r/Anticonsumption • u/Free_Farmer4006 • 7d ago
Psychological Predatory marketing practices like this should be illegal
I received these two emails yesterday from a company I bought some gifts from a while back.
As someone who works in IT, the odds of someone accidentally sending an email like this to the entire email marketing list is nearly zero. In most systems you have to go out of your way to fire off a marketing email. Internal communications are sent from a completely different part of the system.
In addition, the ‘discount code’ was just ‘STAFF’ which would be the stupidest staff discount code in the world because anyone could guess that.
Which makes me believe that this was an intentional marketing tactic. Why is it okay for companies to intentionally deceive people?
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u/childish_cat_lady 7d ago
I don't know why you think it's preposterous that this was an accident at a time where reporters are accidentally being added to national security group chats. /s
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u/Free_Farmer4006 7d ago
Honestly before i saw the ‘/s’ i was thinking ‘well they may have a point there’ LOL
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u/childish_cat_lady 7d ago
I just didn't want to seem like I was being rude, haha. Sending messages to the wrong people abounds these days, apparently!
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u/Ubuntufoo1 7d ago
It's not ok. It's just legal
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u/DM_ME_Reasons_2_Live 7d ago
Marketing by definition is an exercise in predatory misinformation and manipulation, I wish it could all be regulated to high hell
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u/a44es 6d ago
Marketing by which definition? Marketing used to just be: "hey i got this cool shit, I'll sell you some" and people realized that it doesn't have to relate to a service or product at all, so now we have endless shit being thrown at us. Psychologists working in marketing was probably the ultimate turning point
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u/DM_ME_Reasons_2_Live 6d ago
Did it really though? When were these good ol’ days when companies weren’t trying to get ahead in life by any means necessary?
The goal of marketing has always inherently been to artificially inflate the worth of your product as much as legally possible. The prevalence of snake oil salesmen and fraudulent advertising date back to before capitalism even existed I would wager.
Unless you can back up this seemingly rose tinted claim I feel like it’s pretty naive to try and defend an inherently corrupt and chronically under regulated concept.
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u/a44es 6d ago
Marketing is a relatively new concept. The first tools they used were signs in the forefront of stores
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u/DM_ME_Reasons_2_Live 6d ago
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u/a44es 6d ago
Yes i study economics, i could name you some definitions if you really wanted. Although i always hated the subject and I'm definitely not studying marketing on top of the obligatory subjects lol
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u/DM_ME_Reasons_2_Live 6d ago
I would like that, that’s why I asked ;)
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u/a44es 6d ago
"marketing is a systematic process in which producers identify the needs and wants of consumers and create value through consumer satisfaction" or something along these lines. Marketing as a discipline tries to argue that this is all for the betterment of consumer experience lol Also there were like 3 definitions based on different approaches to marketing. Although none of them define it by "deceiving consumers" some had mention of brand identity and stuff. The definitions otherwise are sugar coated euphemism orgies. However the subject itself is full of "sell an experience not a product" and shit
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u/DM_ME_Reasons_2_Live 6d ago
You just reminded me how much I hate economics texts and their obfuscating language. It’s obvious that this has been framed in an introductory manner that lacks self critique, the theory of advertising regulation would be a much better talking point because it shows the practical examples of advertisements pushing past boundaries and how companies try to exploit said regulations to maximise their profits.
I would argue that making things about ‘customer experience’ and ‘brand identity’ are inherently deceptive and artificially inflate the products worth by manipulatively (often in a purely pavlovian manner) associating product with abstract, emotional and aspirational ideas that in reality have very little to do with the product on hand. Wouldn’t it be so much better for the buyer to know exactly what we’re buying, how it’s produced and how it compares to similar items? Or rather be lulled into some desire filled daze fuelled by memories of summer and being cool and virile?
I stand by my assertion that marketing is inherently manipulative and predatory, and that it intentionally misrepresents the product in hope of inflating its value. I used to work on video advertisements a lot and the things we would do to make the products or services look amazing were unbelievably contrived and artificial, often overtly being told to distract from or straight up hide significant undesirable aspects of the functionality.
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u/fly_over_32 7d ago
Bu‘ mah freeedum
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u/DM_ME_Reasons_2_Live 7d ago
People go crazy for choosing the brand of boot on their neck, it’s true
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u/ratsiv 7d ago
Email marketer here- I’m not a betting man, but if I was I’d bet my life savings this was intentional.
Seen it so many times. It works, which is the sad part. One dead giveaway is how the “oops email” quickly goes into “but since you have it anyway” without a sorry or anything sincere from the company. It’s not a real mistake.
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u/JiveBunny 7d ago edited 7d ago
A company did this a couple of years ago and I naively emailed them back to let them know that their "discontinued items" email was sent to me by mistake (this sort of thing has actually happened at work from external contacts who CC me in and not the person with my first name at X or Y, and that has led to something important not being done, so i instinctively...). Yes, it is absolutely intentional.
Pissed me off so much that I've never bought from them or been to one of their stores since.
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u/sloppy_wet_one 7d ago
It’s called mistake marketing, it’s really taken off in the last year or so. It’s a great way to encourage online virality, but scummy as fuck since it’s all fake.
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u/Maleficent-Leek2943 7d ago
That’s not only tacky as fuck, it also makes them (the company in general) look incompetent. And unless that discount is an impressively big one, it’ll also make them look stingy as fuck. Like, oooohhh, you pay bonuses to your staff in the form of a 10% employee discount? Is that ON TOP OF the pizza party, or? 😒
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u/pajamakitten 7d ago
They are trying to hoodwink that 10% of people who will think this is genuine, just like any scammer does. The reality is that a lot of advertising is just looking for legal means to scam people out of money. The reason why this will never change is because of lobbying, pure and simple.
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u/like_disco_superfly 7d ago
email marketing is still a very tedious and manual process
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u/Saviordd1 7d ago
Understatement of the century. As someone who works in email marketing, the software I use feels like it could run on windows XP
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u/pertangamcfeet 7d ago
Looks similar to local firms using fake Royal Mail 'we missed you' cards to get you to look at their adverts.
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u/aledba 7d ago
The founder of a chocolate company did this to me once and I wrote back and said that I found it absolutely ridiculous that her company would attempt to manipulate me like that. She said since you saw the information on the new release, you can use the code early. I responded that I don't fall for nonsense like this and to practice better data protection. This code to get a "deal" on a box of 12 bars was only going to be good for 24 hours. Reminds me of spam
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u/Fierybuttz 7d ago
That’s so funny because I got one like this the other day. Marketing is so funny because everyone’s coping each other’s methods, and it gets old so fast.
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
“As someone who works in IT…” then goes onto talk about Email Marketing, which is not IT. As an Email Marketer (previously in ecommerce/education now in nonprofit) I have 100% accidentally something to the wrong segment before. I would say this has a 60/40 chance of being intentional, but certainly not entirely.
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u/JiveBunny 7d ago
It's known as "mistake marketing". Probably a trend that began after you moved to nonprofit?
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
Nope, I’m well aware of mistake marketing, but I’ve also seen actual mistakes happen. If this happened every other month, and it was always discount codes or something I’d be in the “100%” camp. In fact if OP comes back with more examples of this brand doing this, then I would say start marking as spam and hitting their domain reputation.
I even said in my original comment this is probably a marketing ploy. Something OP and another commenter are conveniently ignoring their response lol
But actual mistakes can happen, and being cynical all the time is just as unhealthy as being naive.
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u/Saviordd1 7d ago
I mean, sure. But in what world are you using your MAP for internal communications?
Wrong segment/list/audience? Sure all the time. But there's no company I've worked for that would send a staff discount code out to said staff via our email marketing system
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean people don’t do it. I see staff segments all the time, for internal newsletters, big company announcements, or even administration deadlines like open enrollment. This sub has a really bad habit of assuming malice, and that’s what I’m pointing out with my expertise in this specific area.
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u/Saviordd1 7d ago
I wouldn't call it malice, but this is definitely on purpose.
They just HAPPENED to send an email with a new staff discount code, just happened to hit their customers instead of their internal audience, and said code is something obvious like "STAFF"? And then they don't turn it off, they leave it on cause "teehee whoops."
Like, nah. Almost zero chance.
and that’s what I’m pointing out with my expertise in this specific area.
Okay, and I am also in Marketing Operations/Email Marketing, and I'm gonna agree with OP that this clearly marketing.
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
Cool feel free to agree with that, I’m offering a different perspective. I’ve seen lots of weird shit happen, y’all can act like mistakes don’t happen and continue to assume the worst of people 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Saviordd1 7d ago
I assume marketers are gonna market, and I say that cause I'm in marketing. It's not that deep and you're not a hero for humanity protecting a company you don't even work at (presumably).
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
What’s so funny is you’re ignoring the fact that I gave this a 60/40 chance of being marketing, and offered an explanation for why this could be a mistake. I’m not going to bat for this unnamed company, I’m offering a perspective that is sorely needed — that not everything is some vicious plot. You’re not hero of humanity yourself, and it sounds like you need to go touch some grass if me offering some nuance gets you feeling this self-righteous.
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u/Free_Farmer4006 7d ago
‘As someone who works in marketing…’ proceeds to talk about marketing systems, which absolutely falls under the purview of IT.
This isn’t a ‘oops wrong segment’ situation. This is a ‘oops, i accidentally sent an internal email to my entire marketing list’ which like I said is nearly impossible to do in most marketing systems because internal emails aren’t even sent as marketing emails, they’re usually not even sent from the marketing system.
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
I’m not going to get into a pissing match with you, you clearly just want to assume malice where they may not be some. So feel free to continue doing so.
Some organizations use their ESP for internal uses like newsletters, company announcements, and even sending out reminders for administrative deadlines. I have seen this in small local orgs, and in nationally recognized nonprofits.
You’re assuming a lot based on your own experience, and I’m telling you that in my experience that you are making a lot of potentially incorrect assumptions.
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u/Free_Farmer4006 7d ago
“I’m not here to get into a pissing contest with you”
Implying I wouldn’t have an understanding of marketing software because im in IT and not marketing seems like a pretty straightforward way to start a pissing match
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
Sure, I’ll concede that, but it’s also ridiculous to state that your knowledge in IT makes you an expert in Email Marketing. You’re clearly not interested in hearing a more nuanced take, so I’m not going to bother.
I’m not even disagreeing that this is probably marketing, just offering a potential explanation for why it might not be.
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u/Free_Farmer4006 7d ago
I’m definitely not interested in hearing a ‘nuanced take’ from someone who starts the conversation by glibly mocking me for using my IT job to establish that I have knowledge of IT systems
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
Cool bud, get in your feels, we got off on the wrong foot. I admitted my mistake, but you aren’t willing to reflect that you don’t know as much as you think you do because someone who has expertise in this area is telling you that you’re making a lot of assumptions.
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u/Free_Farmer4006 7d ago
“Get in your feels” “Cool bud” we didn’t get off on the wrong foot, we continue to be on the wrong foot because you are intentionally being condescending.
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
I offered an olive branch, conceded a mistake, you rejected and so I responded in kind. After your previous comment, you are just as guilty as me. Have a good day.
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u/Choice_Upstairs4576 7d ago
Sorry man but I think you’re doing a whole lot of generalizing IT and marketing teams. Maybe that’s how your team is set up and that’s great. At my job, we use an email marketing software and have segments which are literally just checkboxes you click when you’re ready to send an email for internal and external audiences. IT has zero input, control, or access to our email marketing software. It’s totally possible, though yeah highly unlikely if you’re a detail oriented person who is good at their job, to select the wrong segment and accidentally send an email to the wrong group.
Again, not saying that is this case here as this definitely feels like slimy marketing tactics, but don’t be so quick to assume
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u/Free_Farmer4006 7d ago
Why would you even send an internal email using marketing software in the first place?
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u/Choice_Upstairs4576 7d ago
Because leadership wants it branded and pretty.
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u/Daniecae-Media 7d ago
This. I’ve seen one organization put potential new hires in their ESP and send out rejection letters. That was probably a leadership choice and not a choice made by that orgs HR or Marketing teams jointly.
I’ve been working at an agency for a little while now and I’ve touched several kinds of ESPs/CRMs of both large and small groups. People do weird or un optimal things, especially if you let too many people have the keys to the proverbial car.
This was probably a marketing ploy, especially if this happens on a some what regular basis, but if I don’t see a pattern of it I’m not going to just wholly agree and condemn a brand for a potential mistake.
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u/illiter-it 7d ago
This is only predatory if you're stupid
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u/JiveBunny 7d ago
Half the people on this post think the first email was a genuine mistake, though.
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u/space-junk-nebula 7d ago
If your marketing strategy relies on people being stupid or misinformed to work, it’s predatory by definition
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u/20191124anon 6d ago
I mean I've sent various weird stuff to real customers by accident but yeah, nothing akin to this xD
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u/conjurdubs 6d ago
stupid codes like this are absolutely a thing. SPRING15 will work almost anywhere right now. I've had staff discount for places I've worked and it's usually "companynamestaff" not that outrageous, but sending out the email in the first place absolutely is lol
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u/benevenstancian0 7d ago
Somebody went to college to study how to do things like this.