Analisis of Video: e-talks - The Secret of food marketing

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e-talks - The Secret of food marketing

Summary

I've chosen to share my analysis of this video because there is a lot of my core interest into a view minutes, the rhetorics of the lecture, the video, the marketing techniques and the hoax approach to communicate the main matter of concern. In the video, an actress is pretending to be a marketer while she shares passionate insides of her profession the viewer assumes it's a similar format as the famous Tedtalks videos. The lecture starts light and funny, and there are two tipping points. The first one is when she presents cheerfully how marketing techniques are used to make the consumer feel better about the torturing animals, the atmosphere changes while the audience feels tricked. And the second one when she reveals her true intention, to hold up a mirror and make them realize they are part of this problem. The hoax approach of this project made me think of the similar strategy artist duo The Yes Men use in their work. As they annalize and present themselves using a certain language to be accepted by a target market, then creating a tipping point to reveal the hoax, we've lied to you, but for the greater good, to open your eyes.

Notes

00-0.10sec: The introduction is in a similar language as the familiar TedTalks, we are going to watch a small lecture to spread an idea with a live audience.

0.17- 1.50.: A light and funny introduction into the field of marketing. The woman starts her her lecture with the promise of revealing some secrets (So people, stay tuned!) Then she summaries her job as a marketer 'To make you want the product, to need it, to crave it...' she promises (again) to give us a big example later, but first she suggests to look at some fun things. (The audience is relaxed, looking at fun things sounds entertaining) Like one of her favorite examples the instance mix cake. The only thing the consumer had to do was to add some water. When it came on the market the first time this wasn't a success, after some research within the target consumers, the housewives, they found out that they felt it would be cheating to not put any effort on the cake. Therefore the marketers changed their approach, next to the water the consumer also has to add an egg, from that point the instant cake was a success. There are a lot of film shots within the audience, everybody is entertained while learning the manipulation techniques from this passionate expert.

1.50 - 5.44: The expert takes a bridge to the real subject of the evening 'chickens, cows and pigs!'as she chearful introduces the subject with some classic photos of these animals in nature. As we all know, the life of a chicken doesn't really look like this, it looks more like that, as she shows the audience a picture of a chicken stuck in a cage with other chickens. An image the consumer doesn.t like to be confronted with, and that's when her job as a marketer comes in around the corner. She promises to share three techniques -where one of them is a secret technique which she will save to the end- to give to the consumer a better and more romantic feeling of the life the chicken had before it ended on their plate. The marketer stays cheerful and passionate as she shares the inside techniques of her job, as the audiences are changing their moods becoming shocked and irritated that this woman reveals how she is tricking them. The first two techniques are:

  • 'Everybody believes the label' 100 % natural, farm fresh, etc.
  • 'Focus on progression' The downside is that the chickens are getting sick because of the conditions there are in, therefore they give them medication, but of course, the public is not so keen on this. The market solution is to use the langue on innovation, how farmers use new techniques and methods in their practices, this is positive, farmers are making progression.

5.44- end: Then the tipping point in the lecture, the secret weapon we were waiting for. The audience looks are irritated, the woman doesn't seem to be the nice person as they thought she was, it is horrible how the marketer proudly present how she is triking them. While the lecturer reveals her secret weapon her body language changes, the slide says 'YOU'. The public is confronted with the mirror technique, the confrontation that their acceptance of the manipulation is part the problem. They have manipulated again, but this time for the greater good, it was to open their eyes! The woman is an actress pretending to be a marketer, so we can like her again.