We Know What You Want

Book excerpt: In this handbook for locating the hidden sales messages that bombard us everyday, Martin Howard explains the new techniques that corporations are using to make subconscious approaches without your consent. It covers the five major zones where consumers are being confronted: in the retail shopping context, at major events and concerts, through information media, personal friendships, and your computer. Up until recently, there was a social contract that alerted consumers to advertising messages. They were clearly labeled, endorsements were obvious and certain areas were off-limits. That contract has been broken, and many corporations are resorting to underhanded methods to persuade. Our shopping centers, stadiums, telephones, friendships and editorials are all “fair game.” Marketing messages have crossed into the social sphere. We Know What You Wantpoints out dozens of examples of how these signals are being relayed and gives you the tools and techniques to decode these messages and make your own decisions. Inspired by the popular bookCoercionby Douglas Rushkoff, this book presents key ideas and case examples in a practical, easy-to-follow, illustrated format. Rushkoff himself contributes the Introduction.We Know What You Wanthas Rushkoff’s full support; he calls it “an entertaining yet McLuhanesque ‘Medium is the Message,’ filled with engaging graphics and provocative but easy-to-follow guidelines for maintaining autonomy in a world made of marketing.” Martin Howardhas spent over 15 years in the marketing field with over 10 of them in advertising agencies. While witnessing the decline of the traditional advertising agency, he became interested in emerging forms of communication and stumbled upon the writings of Marshall McLuhan and others, who charted the profound but underestimated impact of electronic media. Now a strong advocate for media literacy, his interest is in making these theories accessible to average consumers and students. He lives in Brisbane, Australia.