ADVERTISING MORPHED TO MARKETING:
LONG TRAIL TO A MARKET-DRIVEN SOCIETY?

By: Joan E. Battey

American generations have all had their special linking-to-each-other customs and interests, in addition to their familial traditions and national shared beliefs and traditions.. Up until now, that is! United we stood; Divided we are falling. Accidentally or deliberately, the results are the same. Until we understand how we got here, we can't hope to become "one nation" again,. In past years, we were mostly all on the same page on any big issues. For the most part, we disagreed only on smaller issues, but were a unified front against large issues which would affect more people..

Maybe we should start the "understanding quest" by working backward to see how we got off-track. (Kind of like carefully unraveling snarls to make sure we don't make them worse.) All shifts in focus and culture were marketed steadily, almost slyly, in many ways -- often with music as one of the main crossover interchanges. The result, intended or not, was steadily achieved. Way back, lyrics of one old upbeat song illustrated the fun route to what was to be a fun and happy lifestyle: "...we don't know where we're going, and we don't know where we've been, but, hubba, hubba, hubba... jump right in."

Wind-up victrolas had shifted steadily to RADIOS! Families focused together on radio programs first, then were steadily shifting to smaller sound devices that were portable. Then, swiftly came TV with all its ability to rivet focus by gathering families together in rapt attention to the few programs on less than a handful of channels.

Along the way, music subdivided into youth "ownership" vs. old stuff on devices that didn't cater to the emerging youth audience. Youth wanted to listen or watch alone, or with others their age. New outlets catered to expanding and differing age-markets. Same with entertainment, as with music. Each expansion to a new target audience brought a market for new and different product sponsors to suit the differing audiences. Audiences came for the programs; but were captive audiences for sponsors and their products. Making profits while expanding, soon became the way of life in marketplaces of all kinds. It was no longer possible to just list business names, a few products with current prices, and a single place for customers to buy what they needed. "Needed" was the sticking point for great expansion of sales of increased varieties of products, for increased kinds of "markets." "Needed" had to be changed to "wanted."

Advertising and marketing cleverly jumped the gulf between "needed" and "wanted." It took off and never looked back. it's now almost THE dominant industry in the U.S.

What reaches "markets"? Pushing the message out to more people, while not losing current customers! The "message" is carried by "Advertising." Those selling products need ways to reach as many kinds of customers as possible, while not losing current Customers. Advertising must cleverly and constantly change its thrust in approach, to appeal to "diverse" audiences, in diverse ways. We now have so many diverse ways and so many diverse audiences, that we also need those diverse ways of convincing each audience to accept portions of what they weren't interested in to begin with. Need has to be changed to Want, regardless of price.