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Mid-term assignment

The Microrobotic Fly

The Microrobotic Fly is a small flying robot that has the ability to crawl through spaces, humans or many animals cannot. Because of its maneuverability, its developer Dr. Robert Wood believes he can use his invention for good. The micro robotic flies can be deployed by the hundreds or thousands to disaster areas and search for possible survivors. This could prove beneficial since many people affected by a natural disaster die from not being able to be found on time from the wreckage, then from the actual disaster. If response can be improved, then many lives can be saved. The flies can spot humans from other things by detecting body heat or carbon dioxide coming from people. Moreover, since the flies are relatively inexpensive, Wood states that the flies can be released in these large batches without the worry of losing a majority of them. He claims that even if only a few robotic flies succeed out of a thousand, then the mission would still be a success.

For this product to be a success, the makers cannot rely on the robotic fly’s benefits alone. They have to employ the right marketing strategy. The marketers have to choose from a variety of choices to advertise the products. If the wrong strategy is applied then the product will not be a success and the company will lose money. The best marketing techniques for this particular product are emotional branding and neuromarketing. Emotional branding will use words that have special meaning to people. Afterwards, the people will associate these words with the robotic fly. Neuromarketing is important, because this technology is new and the marketers do not know how people will react to it.

Emotional branding uses people’s emotions to make the product seem absolutely crucial to have. So when this technique is used the advertisement will have words that people feel very strongly about. The robotic fly purpose will be to find people who are in some sort of trouble, so one of the words should be safety. Everyone wants to feel safe no matter what the situation. The robotic fly can reassure these people that they are much safer with this product. This way the consumers will correlate the Microrobotic fly with safety and reliability. Another word could be necessary. For the product to reach its maximum potential, the marketers should make the people feel that this product is absolutely necessary if a disaster should occur. If the advertisements are a success the robotic fly will be considered as one of the basic needs for human survival, such as food and shelter.

Neuromarketing is important in ensuring the success of this product. Since this is very advanced technology, people may not see as very important. Most likely they will be thinking that they have gone all these years without it, so it must not be important. The best way to make this product more profitable is to use Dr. Clotaire Rapaille way. He tries to find a code hidden in people’s subconscious that makes them buy a particular product. Most likely, if this study was to be done, the codes would have something to do with the words mentioned above.

Although these methods sound as if they are tricking the potential consumers to buy this product, this product has the ability to be so beneficial, that after people will be more exposed to it, they will request the product themselves. Eventually the people will see the Microrobotic Fly as safe and as a necessity, not because the advertisements have to told the so, but because they will have witnessed the capabilities of it.

The tactics mentioned previously for the robotic fly are not new tactics. People are bombarded by similar advertisements every day. No matter where one goes, most likely there will advertisements there. The video by Douglas Rushkoff, The Persuaders, talks specifically about how Cheerios is used in a commercial to illustrate families coming together. This is an excellent example of emotional branding. The company that makes Cheerios wants to portray its product as a family oriented product. It did this by showing a grandmother and her grandchild eating cheerios and having fun together. Neuromarketing is probably harder to see, since the code is a secret, however it is probably used with many products, and it is probably very successful.

Since consumers are either getting smarter or are getting immune to these advertisements, marketing agencies will have to come up with other forms of marketing. In the future marketers will have to come up with more clever places to put up advertisements. Maybe one day commercials will be put in our minds and we will be thinking about advertisements. Most likely if the advertisement agencies had the capabilities, they would definitely try it.