Mass consumption and marketing

I have always been very intrigued by the ascent taken by the new media phenomenon in our daily life and the corporations' approach and strategies to foster their consumption.

According to a study published last Thursday, April 6, the volume of global spending on high-tech goods is expected to increase by 2.5% which means up to 3.7 trillions of dollars. According to Gartner's research firm, it is the telecom industry that is doing the best. As they mentioned, smartphones and tablets should continue to be consumed like hotcakes. ''Despite their price, these products remain severely attractive'', says Mr. Gordon, '' in 2011, 40% of the phones that were sold were smartphones. They are becoming the norm and there is still much of the population to equip"¹. This sector, which represented 442 billion dollars in 2011, would increase to $ 472 billion by the end of the year, indicating a rise of 6.9%. (Le Monde, April 5^th)

In a society where the capitalist system coexists within the democratic regime, I wonder where the root of this cult of mass production comes from. The evolution of the production of artifacts has led us, the citizens, from the passive state of a simple user to a profitable user and an active consumer. The historical course of this profound change marks a sharp transition between the era of essential needs and the era of desires in social terms. Indeed, corporations have created a new type of consumer, a consumer driven by his desires and emotions, not simply by his basic needs. Therefore, consumption is nowadays not only the act of purchasing, but it is also the act of producing significance and meaning. According to McLuhan, the object is now seen as a social sign and it gives the owner a certain social status. The message here is hence considered the medium. (Notes)

Thus, we use media to fill our own desires. Dialogue would consequently be done between corporations and users in order to produce devices that will please and satisfy consumers. The cult of mass production is surely well established in our culture due to all the emotions that are arising from even the smallest purchase of its devices. Where it becomes interesting is how corporates' strategies have, over time, been perfected in order to make desirable the image and the message conveyed by the medium. The historical weight is essential to understand how it has been developped. As Marx says, we started with a limited market which only included the elitist society to a diverse and virtually unlimited market dominated by emotions in terms of self-realization. (Notes)

I have once read that theorically speaking, Freud was the pillar of public relations in marketing since he was the first to use the irrational desires rooted in the unconscious of man. Hence , this emotional connection is now linked with the consumer's device. We then enter in an actual relationship with the product we use.

Concerning smarphones, these are a whole new design of phones that telecom corporations have created, anticipating a whole new form of user. Doubtlessly, technical innovations have led to a social and political revolution. As the satistics depicted, the overconsumption in technology is constantly growing.

On 28^th of November 2011, Nokia has created a live advertisment to promote their new smartphone, Nokia Lumia 800 with Windows phone. The compagny brought deadmau5 live and the world's most advanced 4D technology together and produced a free light show at Millbank Tower in London. Nokia has improved advertisment technology ever since they presented a creative marketing strategy staged in a story that was as innovative as it was unusual. Their objective was settled on consumption in order to create a greater demand among the target group to get more customers' loyalty. Nowadays, since market has become diverse and virtually unlimited, companies must stand out more than ever. (The video is a bit old but it worths it – I have never seen any publicity that used that type of technology before).

1Sarah Belouezzane, Les ventes de biens de haute technologie devraient augmenter en 2012, http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2012/04/05/les-ventes-de-biens-de-haute-technologie-devraient-augmenter-en-2012_1681446_651865.html?xtmc=gartner&xtcr=1 (Consulting date: 2012-04-08)