Disadvantages of Advertising Platforms

Advertisement and promotion are the key elements for the brand awareness and growth of your business. Social media platforms and tech companies track every movement of their customers and show them advertisements relevant to their interests. However, customers don’t make decisions; they manipulate their minds to do it for them. Today, we’ll discuss the disadvantages of advertising platforms.

Some of the key disadvantages of advertising platforms are as follows;

Expensive

One of the key flaws of advertisement platforms is that it is highly expensive. The advertisement cost would fall under the category of marketing and promotion, and distribution expenses. However, when the expense increases, it would ultimately amplify the retail price of the product or service. It means that customers would have to pay for the extra price of the product for the company’s advertisement cost.

Without advertisement and marketing expenses, customers would have to pay the low retail prices of the products and services. That’s why many economic experts consider advertisement cost a waste because it doesn’t add any value to the lives of customers. Rather it only helps companies to generate demands for them.

False & Misleading Claims

Often marketers and advertisers make false and misleading claims about their products and services, and they present their products in rosy colors to amplify their sales. In reality, the product has inferior quality and doesn’t meet its standards. Some of the key false and misleading claims of the products are as follows;

Kashi: a cereal company claimed “all natural” but tests showed it contained hexane-processed soy, calcium pantothenate, and pyridoxine hydrochloride. Many users filed a class action lawsuit against the company
Snapchat: a messaging application falsely claimed that the status pictures of the users disappear forever after 24 hours, but they don’t disappear in reality
Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheat: the company claimed that its product amplifies attentiveness roundabout 20%, but it doesn’t in reality.
Vibram FiveFingers: a shoe company claimed that its shoes amplify the strength of muscles and stop injuries from happening, and the company had to refund its customers
100% Pure Bamboo: in fact, the product comprised rayon, and the court fined the company 1.3 million dollars for violating the Textile Product Identification Act.

Boosting Monopoly Culture

Big ad campaigns are a great limitation to the free market and open competition. It allows multinational companies to amplify their monopolistic control over the market against the public interests. However, large marketing and promotional campaign focuses on the few products of the monopolist and overlook the products of the newcomers in the market.

According to an estimate, roundabout 47 of the world’s leading companies out of 100 are residing in the US. The remaining 33 are in the Europe and 20 are in Asia. Approximately 16 monopolist automobile companies invested 47 billion dollars in marketing and advertisement in 2015; they all spent roundabout 240.5 billion dollars on advertisement.

Increased Price Range

It is no doubt that effective advertisement and promotional campaign amplifies the sale of the company. More sale means that the company has to produce more products and goods; economies of scale would lower the production cost. If the company still doesn’t lower the retail price, then it means that customers are paying the advertisement expense.

TI Graphic Calculator: the cost of a TI graphic calculator is 15 to 20 dollars, but the company sells it for 100 dollars
Designer Jeans: cost of True Religion Super Jeans is 50 dollars, but the company sells them for 300 dollars
Smartphone: cost of the iPhone X is 300 dollars, but the company sells it for 999 dollars, according to the Time Magazines

Limited Access for SMEs

Many small businesses and companies have got a limited capital budget and they can’t afford to allocate a separate budget for marketing and advertisement. Large advertising platforms cover the major portion of the market share. However, it is nearly impossible for them to compete against them, and they get kicked out of the market after a while.

Misleading Buying Decision

Advertisements of high-priced luxury items attract the attention of customers and impact the buying decisions of customers of the upper class. Many other people from the lower class keep on working hard to amplify their earnings in order to buy the luxury product that they think is necessary. However, the advertising platforms promote unnecessary products and services and create a sense of inferiority among lower-class people.

Risky Distractions

Marketers and advertisers place their billboards and ads in a famous public places where a vast majority of people could see them. Sometimes, the electronic billboards and their glaring neon lights distract the attention of drivers and cause dangerous accidents. Many research studies have proven that electronic billboards and LED lights distract the vision of drivers.

Pros and Cons of Traditional Marketing

Unsatisfied Wishes

Advertising platforms create desire among people and impact their minds that they need those luxury things, which in reality are unnecessary for them that they can’t afford. Resultantly, they live a life in a state of unhappiness and unsatisfied desires and wishes that the media has created for them. However, some of those unnecessary wishes are an iPad, a Toyota Corolla vehicle, or buying the latest version of play station. You can buy any mode of transportation without specifying the luxury brand.

Highlighting Social Evils

Many advertising platforms launch sensational and immoral programs for the promotion and marketing of their vehicles, cars, and other products. Such advertisement campaigns corrupt the young minds of children and youth and they don’t consider wrong as wrong. For instance, Victoria Secrete runs panicking campaigns with the titles of “last day” and “don’t miss out” and such a type of sensationalism is a great issue.

Ambiguous Product Traits

Many businesses and companies produce almost similar types of products and services, but their advertisement campaign focuses on highlighting minor differences, formula, and techniques. They create the perception of customers that their product is better than the other, which is not true in reality. Due to misleading and false information, it is difficult for customers to make the right decision that is right and suitable for them.

Conclusion: Disadvantages of Advertising Platforms

After an in-depth of the disadvantages of advertising platforms; we have realized that the cons of advertisement surpass its advantages in many ways. It is the moral and ethical responsibility of all businesses and companies to keep in mind the disadvantages that they are promoting.