public relations — as the department most important to their business.
“The advertising era is over. Today, clients seldom trust ad agencies to helpthem make strategic decisions,” writes respected marketer Al Ries in his latestbook The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, a top-selling Amazon title. As forthe ads themselves, “the 30-second [television ad] spot is getting cataracts,walks with a limp and will soon need to be put down” reckons Todd Wasserman,news editor for US magazine Brandweek.Marketing managers are finally starting to realise the old order is getting cracks — increasingly they are starting to value word-of-mouth approaches and thepower of using strategic brand extensions. Last November, Proctor & Gamble, responding to itsfailure to win teenagers through ordinary advertising, created a new division called Tremor, whichplans to equip 200,000 teenage girls to become P&G ambassadors. By talking to their friendsabout P&G products, it is hoped the teenagers will kick-start the “tipping point” effect sosuccessfully employed by the likes of Nike and Hush Puppies.
So too with brand extensions. In what I’ve previously called 3D marketing, smart marketers areusing their trusted brands to develop whole new revenue streams from the same consumers.Dockers, the successful brand of smart-casual trousers, is now selling bed linen. Why? Because ifyou want your brand to be about comfort, it is often better to show it (via product) then tell it (viacommunication).The reason for such a departure from advertising is, at one level, simple: in a world cluttered withshouting, more shouting won’t be heard. But there’s more to it. Advertising at best appeals tofunctionality (Better! Faster! Cheaper!) and the emotions. A great television campaign, such as theTelecom “Keep in touch” series, will trigger joy, sorrow, maybe even poignancy. But that’s about it.In existential psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, functionality and emotionsoccupy the lower ranks needs: bodily, security and social needs. The higher “ego” and “self-actualisation” needs are largely in the realm of meaning and spirituality.
I reckon that to escape the clutter created by advertising, smart marketers are edging up Maslow’shierarchy, appealing to consumers’ need for purpose and spiritual fulfilment. It sounds rather high-falutin’ but I’m serious. Increasingly we are building religious-like rituals into our buying habits. It’snot enough, for example, to guzzle a beer. At your local Belgium bar, the expert will pour yourhandcrafted Leffe Blonde into a labelled glass, specially cleaned with two kinds of water, and whipoff the froth with a specially designed spatula. It’s a ritual fit for an Eastern Orthodox priest.Coffee, with its range of beans, methods of delivery and fanatical adherents could beProtestantism revisited. Tea is going the same way with tea shops, such as Unilever’s Ch’a,emulating the coffee boutique success.
Just as in religion, the rituals help make simple actions profound. You could buy a book at
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