THE MARKETPLACE AND BRANDING
What brands are you loyal to and won’t even consider alternatives? What do you like about their products? When we shop—whether for groceries, clothing, garden tools, household appliances, or even hairdressers—we tend to choose similar items that suit our tastes, like the chicken nuggets from a particular brand, Mercedes-Benz cars, Nike footwear and apparel, Louis Vuitton bags, gold earrings, Estée Lauder cosmetics, Levi jeans, Gucci accessories, and the list goes on. We might prefer one brand of butter over another because it advertises having less salt, or we may opt for lower-carb bread, biscuits, and baking products.
However, we often overlook the production, manufacturing, labour, and supply chain behind these commodities. When we see Nike shoes, we recognise them as Nike due to the brand identity it has built through various mediums, such as advertising with sports celebrities. Its "Just Do It" tagline is as iconic as the tick. Brands targeting high-end consumers understand their values and how to communicate effectively within that domain. Companies like Disneyland have created such a powerful identity worldwide that nearly every child and adult knows who Cinderella or Mickey Mouse is, and perhaps more recently, Woody from Toy Story. Moreover, they enhance their market presence by selling toys, memorabilia, and dress-ups, allowing children to bring characters like Woody to life in their imaginations, just as they do in films.
Perfumes utilise sensual signs to market their brand, while advertisements featuring chocolate entice people through their imagination, preying on their cravings for sugars and saturated fats. Today, we witness an epidemic of energy drinks and vapes available in an array of flavours, including candy floss, licorice, and apple, which are all linked to various addictions. Despite this, they are still permitted to trade in the marketplace. People develop attachments to brands, and even at the market level, the notion of commodity fetishism arises from brand identity and their positioning within the marketplace. Packaging can resonate with consumers, leading them to purchase commodities based on their values and the identities those products may represent. For instance, high-end cars, luxury bedding made from Egyptian cotton, bags that signify class or status, and cosmetics and health products all target a woman’s core identity regarding her appearance, which is valued highly by the global system.
Even fitness, sleep programs, and diets could generate millions in revenue worldwide every day. We show loyalty to coffee and tea brands, yet we often overlook the hard work behind them and the low prices farmers receive for the beans, especially given the intense competition as rivals strive to outdo each other. Gaming is shaped by characters and the game structure, which targets identities and even gender, depending on its style of play. Generally, women often engage in different game structures than those involving war or fighting, such as boxing matches and shooting. They also target children's or mothers’ values to ensure that kids receive an education, starting with preschoolers learning the alphabet, colours, shapes and how to count. All these brands are consumer-driven and created based on what consumers demand. Food, shampoos, and cleaning products—from high-end brands to general cleaners—position themselves in the market on supermarket shelves. Commercial cleaning companies targeting high-end consumers often avoid placing their products on supermarket shelves to maintain their prestigious image.
People use many tricks, like packaging items in the same box while providing less product for the same price. Depending on the strategy and, most importantly, the product positioning—such as skateboards and surfing—these must be available in areas with the culture to support the growth of that product. Investing in a digital website is often more worthwhile than investing in a physical shop, as online platforms eliminate the fixed costs associated with paying rent. Although more people are investing in the service sector of the Internet, which has transformed the medium and expanded the marketplace for potential consumers, additional skills are necessary to make connections. Being online doesn’t ensure that the consumers you need will be reachable. You also must know how to attract visitors to your website, as many are caught in echo chambers, and thousands of similar products support different brand identities. This is why the competition is so fierce.
Brand identities that may harm the environment and create jobs where people earn far less than they need to survive pose ethical questions. Yet, marketers target commodity fetishism, appealing to consumers who indulge without considering the damage this may inflict on our planet and the livelihoods of families on insufficient wages. This highlights the importance of understanding our political economy, what protections exist against these abuses of our environment, and those grappling with daily costs. This has significantly changed with the rise of the internet and the media we engage with daily. One of social media's business models is advertising. They identify what people like and sell that information to advertisers, ensuring their brands reach the desired audience.
This adds a significant layer of complexity to the changes we collectively face today, whether in England or Spain, as we remain digitally connected. The political economy influences how platforms make products visible and determine who sees what. Numerous questions are surfacing regarding international law, especially given the absence of adequate international laws to protect the planet and the issues of low wages and slave labour supplying commodities to high-end consumers.
While we are only in the early stages of many changes that have occurred in this era, there are questions we all need to ask. For instance, what does it take to ensure brand loyalty? Should we consider more local options to reduce greenhouse gases? What can be done to remove harmful products from our shelves that are causing epidemics? Which companies hold industries to ransom, particularly regarding medication availability and how they prevent cheaper brands from entering the market due to their patents? There is so much we do not see or understand about the negative externalities created by the marketplace. While there are also positive externalities, such as access to shoes and household appliances, that make our lives easier, we must take a holistic perspective and question everything.
Written by Rochelle White
THE MARKETPLACE AND BRANDING
What brands are you loyal to and won’t even consider alternatives? What do you like about their products? When we shop—whether for groceries, clothing, garden tools, household appliances, or even hairdressers—we tend to choose similar items that suit our tastes, like the chicken nuggets from a particular brand, Mercedes-Benz cars, Nike footwear and apparel, Louis Vuitton bags, gold earrings, Estée Lauder cosmetics, Levi jeans, Gucci accessories, and the list goes on. We might prefer one brand of butter over another because it advertises having less salt, or we may opt for lower-carb bread, biscuits, and baking products.
However, we often overlook the production, manufacturing, labour, and supply chain behind these commodities. When we see Nike shoes, we recognise them as Nike due to the brand identity it has built through various mediums, such as advertising with sports celebrities. Its "Just Do It" tagline is as iconic as the tick. Brands targeting high-end consumers understand their values and how to communicate effectively within that domain. Companies like Disneyland have created such a powerful identity worldwide that nearly every child and adult knows who Cinderella or Mickey Mouse is, and perhaps more recently, Woody from Toy Story. Moreover, they enhance their market presence by selling toys, memorabilia, and dress-ups, allowing children to bring characters like Woody to life in their imaginations, just as they do in films.
Perfumes utilise sensual signs to market their brand, while advertisements featuring chocolate entice people through their imagination, preying on their cravings for sugars and saturated fats. Today, we witness an epidemic of energy drinks and vapes available in an array of flavours, including candy floss, licorice, and apple, which are all linked to various addictions. Despite this, they are still permitted to trade in the marketplace. People develop attachments to brands, and even at the market level, the notion of commodity fetishism arises from brand identity and their positioning within the marketplace. Packaging can resonate with consumers, leading them to purchase commodities based on their values and the identities those products may represent. For instance, high-end cars, luxury bedding made from Egyptian cotton, bags that signify class or status, and cosmetics and health products all target a woman’s core identity regarding her appearance, which is valued highly by the global system.
Even fitness, sleep programs, and diets could generate millions in revenue worldwide every day. We show loyalty to coffee and tea brands, yet we often overlook the hard work behind them and the low prices farmers receive for the beans, especially given the intense competition as rivals strive to outdo each other. Gaming is shaped by characters and the game structure, which targets identities and even gender, depending on its style of play. Generally, women often engage in different game structures than those involving war or fighting, such as boxing matches and shooting. They also target children's or mothers’ values to ensure that kids receive an education, starting with preschoolers learning the alphabet, colours, shapes and how to count. All these brands are consumer-driven and created based on what consumers demand. Food, shampoos, and cleaning products—from high-end brands to general cleaners—position themselves in the market on supermarket shelves. Commercial cleaning companies targeting high-end consumers often avoid placing their products on supermarket shelves to maintain their prestigious image.
People use many tricks, like packaging items in the same box while providing less product for the same price. Depending on the strategy and, most importantly, the product positioning—such as skateboards and surfing—these must be available in areas with the culture to support the growth of that product. Investing in a digital website is often more worthwhile than investing in a physical shop, as online platforms eliminate the fixed costs associated with paying rent. Although more people are investing in the service sector of the Internet, which has transformed the medium and expanded the marketplace for potential consumers, additional skills are necessary to make connections. Being online doesn’t ensure that the consumers you need will be reachable. You also must know how to attract visitors to your website, as many are caught in echo chambers, and thousands of similar products support different brand identities. This is why the competition is so fierce.
Brand identities that may harm the environment and create jobs where people earn far less than they need to survive pose ethical questions. Yet, marketers target commodity fetishism, appealing to consumers who indulge without considering the damage this may inflict on our planet and the livelihoods of families on insufficient wages. This highlights the importance of understanding our political economy, what protections exist against these abuses of our environment, and those grappling with daily costs. This has significantly changed with the rise of the internet and the media we engage with daily. One of social media's business models is advertising. They identify what people like and sell that information to advertisers, ensuring their brands reach the desired audience.
This adds a significant layer of complexity to the changes we collectively face today, whether in England or Spain, as we remain digitally connected. The political economy influences how platforms make products visible and determine who sees what. Numerous questions are surfacing regarding international law, especially given the absence of adequate international laws to protect the planet and the issues of low wages and slave labour supplying commodities to high-end consumers.
While we are only in the early stages of many changes that have occurred in this era, there are questions we all need to ask. For instance, what does it take to ensure brand loyalty? Should we consider more local options to reduce greenhouse gases? What can be done to remove harmful products from our shelves that are causing epidemics? Which companies hold industries to ransom, particularly regarding medication availability and how they prevent cheaper brands from entering the market due to their patents? There is so much we do not see or understand about the negative externalities created by the marketplace. While there are also positive externalities, such as access to shoes and household appliances, that make our lives easier, we must take a holistic perspective and question everything.
Written by Rochelle White
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