Marketers and their tricks

Today on our way home we stopped by the baby store to pick up a couple of items that Nikki claimed we needed. While Nikki was busying herself picking out the items she wants I took the time to have a seat in the gliders that the store has on display and it was while waiting that I figured out how marketers go about marketing their products and how their strategy extends to baby products. Here is my theory. With any product a marketer has to make the product appeal to something that is considered sacred. With baby products, the marketers chose to appeal to expectant moms and their unborn child. Nothing is more sacred than this. These wily marketers then position their products where the expectant mom feels she must have this product for her child. These masters of deception also know that the expectant dad dare not object to these items for fear of what the irrational expectant mom will say.

Here is part two of their strategy. They take each product and place it into one of four categories: necessary, useful, cute and you-want-me-to-buy-what? Now the trick is to get each product into the necessary and cute categories from the useful and the you-want-me-to-get-what? since every product starts in the latter two. So take a crib. Many years ago it was a useful item at best and then it became cute with all the decorations. Now it is just an absolute necessity. And now take a valance. That is clearly a you-want-me-to-get-what? item. But somehow it is now in the cute category. And so it is with every product. Armed with this knowledge I refuse to be caught into their trap.

So much so that on my way out of the store I snatched up an outfit that I absolutely loved (khaki pants and a top) and one of those onesies with the phrase “Mommy’s alarm clock” written on it. Why did I do so? Well they were just too cute! I really hate those darn marketers!