Targeted advertising is based on many techniques and means, and it would be wrong to say that all of them are acceptable by definition. The pursuit of profit pushes manufacturers to target uninformed customers. Such a marketing strategy is unethical and cannot be justified by any goals and circumstances.
Targeted advertising for uninformed customers is based on misleading them. For example, targeting uninformed customers can disorient them about their health status (Kingsnorth 67). When manufacturers offer medicine, they refer to those symptoms that may be the cause of various diseases. These symptoms can only be interpreted with an individual consultation with a doctor. Nevertheless, the manufacturers strive to convince that consumers with these symptoms need only the recalled medicine.
Targeted advertising often uses emotional pressure as its means of influencing uninformed customers. This is manifested in the attempts of marketers to exaggerate the need for their product, referring to the catastrophic consequences that can occur if the product is not purchased (Miller and Peterson 13). For example, many banks seek to attract new customers by describing how their financial services will be salvageable during the coming crisis or default. However, these phenomena are either exaggerated or fictious.
Some people may argue that a targeted advertisement for uninformed people can be a lame platform for education. Thus, by selling eco-friendly products, many manufacturers contribute to highlighting the environmental situation in the region or the world (Singh 86). However, the use of people’s lack of information cannot be justified, since marketers always have a reason and an opportunity to falsify data.
Targeting on uninformed costumers is an unethical strategy of marketing. Its means are aimed at misleading people and at their emotional exploitation, which do not contribute to developing the society. On the contrary, these methods make many people’s lives less comfortable and convenient.
Works Cited
Kingsnorth, Simon. Digital Marketing Strategy: An Integrated Approach to Online Marketing. 2nd ed., Kogan Page, 2019.
Miller, Donald, and Jordan Peterson. Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step StoryBrand Guide for Any Business. HarperCollins Leadership, 2021.
Singh, Krishna Kumar. Principles of Marketing and Management: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning and Analyzing the Marketing Environment. Independently published, 2017.