A Fascinating Existence

We live in a super cool world where everything is designed to be super awesome and make us happy. But sometimes, things can be a little too good and we end up getting hooked on them. It's like when you start playing a video game and you just can't stop because it's so much fun. The same thing can happen with other stuff too, like social media or snacks. Just gotta be careful not to get too addicted!

Every product out there is made to make people feel better. Even things that are meant to be fun have to make you want them first, which can be a little bit uncomfortable. But that's okay because people are willing to pay for things that make them happy in the end.

Building necessity

Marketing and advertising have been changing a lot over the past 125 years because companies are always trying to make products that customers will like more. This makes companies have to keep up with the changes and come up with new ideas to sell their products.

The Epoch of Insufficiency (ancient times to the 1930s): Throughout most of history, things like food, water, and shelter were hard to come by and cost a lot of money. This meant that there weren't as many people around because there just wasn't enough stuff to go around. If you had money, you could buy whatever you needed because there wasn't a lot of competition. The idea that "supply creates its demand" was a big deal back then. People didn't think about marketing or advertising until the late 1800s. Before that, products were mostly bought because they were the only ones available. Since there wasn't a lot of stuff to go around, prices were high, and only rich people could afford to buy extra things.

The Time of Potential (from the 1930s to 2000): Back in the old days, right before the Great Depression hit, factories were making way too many products. This was a big issue because companies were worried about making stuff that nobody wanted to buy. So, they asked guys like Edward Bernays, who was related to Sigmund Freud, to help them out. He came up with this thing called "public relations" to make people want to buy more stuff. He didn't want to use the word "propaganda" because it had bad vibes from when the Germans used it in WWII.

Bernays was like the OG of advertising on Madison Avenue back in the day. He used things like radio to get people to buy stuff they didn't even know they wanted. Other companies saw how well it worked and started doing the same thing. They figured out that if they made their products seem special and different, people would want to buy them more. Even if the products were the same as others, just changing the packaging and saying the same thing over and over again made people want to buy them. It was like magic!

In the last part of the 1900s, it became cheaper for companies to make smaller amounts of new stuff. This meant they could change things a little bit to attract people who hadn't been targeted before. Marketers figured out how to group consumers based on things like age, interests, and personality traits, with different levels of success and research. Focus groups helped brands make new products that people said they wanted.

The Time of Instability - (2000 onwards): Before the Internet became super popular, marketing was all about selling the same old stuff with a new look. Companies would just tweak their products a little and call it a new version. But now, thanks to all the cool tech stuff, companies can make products that are just right for each person. It's like getting exactly what you need, customized just for you. It's pretty awesome!

Flawless strategy

In today's world, we have tons of personal information that gets sent super fast to our devices that we can use all the time. This is how we connect with the stuff we use every day. Technology now changes based on who is using it, making things happen right away. For instance, everyone's Twitter and Facebook feeds are unique to them.

In the Age of Instability, the product and the user change to fit each other. This means that not only does the product adjust to the user's needs, but the user also starts using the product in new ways and developing new habits.

Imagine a cool party where two friends, the product and the user, are hanging out and getting along well. They're like a dynamic duo, always adapting to each other and having a blast. The more the user gets used to the product, the more awesome and fun it becomes. That's why the world is getting more exciting and interesting!