Cultural Effects –

It is obvious that technology has had a profound impact on the culture of our society. One of the major shifts we can see is who is controlling the media we consume. Well, the consumer is. Chuck Hengel, founder of Marketing Architects, believes that the consumer now has the first word, the final say, and demands a deal, more buying options, and shorter attention spans (Hengel, 2011).

An example of this can be seen when The Walt Disney Company, in an effort to appeal to a contemporary market, “sexualized” their “Brave” heroine, Merida. As a result, over 200,000 signatures petitioned for the company to lose the makeover and bring back the original Merida. In an effort to appease the masses, Company CEO, Bob Iger, mandated to revert Merida’s new image and that making her “skinnier, sexier, and more mature in appearance” was a “disservice” to young children (change.org, 2013). Consumer for the win.

While the consumer may enjoying their power to control the media, marketers are getting the last laugh through data mining. For example, Target assigns every customer an ID number that is linked to their credit card, name, and e-mail address. This information “becomes a bucket that stores a history of everything they’ve bought and any demographic information Target has collected from them or bought from other sources” (Hill, 2012). As an example, let’s say you write a fashion blog and may reference some of Targets clothes, jewelry, or shoes. There is a way this information ends up in Target’s database so they can cater to your specific interests.

Change.org (2013). Disney Pulls Sexy Merida Makeover After Public Backlash.

http://jezebel.com/disney-pulls-sexy-merida-makeover-after-public-backlash-494274022

Hill, K. (2012). How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl was Pregnant Before Her Father

Did.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/