The Problem with Micro Marketing

Chris Preston

This paper argues that the shift away from mass-media advertising and its underlying message to consume, towards micro-marketing, has the potential to erode society's current motivation to consume...

The Problem with Micro-Marketing

Christopher PrestonQueen Margaret University CollegeEdinburgh

Merchandisehas no implicit meaning over and above its utility. Creative advertising exists to provide meaning. Advertisers hope that consumers will decode the symbolic content of their advertisements in an anticipated manner. This anticipation is akin to the targeting of advertising, media aside. We therefore choose brands because they hold meaning, not merely because they perform a function. If advertisers juxtapose abstract values onto a brand, then consumers are buying those values over and above the brands to which they have become attached. This is especially apparent given the...

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