And now for the marketing sinner

I’ve had marketing in my job title for several years and stand before you all as a geodemographic sinner per Goss and image seller per Domosh (a form of manipulation, as we've discussed before...). Geodemographics is common practice, it's in all of the terms we use in understanding target audiences. However, what about the perspective that all of this marketing tool’s application is not evil and exploitive, and perhaps a natural evolution, with some beneficial and negative aspects, toward some societal ills but also to improved lifestyle and community as we consider ourselves in "like place" with certain groups? Pathetic perhaps that this is to what society gravitates, but is it absolute that geodemographics and advertising shape or define societal groups and cultural values through marketers instead of reflecting what we already are or want to be – or would we be anyway?

Here is a 2005 forecast for Chief Marketing Officers, which directly builds on many issues raised in our readings this week with security, direct targeting of ad messages, global ad consolidation and Internet influence. There's been tons of ad agency consolidation - and integration with PR and interactive media agencies - in recent years:
http://www.cmomagazine.com/analyst/022405_forrester.html

For fun if you’d like further venture to the darkside, you can take this quick VALS survey Goss references. Of note: your results will change if you alter your income. Hmmm…
http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/presurvey.shtml