Agenda

• CT & Marketing and Advertisement
• CT & Mass Media (media literacy)
• CT & Science Reporting

1. CT & Marketing and Advertising

Marketing

• Definition: The process by which companies engage customers, build strong customer relationships, and create customer value in order to capture value from customers in return

Topics Covered

• Strategies used in marketing research and marketing
• Impact of marketing and advertising on the consumer
• Fallacies and rhetorical devices used in advertising

Marketing Research

Overview

• AKA: Discovering customers' 'hot buttons'
• Uses approaches that require CT

Research Methods

• Surveys
• Interviews
• Observation
• Experimentation
• Focus groups

Key Points

• Mostly uses inductive reasoning, resulting in 'probable' outcomes
• Example: Marc Ecko was successful in marketing his new line of urban clothing because he first carefully researched his target audience's "hot buttons"

Cognitive Errors in Business

The Problem

• Business organizations have a strong affinity toward research, yet they still make the wrong decisions due to cognitive errors

Common Errors

• Confirmation Bias
• Probability Error
• One of us/one of them error

The "Doom Loop"

"A business starting out with questionable assumptions can make incorrect predictions, inappropriate actions, and wind up with disappointing outcomes– a process sometimes referred to as the doom loop."

Case Study: Datsun/Nissan's 1,000cc Sedan in US Markets

The Mistake

• Datsun started with the wrong premise that the Japanese market is the same as the American market
• They invested in selling a car with a small engine to Americans who are used to driving wider and longer highways

Internal Opposition

• Datsun's own Yutaka Katayama challenged the company's strategy
• He highlighted that Datsun (now Nissan) had the wrong product
• His challenges were ignored for years

Escalation of Commitment (Loss Aversion)

Sony ก็รู้ว่า คนนิยม VHS แต่ยังบอกว่า จะขาย จะขาย Betamax อยู่

Definition

• The overcommitment to a particular answer or solution
• When a business continues to pursue an erroneous course of action instead of changing course and cutting its losses
  

Examples

• Sony's Betamax vs JVC VHS
• Lego and its unpopular Lego theme parks

Poor Communication & Listening Skills

The Pattern

1. Business assumes its customers have the same product expectations
2. Creates a customer persona (CP)
3. Determines the CP's preferences
4. Disconfirming data is ignored and distorted

Example: Swimsuit Industry

• For many years the swimsuit industry failed to examine its assumption that women liked to wear sexy bathing suits
• In 1987, market research conducted by the Swimsuit Manufacturers Association found that "most women would rather have a root canal without Novocain than buy a swimsuit"

Avoiding Confirmation Bias

Best Practices

• Businesses often hire independent marketing research companies to avoid logical errors and confirmation bias within the company
• Accurate, complete, and unbiased marketing research is particularly important when introducing a product to the international market

International Marketing Considerations

• What may sell well in one country may not sell in others
• Factors to research:
  • Presentation
  • Packaging
  • Name of the product
  • Customers' interest in the product itself

Product Name Translation Failures

Verified Examples

1. Colgate Toothpaste (France)

   • Brand Name: "Cue"
   • Issue: Cue was also the name of a French porn magazine

2. Ford Pinto (Brazil)

   • Issue: "Pinto" in Brazilian Portuguese is slang for "tiny male genitals"

3. Mitsubishi Pajero (Spanish-speaking countries)

   • Issue: "Pajero" means "self-pleasurer" in Spanish slang

4. Parker Pen (Mexico)

   • Original Claim: "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you"
   • Translation: Became "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant"

Unverified Urban Legends

• Chevrolet Nova (Latin America): "Nova" supposedly translates to "doesn't go" (no va)
• Pepsi's Slogan in China: "Pepsi brings you back to life" supposedly became "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave"
• Coors Beer (Spain): "Turn it loose" supposedly rendered as "Suffer from diarrhea"

Strategic Planning

Strategic Plan

• Definition: A method by which an organization deploys its resources to realize a goal

The SWOT Model

Four Components

Strengths (Internal, Helpful)

• A company's assets and core competencies
• What it does best
• Examples:
  • Location of facilities
  • Unique selling points
  • Large customer base
  • Commitment/productivity of employees
  • Ability to meet demand
  • Quality of product or service
  • Company reputation
  • Customer service program
  • Strong management
  • Brand recognition
  • Marketing distribution

Weaknesses (Internal, Harmful)

• Things that a company lacks or does poorly
• Examples:
  • Outdated facility/equipment
  • Insufficient information
  • Debts or limited financial resources
  • Weak consumer demand
  • Strong competitors
  • Poor management
  • Poor marketing
  • Inability to meet deadline pressures
  • Lack of expertise

Opportunities (External, Helpful)

• New technology
• Increases in consumer spending
• Untapped markets
• Examples:
  • New markets
  • Competitor's vulnerabilities
  • Industry or lifestyle trends
  • Technology developments/innovations
  • Global influences
  • Chance to buy out a rival company
  • Fashion influences
  • Increase in consumer spending
  • New partners

Threats (External, Harmful)

• Negative and unavoidable realities contrary to the well-being of a business
• May seriously debilitate or even destroy it
• Examples:
  • Competitors
  • Restrictive legal regulations
  • Global warming
  • Natural disasters
  • New technologies
  • Shift in consumer demands
  • Consumer dissatisfaction
  • Slow economy
  • Negative media coverage
  • Rising cost of wages/benefits
  • Outsourcing

From SWOT to TOWS

H. Weihrich's Extension

• Expands on traditional SWOT analysis by pairing internal factors (Strengths and Weaknesses) with external factors (Opportunities and Threats)
• Introduces the TOWS matrix as a strategic tool

Four Types of Strategies

1. SO strategies: Use Strengths to take advantage of Opportunities
2. WO strategies: Reduce Weaknesses by exploiting Opportunities
3. ST strategies: Use Strengths to counteract Threats
4. WT strategies: Minimize Weaknesses and avoid Threats

Marketing Philosophy

"Marketing, if done properly with an attitude of mutual respect, can result in a win-win situation in which both parties are better off. The consumer gets something he or she wants, and the manufacturer and seller gain economically."

Why Engineers Need Marketing Knowledge

Key Reasons

1. We are all consumers, and we are subjected to many marketing actions
2. In the age of start-ups, product developers and service providers need basic understanding of marketing
3. Several information analysis and strategizing models from marketing can be adopted for your own groups or organization

Case Study: Starbucks

Analysis Questions

• Successful in Thailand
• Less successful in Europe (most successful in UK and Spain)
• 'Failed' in Australia (currently around 70 stores nationwide, mostly airports and tourist locations)
• Why?
  • For Thais, we don’t make the coffee ourselves

Advertising

Definition

• Advertising: The placement of announcements and persuasive messages in time or space purchased in mass media

Self-Assessment Questions

Rate Your Relationship to Advertising (1-5 Scale)

• 1: I never pay attention to advertising; it never affects me
• 2: I notice ads occasionally, but they rarely influence my decisions
• ==3: I sometimes consider ads when deciding what to buy, but I'm not strongly persuaded ==
• 4: I often find ads shaping my preferences or choices, even if indirectly
• 5: I am often and easily persuaded by advertising to buy something

Reflection Questions

1. How many advertisements do you see every day?
   • Not that much now!
   • (If online were taking into account) A lot!, then.
2. Finish the sentence: If the product is free...
   • You’re the product!
   • What does this mean?
     • Platforms like Facebook are free, but they make money by collecting user data and selling access to that audience to advertisers.
3. What is meant by the well-known phrase 'sex sells'?
   • I don’t know, maybe they uses models
4. I am loyal to certain brands (True/False)
   • Yes, Apple!
5. How do media outlets (e.g. newspapers, free-to-air TV) make their money?
   • They persuaded people who read/watch those ads
6. What does advertising sell?
   • Brand image, branding
   • Emotion!
7. Have you ever bought something you regretted?
   • Yes! A lot of things.

Purposes of Advertising

1. Create product awareness
2. Inform consumers about a product
3. Motivate customer demand for the product, aim to create customer loyalty

The Dark Side of Advertising

"...advertisements can manipulate us into buying a product that we neither need nor would have wanted before being exposed to the advertisement. They use tactics to prevent or avoid consumers from thinking critically."

How Advertisements Work

• Advertisements essentially make arguments, aiming to convince the consumer of the value of a product
• These arguments are based on:
  • Linguistic appeals
  • Psychological appeals
  • Emotional claims
  • Often logical fallacies

Common Appeals in Advertisements

1. Emotional Appeal: Fear (Scare Tactics)

• The use of fear or anxiety
• Playing with our insecurities
• We are never attractive, thin, clean enough, etc.
• Example: Dettol hand sanitizer ad - "Whose hand are you holding?"

2. Fallacy of Questionable Cause

• Creating false expectation that something wonderful will result from using the product
• Examples:
  • Being more beautiful
  • Becoming thinner
  • Being happier
• Example: Lichi Diet product claiming "Lose up to 25 pounds fast!"
  

3. Causal Fallacy + Emotional Appeal

• Used in conjunction with emotional appeals:
  • Happiness
  • Success
  • Popularity
  • Status
  • Security
• Example: Estée Lauder perfume wedding ad - "This is your moment to be beautiful"

4. Fallacy of Popular Appeal (Bandwagon)

• Creating the impression that "everyone" is using the product
• Examples:
  • "Over 1 million people have switched to Brand X—don't be left out!"
  • "America's favorite coffee"
• Example: Gap "Moving Forward Together" ad

5. Snob Appeal

• Sets up an association between a product and people who are attractive or popular
• Association with an idealism like nationalism
• Example: TAG Heuer watch with Ryan Gosling

6. Fallacy of Inappropriate Authority (Appeal to Authority)

• Using a celebrity to promote a product outside of the celebrity's expertise
• Examples:
  • Jared Leto promoting Twentynine Palms skincare products
  • Brad Pitt promoting De'Longhi coffee machines

7. Hasty Generalization

• Reinforcing stereotypes:
  • Women as pencil-thin sex objects
  • Young men as mindless pleasure seekers
  • Blacks as athletes or musicians
  • Asians as very studious
• Example: LeBron James for Nike (reinforcing athlete stereotype)

Common Fallacies in Advertisements

1. Fallacy of Amphiboly

• Confusing language makes us uncertain about the claim

Examples:

• Holland America Line: "Lowest fare advertised on Holland America guaranteed"
  • Question: Lowest fare overall, or lowest fare they advertise?
• Special Morning: "33% more nutrition"
  • Question: More compared to what?

2. Weak or False Analogy

• Example: "Like a Rock" (Chevrolet)
  • Question: How is a car 'like a rock'?

3. Missing Information

• Missing statistics or premises
• Claims without context

Other Appeals That Make an 'Argument'

1. Romance Appeal

2. Scarcity Appeal

3. Snob Appeal

• Hard to get

4. Scientific/Rational Appeal

Example: Seaport Airlines ad - "My commute has become 50% FASTER and completely hassle free"

Rhetorical Devices & Misleading Language

1. Euphemism & Hyperbole

• FTC (Federal Trade Commission) forbids outright deception in advertisements in the USA
• But permits the use of rhetorical devices:
  • Euphemism: economical (cheap), quaint (small)
  • Hyperbole: the best, most, etc.

Emotive Words

• Fresh
• Miracle
• Light

Example: Philip Morris "San Mig Light" beer

2. The Scientific Claim

• Uses statistics or scientific sounding language to impress the consumer
• Claims some sort of scientific proof or experiment
• Very specific numbers
• Impressive sounding mystery ingredient

Examples:

• "Certs contains a sparkling drop of Retsyn"
• "ESSO with HTA"
• Historical example: Chesterfield cigarettes claiming "10 Months Scientific Evidence"

3. The Weasel Claim

• Weasel word: A word that sounds like it is saying something, but is almost meaningless
• In advertising, practically negates the claim that follows

Common Weasel Words:

• Helps
• Virtually
• Acts
• Can be
• Up to
• Refreshes
• Comforts
• Fights
• The feel of
• The look of
• Fortified
• Enriched
• Strengthened

Examples:

• "Helps control dandruff symptoms with regular use"

  • The weasels: "helps control," "symptoms," "regular use"
  • Note: Does NOT say "stops dandruff"

• "Leaves dishes virtually spotless"

  • Audiences think "spotless" rather than "virtually" spotless

• "Only half the price of many color sets"

  • "Many" is the weasel word
  • Gives impression that the set is inexpensive

• "Listerine fights bad breath"

  • Note: Uses "fights," not "stops"

• "Lots of things have changed, but Hershey's goodness hasn't"

  • Does NOT say Hershey's chocolate hasn't changed

4. Images and Slogans

• Used to create a feel-good situation without telling us much about the product
• Example: McDonald's "i'm lovin' it"

5. Vague, Ambiguous, or Obscure Language

• Example: "50% faster than other brands"
  • Faster than what? Which brands?
• Use of obscure technical terms

Example: Apple MacBook Air with Tim Cook

Analyzing Advertisements

Framework for Analysis

Questions to Consider in Evaluating Advertisements

Critical Evaluation Checklist

• Does the ad use scare tactics to persuade us that we need the product?
• Does the ad provide credible evidence and/or statistics to support any causal claims?
• Does the ad play on our tendency to give in to group pressure?
• Does the ad set up a desirable image or lifestyle that may not be related to the product?
• Does the ad use any other informal fallacies?
• Does the ad use emotive language, images, or euphemisms?
• Is the grammar confusing or the wording misleading?
• Is the language vague, ambiguous, or obscure?
• Are the claims exaggerated?
• Does the ad leave out information that is necessary for us to make a decision?
• If the ad uses an analogy, is the analogy relevant?

Application

• Answer the questions referring to a specific ad or product in the text to illustrate each question

Criticisms of Advertising

Critics Claim:

• Advertising damages society through fallacies, rhetorical devices, and distortion of consumer thinking
• Advertising creates markets for nonessential goods and services
• Ads help big corporations kill small businesses
• Advertisements mislead people's expectations of life, and make people feel inadequate if they fall short of the ideals of the ads

In Defense of Advertising

Counter-Arguments:

• Ads merely reflect cultural values
• People who bought things they did not need were given needed info via the ads
• Banning ads is undermining capitalism and freedom of expression
• Advertisement funds media

The Role of Advertising

• Advertising is the keystone of the mass media
  • Mass media attracts advertisement
  • Advertisement supports mass media
  • Role of Nielsen Media Research

2. CT & MASS MEDIA

"If it bleeds it leads"

Problems with News Media

Key Issues

• In addition to the problems of coverage content, news media are prone to other problematic practices

These include:

• Lack of credibility
• Sensationalism
• Political or ideological bias
• Gender bias
• Cultural bias
• Lack of in-depth analysis
• "Pay to sway"
• Confirmation bias

Critical Thinking Approach

• As critical thinkers, we cannot assume that the news media is presenting unbiased and balanced coverage of an event
• We should also keep in mind that the news being reported is to a large extent determined by the need to attract and keep advertisers and to hold the interest of the audience

Science Reporting

The Problem

• Most of us tend to accept the truth behind "scientific" news and information

Critical Approach Needed

• However, as with other forms of mass media, we need to remain skeptical and evaluate so-called "scientific" news just like other forms of media information

Reporter Limitations

• News reporters are rarely trained in science
• Sometimes make mistakes in scientific reporting

Common Issues in Science Reporting

1. Sensationalization and Misrepresentation

• Scientific findings may be sensationalized or misrepresented
• Examples:
  • Presenting hypotheses as factual findings
  • Interpreting news in light of cultural norms and the reporters' own biases

2. Corporate and Government Influence

• Science reporting may be biased in favor of government policy and the interests of big corporations
• Due to dependence on press releases by the reporters

Exercise: Analyzing Science Headlines

Practice Headlines

Try to identify how these headlines might be misleading:

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1. "Massive Review Finds No 'Safe' Level of Processed Meat Consumption"
   • Why it misleads:
   • The headline suggests that any amount of processed meat is extremely dangerous, which sounds alarming. In reality, the study found weak associations between processed meat and increased risk of colorectal cancer and diabetes, based on observational data. It did not establish causation, and the absolute risk increase was small. The nuance-that risk rises gradually and is relatively modest-was lost in the headline. [sciencealert.com]
2. "New Research Shows Even Moderate Drinking Isn't Good for Your Health"
   • Source: ABC News
   • The headline implies that moderate drinking is definitively harmful, contradicting decades of mixed evidence. The underlying meta-analysis found no clear health benefit and some increased risks, but it did not conclude that moderate drinking is universally harmful for all individuals.
   • The headline oversimplifies a complex risk-benefit discussion and ignores confounding factors like lifestyle and genetics. [abcnews.go.com]
3. "Hair Dyes Could Raise Risk of Breast Cancer"
4. "Aspirin Can Increase Your Chances of Major Bleeding by 71%"
   • Source: ClearerThinking.org
   • Why it misleads:
   • The headline emphasizes a 71% increase, which sounds huge. But the actual numbers:
     • Without aspirin: 0.18% risk of major bleeding
     • With aspirin: 0.31% risk
   • That's an increase of 13 cases per 10,000 people. The relative risk (71%) grabs attention, while the absolute risk (still less than one-third of one percent) is tiny. [clearerthinking.org]

Media Literacy

Definition

• Media Literacy is the ability to:
  • Understand and critically analyze the influence of the mass media on our lives
  • Use different media forms to access information

Importance in Democracy

• Media literacy is important in a democracy, where we are expected to:
  • Participate in discussions of issues
  • Make informed political decisions

Development Strategy

• To foster media literacy skills, we need to employ the three-tier model of thinking:
  1. Experience
  2. Interpretation
  3. Analysis

Analyzing Media Messages

Key Questions to Ask:

• Who created the message?
• What is the purpose of the message?
• What techniques are used to attract and hold your attention?
• What values and points of view are represented in the message?
• What was your reaction to the message?
• Is your interpretation of the message reasonable and well informed?
• How might different people interpret the message?
• Is the message biased?
• Is the message backed by good reasoning and facts?
• What are the possible effects of the message on individuals and society?

Application

• Find an example of an answer to each of these questions in the text

Exercise: Analyze Your News Sources

Steps:

1. Identify: Where do you get your news from?
2. List: Make a list
   • Example: If you use X (Twitter), scroll through the headlines and their news outlets
3. Investigate: Research:
   • Their owners
   • Political leanings
   • Advertisers

Final Exam Information

LAS101 Final Exam

Part 1 (Multiple-Choice Questions)

30 Items covering:

• 8. Generalizations & Analogy
• 9. Causal Arguments
• 10. Propositions
• 11. Standard Categorical Propposal
• 12. Immediate Inference
• 13. Syllogisms
• 14. Proving Syllogisms
• 15. Applying Critical Thinking

Summary

Key Takeaways:

1. Marketing & CT: Businesses use critical thinking in marketing research but are still susceptible to cognitive biases
2. Advertising Tactics: Advertisements use fallacies, emotional appeals, and rhetorical devices to persuade consumers
3. Media Literacy: Essential skill for critically evaluating mass media messages
4. Science Reporting: Requires skepticism and careful evaluation, even for "scientific" claims
5. Strategic Thinking: Tools like SWOT/TOWS analysis help in systematic decision-making

Final Thought:

Critical thinking is essential for navigating the modern landscape of marketing, advertising, and media consumption. Being aware of persuasion techniques and biases helps us make more informed decisions as consumers and citizens.