Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Monday, October 12, 2009

New Inventions Paper

The futuristic “product” I have chosen to concentrate on is the invention of Doctor Andre A. Fenton, Assistant professor of physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Health and Science Center in Brooklyn NY. He and his team of researchers at SUNY Downstate have been testing a potential memory controller that could change the lives of humans forever. Although innovative, many social and ethical concerns are certain to follow. Aside from these implications, this invention may eventually be marketed to the general public. If this is the case, marketers will need to come up with numerous strategies to appeal to consumer’s emotions and desires.

These researchers have done numerous studies, primarily on lab rats, that are said to create the same results in humans. They are testing “PKMzeta,” which are tiny molecules sent into the brain that “herd” themselves into “finger like” connections among brain cells, that eventually may strengthen or weaken memory. This could potentially control memories we would like to strengthen, or even memories that we would like to erase permanently.

There are many positive associations that come along with this type of treatment. Alzheimer’s disease is growing more and more common in old age today. The average age of humans is growing older and older. With this comes memory loss. This could play as the main focus for advertisers seeking to promote this treatment. Along with this, there are many other things that can be treated with this chemical. They believe things such as chronic fear, emotional damage, traumatic loss, and addictions all could be a thing of the past. Taking this chemical can virtually make all of these things disappear.

A person that feels they are not getting the best quality out of life because of something from their past holding them back could get a quick fix from this. In addition to all of these things, this can extend quality of life for someone struggling through old age. A grandfather can live old enough to enjoy their years with their family and not go through any struggles with memory. They may be able to avoid living in an elderly home because of this. Students may also benefit. Imagine studying for a test and being able to remember everything you learned?

Along with these positive associations come numerous ethical issues. Many people already feel that this could potentially be very dangerous for the general public. With more and more people being able to use this to improve memory and their quality of life, this could cause an “arms race.” Everyone will feel compelled to us it, because it could develop competition amongst students and people in the work force. While opening up happy memories of childhood, it could also open up “Pandora’s box.” People may harvest old memories that they have hidden, and may run into many issues when revisiting them. Along with opening up memories, people also fear blocking negative memories such as crime and bad behavior. For someone who has done a bad thing and is living with it, it may not be the best idea to let those memories disappear.

Although many ethical issues are associated with this treatment, if this drug is eventually put out on the market, advertisers will most likely leap to the opportunity to sell it. This is a huge innovation that could potentially be life changing to everyone on this globe. Advertisers will need to come up with inventive ways to market this product to the general public that will overshadow all the negative connotations that will come along with its advance. Three forms of advertising that will likely be effective in marketing this as a product could be neuromarketing, emotional branding and creating a culture around this as a brand.

Neuromarketing would probably be an essential form of advertising for this product. Studying neurological responses to marketing could definitely help advertisers find original ways at marketing to the general public. They know they’ll have to get into the minds of people in order to be convincing. By discovering changes in the mental state as responses to different forms of marketing, advertisers will be able to find creative measures that will surely appeal to consumer’s preferences.

Another form of marketing that can be used for this treatment is emotional branding. Emotional branding could definitely be a very efficient way of reaching the public eye. It will appeal to an individual’s emotions and desires. Advertisers could market this product by making the general public feel that their lives could be completely changed for the better. Telling people that their emotional burdens, their addictions, bad habits, distressing memories, and overall feelings of hurt could be gone in a matter of minutes definitely sounds like an effective way of winning over potential consumers.

In addition to neuromarketing and emotional branding, advertisers may also want to focus on creating a culture around this product. By telling the general public that a new world is being created where there is only happiness, sunshine, and no more emotional burden or pain, everyone will want to be a part of this new existence. Making people feel that they won’t have a good quality of life by living the way they used to will make them feel they need to be a part of this new culture. They will want to go to their doctors immediately and find this “quick fix” to all of their issues. Creating a brand around this “product” will create a positive image around it and make consumers forget all the negative connotations associated with it. They will outweigh all the negatives because they will want to be a part of this new and improved lifestyle.

Many of these techniques are used today, because as stated by ad executive Naomi Klein, “Consumers are like cockroaches, you spray them again and again and they become resistant.” Consumers are no longer respondent to advertisements the way they once were. There is too much advertising out there that it is creating clutter. If advertisers appeal to the consumers emotions and desires by getting into their heads, advertisers could definitely achieve their goal at getting this new innovation out to the general public.