Marketing.
by Raymund Fernandez
Cebu Daily News
02/28/2007
I do not believe the rumor that the Jesuit schools want to change their motto, "A man for others," into something more marketable. Still, the creative spirit inside me could not help but search for alternative sales pitches, just for fun. The theoretical problem posed was how to make the Jesuit schools more attractive to people, given the current value system among young and old in this country.
I could not help relating this thought to a lecture delivered by a leading history teacher at my school. She lamented her almost vain efforts to make the study of history interesting to her students of the current "Y" generation. They are too self-absorbed and too brand-conscious, she sighed. They have to be "entertained;" otherwise, they pay no attention at all. She cited a list of possible reasons for this. But my mind clung to this single possible cause: marketing.
Everything is marketed nowadays. Capitalism has triumphed globally. Socialism has fallen or has eroded at least for a time. Now we will truly find out how capitalism may operate in a world where all its opponents have been moved to the margins. The best way to find out is to study Generation Y's value system, as my favorite history teacher had by example prescribed. It would be a wonderful field of cultural study. Still, and for now, we can already pose theories as to how young people develop the values they operate by.
I pose the possibility that Generation Y is who it is because the main producer of values in current society is mass media. Mass media is almost completely dominated by marketing processes. It is the main medium through which collective value judgments and choices resulting from them are made. From whom are young toddlers learning all about love, kindness, honesty, integrity and spelling? Dora the Explorer, Sponge Bob, Cat Dog and TV commercials. Who decides the manner by which our kids will be exposed to these? TV network executives. What main principle do they use? Marketing principles.
Well of course, there is also the Internet. My favorite history teacher posed the possibility this might be the reason the kids are self-absorbed. Their lives are almost entirely spent by themselves and in front of a monitor. Imagine a young person in characteristic ill-postured repose on an uncomfortable chair in front of a monitor. He is Generation Y. This picture does not scare us. We also grew up this way. But remember we spent at least some time daily with "real, non-virtual" friends. Imagine that time growing less and less with each passing generation of kids. Imagine "Generation Z."
It is not our intention, of course, to condemn all these. We are ourselves co-conspirators. All these past years, when we asked ourselves for the solution to most of our institutional and even personal problems, what was out panacea? That's right: marketing. Thus, we have built for ourselves a world where institutions, concepts and even people are brands and brands become famous just by simply advertising the claim that they are already famous. This is neither good nor bad. The world has simply become this way. This is how we now elect politicians and all other cultural icons. Soon, this will be the main medium by which we can teach all concepts of goodness. Teachers will have to market themselves if they are not doing so already. Hell, even God and the revolution will have to be marketed.
All these have a lot to do with how schools market themselves. That much is certain. How about the following sales pitch: "Truth, Knowledge, Marketing." As for the Jesuits, I am strong in faith they will never go for this. On the other hand, if they want desperately to sell, well, there's always: "Every man for himself."
Marketing.
Originally Posted by LytSlpr
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