TAKING SIDES: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Marketing
PART 1. The Role of Marketing: Theory, Practice, and Conceptual Conflict
ISSUE 1. Does Marketing Have Appropriate Boundaries?
YES: D. Kirk Davidson, from Selling Sin: The Marketing of Socially Unacceptable Products
NO: Michael F. Jacobson and Laurie Ann Mazur, from Marketing Madness: A Survival Guide for a Consumer Society
D. Kirk Davidson, an assistant professor of marketing, explores the development and ethical dimensions of applying marketing techniques to "sin products," such as tobacco, alcohol, pornography, and gambling. While he does not applaud these marketing efforts, he emphasizes the relevance of freedom of speech and the rights of consumer choice. Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Laurie Ann Mazur, a writer and consultant, consider the intrusiveness and pervasiveness of "hybrid advertising," such as the video news release (VNR), advertorial, and product placement in sitcoms and movies and conclude that these messages transcend the perceptual boundaries of traditional advertising.
ISSUE 2. Is the Practice of Multilevel Marketing Legitimate?
YES: Dale D. Buss, from "A Direct Route to Customers," Nation's Business
NO: Stephen Barrett, from "The Mirage of Multilevel Marketing," Quackwatch
Writer Dale D. Buss depicts the booming growth of multilevel marketing (MLM) in various arenas. He outlines the techniques of one-to-one selling as well as the home party method. Buss also notes how the legitimate companies in the MLM industry take special care to distance themselves from phony operations. Retired psychiatrist Stephen Barrett argues that people who join in the later stages of an MLM operation will likely not do well. He discusses the example of health-related food supplements, where claims are subject to government intervention and public scrutiny as to their effectiveness. Barrett also examines questionable claims and people's motivations and methods of selling.
ISSUE 3. Has the "Keep It Simple" Concept Become "All Change, All the Time"?
YES: Regis McKenna, from Real Time: Preparing for the Age of the Never Satisfied Customer
NO: Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin, from The Power of Simplicity: A Management Guide to Cutting Through the Nonsense and Doing Things Right
Regis McKenna, chairperson of the McKenna Group, proclaims that the era of "adaptive" marketing has arrived--now driven by new technologies of communications and information. Keeping in close touch with ever-changing consumer needs is now the only constant for marketing managers, he concludes. Jack Trout, president of the marketing firm Trout & Partners, and Steve Rivkin, a faculty member of the Department of Economics at Amherst College, see an overcommunicated culture of clutter. They argue that simplicity and the "focused benefit" must be encoded into one integrated singular message and emphasize the importance of a consistent "value proposition" packaged into a simple message, which is memorably positioned in the minds of consumers and prospects in a creative way.
ISSUE 4. Is Relationship Marketing a Tenable Concept?
YES: Jennifer Bresnahan, from "Improving the Odds," CIO Enterprise Magazine
NO: James R. Rosenfield, from "Whatever Happened to Relationship Marketing? Nine Big Mistakes," Direct Marketing
Law student Jennifer Bresnahan describes the new era of information technology, which enables marketers to serve every consumer, one at a time, and develop long-term mutually beneficial relationships. James R. Rosenfield, chairperson and CEO of Rosenfield & Associates, maintains that relationships in marketing are not always like those between human beings; customers want more of a one-way street. He shares "nine big mistakes" that impede successful development of marketing relationships. PART 2. Strategic Planning and the Marketing Mix
ISSUE 5. Does Cause-Related Marketing Benefit All Stakeholders?
YES: Paul Holmes, from "Just Cause," Reputation Management
NO: James T. Bennett and Thomas J. DiLorenzo, from "Health Charities: Reputation for Sale?" Consumers' Research
Paul Holmes, editor of Reputation Management, defines cause-related marketing (CRM) as tying a company and its products to a special interest group, social issue, or charitable organization. The result is a deepened trust and relationship with customers, improved corporate image, and increased sales and promotional benefits for the related cause. Professors of economics James T. Bennett and Thomas J. DiLorenzo argue that product endorsements by charitable organizations put the public confidence at risk and can erode the integrity of the cause. They question the practice of the cause becoming leverage for increasing the brand's market share.
ISSUE 6. Is Mass Customization the Wave of the Future?
YES: Erick Schonfeld, from "The Customized, Digitized, Have-It-Your-Way Economy," Fortune
NO: George Ritzer, from The McDonaldization of Society: An Investigation into the Changing Character of Contemporary Social Life, rev. ed.
Investment writer Erick Schonfeld argues that the move to customization in manufacturing and services is irrefutable. He concludes that by making full use of cutting-edge technology, this service to the customer is becoming more important than the brand. Professor of sociology George Ritzer presents a view of the influence of McDonaldization, or the domination of society by standardized franchise systems, on consumers' lifestyles and values and demands from marketers.
ISSUE 7. Are Outrageous Prices Inhibiting Consumer Access to Life-Sustaining Drugs?
YES: Lucette Lagnado, from "Choosing Between Drugs, Necessities," The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition,
NO: Elyse Tanouye, from "U.S. Develops Expensive Habit With Drug Sector Growth Spurt," The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition,
Writer Lucette Lagnado asserts that 19 million elderly citizens of the United States have little or no coverage for life-sustaining drugs, yet they are the most disadvantaged consumers. High-priced prescriptions represent an absolute inequity in the system, she argues. Writer Elyse Tanouye explains that the high prices and profits associated with pharmaceutical drugs are driven by demand, research, and new marketing-driven costs. She contends that a profusion of new drugs has revolutionized the industry but resulted in spiraling costs, which consumers have been forced to absorb.
ISSUE 8. Will E-Commerce Eliminate Traditional Intermediaries?
YES: Mary Modahl, from Now or Never: How Companies Must Change Today to Win the Battle for Internet Consumers
NO: Mary Beth Grover, from "Lost in Cyberspace," Forbes
Mary Modahl, vice president of Forrester Research, establishes that 52 percent of the U.S. population is optimistic about technology and "marching happily toward on-line shopping." She considers this to be the beginning of a dramatic 10-year transition in consumer behavior. Forbes editor Mary Beth Grover argues that despite the allure of no sales payroll or the fixed costs of bricks-and-mortar merchants, turning a profit in cyberspace is no easy task. Furthermore, the hurdles can be even higher for traditional retailers going online.
ISSUE 9. Is Communications Technology "Death of the Salesman"?
YES: Beth Belton, from "Technology Is Changing Face of U.S. Sales Force," USA Today
NO: Edward M. Hallowell, from "The Human Moment at Work," Harvard Business Review
Writer Beth Belton explains how technology is rapidly displacing "selling as it used to be" with an entirely new job definition. This coincides with the 50th anniversary of the classic Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman, as marketers ponder the future of the stereotypical salesman as portrayed by the character of Willy Loman, a symbol of this dying breed. Psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell argues that the new communications technology, while ostensibly creating an efficient cost-saving mechanism for doing business, has created a deepened and neglected need for what he terms the "human moment," an authentic encounter that can begin only when two people share the same physical space. The destructive power resulting from the absence of the human moment will become more apparent as the stress levels associated with e-commerce rise, he concludes. PART 3. Consumer Behavior in the New Millennium
ISSUE 10. The New Marketing Paradigm Shift: Are Consumers Dominating the Balance of Power in the Marketplace?
YES: Pierre M. Loewe and Mark S. Bonchek, from "The Retail Revolution," Management Review
NO: Marcia Stepanek, from "Weblining," BusinessWeek Online,
Pierre M. Loewe and Mark S. Bonchek, executive director and research director, respectively, of the global strategy innovation firm Strategos, argue that consumers are more empowered in challenging retailers to meet their needs for convenience, service, and price. Marcia Stepanek, a regular contributor to Business Week, suggests that the guiding rule of providing whatever the customer wants is now whatever the company can afford to offer based on the value of that customer.
ISSUE 11. Is the Traditional Development of Brand Loyalty Dying?
YES: Evan I. Schwartz, from Digital Darwinism: Seven Breakthrough Business Strategies for Surviving in the Cultural Web Economy
NO: Rebecca Piirto Heath, from "The Once and Future King," Marketing Tools
Writer Evan I. Schwartz explains how building brands is accomplished by using the interactive attributes of the Internet. He concludes that emotional branding does not work well on the Internet, so mass media and interactive media should reinforce one another. Writer Rebecca Piirto Heath makes a case for the importance of a known and trusted brand as a primary influence on a purchase decision. Building a strong brand image strikes an emotional bond with the consumer through brand character and memorability, she asserts.
ISSUE 12. Is "Extreme Sports" Marketing Risk and Thrill Seeking to Society?
YES: Karl Taro Greenfeld, from "Life on the Edge: Is Everyday Life Too Dull? Why Else Would Americans Seek Risk As Never Before?" Time
NO: Myra Stark, from "The Extreme Generation," Brandweek
Karl Taro Greenfeld, a business issues writer, asserts that "extreme sports," such as snowboarding and mountain biking, have enjoyed incredible growth in contrast to the demise of baseball, touch football, and aerobics. He offers evidence to illustrate parallel behavior for risk taking and thrill seeking in many aspects of other national behaviors. Myra Stark, director of knowledge and management insight at Saatchi and Saatchi, highlights the appeal of extreme sports to its target market, emphasizing the quest for individualism and self-expression. Competitiveness and the development mindset are also derivatives of these unique recreational challenges, maintains Stark.
ISSUE 13. Should Classrooms Be Commercial-Free Zones?
YES: Peter Ferrara, from "The Clear Benefits of Channel One," Americans for Tax Reform Policy Brief
NO: Peggy J. Farber, from "Schools for Sale," Advertising Age
Peter Ferrara, general counsel and chief economist for Americans for Tax Reform, defends Channel One as a much-needed 12-minute documentary news program designed to educate students about current events, social studies, economics, and history. Peggy J. Farber contends that the outrage over commercialism in American classrooms is intensifying, as the private sector becomes inventive with sophisticated techniques and innovative ways of marketing to students in schools. She offers large-scale marketing research, exclusive contracts, and computer ads as current examples of marketing that has been spawned from the origins of Channel One. PART 4. Segmentation, Positioning, and Target Marketing
ISSUE 14. Should Marketers Target Vulnerable Groups?
YES: Barton Macchiette and Abhijit Roy, from "Sensitive Groups and Social Issues: Are You Marketing Correct?" Journal of Consumer Marketing
NO: Marcy Gordon, from "Collegiate Credit Junkies: Critics Allege Credit Card Companies Try to Hook Students," ABCNEWS.com,
Professor of marketing Barton Macchiette and Abhijit Roy, a doctoral student in marketing, contend that marketers should target all prospects who might benefit from their product or service. However, they must be particularly conscious when targeting sensitive or vulnerable groups, such as children, women, minorities, and gay males and lesbians. Writer Marcy Gordon presents several arguments against the marketing of credit cards to college students. She sees the problem to be at least commensurate to alcohol abuse or sexually transmitted disease and suggests that marketers are aggressively promoting addiction to credit.
ISSUE 15. Is Generational Segmentation an Effective Marketing Strategy?
YES: J. Walker Smith and Ann Clurman, from Rocking the Ages: The Yankelovich Report on Generational Marketing
NO: Charles D. Schewe and Geoffrey E. Meredith, from "Segmenting the Market by Cohorts: Age Really Matters--'Coming of Age' That Is!" An Original Essay Written for This Volume
Authors J. Walker Smith and Ann Clurman see the three major consumer generations as the matures, boomers, and generation X'ers. They examine these groups' unique attitudes, motivations, lifestyles, values, and spending patterns. Smith and Clurman offer several examples to illustrate the cohesive consumer behavior of these groups. Professor of marketing Charles D. Schewe and Lifestage Matrix Marketing founder Geoffrey E. Meredith contend that the case for generational marketing is simply too broad and all-inclusive to be helpful in depicting meaningful differences in market segments.
ISSUE 16. Is the Marketing of Online Degree Programs a Threat to Traditional Education?
YES: Ted Marchese, from "Not-So-Distant Competitors: How New Providers Are Remaking the Postsecondary Marketplace," AAHE Bulletin
NO: David F. Noble, from "Digital Diploma Mills: The Automation of Higher Education," First Monday: Peer-Reviewed Journal on the Internet
Ted Marchese, vice president of the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE), provides an overview of research that profiles an explosive array of colleges now providing online degree programs. He contends that there is a plethora of niche markets to render an optimistic future for online education. David F. Noble, a professor and historian, is critical of the high-tech transformation of education. He believes that it is implemented by top administrators and private sector commercial partners with little input from faculty and students. PART 5. Societal and Regulatory Influences
ISSUE 17. Are Marketers Culpable for America's Culture of Violence?
YES: David Grossman, from "Trained to Kill," Christianity Today
NO: Wendy Melillo, from "After Columbine, Legislators Attack Media Violence," Adweek
David Grossman, a military psychologist, offers theories and evidence correlating video games and the marketing of media violence with conditioning kids to kill. Wendy Melillo, a regular contributor to Adweek, provides an overview of legislative endeavors to halt the use of violence in marketing videos and general media appeals. She argues that this movement is largely politically motivated and that it ignores the importance of family influence and upbringing.
ISSUE 18. Should Alcohol Advertising Be Regulated Further?
YES: Laurie Leiber, from "Should the Government Restrict Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages? Yes," Priorities for Long Life and Good Health
NO: Federal Trade Commission, from FTC Reports on Industry Efforts to Avoid Promoting Alcohol to Underage Consumers
Laurie Leiber, director of the Center on Alcohol Advertising, contends that the increased awareness of beer commercials on TV leads to favorable beliefs about underage drinking and increases the likelihood of youngsters' intentions to drink as adults. She asserts that Americans are becoming favorably disposed toward restricting or eliminating broadcast advertising of alcohol. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) addresses the needs and benefits of self-regulation to prevent alcohol advertising from influencing underage drinkers. The FTC examines the problems and guidelines for ad placement, ad content, product placement in movies, college marketing, and online advertising.
ISSUE 19. Is It Appropriate for the Government to Market Lotteries?
YES: Edward J. Stanek, from "Take the High Road and Keep the Upper Hand," Speech Delivered to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries at its Twenty-Third Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts
NO: National Gambling Impact Study Commission, from Lotteries
Edward J. Stanek, president of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, argues for the benefits derived from state-promoted lotteries and against time-worn criticisms of state-sanctioned lotteries. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission, based on a two-year study of the social and economic impact of gambling in the United States, outlines criticisms of lotteries, such as offering the worst odds, misleading allocation of funds, and deceptive, inappropriate advertising.
ISSUE 20. Is Political Marketing Essentially Buying Politicians?
YES: Charles Lewis and the Center for Public Integrity, from The Buying of the President 2000
NO: Russell Roberts, from "Will Campaign Finance Reform Enhance the Power of the People?" Ideas on Liberty
Investigative reporter Charles Lewis provides a portrait based on documented research of the sources and financial power behind the marketing of U.S. presidential candidates, focusing on "the most obscenely expensive race in history." He argues that special (and often secret) interest groups heavily invest in politicians who, in turn, become beholden to their political patrons. Professor of labor economics and public policy Russell Roberts deems absurd the idea of purging special interest money from politics. He is concerned that banning soft money may conflict with the First Amendment and suggests alternative means for making politicians accountable.
