NR<\/p>\n
In the 19th century, snake oil salesmen roamed the countryside, peddling phony merchandise. They were smooth talking con artists who sold cure-all potions or healing ointments that had no medicinal power whatsoever. Snake oil salesmen made a living by fabricating elaborate myths about the potency and authenticity of their products. Preying upon the naivety and isolation of their customers, they wowed them with fancy language and sophistication. The polish and persuasiveness of snake oil salesmen allowed their specious claims to sound credible and sincere.<\/p>\n
The downfall of snake oil salesmen was brought about by the spread of information. Through newspapers and word-of-mouth, news circulated exposing the snake oil salesmen, and warning people to beware of their schemes. As customers grew more informed, they became suspicious of traveling salesmen. In time, the market for counterfeit medicines dried up, and snake oil salesmen moved onto other things (like selling used cars, I suppose).<\/p>\n
MODERN SNAKE OIL SALESMEN<\/strong><\/p>\n Although the heyday of snake oil salesmen passed long ago, several tactics of the conniving salesmen have survived. Marketers dress up their products with celebrity endorsements, flashy packaging, and embellished assertions. While not as blatantly deceptive as the snake oil salesmen, they nonetheless exaggerate in order to increase sales. Like the snake oil salesmen, today’s retailers often end up vanishing after taking their clients’ money, hiding behind automated "customer service" systems.<\/p>\n As society became entwined in the World Wide Web, predatory marketers licked their chops. They could now literally stalk their prey across the Internet, observing their interests, preferences, and buying habits. Excitedly, they prepared to gain entrance into the minds of those they hoped to hook with their products.<\/p>\n However, the very tool marketers hoped would boost their sales, the Internet, is undoing today’s version of snake oil salesmen. In an article for Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge, Julie Hanna cites the trend of consumers "using technology to learn about marketers, rather than the other way around." By enabling consumers to control their accessibility and hold advertisers accountable, the Internet is forcing advertisers to come up with messages rooted in authenticity and free from exaggeration.<\/p>\n THE THREE "A" TRENDS OF ADVERTISING<\/strong><\/p>\n Accessibility<\/em><\/strong> Accountability<\/em><\/strong> With their business practices under close scrutiny by customers, companies know they will be held accountable for their words and actions. They cannot over-hype a product without being taken to task by the online community. They aren’t able to hide behind consumer ignorance anymore. <\/p>\n Authenticity<\/em><\/strong> Readers interested in the changing face of marketing can read Julie Hanna’s article, "Authenticity over Exaggeration: The New Rule of Advertising," available on Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NR In the 19th century, snake oil salesmen roamed the countryside, peddling phony merchandise. They were smooth talking con artists who sold cure-all potions or healing ointments that had no medicinal power whatsoever. Snake oil salesmen made a living by fabricating elaborate myths about the potency and authenticity of their products. Preying upon the naivety…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3179\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Customers are gaining unprecedented power to shield themselves from marketing, thereby limiting access to advertisers. Customers buy TiVo and bypass commercials. They sign up for the Do Not Call Registry and stonewall telemarketers. They purchase pop-up blockers and prevent online ads from reaching their computers. They’ve even created their own markets (eBay, Craigslist, Auto Trader) so that they can buy and sell with one another rather than dealing with corporate brokers.<\/p>\n
At light speed, consumers are being informed about the strategies, values, and performance of the companies vying for their business. Ubiquitous seller ratings offer feedback on purchases. Through online forums, consumers discuss the merit of products or services. Customers broadcast both positive and negative buying experiences through social communities such as Facebook or My Space. Bloggers post information about corporate misdeeds and consumer manipulation.<\/p>\n
To win over the marketplace, advertisers must authentically connect with the deeply held values of their customers. Customers now control the message. It’s up to advertisers to understand the message and embody it within value-laden brands.<\/p>\n