Sojourn of Ben

There are many events that pushed the corporation to the top of the world. Some of which are institutionalization, and corruption. The single most important concepts are brands in which the corporation puts out its products. These brands have been marketed to peak our interest as consumers. The corporation had a revelation that the advertising of the brands under the all-mighty corporation should become more appealing to the public eye. This revelation was caused by a lack of profit under the corporation’s cold, heartless nature. Though some may argue that limited liability is the most important aspect of the corporation’s rise to power, it was the new appealing warm nature of brand names such as AT&T, and General Motors, as well as numerous other brands that have become the rocket fuel that thrusts the corporation to the top of the world.

Limited liability is a term used to explain how a shareholder of a specific stock covers their backside. With limited liability, a shareholder is only responsible for the funds that they invest in a company, according to Joel Bakan, the author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power. Limited liability sounds pretty important, right? Limited liability alone was not an effective weapon in the arsenal of the corporation. In order to invest in a corporation, an investor would want to be confident in the products the corporation puts out. What stocks would the shareholders be investing in if there were no brands for the corporation to sell? The corporation has become something of a behemoth in the business world, and it is all because of the brands that helped it get there.

One of the ultimate marketing strategies of all time was something that AT&T pulled in 1908. AT&T began adding a warmer more personal feeling to their company by appearing to be one big happy family. One AT&T official believed that it was necessary “to make the people understand and love the company”(Bakan17). The company needed to get its consumers to believe that they could trust and depend on the company, as you would a family member. Soon other brands began to follow in AT&T’s footsteps. Because of this, control was taken out of the shareholders hands, and into the hands of the highest executives.

General Motors described their reform as providing ”family values” to the customer. “Family is personal, human, friendly. This is our picture of General Motors-a big congenial household,” stated the Alfred Swayne, the Executive of Institutional Advertising (Bakan18). This new reform, which was growing quickly among corporations all over North America, was called ”New Capitalism.” New capitalism was used to soften the “cold, impersonal, misunderstood, and distrusting” word “Corporation” (Bakan19). Corporations began to soften their advertising image to fit the needs of the consumer. It’s a lot easier to buy a product from a welcoming company than a heartless one.

Goodyear Tire was one of the first “New Capitalists.” They began to promote health and education to their workers. They also gave the workers chances to voice their opinions. Until the twentieth century that was unheard of. Paul W. Litchfield, who presided over Goodyear Tire formed a workers senate and House of Representatives that had jurisdiction over employment issues, including wages. (Bakan19). “Goodyear has all about her the human quality, and it has been to this human quality fully as much as to her business methods, that Goodyear owes her meteoric rise in the ranks in the American Industry”, says Litchfield (Bakan19).

Newer companies were designing new mascots for their cereal. As my 101 class was sitting in a discussion, we began talking about cereal. We noticed that the mascots that we had grown up seeing were changing to fit the newer generation of consumer. A few of these include Tony the tiger, Lucky the Leprechaun, and the Trix Rabbit. Each was designed to target a specific audience: The youth of America. Tony the Tiger is portrayed as strong. Therefore, Frosted Flakes make you strong. Lucky is constantly evading the children who vigilantly seek out the Leprechaun to try to catch and eat the tasty cereal. This makes it look like Lucky Charms are hard to find and are something to hunt for. The Trix Rabbit has become known for the “Silly Rabbit, Trix are for Kids” slogan. This makes children believe that Trix are indeed for kids, and since they are kids, only they can eat Trix. These subtle marketing techniques are what all these cereals under the corporation do everyday.

Wal*Mart is another prime example of perfect marketing strategy. They have convinced the public that they are providing our families with the lowest possible prices. Always. Their mascot is a giant smiley face that sometimes has hands, and occasionally helps restock the shelves or even bump a few prices down for us. Doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? What an awesome little smiley face. Even though most of your products are made in sweatshops in third-world countries around the world, you just keep on smiling. Always.
It’s incredible how we as a public look at the mascots of a brand, and fall for them hook, line, and sinker. We notice when the company changes the mascot due to the change in their audiences taste. The corporation is not the only driving force behind what they do as a corporation. The corporation is legally bound to do what is in the shareholders best interests (Bakan37). The public fills the pockets of the corporation, and therefore fills the pockets of the shareholders so they can change the mascot every time the youth of America changes.

Under the corporation, the brand name has become a household name. Companies such as AT&T, GM, and the cereal brands have all reformed the marketing strategies and techniques to fit our needs as the consumer. This is why they are coming out with newer fuel-efficient cars, tastier cereals, and more advanced technology to record everything you could imagine. You are the customer, and they look to you to buy their products, wear their clothes, and eat their food. The Corporation mandates or tries to mandate every aspect of our lives. The Brands that we live with are on our clothes, our food, and, worst of all, our minds. The Corporation has used the brands as devices for figuring out the public. They hold focus groups to get into the psychological aspect of our buying habits. There are people whose job it is to figure out which flavor you would prefer for your toothpaste: Lemon or Mint? They have figured out what smells entice the public, what colors are more visually appealing to customers, and what music we’ll buy more to. The brand names today bring in more money than they could have ever imagined at AT&T in 1908. The brand names today are playing a game of chess with the consumers of America. Figuring out the subtle techniques to get us to buy more, or to buy less of a competitor’s product is the move that the corporation has chosen. Now it’s your move.