The Ways To Enhance Consumer Experience
Advertisers and marketers alike are trying to find ways to attract consumers in the congested world of brands that we are surrounded with every day. New technologies are being introduced to the market that advertisers and marketers utilize to their advantage in their aim to gain consumers for their company or client that they are working for. Social Media has become one of the largest outlets that brands are using to target consumers in their everyday lives where they track their daily routines or preferences and develop a product or service that is attractive enough to be consumed. Consumer happiness is a key factor that is considered when developing a good or service that is aimed to be sold on the mass market whether it be free or not.
Before a product is created and developed there is a process that businesses must go through until they reach their final product which they plan to sell on the mass market. This process involves many people in-between such as designers and various kinds of equipment to achieve the desired end product that is sufficient to the needs of the brand and to their targeted consumers. Focusing on three different types of companies and technologies that are aimed at enhancing overall consumer happiness - Ad Blocker Plus, Earthbound LLC. , and 3D Printing (synonymously known as additive manufacturing), each have brought different ways of enhancing consumer experience in the advertising and marketing world of big brands.
Emotional based value
Emotion based value of Advertising and Marketing is worth mentioning due to the fact that these fields are of particular debate through its association with deception and the want of inducing people to spend money on things that they cannot afford or do not need. Advertising and marketing is seen to be a bad influence and is seen as unethical. However, it is because of aggressive advertising and marketing that products and services are cheap and the economy is thriving. One form of technological debate with advertising and marketing is Ad blocking. Ad blocking is an extension that a computer or mobile device user can download to remove ads whilst using their devices. This filters out all form of advertising and blocks communication between businesses and their consumers.
Whilst most would agree that the congestion of advertising on websites is evil (a common term used when describing advertising), there are benefits to having the content shown on the site. Ad blocking is seen as beneficial to the user of the extension in that they are not being distracted or annoyed by various ads on a web page. However, whilst it may seem to be a tool that consumers of the extension enjoy having, it has a negative impact on the economy. According to a study made by Juniper Research in 2016, it is said that Ad blocking will cost publishers about $27 billion in lost revenue by 2020. With this said, the economy will be affected through the loss of jobs and downturn of sales which will have a negative impact. In addition, an effect of using this extension, content generators and content publishers will receive less revenue and as a result will stop creating and publishing content.
Moreover, there will be less free content available, meaning that once there are no ads that are paying publishers, publishers will seek payment for their work through their site users. The largest Ad blocking company right now is AdBlock Plus. AdBlock Plus was created in 2006 by Wladimir Palant to “block annoying ads, disable tracking and block domains known to spread malware. ” This is a free extension that users can download to hinder advertisements from being downloaded onto a site that you are visiting.
This has become the world’s largest ad blocking extension, where they are financed through donations and by leveraging companies that place digital advertisements. Aforementioned was the downturn of the economy and the lack of free content being a result of this extension, cunningly, AdBlock Plus debuted a new initiative called Acceptable Ads where they acknowledge that not all ads are bad and that they are used to finance websites, and so they decided to create an acceptable ad list where they act as a middleman between advertiser and consumer (see picture below) and require companies to fill out a form to be accepted into a list so their ads can be filtered past the site.
In addition, they layout how an ad should be displayed and the dos and don’ts of what they can and cannot do that a participant (term they regard companies that want their ads filtered through) if failing to abide will be removed. (Acceptable Ads Criteria, adblockplus. org) Within this participation, entities are required to pay a licensing fee to the adblocking company.
Ad blocking in an emotion-based value targets both the advertiser and the consumer, the latter being positively impacted and the former negatively. According to an article by Wicker et. al. , in 2017, they address the specifications of how ad blocking works and conclude with Ad blocking being ethical for advertising systems are the “antithesis of value based-design. ”
Product development and technologies
Now, with this in mind, design companies who create products for large entities look at how the consumers that they are designing for are being reached to drive sales. One design company, Earthbound LLC. , is a licensing and branding company that specializes in design and product development. They handle marketing, product development, graphic design, market research, licensing strategies and execution, etc. , main components of how a large company that sells goods reach their consumers. Their clients are Honda, Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman), QVC, Kevlar, Acura, Better Homes and Gardens, etc. , where they actively create products for these brand lines. They work with Walmart and other large chains to stock these store with their client’s products that they have created.
Interviewing the Chief Financial Officer of the company, Chetram Ramnarain, he spoke about the design process of product development. The reason why large brands come to them for their services is because he says that, “they do not have the ability to do it in house. Earthbound has valuable properties for licensing and these large companies do not know how to do it. ” While they may have an advertising department, they lack design skills so these large companies, for example, Honda, come to them with an idea that they take and expand into a product line which is mass produced according to their client’s specifications. Before they agree to hire a brand for licensing, they look at the costs of startup and how much they can see to make and how long it would take to see revenue. Earthbound generates most of their revenue through royalties depending on the annual sales that their client generates. He says that it takes “nine to twelve months to see royalties when taking over a brand. ”
Taking over a brand means that they have complete control over the operations of the brand over design depending on the contract they have with that brand. For example, the brand Better Homes & Gardens is one of their biggest clients that they sell to Walmart. They have complete control over design creation and can create whatever they want whether it be bedding, kitchen, patio, etc. The process begins with sending their designers to tradeshows around the world to see what is going to be trending in the future and to see what it is that the designer can create based on the brand that they are tasked with that will effectively target consumers and generate revenue.
When the designer begins to design for the brand, according to an IT worker, Sury Ramnarain, they use Macs and Wacom tablets. A Wacom Tablet is “like a mouse, ” that designers have connected to their computer which allows ease of use when drawing. Software that they use are Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, NedGraphics (textile software), and SolidWorks, each software used for different types of design. Once the design is completed they go through what is called a “product approval process, ” where they go to the owner of the brand where they receive approval for the product and they send what is called a “tech pack” which contains everything about the product from dimensions of the box to the product, colors, material, etc. , where and how it is going to be sold, to the supplier who will create the products and as a result stores like Walmart will be stocked with these items.
For example, one of their recent clients, Ree Drummond, Food Networks Pioneer Woman, came to them with wanting to have her “instant pots” and other kitchen goods created and sold. On Walmart’s website, all the products that are sold under her name were created by Earthbound for Ree Drummond. All she did was provide them with her recipes, ideas, and color schemes and they designed goods for her which she approved of once receiving a sample.
Chetram said, “It is because of Earthbound that her products are everywhere and are the reason she has become more famous around the world. ” Earthbound makes their financial decisions based on sales or royalties (5-35%) depending on volume. Currently Earthbound has been generating $10-12 million in revenue for Better Homes & Gardens and $2. 2 billion in sales for Walmart, in which they make $12-15 million per year from Walmart alone on sales by royalty. Every financial cost that is imposed on these brands is based on annual sales in which they calculate the percentage of royalties that they may collect. Being a design company means that they have to always be up to date on the current trends in the market as well as consumer demand. Handal 2017, calls this type of design and manufacturing the push strategy. The push strategy means that within the supply chain, companies manufacture goods in large batches stocking warehouses and shelves prior to consumer demand so that when the time arrives for want, it will already be there.
3D Printing
3D Printing an idea conceived by Hideo Kodama in 1981 was brought to creation four years later by Charles W. Hull when the first 3D printer was designed which led to him opening the first 3D Printing company 3D Systems. 3D printing has brought a revolution to research and development for there are printers used in the healthcare industry to create real tissue for transplant, a form for bone replacement such as the mandible, food, design, etc. , with the list going on.
3D printing synonymously known as additive manufacturing is a form of manufacture where instead of creating a product by subtracting from a material, the material is added on layer by layer to create the final product. This method rids the extra waste caused by traditional manufacturing and can be achieved using over 45 different materials. Today companies such as 3D Systems and Sculpteo outsource their services to small and large business to prototype products, sell printers, low volume manufacturing and so on. In addition, if not wanting to have to use a company to obtain a printed design one could buy a printer on the mass market and be used in businesses where in house designers and engineers could design a product or part using a special software that would be sent to the printer in which it would print the time depending on the complexity and size of the design.
The process of design begins with the designer creating a CAD file which contains the color and dimensions of the product which is then sent to the printer which then creates the product. Within the advertising and marketing world, 3D printing has become a source of interest. According to Scultpeo’s 2018 State of 3D printing, they saw that 93% of their respondents say that 3D printing is a competitive advantage. Respondents included in the survey are comprised of business owners/ CEO’s and engineers where 17% are dedicated to Industrial Goods and 12% to Consumer Goods- all these requiring that of advertising and marketing to enhance their companies revenue stream in which they have adopted this method to attract consumers.
3D printing can be and has been used in various marketing campaigns with companies such as in 2013 Coca-Cola Israel who created an app in which they ran a contest and those who were chosen were invited to the Coca-Cola headquarters in Israel and had mini version of themselves printed through this method. Coke has been carrying out the 3D Printing method in terms of gaining consumers though a recent initiative that they started in Greece and debuted on October 2, 2018 where they have printed furniture using recycled plastic which includes a tree and a slot for recycled bottles that encourages recycling for a healthier environment. These they have placed along beaches in Thessaloniki, Greece with the aim of creating a “Zero-Waste city” which they plan to have the campaign spread throughout the rest of Europe.
Coca-Cola’s method of adopting 3D printing shows innovation that is environmentally safe for the materials that can be used in 3D printing can be recycled and biodegradable in addition to the reduction of waste that would normally be made through traditional techniques. This method encourages companies and businesses to be innovative and aware in the number of batches that are made to ensure that there are no left overs that will get thrown away hence generating waste. Small companies can buy printers for their own use and this method helps to cut costs with prototyping through other companies and cut the time delay for a sample.
This is beneficial for design companies who still would like to use traditional manufacturing to obtain their products. 3D printing is limited in its design of soft materialled clothing for the materials used for 3D print is generally liquified or powdered. However, when the topic of 3D printing was brought up to Chetram, he said that Earthbound was interested in owning a machine and have it on site, but when they had Sury research the matter, they concluded that this tool was not a plausible investment that it is only useful for prototyping. They would be investing over $50, 000 in a machine that would not necessarily benefit the company.
3D printing is useful for low volume manufacturing and their company deals with mass manufacture, and so this tool would not be useful. Chetram, when talking about trade shows, he mentioned that the biggest trade shows take place in Europe and they have the most technological and innovative goods on display, which is being shown with Coke’s “Zero Waste City” initiative in Europe. Handal 2017, refers to additive manufacturing as being the pull strategy. The pull strategy is where companies manufacture products according to personal consumer demand and produce goods in small batches.
This form of supply is said to be more personalized and innovative. He does quote a study by Cohen 2014 that “it is not easy for top managers to accept the adoption of this technology in manufacturing. ” It has yet to prove to be a viable form of creation and development and the hesitancy was there for Earthbound, and as a result of lack of return for the investment they decided not to adopt this method in their traditional form of design since they design for the mass market and do not create personalized items for the individual based on orders.
Conclusion
Within this paper I have gone through two companies - AdBlocker Plus and Earthbound LLC. , and one industry - 3D Printing (additive manufacturing) - all three seeking to improve consumer happiness in the advertising and marketing world. AdBlocker Plus aims at removing ads that are disruptive to device users and are an impediment to their web time. They have found a way to overcome large brand names that aggressively place digital advertisements throughout the internet by “whitelisting” them and forcing them to comply to their criteria and payment if they want to be filtered through for consumer view. (adblockerplus. org) Earthbound LLC. is a branding and licensing management company that creates and develops products for these big brands that aggressively place digital advertisements throughout the web such as Unilever, Walmart, Honda, Acura, etc. They are the ones creating the clothes that you buy at Target under a designer’s name such as Isaac Mizrahi, and the kitchenware, bedding and patio that you find at Walmart.
3D Printing is an industry that aims at economically cutting costs of product development and manufacturing by low volume manufacturing based on consumer preferences based on the ability to be innovative- something that design companies look for when competing with other companies that are in the same industry. Something that I have learned is that there are many sides to the world of advertising, marketing and design. These fields have recently been referred or addressed through philosophical principals on Aristotelian Virtue Ethics, Bentham and Mills Utilitarian Principle, Kant’s Categorial Imperative and so on.
On one side you have the consumer, whose over happiness is always considered and throughout all scholarly journals such as Wicker et. al. 2017, Handal 2017, Athey and Gans 2010, Yang et. al. 2012, the consumer happiness is something that is always considered and is the basis for all purchases made. The consumer side varies for the consumer seeks overall happiness yet, it is through these big brands and the branding companies they hire to create products that consumers show overall happiness. Yet in such a competitive industry advertising takes form in trying to target the most amount of consumers on a platform that have the most users.
According to a study made by We Are Social and Hootsuite, there are over four billion people using the internet around the world. Big brands use this platform to target their consumers who they know shop at their store- this being a way for them to generate revenue and continue brand and company expansion. This has brought a form of dissatisfaction amongst consumers for they feel that they do not want to be bombarded by advertisements, yet they want to always find the best deal of a product that is trending, or they find is needed.
Whilst on the outside it may be that advertisements are an impediment, on the other hand, they play such a large role in society through their financial support of various publishing sites and the creation of competition that drive prices low. In Wicker et. al, 2017, they reported that in a Reuters survey, only 10% of respondents (who were online users) were willing to pay for content that used to be free- people were willing to lose free access than have to pay for it.
The other side are the content generators and the product designers- the companies behind the advertisements and the product on display. They are the ones who create the advertisements that are placed throughout the web and they research and develop ways to attract new customers. Billions are invested each year into advertising all for the sake of driving sales which in effect will cause a growth in the economy. With extensions such as AdBlocker Plus who try to leverage these companies for money, they are causing a downturn in sales and economic growth for whilst they are acting on the side of the consumer in what they believe is supporting overall happiness, the content generators, designers and so on are being affected in their jobs and output is decreased.
Products that are designed by businesses like Earthbound for large companies, are designing based on consumer demand- things that they know are going to be sold and used by the consumer. All these factors play a role in the creation of an economy and the side of the consumer is confused for they explicitly feel that they are harassed by advertisements yet implicitly they want the advertisements to buy according to their demands. Additive manufacturing is a solution that seeks to resolve the conflict by benefitting both parties involved.
For the consumer they are receiving products according to their preferences, demand and personalization at a cheaper price because of cost reduction in material and manufacturing. For the designer and advertiser, they are finding a way to be innovative and create a way to target the consumer that is acceptable to them where they may not see such backlash in advertising. Products will be created according to demand and preference and they will not have to worry about overstock or large batches.
Advertisers and Marketers are seeking ways to target their consumers in a competitive economy, yet they have many other forms of technology that impede and support their cause. Whilst Ad blockers aim to rid digital platforms with such advertising that they find to be a hindrance, advertising is needed to continue the growth of the economy and in effect provide free content to online users. If there is a lack of advertisers, those who publish sites will be hesitant to allow thousands of users to use their content freely without any form of pay- especially news outlets who use the revenue gained from advertisers on their sites to employ their journalists. Branding and licensing companies that are hired to create and design products for their clients take their work seriously and their goal is to generate billions of dollars in revenue for their clients whilst promoting consumer happiness.
Lastly, according to Yang et. al. 2012, “credibility is a key factor in attitudes toward…advertising.” Credibility is a key component in building the relationship and communication between consumer and advertiser for the consumer expects transparency. McKenzie et. al. 1989, says that credibility is “the extent to which the consumer perceives claims made about the brand in ads to be truthful and believable.” So, if Ree Drummond advertises her instant pot to be able to cook almost everything from rice, to meat, cakes and eggs - the product should follow through to her word for the pot is branded under her name.
