Consumption process manipulation as a means of the emotionalization of modern society

Lobanova Yuliya Vladimirovna ORCID: 0000-0003-2970-7520 PhD in Philosophy Associate Professor of the Departments of "Humanities", Moscow Polytechnic University 107023, Russia, Moscow, Bolshaya Semenovskaya str., 38, of. Moscow lobanova_diss@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

Emotions and impressions in the culture of late modernity took their place at a high level of the value pyramid, noticeably displacing the "knowledge economy" and the "service economy". The modern market shows a tendency to commercialize human feelings. Researchers rightly point out that it is still impossible to assert that there is a dominant type of production of social or cultural trends in late modernity. Referring to the expression Yu. Habermas's "simultaneity of the non-simultaneous", A. S. Suvalko, for example, implies the presence of many economic and socio-cultural models that are only becoming more complicated ^{[20, p. 5]}. Nevertheless, the causes and results of changes in the role and significance of emotions for a modern person in the history of emotions ^[14], sociology of emotions ^[15] are called emotional capitalism ^[30], emotional work ^[25] and the society of experiences ^[31].

In modern culture, emotions and impressions are actively and successfully sold on their own, but they are also attractive connotations in the promotion of traditional goods and services, that is, emotions and impressions have become a resource ^{[21; 28]}. This is how a situation of increased emotionalization is created in culture, flooding the economy, politics, education, even science. "This world teaches us the opposite things: it takes away our ability and gives us a way to return it – through certain techniques; destroys the desire to feel, prescribing the obligation of certain emotions depending on the context or overflowing us with them; puts too much pressure on us, leaving no strength for feelings. And it takes away all the feelings that we have, because they turn into investments" ^{[18, p. 140]}.

The purpose of the research underlying the article is to analyze the emotionalization of the social space of modern consumer society as a result of manipulation of general and particular factors of influence related to the same process. In the article, combining the theoretical and empirical results of various studies of emotions in different situations of consumption of material values, we show the mutual influence of consumerism on increasing the importance of emotion and emotionalization on strengthening the position of consumer culture.

Techniques for influencing consumer emotions

The modern consumer sphere is full of models of emotional manipulation of the buyer, but they remain in a latent form, since the seller is interested in this ^{[3; 4; 5; 6]}. For example, everyone knows what a modern pack of cigarettes with a hinged flap on top looks like. However, cigarette packs were not always like this. The popular Marlboro cigarettes immediately began to be sold in packs with a flap on top. The developers of these new cigarettes drew attention to the fact that before all smokers put their hand in their pocket, where an old-style pack was already open on top, and pulled out another cigarette. What each of them smoked, which cigarettes they preferred, which manufacturer – it was impossible for the rest to see, but according to the rules of effective marketing, every decent product should promote itself. The manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes accordingly changed the pack for them so that it became impossible to take the cigarette out of the pocket immediately without taking out the entire pack and opening the flap. At the same time, of course, the smoker unwittingly showed his pack to others (people often smoke in the company), who had this new product evoked appropriate emotions (surprise, joy, admiration, curiosity) and through them – consumer interest. The second stage was a total advertising campaign: in a transparent flair of mystery and novelty, Marlboro cigarettes became a symbol of sophistication, elegance and belonging to the upper world. Sales went up rapidly, and both sides were satisfied, some with the imaginary affiliation, others with the real sales turnover.

Buyers in Ikea hypermarkets most likely paid attention to how routes are laid through the changing expositions of goods and how goods are arranged relative to these winding "paths". This is done so that the visitor and the buyer, following a given trajectory at least two or three times, walked around each product presented in the exposition from all sides (plus properly placed light, angle, quiet and unobtrusive music, and sometimes even a pleasant aroma that excites the consumer's appetite), experienced emotional attachment, and then and emotional dependence on the product.

The management of one of the start–up takeaway coffee companies decided to organize the promotion of its network as an antipode to the already existing network of one of the coffee "giants" - the Starbucks chain. Initially, this marketing ploy turned out to be correct, and all those who did not like Starbucks for some reason reached out to new coffee shops. The management of Starbucks, after a little reflection, absolutely rightly decided that there was no point at all in fighting for the emotions and preferences of all these dissatisfied people, and bought out the competitor's business entirely, without advertising anything: all the previous signs remained in their places, outwardly nothing had changed for coffee drinkers. Again, everyone was satisfied, including the fact that they did not compromise their personal principles. Thus, both positive and negative emotions have become a resource in economic relations, because today "a set of gastronomic preferences is both a social marker that fixes belonging to a certain class, and an important component of personal identity that goes far beyond the limits of healthy eating..." ^{[19, p. 43]}.

Television advertisement ^{[2; 7]} of Orbit chewing gum: flashing a snow–white smile, the heroine of the commercial puts one pad in one half of her mouth, and the other pad in the other, and immediately there is a text about the completeness of oral care "after every meal" as an integral component of a healthy lifestyle. That's right, so much so that there is nothing to object, it remains only to follow what you see on the screen. The same tactic is used in advertising a means of getting rid of ill health after excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages "Alka-Seltzer". One tablet on the screen flies into a sparkling glass glass with water, followed immediately by another, everything hisses, bubbles and is drunk in one gulp. This is, in fact, a hint for all those who, the day before, especially recklessly did not calculate their strength: put two pills instead of one and get a double effect. However, at the same time, a pack of Orbits, a tube with Alka-Seltzer will run out twice as fast, and the buyer will have to spend twice as much. But the advertising text presents this as a practical recommendation on how to take care of yourself (healthy teeth and getting rid of the hangover of a particular individual who is part of Humanity, Space, are no less valuable than equality, justice, etc.)

Marketing Philosophy

A number of examples of this kind can be continued for a long time, because the level of professional marketers is growing and improving continuously. Manipulations then increase the degree of effectiveness when they do not give themselves away, do not manifest themselves aggressively and violently, but evoke the feelings and desires of the consumer ^{[11; 12; 13; 16; 22]}. In all these cases, a potential buyer is successfully turned into a real one, imitating care and participation, and manipulating his motivation, perception, and thinking through his emotions, and at a time when he sincerely believes that he personally made the decision to purchase everything advertised or offered to him in this way, rationally weighing all the reasons.

The philosophy of marketing, firstly, has a clearly and distinctly pragmatic character, and, secondly, according to the level of its theorization, it does not go beyond the multiple empirical generalizations of a huge number of practical situations, one way or another related to the peculiarities of consumer behavior - choice, purchase decision-making, external formation of consumer preferences ^{[8; 28]}. Moreover, functionally and operationally, this first and second exist only for the sake of the third – gaining the ability to control everything listed above and related to the buyer, and effectively manipulate everything. In order for such a system to work, firstly, really effectively and, secondly, without attracting attention to itself, the motivation of consumption must occupy its equally permanent and extensive place within the general sphere of interests of the individual and society.

Wherever they try to approach the "art of sales" from the position of the latest and most advanced achievements in this field, no one will ever say a single rude word to the buyer, because experienced and smart sellers do not work like that. The buyer really enters such a trading floor as into a temple, and at first it seems to him that there are no sellers there. The employees of the hall, for the time being, themselves remaining outside the zone of customer attention, all this time closely watching everyone entering. Having the skills to ask the buyer a few simple questions, they very quickly determine the level of reality and feasibility of his current motivation, and then everything becomes simple and follows schemes and models that have repeatedly proven their effectiveness in a variety of situations ^[32].

An experienced seller receives the information he needs through the emotions of the buyer, and then imitates them in himself, creating the illusion of a commonality of interests, needs, lifestyle, attitude to certain things, etc. An experienced seller knows that at this moment he is performing a sacred act, since it is not so much the product itself that is being bought, as the ritual of its acquisition in its entirety, along with the entire palette of emotions corresponding to it. Then demonstrating the novelty in personal communication, on a blog, on a social network, the buyer will have to want to share with others not only his direct impressions of owning it, but also his emotions that arose in the situation of its acquisition. The emotional charging of public consciousness with such revelations should spread and increase demand for the product – this is exactly the purpose of the seller's private marketing efforts in relation to one individual buyer, whose purposefully created emotional state must then necessarily be multiplied. The distinctive features of such manipulation are that it must be hidden, the manipulator's goals should not be known to the manipulated, the result of the manipulation must then be radiated to others through emotions.

Marketers know that only a quarter of purchases are based on a conscious and specific choice of the buyer, that is, at the stage when an experienced seller has not managed to reach him. Three quarters, on the contrary, become the result of purposeful manipulation ^{[29, p. 117]}.

Undoubtedly, short-term marketing campaigns such as "price of the day", "discounts only until the weekend", "tomorrow the price will change", "have time to buy at a discount", etc. become ways of short-term ignition of consumer emotional excitement, such as "price of the day", "discounts only until the weekend", "tomorrow the price will change", "have time to buy at a discount", etc. Such events justify themselves for trading organizations when they eliminate accumulated stocks, whereas news Such sales tend to spread quickly and effectively through "unofficial channels" – at the level of running rumors, via phone, social networks, etc. ^{[24, p. 133]}. Since the validity of such information is limited in time, it is broadcast extremely quickly and emotionally aggressively, which eventually causes general agitation and excitement, which in a short time raise the "weighted average" level of consumer exaltation sometimes several times. The time limitation of any such "profitable offer" has the same purpose – the buyer's decision here is forced to be made quickly and without proper rationalization, literally on the emotions of fear (not having time to purchase) and disappointment (if everyone buys, but the individual does not).

Modern marketing has learned to cope with situations when a product is manufactured, put on open sale, and sold slowly. To do this, programs are being developed to influence the emotions of a potential consumer. Firstly, things or objects that are potentially intended to replace a new product are publicly assessed as morally or technically obsolete ^{[27, p. 21]}. Secondly, "expert assessments" are broadcast that the use of outdated items is unsafe (in various variations), harms the health of the consumer, threatens his property. Thirdly, those who insist on continuing to use the previous analogues of the proposed novelty are publicly labeled "retrogrades", "marginals". Fourthly, a stormy advertising campaign is being promoted, touting all the advantages of the novelty, both real and fictional ^{[1, p. 24]}.

Gerhard Schulze writes argumentatively that after the Second World War, people's attitude to the goods and services consumed changed. If earlier people sought to perceive food as fuel to meet the need for food, now an emotionally rational attitude has come to the fore - not only the consumption of fine food, but also the enjoyment of the atmosphere accompanying this process. The modern consumer can hardly articulate his impressions (their fixation is connected only with photos and videos that are created and broadcast instantly on social networks). You need a developed skill to describe the moment you are experiencing – this applies not only to visiting a trendy restaurant, but also to reading highly rated modern literature, going to the theater for a sensational production, to a football match or a grueling ascent of Elbrus. To create verbal descriptions of impressions, it is necessary to turn to professionals who can translate the language of sensations into narrative constructions — writers, journalists, directors and critics. Schulze calls such specialists Erlebnis-communicators (Erlebnis-Kommunikatoren) ^{[31, p. 430]}.

All these measures, which are directly aimed at the emotions of the buyer, usually help to revive consumer demand. Moreover, resorting to the implementation of such scenarios of aggressive influence on the emotions and motivation of consumers, marketers aim to achieve very specific emotional and psychological effects. This is ensured by the fact that even now a person remains subject to emotional pressure ^[17], and most marketing techniques are developed in such a way as to manipulate this weakest link.

As a result of the high intensity of modernization of marketing techniques, they are being pushed beyond the boundaries of trade and quickly turn into a cultural universal at the border of the XX and XXI centuries. Michel Houellebecq's famous collection book "The World as a Supermarket" is dedicated to this transformation: "The logic of the supermarket provides for the dispersion of desires; a supermarket person cannot organically be a person of a single will, a single desire. Hence, there is a slight decrease in the intensity of desires in modern man. It's not that people want less, on the contrary, they want more and more, but something loud and shrill has appeared in their desires. Without being a pure pretense, these desires are largely set from the outside – perhaps we can say that they are set by advertising in the broadest sense of the word. Nothing in them recalls that spontaneous, indestructible force, stubbornly striving for realization, which is meant by the word "will"" ^{[23, p. 67]}.

Conclusions:

1. Manipulation of the motivation, perception and consciousness of the buyer occurs mainly through emotions.

2. In order for the manipulation process to be effective, motivation and emotionalization of consumer behavior must be generated in society massively and on an ongoing basis.

3. An experienced manipulator has the skills to read the emotions of the buyer, based on the assessment of which, then he purposefully creates the illusion of a common interest, preferences, and lifestyle for the buyer.

4. The manipulator knows that it is not so much the product itself that is being bought, as the ritual of its acquisition in its entirety, along with the entire palette of emotions inherent in it ^[10]. Therefore, it is important to create such a mood in the buyer so that he then shares this palette with everyone around him.

5. There are a number of effective marketing manipulation techniques ^[9], implemented practically through influencing consumer emotions. The new marketing strategies being developed are also mainly focused on implementation through the emotions of the buyer.