Manipulation in Marketing Strategy

About this poem

In two poems of mine, I have mentioned the arbitrariness of the relationship between the signifier and the signified in a Saussure model of structural linguistic communication. In the world of marketing strategy, the signifier and the signified are, by willful manipulation and design, brought together forcibly and strategically, in order to shape a corporate image and achieve a desirable marketing outcome. This runs counter to the observed arbitrary nature of the relationship of the signifier and the signified in a scientific Saussure world of linguistic communication. What is typically found in the corporate world, is the purposeful matching and “tweaking” of the dynamics between the signifier and the signified. This occurs in the business world, in order to eliminate undesirable expectations and to maximize desirable outcomes, by a process of artful engineering, thereby accomplishing an “alternative reality” that guarantees financial success. This poem serves as a cautionary tale to inform readers that “reality” (at least, the human experience of it) has an illusory nature to it, in comparison with the world of idealism; especially when merchandise is manipulated in order to achieve desirable or desired outcomes. more »