Is it a Company’s Responsibility to Cater to its Consumers’ Feelings?

The Societal Marketing Concept as said by Roger A. Kerin and Steven W. Hartley, Authors of McGraw Hill Marketing: The Core, is the view that organizations should satisfy the needs of consumers in a way that provides for society’s well-being. This concept also ties in with a company’s social responsibility which is described as “The view that organizations should satisfy the needs of consumers in a way that provides for society’s well-being”. Companies are held to a higher standard where they are expected to make ethical decisions that benefit the world at large, the relationship between companies and consumers should be beneficial to both parties, companies are making a profit and consumers are able to get their needs met while living in a better world. It is reported that 80% of consumers will switch to a brand that supports a good cause, which means it is in a company’s favor to always promote a good, ethical message to its consumers to also hold up its social responsibility

Companies are able to reach customers through advertising, when companies use advertising, they are able to communicate value to a wider audience,“Advertising is any paid form of communication from an identified sponsor or source that draws attention to ideas, goods, services or the sponsor itself” As said by Kim Thanos, Author and CEO of Lumen Learning. When a company releases an advertisement, its three main objectives are to inform, remind, and persuade customers about a company’s specific message. Cosmetic companies mainly use product-focused advertisements, which are ads that specifically promote goods or services. They use these types of advertisements to inform customers about their products and what they do, remind existing customers that this product is still available, and persuade customers that this item will benefit them in every way. By applying these three goals when creating an advertisement, companies are trying to appeal to customers to complete their main goal, making a profit. By tying in the societal marketing concept as well as social responsibility when creating advertisements, companies do as good of a job as possible to appeal to its customers while benefiting society. 

One of the main problems that society faces today is individuals having body image issues. Dr Jake Linardon, is a research Fellow and Lecturer of Psychology at Deakin University, Melbourne Australia. He studies the causes, consequences, and treatments for eating disorders. According to a multinational study conducted, he reports that body image was listed as the top 4 concerns for women worldwide, and that “around 50% of young 13 year old American girls reported being unhappy with their body. This number grew to nearly 80% by the time girls reached 17 years of age”. In Americanadult women, it was reported through a large study that around 50% of women of any race felt that they were dissatisfied with their body. 

With body issues being such a huge problem with women in today’s society, and because it is a business’s responsibility to benefit society as well as generate profits, one would assume that businesses would aim to promote a positive body image and inclusiveness. Especially because most of their target demographic is women, it would do more harm than good for a company to be putting out these advertisements. One example of a business that had been promoting the message of body positivity, is Fenty Beauty by Rhianna. This brand has been named the number one most inclusive brand by a popular beauty blog called Prestige. Founder Rhianna, has stated that her inspiration for the brand is “That people everywhere would be included”. She stuck to this inspiration, because the brand debuted with over 40 foundation shades, most brands only having about 20. It doesn’t stop at foundation, there were contour, bronzer, blush, concealer and many more products that came in a wide range of shades, with her advertising featuring people of all shades. People of all skin colors were able to find a foundation shade that finally matched them, which in turn made consumers feel seen and heard by a brand. Fenty Beauty was so successful in its first year that it raked in more than $500 million in sales. Another brand by Rhianna that sells lingerie called Savage X Fenty, promotes the same message as fenty beauty. Featured in their advertisements are models of any size and shape and promotes a message of body positivity. In its first year sales, it debuted with over $550 million.

It is clear to see that customers switch to a brand because they support a good cause that most relates with them. Ever since these brands have had its debut in the late 2010’s, many brands have followed in their footsteps by promoting their products using the message of inclusiveness, and making its consumers feel good in their own skin. Companies being held to a high standard of doing good for society would also push the company to promote the message of body positivity, and because more customers will switch to a brand who does promote this, they would have no problem completing their other goal which is generating profit. Companies don’t want to risk their reputation and lose profits at the same time therefore, the problem of negative body issues stemming from the media and cosmetic advertisements should disappear within the next few years. 

This sadly is not the case. There are still millions of advertisements out there promoting cosmetic products in such a way that women will be guilted into purchasing them because they feel as if they will not look good without them. Despite popular belief, this is no accident. It takes millions of dollars as well as hundreds of people to approve and sign off on an advertisement before it is released to the public. The odds that someone could spot if an ad can be taken in any way is extremely high, and the fact that there are advertisements out there that are deliberately making women feel bad about themselves to buy a product is alarming. Following the success of Fenty beauty, as well as adhering to their social responsibility, brands need to start promoting products using the message of body positivity and letting their consumers know they are beautiful no matter what to overall benefit society. With less body shaming ads comes less negative body images.  

References

Kerin, Roger A., and Steven W. Hartley. Marketing: The Core. McGraw-Hill LLC, 2022.

Learning, Lumen. “Principles of Marketing.” Lumen, 2015,

Linardon, Dr Jake. “Body Image Statistics 2022: 47+ Shocking Facts & Stats.” Break Binge Eating, Break Binge Eating, 27 Feb. 2022, https://breakbingeeating.com/body-image-statistics/.

Sharma, Akriti, et al. “Fenty Beauty and 10 Other Inclusive Beauty Brands in the World.” Prestige Online – Thailand, 3 Sept. 2021, https://www.prestigeonline.com/th/beauty-wellness/beauty/fenty-beauty-and-other-inclusive-beauty-brands/.