Daily Archives: October 16, 2014

Marketing Inequality.

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Today is Blog Action Day and the topic is inequality. If the problem with society in America is poverty, the cause is inequality. There are other causes of course: poor parenting, inadequate education, drugs… but inequality is a root cause.

In recent brand and marketing plans developed for a new weight loss modality, I realized a strong component of the obesity epidemic is inequality. Bad eating habits in poor communities make for high indexing of obesity in lower socio-economic communities. That’s not to say obesity is not a problem among other classes of society (I feel dirty using the word classes), it is.  So in this marketing plan, I outlined two distinct targets based upon inequality. One I called the “Helplessly Obese,” the other “Weight Challenged.” Guess which one was the middle/upper class target?  Though they shared psychological similarities, there were enough noticeable differences to warrant separate tactics – media and otherwise.

The thing about understanding inequality is that it should be used for good, not exploitation. Pushing 32 oz. drinks to poor kids is wrong. Marketers who understand inequality for helpful reasons, will win customers hearts and minds. Marketers spending money to sell to middle and upper class consumers could take a page from this playbook. Peace!