Press Release
Summary = Hidden marketing methods are a threat to consumer rights
and personal freedom according to a new book, which exposes the
full range of techniques currently in use. We Know What You Want:
How They Change Your Mind is an exposé of
fake news, mind control scripts, propaganda and voicemail spam top
the list of tricks used by corporations, government bodies and industry
groups.
Press Release
Body = Hidden marketing methods are a threat to consumer rights
and personal freedom according to a new book, which exposes the
full range of techniques currently in use. We Know What You Want:
How They Change Your Mind is an exposé of
fake news, mind control scripts, propaganda and voicemail spam top
the list of tricks used by corporations, government bodies and industry
groups.??Maverick marketers are inventing desperate new ways to
deliver their sales pitch without being detected. Unlike traditional
TV, radio and press advertising, the new methods are hard to notice
but still have a powerful effect. “For the right price, companies
can buy national news coverage, hire thousands of children to start
a craze or force
their beer brand on a stadium full of drinkers,” says author
Martin Howard, a media literacy advocate who gives an insider's
perspective on the advertising industry. “I think marketers
are exploiting the fact that consumers don't know how they are being
targeted, and this is against the ethics of advertising.”??Subliminal
advertising is illegal in the electronic media but a wide range
of undetectable
techniques is still in widespread use. These include undercover
sales agents, instant front groups, crowd manipulation, computer
spyware, product placement and data mining.??Last month it was revealed
the White House had paid a journalist to give sympathetic coverage
as well as a separate investigation into Video News Releases. Howard
points out that deceptive PR has been standard practice for years
but the public is only just finding out. “When people realize
how many of their
daily decisions are influenced by hidden means they are shocked.
I compiled this consumer guide because I think they need to be aware.”?
?A close-up on the retail industry describes supermarkets and boutiques
where scientific sensory manipulation increases the amount that
shoppers will spend. Muzak, computer tested shelf layouts and hypnotic
aromas
manipulate the subconscious of the unknowing customer. Some corporations
buy the influence of prominent community leaders—and even
doctors—to secretly promote their products. Additionally,
embedded microchips, all-knowing databases and
military surveillance projects are ways in which technology is being
used to monitor the public’s habits and behavior now threatening
the privacy and freedom of ordinary citizens.?? (more) With an introduction
by media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, We Know What You Want is a visually
organized companion volume to Rushkoff’s groundbreaking book
Coercion. The book uses colorful diagrams, cartoons and quizzes
to engage younger readers and average consumers. It outlines hundreds
of examples and offers pointers to books and websites for further
research. It was recently published by The Disinformation Company
and is available at major and independent bookstores across North
America,
including Barnes & Noble, as well as worldwide through Amazon.com.
For more information,
please visit: www.howtheychangeyourmind.com
Martin Howard
has spent over fifteen years in the marketing field with over ten
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.
Martin Howard
We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind 192 pages, with
illustrations, 1-932857-05-2, $13.95, paperback original The Disinformation
Company Publication date: February 2005
Web Site = http://www.howtheychangeyourmind.com
Contact Details
= The Disinformation Company
220 E. 23rd Street, Suite 500
New York, NY 10010
www.disinfo.com
2025
