Bias is everywhere. People tend to perceive, negatively or positively, according to their uprising, education, social interactions, experiences. Therefore, we all have ‘hidden’ guidelines that push us towards or away from something.
You can see ‘BIAS’ everywhere: people trying to persuade you that they are right and you wrong, political parties, people defending their profession, companies selling their products, and so on and so on.
I am always fascinated by a single experiment I conduct where I choose a product, a service, a technology, a company or an industry, delete it from the face of the Earth and then try to imagine the consequences, positive or negative, this will have on me, a country, the economy, the environment, the World.
So, what would happen if we didn’t have lawyers, or football, or Google, or peanut butter, or toilet paper? Try it and you will get some pretty interesting feedback from your brain!
The easiest place to start in order to see how this experiment will directly affect you is by trying to eliminate your profession from the face of the Earth. So, if you are a lawyer, try to imagine the World without lawyers, if you are a Truck driver try to imagine the economy without drivers, or, like I do, try to Imagine the World without Marketing.
Marketing is often accused of many bad things like selling bad products, promoting useless services, disturbing ads, manipulating customers, and many others, most of which are true. After all there are always a few bad apples in every basket, right? Right. So, let’s try to imagine how this Planet would be without Marketing. Not just without advertising, but Marketing. Now if you don’t get the difference between advertising and marketing, here’s your chance to get to know a bit more.
The day Earth banned Marketing
No free TV
You will have to pay to get the channels you want to see because TV media will have to ban ads and without ads how would they be able to produce the next comedy for you to watch, the new kids’ program, or news? You would have to pay to watch TV.
Less Google, less Facebook, less TikTok
These internet companies generate most of their sales from ads that they serve you when you use their services. Without ads, you would have to start paying for these services like search, apps, social media, videos.
Less Brands and Branding
Companies will not be able to differentiate themselves from their competitors because that would require marketing like choosing a brand name, choosing colours, packaging, ads, producing YouTube videos, influencers, stores. So, you won’t be able to see many options of products or services because you wouldn’t know the difference. Your shoes are not allowed to say “NIKE”, your bag cannot be “Louis Vuitton” (leather bag with no logos), and you won’t be able to easily locate a “KitKat” in the supermarket since all chocolates will have the same colour and packaging.
Supermarket Massacre
Your visit to the supermarket would be pretty weird. Everything looks the same, with the same packaging, no colours to tell products apart. You will have to dig hard and consume time to find the product you always used, provided that they cannot use their brand name on the product. You will have to start reading the back of the product to make sure that you found your favourite pasta brand, your Greek yoghurt, and toothpaste, you get the point. Everything looks the same, with the same colours and packing, no brands, only ingredients.
Finding that trendy new restaurant
How would you know about that fancy new restaurant that makes that super tasty chicken everyone is talking about? You won’t. at least easily. Provided that you pay for your social media the restaurant cannot advertise right from the start to get the first person to visit for a test drive. Then the restaurant cannot have a sign outside to locate it, it cannot post a photo of the plate to make you drool.
Your new company is dead from the beginning
You cannot advertise your products, make a flyer, or even talk about them. All these are gone. And even if a prospective client finds your store (with no sign outside), you cannot talk to them since that would be selling and selling is considered a part of Marketing. You will have to wait by the cash register, silent, hoping you sell.
These are just a few examples that I can think of right now to demonstrate what would happen if Marketing was suddenly gone. The world would be less colourful, less tasty, a bit more boring. People would have to work hard to choose, find, try, re-buy a product or service, differentiate themselves from the crowd, and discover alternatives.
Let’s simplify Marketing by just saying that Marketing is how to promote a product or service. Marketing is often overused, misused and manipulated, but it also gives you options, presents alternatives, demonstrates features, researches the needs of the market to try to offer something they want or need. Marketing is not only advertising, pop-ups, signs, brands, influencers, and the kardashians.
What would happen if your profession was suddenly voted illegal? Make the experience and see what happens. Start with banning a product or invention like, let’s say, the toilet paper. Usually, the results are hilarious!
