Stereotyping as a Marketing Tool
By Vernon Stent The diversity of human cultures on our planet is a whole subject by itself. Iam not referring to the cultures themselves, but to the differences betweenthem. It is not always easy to define a culture in a few words. Some may saythat to do so is to stereotype the varied people that make up a given culture.But surely there is a mean average that one can arrive at? After all, we allstereotype, don’t we? One of the main functions of the brain is to makeassumptions using stereotypes of the people, animals and objects we come across.It is simply not possible for us to function without this ability. We make humanjudgements based on our experiences and perceived knowledge. For instance, if someone was to rush towards you with a raised fist, youwould make a rapid assumption that they were about to attack you and wouldrespond accordingly by running away or defending yourself. If, before thishappened, you were to somehow switch off your brain’s ability to makestereotypical assumptions, you may have just stood there and dumbly watched thefist come towards you. In most cases, these assumptions are an essential elementin our ability to live. Fire is hot, ice is cold, fast cars can kill and, flyingfists can hurt! Of course, stereotypical assumptions inevitably lead tomistakes. A good way to exploit this is by using optical illusions. These almostmagical images fool our mind into making the wrong assumptions about thecurvature of a line or the direction of a staircase, for example. Although making stereotypical assumptions can lead to mistakes, it amplifiesthe ability of our senses and our brains. Making an assumption is a short-cutway of weighing up a situation. The more important something is to us, the morewe (or we should) weigh it up. If something is trivial or fleeting, then we relymore heavily on our stereotypical assumptions. A great example of this ismarketing. If a reader flicks through a magazine, they may give the ads acursory glance. Now put yourself in the position of the publisher and theadvertisers. The marketing people know that the reader’s attention span islimited and will be relying on stereotypical assumptions. As a marketing personyou will do your best to surprise or even shock the reader so that they stop andlook at your ad. Bold headlines are just the starting point. Striking images canbe critical. If you are selling fire alarms, the bolder and more striking the ad, thebetter; but what if you are selling something far more subtle and stylish? Let’ssay you are marketing cosmetics. A crash bang headline may grab the reader’sattention, but what message does it send? Are you selling crash bang cosmetics?If your ad is too brash, then the assumption will be made that your cosmeticswill also be brash. Ads that need to convey a stylish message need to be stylishin themselves. Yes it is possible to be so stylish that people stop and takenotice. Put a lot of light space and a beautiful face - perhaps a uniquelybeautiful and stylish face - in an ad and you just may make people notice. Notonly that, they will also assume that your company and your products share thisstyle. Some people may shy away from stereotyping, but the marketing people areusing it all the time. You may run a small business that brings members of thepublic to your premises. If you run a bar or restaurant, have you alsoconsidered the power of us humans to make assumptions? In the catering trade theexpression first impressions is surely engrained on all business ownersand managers. When a customer walks past or in your establishment for the firsttime (or after a refurbishment), they will make instant assumptions. They willwalk right past or out again if these assumptions do not meet theirexpectations. It may be that the waiter’s tie is not straight, or it may besomething more fundamental like bad decoration. Even more importantly for a foodpremises, they may see a flying insect darting around the restaurant floor. Ifthis happens it may be too late - the customer will surely be on their way. This is why fly killer machines are so important. There is no point in havingone just to comply with hygiene regulations. They must also be good at killingflies! The ultra violet lamps need to be changed regularly (at least once ayear). Oh, and even if you have the best fly killers on the market - theInsectocutor range from Arkay Hygiene are in this category - don’t forget thestyle! If your fly killer is to be within sight of the public you will need tohave a stylish model that is still functional and will do the job. One of thebest models that will cover these requirements is the Insectocutor SE30. Thiskind of detail is important when you want to leave a good first impression onyour customer. Stereotyping is what we humans do. If you sell products then don’t forgetthis simple fact. You will usually only have a fleeting moment to impress thepublic with your offer. Make sure that the stereotype that they assign to yourproducts is a positive one. Vernon Stent is the marketing consultant to Arkay Hygiene. The SE30can be seen at their fly killers website at http://www.eeeee.co.uk Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vernon_Stent http://EzineArticles.com/?Stereotyping-as-a-Marketing-Tool&id=134772 carisoprodol online muscle relaxers soma without prescription online carisoprodol buy purchase soma
