Marketing Terrorism

Globalisation of terrorism has created newer marketing challenges. Al Qaeda has realised the need to market their ideologies to the newer segments, newer markets. Globalisation and marketing have a close association. Globalisation results in enhanced competition and that triggers the need for aggressive marketing. Companies strive to build brand equity that enables them to have customers with life time loyalty. Organisations marketing health drinks, noodles, oral care products, toiletries, detergents and many more products effectively target children to CTY (“Catch Them Young”). Those in service industries also follow the suit. Today, advertising plays a massive role in the society, because it tends to steer young minds notably. Television and multimedia offer this exposure and has immense influence on behaviour of children. Like advertisements on TV, the other TV programmes and CD/DVDs of cartoon films have a deep and lasting impact. Unfortunately there are not many programmes that aim to inculcate positive values. Most of the programmes, cartoon films show violence. It’s sad; research indicates that the violence in cartoon films causes aggressive behaviour in children. Violence seen in the films and television increases the likelihood that the children who watch this will demonstrate aggressive behaviour towards others. The worrying aspect is that all this leads to desensitization to violence and there is no remorse for the violent act.

Juvenile crimes are on rise. One of the reasons is children feel that the violence doesn’t hurt. The young ‘to be’ criminals see that the person in the cartoon films or television shows get stumped over by another character and they get back unharmed.  Children tend to believe that violence doesn’t really hurt others. This is dangerous. One wonders if remand homes and correction center’s really help those juvenile criminals to give up the crime when they grow up.

Many cartoon films and programmes show the individuals who commit crimes go unpunished. The legal process is long and tedious. Many films show the criminals walk free after they commit the crime. This is another problem. This indirectly supports violence and also leads to erosion of values.

If children are viewing cartoon characters using violence or aggression to get what they want, then the children will do the same and will feel that violence is a good way to solve the problems. Many cartoon films create heroes out of the people who commit the crimes. Children feel that if they copy the criminal they will be a hero, too. The hero that commits the crime is glamorized. Children begin to think of criminals as powerful role models. There is definitely nothing heroic about violence and it is wrong to show children that it is.

Young minds needs to be given positive strokes. CTY is good, but has to be for the good. The recent news about Al Qaeda planning cartoon films aimed at recruiting children to their terror network is inhuman. Glorifying terrorism and depicting the terrorist as heroes is a threat to the world. The younger generation can get deeply influenced by such marketing gimmicks of a terror organisation, develop loyalty and it can be catastrophic to the world.

Can we do something? Of course, we can. The marketing brains have to unite to counter the terrorist propaganda. We have to be innovative to counter this malicious design. We need to project the virtues, demonstrate how values are still indispensible in today’s world. The TV serials like Ramayan (रामायण), Mahabharat (महाभारत) in yesteryears had kept the India glued to the TV sets. The streets were deserted when these programmes were telecasted. In recent years Lage Raho Munnabhai (लगे रहो मुन्नाभाई) had also casted some favourable shadow. Such magic will have to be recreated to CTY and to make the children good human beings. The technology has far more advanced today. We can make use of this for faster, better and effective communication. In India with over 122 crores population, nearly 33% population is less than 14 years of age. This translates to nearly 20% population in the age group of 7 to 14 years. If these formative years can be given positive strokes, then no power on the earth can dare to touch India. We need to create such material that will, not only neutralise the impact of evil cartoon films but will give positive directions to the young minds. Can my young MBA friends work on this? Can you create something that will attract the young minds?  Can you market positivity? Best luck.