Critical Marketing

Critical Marketing

Introduction

Critical marketing is a branch of marketing that takes different perspectives from the conventional marketing. The conventional marketing model is based on the need-satisfaction concept (Tadajewski & Brownlie 2008, p. 4). Such type of marketing (conventional marketing) models have continued to strive to satisfy customer needs while making profit from associated activities. As such, satisfaction of the customer/market needs has for centuries formed the moral backbone of the traditional marketing model (Tadajewski & Brownlie 2008, p.1). Nevertheless, in 1960s a group of scholars began to critically study the foundation of conventional marketing model. The group was more interested in the cost-benefit analysis of the traditional marketing concept. For instance, Tadajewski and Maclaran found that even though marketing-related activities contributed immensely to the growth of the economy, the negative impact of such activities on the society was being recognized by stakeholders (2009, p. 1). Other scholars such as did not only acknowledge the economic benefits of marketing activities to the economy, but also recognized the drawbacks of marketing activities (Tadajewski & Maclaran 2009, p. 1). From 1960s onwards, scholars aligned with the critical marketing school of thought have endeavored to advocate for ecologically and socially-desired goals (Mingers 2000, p. 219). For instance, critical marketing scholars believe that marketing tools have the ability to create environmentally and socially-friendly outcomes which the conventional marketing tools do not. As such, critical marketing cultivates a pattern of shift from the traditional perception of marketing to promote environmental and social wellbeing.

Critical Marketing Theory

The critical marketing theory (CMT) argues that there should be a change in the manner in which marketing is perceived. CMT bases its tenacity on the critical theoretical framework. That is, the marketers are out to criticize the traditional marketing strategies (Burton 2008, p. 772). It other words, CMT aims at delegitimizing the traditionally perception of marketing that takes into account various theoretical frameworks which define human economic behaviour. Critical marketing theorists argue that the best way to challenge the traditional marketing model is to have “a limit attitude” towards marketing based on how it is understood today (Tadajewski & Maclaran 2008, p. 11). Nevertheless, a limited attitude does not imply that the theorists would campaign for a complete overhaul of the traditional view of the market. As such, a critical view of marketing requires a limited view of marketing. That is, a marketing tool or strategy should have certain limits for it to be socially and ecologically responsive. In other words, critical theory takes into account Marxist notion of economics as far as the economics of marketing are concerned.

Critical Marketing Pedagogy

Critical marketing pedagogy involves a critical marketing approach. Traditional marketing strategies did not accommodate criticism from conventional marketing thought (Tregear et al. 2007, pp. 411-424). However, research on critical marketing often endeavors to discover ways that could make students, teachers, and the communities think differently from other students, teachers, and communities that are based on the traditional perception of marketing.  This would not imply that teachers and students would completely ignore the traditional views about marketing. For instance, the academic community would not denounce the fact that the role of market is to satisfy the needs of the customers, manufacturers, and the middlemen. The academic community would also not dispute the fact that marketing is based on the principle of customer satisfaction. Nevertheless, scholars would appreciate the fact that some change in worldview is a critical component in transforming the nature or design of marketing. Essentially, academicians would seek to identify the limits of marketing as an academic or intellectual aspect of economics. As such, criticism would imply that the academicians would analyze and reflects on the limitations born by the conventional concept of marketing.

Nevertheless, critiquing and reflecting on the intellectual limitation of the conventional marketing model does not imply that academicians should adopt the traditional perspective in their critiquing. The traditional/conventional critiquing is based on the conceptual meaning of the conventional market model. Nevertheless, academicians would objectively analyze and reflect on the current marketing strategies to correct the environmental anomalies or enhance social justice in the society.

Correcting the side effects of the conventional gender-based marketing would be one of the objectives of the academicians. Primarily, many commercial advertisements and product designs are based on stereotypical grounds thereby supporting the common gender-based stereotypes (Eisend 2010, pp. 418; Paek, Nelson & Vilela 2011, pp. 192-207). For instance, most car advertisements involve female celebrities or models who pose besides the car being advertised. Car manufacturers rarely use male celebrities and models to advertise their cars. At the same time, very few magazines use male celebrities and personalities as cover pages. As such, the excessive use of women in the advertisement of cars and magazines sustain common stereotype that men are the once who control the economy. For instance, a Lamborghini advert bearing a semi-nude, but beautiful female celebrity or model suggest that the advert is mean for the male audience. This is because from a traditional perspective, it is the men who are supposed to be attracted to women and not the other way round. Therefore, when car manufacturers rely on female celebrities to sell their cars they help sustain the stereotype that men are the ones with the money to buy goods and services. The same time, such advertisements sustain the notion that women are sex objects. Nevertheless, post-modernistic view of the world disputes the traditional view of reality (Brown 1992, p. 3). For instance, sexuality is not a mere male-female divide while gender is not entirely based on the husband-wife divide. In fact, there are over 22 sexual orientations. Known sexual orientations includes (the conventional) bisexuality/heterosexuality, homosexuality, masturbation, transsexual, sexual fetishism, voyeurism, telephone scatalogia and lesbianism among other sexual orientations. As such, academicians would be justified is they argue that the media is doing social injustice by continue to market products a long heterosexual form of sexual orientation.

In addition, the academic community would be justified if they challenged the notion that gender is a man-woman divide when in fact gender is multi-variant. As such, it is wrong for the academic world to continue viewing marketing as an activity meant to satisfy the needs of men and women. Furthermore, it is practically wrong to advertise female goods and services while implying that all women rely on their husbands and father s thereby denying the fact that modern women are economically independent (Catterall et al. 2005, pp. 489–504). At the same time, the conventional gender-based marketing ignores the fact that some modern women marry other women while some modern men marry modern men. So other than believing that advertisement of goods and services should be based on of the traditional gender concept, such, academicians should embrace the current gender ambiguities. As such, scholars would be acting in the spirit of fairness if they write academic materials reflecting the real social and economic nature of the society.

Critical marketing should take the center stage of marketing class. Currently, critical marketing rarely features in the contemporary marketing-related academic discourses (Catterall et al. 1999, pp. 344–353). Scholars blame the lower ranking position of critical marketing on lack of historical developments and theoretical tradition (Brownlie 2006, pp. 505-528). This is because critical marketing is an emerging concept in marketing studies. As such, many academic discourses are made of entirely conventional marketing theories and logistics that service the current economic developments. As such, the lack of historical theoretical evidence that supports critical marketing makes it had for scholars to challenge the existing theoretical frameworks. That is, the politics of popularity of certain marketing and affiliated theories run supreme at the expense of the reality.

At the same time, the critical marketing foundations of the 1940s and beyond have been too weak to make critical marketing grow. According to Facault (1984, p. 45) as quoted in Tadajewski & Maclaran (2009, p. 11) (Skålén et al. 2008, p. 2). Criticism in marketing involves an analysis and a reflection on limits. In addition, early works critical to the conventional marketing approach used various marketing examples present during the time (Tadajewski and Maclaran 2009, p. 11). One is the example of such cases includes works of Paul Lazarsfeld (1941) who contrasted administrative and critical research (Tadajewski & Maclaran 2009, p. 11). Lazarsfeld argued that the majority of critical research fell in the two categories; administrative and communications dichotomies. According to Lazarsfield as quoted in Tadajewski & Maclaran (2009, p. 11) administrative critical research was conducted was conducted solely for some private and public organizations for the purposes of solving challenges related to business activities; most business research fell in this category. At the same time, Lazarsfeld cited that critical research differed from administrative research in two ways. First, critical research advances from the prevalent social trends where issues related to Shuman values or desired effect rule. Such a notion of critical marketing implies that scholars would continue propagating and promoting the traditional concept of marketing.

Nevertheless, critical marketing is an all encompassing subject; one cannot rule out communication research and critical research from critical marketing discourses. For instance, critical marketing research meant for management purposes should focus on four major areas. That is, a critical management research should strive to offer critique to the general rhetoric, traditional thinking, authority and objectivity as present in the traditional management styles (Shroeder 2007, p. 2). As such, management scholars should endeavor to conduct research that criticizes the obvious rhetoric. Nevertheless, the critiques should often provide a reflective approach that provides another alternative. Traditional management researches often emphasize the significance of creating new business opportunities for the company. For instance, managers may commission research meant to determine the customer’s perceptions on the company’s products so as to make changes to please the customers. Besides, other managers may commission research into ways that would increase the demands for their companies’ goods and services. Common rhetoric in such management tactics often involve what the competitors are offering, what the buyers are used to and what the management can do to make the customers love the goods. As such, phrases such as “while stocks last”, “rarely available, and “viewing essential” would change if the managers take a limited approach to exploitation to enhance equity (Pryce & Oates 2008, pp. 319–348). Nevertheless, such transformations can only take place when management students learn to criticize the obvious rhetoric to enhance environmental and social well being.

Secondly, the academic community should question the traditional thinking and customs related to marketing. Primarily, a critique of the traditional theories would eliminate the limitations by providing alternative theoretical conceptions. For instance, a critique of the nine traditional marketing theories would provide an alternative interpretation that may help in the restructuring of the limitations evident is such theories to enhance social and ecological wellbeing. The theories include the marketing mix, SWOT analysis and the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs among other theories. The marketing mix theory relies on four major indicators that prevalent in the current market; that is, the product, price, place and promotion (Brownlie & Saren 1992, pp.34-47; Tadajewski et al. 2011, p. 25). Essentially, market mix theoretical model strives to maximize gains by manipulating the four market variables: price, product quality, place (destination) and promotion. Often, the traditional take on the relationship between product and the product is that whenever the price is higher the buyers would buy less. At the same time, the relationship between product and the price is that the higher the quality the more the price.

Nevertheless, the relationship between price and product, on one hand, and place, on the other hand is that the more affluent the place the higher the quality of the product/price and vice versa. As such, opportunistic marketing agencies would make higher quality, but overpriced goods destined to affluent market places while produce defective, but cheaper products destined to certain market destinations. However, the promotion process may not reveal the defective nature of the products in question for fear that such moves would damage their reputations. As such, this critique indicates that market mix theoretical framework may lead to defective products that endanger the lives of the users. As such, scholars would provide an alternative theory to the market mix that takes into account the negative effects that market mix has on the environment as well as the present and future society.

A SWOT analysis (theory) looks at the organization’s strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (Professional Academy 2013, para. 2). Basically, a SWOT analysis puts the organization’s interests at the heart of the market structure. For instance, if the strength of the competitors is mass production the organization adopts mass production which has dangerous environmental implications such as environmental pollution and resource depletion. At the same time, if the organization’s weakness is negative public perception then the organization adopts an image enhancement campaign aimed at bettering its image. Similarly, if the threats to the organization include cheaper alternatives sold by the rival organizations then the organization may incorporate business malpractices to secure an edge in the market. At the end of the day, the organizations would employ both ethical and unethical means to remain relevant in the market. Such, moves often damage the quality of products thereby putting the lives of the consumers at risk. Therefore, whenever scholars reflect on a SWOT analytic perspective, they would provide alternative interpretation of the theory while taking into account the manner in which traditional views the social and environmental issues. Besides, scholars may come up with another theoretical understanding that incorporates environmental and social interests in the design o conception of the theory. Other than break the market into smaller segments on the basis of economic threats and opportunities, researchers would category the market in terms of opportunities and threats to social and environmental improvement (Brownies et al.1999, p. 34).

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs stipulates that human wants are hierarchical in nature. According to Maslow as reported in McGuire (2012, p. 5) human wants’ satisfaction graduates from the more basic to the least basic wants; the satisfaction of the very basic provides room for the satisfaction of the least basic wants. Maslow’s theory stipulates that the super rich would be interested in leisure and other non-materialistic items whereas the poor are more interested in food items and other basic necessities. As such, traditional marketers categorize the market in terms of wealth. As a result, marketers’ adverts targeting the poor neigbourhood would deal with the basic commodities while those targeting the rich would while wealthy neighborhoods deal with luxury goods and services. As such, Maslow’s theory implies that the organizations would exploit the super rich through exorbitant pricing of luxury goods and services. As a result, traditional market researchers support the notion that the poor do not require leisure or political leadership because they do not

Radicalizing Critical Marketing and Marketing Management

Management is the center of decision-making as far as marketing is concerned. Critical management allows managers to reflect on the current marketing practices before making informed decisions about the best advertisement models friendly to the society and the environment. For example, critical managers would challenge the traditional notions of marketing by coming up with alternative marketing strategies s to correct the social and environmental limitations of conventional marketing strategies. This is because the conventional marketing approach is organization-centered (Osborne & Ballantyne 2012, pp. 155-172). A radical shift in management would involve several thematic and methodological approaches different from the traditional view of marketing. Such thematic and methodological aspects would help the consumers change their views and attitudes towards marketing and consumption culture.

Traditional marketing strategies are often persuasive in calling upon the consumers to buy the goods and services. Traditional marketing strategies involve convincing the consumer of the advantages of buying certain goods and services. For instance, marketers often use attributes such as lower pricing and quality among other attributes to convince consumers to buy certain goods and services. Critical marketing management would, for instance, use environmentally sensitive advertisement themes in their marketing. For instance, other than convincing consumers to buy a certain brand of sausage because it is cheaper, marketers would urge consumers to buy such sausages out of the promise of conserving the environment. Alternatively, marketers would also spearhead an advertisement culture where marketing of goods and services takes a neutral view of the buyers’ gender. Nevertheless, such developments can only prosper when managers take the lead in such decision-making processes. As such, managers ought to make informed decisions by critiquing the current marketing model with the goal of challenging the traditional way of marketing goods and services. Such criticism should move in line with the desired goals; the desired goals should be different from the current notions of objective marketing (Shroeder 2007, pp. 2-3). That is, the managers should set a policy where their organizations would make advertisements that contribute to environmental protection and social justice. This is because traditional marketing strategies emphasize on materialistic marketing for the benefit of the organizations. For instance, other than erecting billboards made from plastic materials, business managers would advertise their goods through newspapers and electronic media because billboards are not environmentally friendly. Newspapers are also biodegradable hence environmentally-friendly (Heckley 2009, p. 2). At the same time, organizations would better the environment if they adopt policies such as packaging their goods in attractive, but environmentally-friendly materials. As such, organizations should limit the profit motive by adopting environmentally and socially sensitive marketing strategies. Extremely-profit motivated society negatively affects the environment and erodes the value for humanity through unethical business practices.

Besides, business managers may come together to create social marketing to alter public opinion on the use of certain products. For instance, business managers may apply media popularity issues in campaigning for a change in attitudes about the use of plastic bags (Raftopoulou & Hogg, 2010, pp. 1206-1227). After the public opinion has changed, business managers will have a lee way to introduce environmentally sensitive products. This is because it would be difficult for one business organization to created environmentally friendly consumer habits without involving other stakeholders.

Critical Marketing and Publishing

Publishing is one of the leading economic activities in the world. The economic leadership is based on the fact that printed literature such books and journals are the leading channels of conveying knowledge from one person to the other. According to Shroeder (2007, p. 3)’s view on marketing, publishers should challenge the obvious marketing models. Traditionally, books and journals have copyrights and are often made in print media. Nevertheless, modern books are a mixture of written and digital books. Critical thinking demands a reflection on the traditional concept of publishing with the goal of correcting environmental and social injustices propagated via conventional publishing models. For instance, critical publishing would involve fair pricing of books, elimination of plagiarism, use of environmentally friendly paper and ink, use of less print media in publication via promotion of digital book formats. In addition, publishers should promote social justice by avoiding racial or spreading negative ethnicity while using racism to market books and other pieces of written literature (Tadajewski 2012, pp. 485-508). Furthermore, scholars should publish new marketing theories and concepts that enhance social justice.

Conclusion

Critical marketing is a broader concept in marketing discourse. Critical marketing involves careful reflection on the traditional notions of marketing to correct them. Basically, the traditional notion of marketing is customer-centric; that is, organizations market goods and services that satisfy the needs of the customers. Nevertheless, customer-centric marketing has negative implications to the environment and the society at large. Basically, advertisers sustain the status quo with respect to stereotypes, unhealthy consumer behaviours and cultures. Nevertheless, critical marketing demands a critical scholarly approach to the concept of marketing to eliminate the cultural biases, create environmentally conscious marketing strategy via a creation of alternative theoretical framework. Besides, managers should reflect on the current marketing models to identify and put into place alternative, but sustainable as well as socially-responsible marketing strategies. Overall, cooperation among stakeholders is key to the success of critical marketing endeavors.

 

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