Midterm Part II

Midtern Part I

Recently, scientists called brain detectives have been researching how certain chemicals in the human brain can be inhibited or altered in order to help cement or refresh long-term memories. However, it is important to note that learning how to delete memories is the first step in learning how to revive them. Therefore, prior to the creation of a memory booster, it is possible that in the near future there will be a pill or some form of medical treatment that could allow a person to forget a deep-set memory. An individual, for example an American soldier suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a rape victim, or an emotionally abused child, could have the memory of an upsetting moment isolated and deleted forever. The possibility of deleting memories is quite plausible due to recent medical research, and, owing to the recent explosion of communication technology, the concept of memory deletion or memory enhancement could rapidly capture the attention of millions of people worldwide.

In order to attract the attention of millions of consumers, marketers must utilize various advertising techniques and tactics to promote their latest products. Due to America’s competitive capitalistic nature, the utilization of these methods is essential to the financial success of the American business. If companies are willing to invest in the further development of so-called memory pills, these pills could potentially be the next big thing to hit the American medical market, and they could garner massive profits for pharmaceutical companies. Narrowcasting, emotional branding, and cool hunting are a few examples of methods that could be used to promote memory pills. These techniques have the ability to manufacture desire, appeal to the consumer’s emotions, and create a newly branded culture.

Narrowcasting involves appealing to a specific demographic of the population. Today, it is a method of advertising that is often utilized by politicians to garner the votes of specific sectors of citizens. For example, politicians might target people of a certain ethnicity, age, or perhaps a certain education level. By targeting many small groups, politicians can ultimately garner many votes. Sometimes targeting the general public is not the most effective route for politicians due to unwavering party lines. In regard to the promotion of a memory pill, advertisers might target America’s graying generation. Americans are obsessed with the idea of the immortality of youthfulness. They yearn to remain in this material world, and they want to be as illustrious in their old age as they were in their twenties. Americans are willing to spend big bucks on products to revive their youth. Millions of dollars are spent every year on plastic surgery, cosmetics, miracle creams and age reversal medicines. If a memory pill was created, today’s market for physical age reversal could be supplemented by mental age reversal. Suppose there was a memory pill that could enhance the fond memories of a deceased spouse or devoid someone of senior moments. Imagine if a pill could allow one’s brain to absorb knowledge as easily as in one’s wonder years.

Narrowcasting is an advertising technique that could be utilized by companies to successfully market memory pills. For example, marketers could attract the attention of America’s graying population by placing promotional commercials on satellite radio stations that are frequently listened to by older people. Companies could even pay to have their spokespeople interviewed on satellite radio stations frequented by older listeners. Companies could promote their pills by placing ads in subscription magazines read by men and women on the verge of midlife crises. They could even place ads on cable television networks that are most commonly watched by people fifty and older. Mass mailings could even be sent to the graying population. Thanks to the internet, companies can target specific demographics by advertising on websites that require one to login or register. Perhaps a pharmaceutical company would place an ad for their memory pills on a website focusing on anti-aging remedies. Ultimately, narrowcasting is an advertising technique that is geared toward a highly specific segment of the public, and it is often successful in manufacturing desire in particular demographics of consumers.

Furthermore, the concept of a memory pill could be very appealing to high school and college students. Appealing to the teen population is related to a marketing technique called cool hunting. Marketers are constantly looking for underground trends that can slowly be introduced into the mainstream. Today, for example, marketers send researchers to the streets to document the underground trends of teens. These researchers look for new music, new clothing styles, and new interests in communication technology. Perhaps memory pills will be a cool new trend in the future. It is important to note, however, that advertisers deem the term trend a negative one. The longevity of a product’s popularity is essential to a company’s financial success, and if a product becomes cool too quickly it will lack sustainability in the market.

Maybe one day there will be memory pills that will make memorizing facts for test a cinch. Maybe there will be a memory pill that will help students remember their calculus professor’s lecture on derivatives. There are so many possible scenarios to think about when considering the concept of memory enhancement. When the everyday person considers the prescription drug craze in upper-class America he is likely to feel that it is a tragedy, but when pharmaceutical companies consider the American obsession with drugs, they see profits. Americans are tormented by their desire to succeed. Parents will go so far as to give their children drugs to focus in school. Americans are obsessed with the notion of normalcy, and they will do just about anything to fit in. Advertisers recognize the innate desires of the typical American, and they therefore use various advertising methods to appeal to the emotions of the American consumer.

Emotional branding is one advertising technique that is extremely effective. In order to connect with the emotions of the consumer advertisers must develop a commercial, phrase, or symbol that will be engraved in the consumer’s mind. When an American sees the symbol for Nike, for example, he is quick to make a word association in his mind. The swoosh symbol means different things to different people, but the idea that it has such meaning and is so recognizable is what makes the Nike company such a powerhouse. The attachments that Americans have to brands are based on the idea that humans are emotional beings. Americans, particularly, are likely to act upon their impulsive desire and uncontrollable emotions before acting upon their actual needs. The impulsive nature of Americans is exactly what companies thrive on.

In relation to memory pills, companies could create commercials that are nostalgic in nature in order to appeal to the consumer’s emotions. Advertisers could lure consumers by showing how content memory pill users are due to their lack of forgetfulness. The concept of emotional branding could be extremely effective in regard to the deletion of memories as well. Advertisers could show how memory pills have the ability to change the lives of victims of emotional, mental, or physical abuse. Advertisers could take so many different angles to promote memory pills. Imagine if you lost your spouse. Suppose you could remember his voice to a tee. What if you could remember in detail your first vacation overseas? What if you could remember the euphoria you felt after winning your first cross country meet? Advertisers could present these scenarios in advertisements in various media settings.

Ultimately, many Americans are selfish beings that feel unworthy of pain and are often too stubborn to learn from their mistakes. Imagine if someone could take a pill to forget pain or mistakes that he made in the past. It can easily be argued that such a medicine goes against the will of God and the course of nature; however, Americans are so self-possessed and so curious that they are willing to drop money and often morals for feel-good medicine.