Effects on Self-Identity Development

Companies are using very strong and influential ways to grasp their potential market in order to have a larger than before market share, sustainability and more revenues too. For this purpose, they choose to have an immediate effect on the people by involving people in their brands and advertising. To sell the company’s product marketers are shaping the people’s mind in their own desired way. There are many brands that influence people as they show an association with a particular group and its preferences.

This piece of writing analyzes the effect of branding, advertising, and marketing on development of self-identity which is a very important thing in recent times. The fact is acknowledged through many types of research that highlight that brand relationships, advertising campaigns, and marketing strategies have a direct impact on the development of one’s self-identity in the society.

Development of Self-identity

Self- identity can be briefly explained as recognition of an individual’s skills and qualities in the social context. Self-identity is not a development at a single point but it continues in a person at different stages of life. People become conscious about their self-identities that are changing rapidly. It has become a way how people define their own selves. In the global era and in this competitive business world, every organization is trying hard to have a sustainable position in the market along with loyal customers. For this purpose, the companies are keen on operating according to the needs of the consumer and then marketing their products or services to capture the market by leaving imprints over their identities. As a common example, different marketers from large corporations like Unilever and P&G are using the members of the family and their relationships to attract the market. Like many brands are involving mother and children relationships that create a sense of more strong bonding when the consumers use these products. However, there are a number of brands that affect consumers in numerous ways and their self-identities are also influenced by these brand marketing and advertising.

Effects of branding, advertising and marketing

Brands do not only involve the goods or services they offer but also the personalities that promote these branded goods or services for the end consumers. In common it is said that brands differentiate a company and its products from others but in real sense brands have a direct impact on the identities of people. With the changing environment of consumer products all over the world, marketers portray a strong picture of society through different aspects. Branding of products or services plays a significant role in developing self-identity of individuals as well as groups. All the branded items that consumers buy and consume actually represent the individual and become his/her identity. The concept of branding is not new for having an influence over the identities of people but its roots back in the ancient times too. However, at that point, people and companies were not much aware of it and there were few brands too. Many times there are different brands that nourish those aspects of an individual’s identity that the person has left behind in the tough routine life.

For example, many coffees and tea brands give the great enthusiastic feel to its consumers and with the element of creativity they manage to highlight some hidden desires or aims of people that were not fulfilled. Like some famous tea and coffee brands associate with the end consumer as a necessity of life that enriches them with energy and confidence at their workplace or among friends or social groups. As a result, such tea or coffee brands become the identity of people and also represent them. Same is the case of soft drinks and other such beverages. Many renowned beverages like Coca-Cola and Pepsi play their role in developing the self-identities by marketing their product as a source toward socialization, family bonding, friendship and association with peers and subordinates too. From a set of different brands, people like to have an association with the finest one and the one that really satisfies them in different aspects. Like luxurious brands develop a self-identity that gives a sense of more power and a superiority among others. These luxurious brands are also a symbol of status for many people. Consumers who strongly believe in the brands have a self-identity that makes them feel like a part of the global world and with the transformation of brands their consumers to transform their self-identities.

While at the same time these brands affect the self-identity of people by differentiating them from each other in social settings. As there are many who have no access to these brands but they do see others who consume the branded goods and that creates a self-identity which creates a sense of inferiority among them.

Likewise in advertising and marketing of products and services, the self-identity of individuals gets developed in numerous ways. The development is basically in four ways through advertising as there are consumers who act as thinkers, feelers, doers, and reactors too. These four aspects of perceiving marketing and advertising messages build different self-identities of consumers. Advertising is more concerned with the social issues then branding as it has an influence on a lot of individuals in society. The messages in advertising are not only concerned with the actual targeted market but the rest of the market too. Different companies use numerous social issues and elements of a society to market their products. These also involve different events and occasions of culture and history too.

• Young Generation:

The transformation of marketing has evolved the identities of people too. Younger generations accept the marketing messages much rapidly than the elders. Consciously or in the unconscious state the teenagers of the era accept every marketing message that somehow plays a role in their self-identity and they start working towards what they observe from advertising messages. Celebrities in this context play a major role as they are ideal for many people so marketers use them and youth of this time develop a self-identity in response. They feel associated not only with the product but with the celebrity too who is branding the particular product. For example, many fashion companies choose glamorous models to market their products, particularly accessories, clothes, and technology.

• Culture:

By analyzing the effects of branding and advertising it is also evident that culture of a particular society also gets influenced or transformed in some manner. People now days are not utilizing the old means to do any task as there is globalization that is boosting technology rapidly. On many traditional events and festivals, marketers work strategically by involving individuals and groups. Like on the Eve of Christmas or New Year and few weeks before it the marketers focus their strategies on involving families, friends, social circles, neighborhood, peers and all loved ones too. It boosts the culture and highlights the significance of these events for the society and people. However, with the passing time, the culture is also gradually modified as the marketers are bringing the element of change too. The role of women in society and their empowerment is now a much-talked issue than before which is developing the self-identity of women in new ways.

• Gender Roles:

Gender roles are not the same as they were a few decades before. Men and women were the two important elements of the society who share different relations among them. These relations are basically of husband, wife, brother, sister, grandparents, cousins etc. But now the society has some new gender roles too which are between the same gender people. Now the marketers in the west are also focusing them to market some particular products which create a self-identity among them too. The role of men in the past was much confined to the workplace but now there is a transformed role of men that show men in the household too. Women, as described before, have also changed roles. The role of women through advertising and marketing is not now limited to household setup but now women play a major role in the economy too. Many marketers show the simple women in their advertising who portrays the character of strong women. It creates a sense of empowerment among women too and they feel empowered too.

• Social Responsibility:

Besides many other aspects, marketing and advertising also have an impact on the social responsibility that may be at the individual or at corporate levels. A common example is that many companies market their product or service in perspective of a clean environment. In their marketing, they give a message of a healthy environment and the product they market has nothing to do with the environment. A simple example is of bicycles. The purpose is to have a sense of creating social responsibility in the society that somehow in return benefits the company too. Many companies do marketing of their offerings through social issues. For example, health issues are focused on marketers to serve the market with a particular product. Bottled water is another example.

In conclusion, it can be said that by analyzing the effects of branding, advertising and marketing on self-identity development it is found that it has an immense impact over the consumers that go through a transformation at different levels. However, it is not justified that strong and stable self-identity of people never get influenced by the changing environment of marketing and advertising world.