“Back in the Game” May 12, 2008
by Hryckowian (Image from Flickr)

Presumptions, presumptions, presumptions.  Marketing College has a post about marketing used by the “bad guys”

However, we’re also aware of that other element that is out there. The “bad guys”. The people that prey on the suffering of others to bring in their income. Among the most insidious of these are the people in the drug cartels and the dealers that distribute their product. Recently, a new trend has developed in the marketing of drugs: Fruit flavored cocaine has begun to surface in recent drug busts.

The question is: Who is this being marketed to? The answer is obvious; they are marketing this product to the very children we tuck into bed.

Since the comments system over there is…unique (and flawed), I’ll post my reply here.

It’s interesting that a flavour based derivative of a core product is automatically assumed to be “for the kids”.

What if this is a premium brand? The elite end of the meth market, where it’s not just enough to make a decent product which does the same core offering.  This could be market segmentation, luxury goods or any other differentiation approach.

It’s not automagically for children just because it’s improving the flavour - why does any adult orientated product have to taste lousy by default?

I see this same sad argument of premium quality flavour being used to “target the children” because there’s an assumption of adult based products having flavours, or fun, or a non-serious aspect to them is making it “for the kids”.  Grand Theft Auto is an R rated video game for adults. Alcohol is for adults.   Having a flavour in a beer doesn’t make it a product for kids, it makes it a flavoured product for adults.  Making an adult product more attractive to adults is a part of the business of doing business.  Yet somehow, making it attractive to adults can only be done in “serious” ways, otherwise you’re targetting “the kids” (Which begs the question of who the hell people think buys the flavoured condoms.)

It’s a flawed assumption, and one that’s a discredit to the adult orientated goods and services we’re trying to tailor to adult markets.