The Soda Imposter
Typically, most companies have rivals who they try to beat out in sales. It's because they rest in the same field of business like Ford, Toyota, Chevy, Dodge compete with having the best trucks(https://www.carmax.com/articles/best-full-size-trucks); Apple and Samsung compete for the best phones (https://news.sky.com/story/samsung-vs-apple-what-are-the-differences-between-the-smartphone-leaders-in-2019-11643530); and AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint compete for the best high speed Internet and WIFI accessibility (https://www.reviews.org/mobile/sprint-vs-verizon-cell-phone-plans/). But despite being competitors, they attempt at using the same strategies whether or not it goes unnoticed.
For example, places like Win-Co will present the prices of a product from the other well known retailers like Walmart, Target, and Safeway, then at the bottom present their price being lower than all others. This use of blatant price difference is a popular strategy at appealing to the consumers want of spending less for the same thing. Many are driven by this rush to 'Find the Best Deal.'
Phone companies do this well by adding onto what others give. If Sprint gives you a free iPhone X when buying iPhone X, then AT&T will do the same but also make the monthly fee be $40, then Verizon will add on the fact that the $40 will cover 4 lines per month. My use of Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon aren't currently the deals going on, but it gets the point across.
However, not all companies are able to successfully get away with this. In the 1980s, Coca-Cola or what used to be known as Coke had seen a drop in sales as Pepsi launched their new commercial. This commercial was a direct comparison of Pepsi to Coke and how the public liked Pepsi more. The response from Coke was to make a product that tasted similar to Pepsi and to come out with a new commercial that did the same comparison with Coke and Pepsi so that Coke was the favorite (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkfFdQ1yaqs). It was a misleading drink because of how it was meant to taste like Pepsi. Coke didn't stick with this product for very long, so they moved onto Coca-Cola Classic, which is the informal start of their company name Coca-Cola.
Many companies have experienced product fall out, but Coca-Cola's idea of just recreating Pepsi and their commercial goes to show how much the companies are run by the consumer (https://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-product-flops-in-history-2016-12#1975-sony-betamax-2). They feed to the needs of the consumer, so they will do what they can in ads and commercials to spark that interest for their and only their products.
Phone companies do this well by adding onto what others give. If Sprint gives you a free iPhone X when buying iPhone X, then AT&T will do the same but also make the monthly fee be $40, then Verizon will add on the fact that the $40 will cover 4 lines per month. My use of Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon aren't currently the deals going on, but it gets the point across.
However, not all companies are able to successfully get away with this. In the 1980s, Coca-Cola or what used to be known as Coke had seen a drop in sales as Pepsi launched their new commercial. This commercial was a direct comparison of Pepsi to Coke and how the public liked Pepsi more. The response from Coke was to make a product that tasted similar to Pepsi and to come out with a new commercial that did the same comparison with Coke and Pepsi so that Coke was the favorite (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkfFdQ1yaqs). It was a misleading drink because of how it was meant to taste like Pepsi. Coke didn't stick with this product for very long, so they moved onto Coca-Cola Classic, which is the informal start of their company name Coca-Cola.
Many companies have experienced product fall out, but Coca-Cola's idea of just recreating Pepsi and their commercial goes to show how much the companies are run by the consumer (https://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-product-flops-in-history-2016-12#1975-sony-betamax-2). They feed to the needs of the consumer, so they will do what they can in ads and commercials to spark that interest for their and only their products.
This is a very interesting concept that affects us everyday! You are completely right that consumers are always trying their hardest to find the best possible deal, something that makes it very easy to manipulate them. Words like free, extra, cheep, and other phrases immediately draw our attention because we want the most we can get with our money. Unfortunately, this leaves us very susceptible to companies lying or hiding information in order to get us to buy a product (ie. the sped up terms and conditions at the end of commercials that no one bothers taking the time to listen to). The worst part it, you are right- consumers really do drive the market. But rather than utilizing this to change marketing strategies and change the way that media influences us, we buy into a capitalist market that uses us and our labor to uphold it.
ReplyDelete