How Marketing Divides, Not Unifies
One of the reasons for the polarized culture in America is
marketing. Marketing and branding are about finding target
audiences. It’s about the niche. Searching for the niche is a
good marketing tool, but even when it’s applied well, it’s about
dividing, not unifying. The ultimate result is in politics – where
political messages are being targeted to particular groups within the
culture. Much of those messages point out the differences between
groups in an effort to make one political viewpoint more significant and
attractive.
One of the results of this polarization is how few entertainment, media,
or recreational options there are for families or large audiences to enjoy
together. With iPods, niche movies, targeted TV programs, gone are
the days when the entire family or a community could sit down and enjoy a
television program or movie. Perhaps this is where faith communities
step into the breech, to bring a sense of unity and commonality to groups
of people. Because the future of marketing and advertising tells me
it's not going to get better.
What do you think?
So how do we impact our faith communities encouraging them to be multigenerational? How do we impact our culture and demand family oriented media that supports truth? In our family, the standards are consistant for the adults and children....what they can watch is only what we watch. With that standard intact we as adults remain sensitive to violance and sin and do not fall into the trap of desensitization. But that means there is not much left for our family to enjoy together. We are thankful for "netflix" where we can watch 10-20 year old shows that don't violate our principles.
My husband has taught our children to be in tune with the subconcious messages that media and marketing are teaching. Like the music behind the commercial, or the target audience. His goal is to teach them not to be sucked in, just because the major marketing firm is packaging something for their age or using their language. He wants them to judge for themselves, based on their world view, what is appropriate and what is right. And there are subtle clues in each message that betray the lie and allow the truth to leak out.
LT
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Melvin
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