Marketing change?

Today, change is on the move again. So much is happening in society. We all want to put our two cents into society but there are many who want to make a difference especially the youth of today. There are so many groups that work on social change (a phrase I've been using a lot recently hahaha).

Something that's been brought to my attention recently is the impact that marketing has on society. I'm doing a subject called Marketing and Society and we talk about this a lot.

The other day, Kate Browne came as a guest lecturer and made an interesting point. For most people, marketing is their first source of information. For example, if you're a first time parent, how would you know what milk formula to buy? What pram to buy? What foods can your child eat? Is it safe?

She's right. There is ridiculous amounts of advertising to parents on all sorts of things and most of it is useless. There's been advertising for 'toddler' formula. I mean personally I wouldn't know, but apparently a kid can eat after about a year... And keeping a kid on this stuff isn't exactly good for growing up. I mean wouldn't it get to a point where kids will go 'what's chewing?' (honey, you're missing out on a world here).

If it isn't enough that we already have such a wide range of products to choose from, marketers are creating problems for consumers to freak out and go buy something to 'solve' it.

The problem is that not many people nowadays would research information sources or facts. People generally listen to a trusted source even if that trusted source is misinformed. For example, your friend believes that milk formula for toddlers is good for children and they tell you this. You'll be inclined to believe them even if they don't have a credible source.

It's not just consumers who should be taking responsibility but also, we should question whether marketers should be doing this sort of thing?

Moral of the story:
Sometimes you have to be careful of what information you should believe and what you shouldn't. If you're making an important decision, it'd be wise to be fully informed before making a decision.

Here, I leave you with a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt4J0Km9zuo (seriously, don't believe everything you see)