The Dollar’s Marketing Department
What was the last advert that sucked you in to buy something?
For me it was a pair of GymShark shorts. I’d been thinking about forking out for a while then I saw a post by Ben Francis on Linkedin showcasing their new store down on Regent St, London. It just so happened (definitely was not planned👀) I had a meeting there that week. So I got the shorts.
First and foremost, marketing exists to sell stuff. Be it the latest smartphone, a pair of shorts or your next holiday abroad, marketers are the smooth-talkers who convince you that you absolutely need these things in your life. It’s about building trust in their brand and products. The people who are experts in this are commercial banks as they have been at it for decades.
I’ll let you into a little marketing secret. Once I show you this, you won’t be able to unsee it. Why? Because it’s literally everywhere but you’re just so used to it, that it’s normal.
Bank’s marketing is all about building trust. They build this by tapping into your emotions and making you feel like they’re in your corner, fighting for you. Bank adverts are everywhere and I guarantee once you finish reading this, you’ll notice them a hell of a lot more… sorry, not sorry. I whipped together a couple of examples. See how they make you feel.
You feel good right? You feel like you’re not in it alone and have someone there to guide you through. Money is scary for most people or at least the management of it and this settles your nerves.
Many bank adverts are focused on you and your family. There is a reason for this and it’s actually found in the realm of biology, not psychology. There is a part of the brain called the limbic system which controls our behavioural and emotional responses, especially when it comes to behaviours we need for survival.
Now why would a bank want to tap into this?
Money. We need it to survive. We aren’t the foraging species we once were. Things have expanded and evolved and now money is so important to our daily lives that we would struggle to survive without it.
This is just clever marketing, whether you like it or not. These banks have products to sell you and make a lot of money from having you as a customer, so it makes sense. But when it comes to a central bank, what is there to sell? "Roll up, roll up. Get your fresh dollars here folks" It's not exactly a catchy slogan.
What sparked me to write this is that the Central Bank of America, The Federal Reserve, announced they now have an Instagram and Threads account with this video. Instagram has grown massively over the last few years to become an invaluable marketing tool for businesses to reach and grow their audience. Before you ask, this is real and not deep fake.
Source: Federalreserve.gov
Now, you and many others might just think this is them trying to be more hip and down with the kids but it’s far more significant. Why would a central bank need marketing? As I stated at the beginning, marketing exists to sell stuff and that’s exactly what is happening. The organisations that print the money out of thin air are using the money to market the money back to us. We’re being diddled.
I’m calling this period the closing down sale. Just like a shop on its last legs putting in some last-minute marketing by plastering red “closing down sale”, and “Everything must go” in their windows. Maybe even an inflatable tube man out the front. The dollar has been debasing for decades and this feels like the FED slapping their red stickers in the window to attract some last-minute customers.
This move by the FED represents an act of feeling threatened. In recent decades people haven’t had any option but to use the central bank's currency. Things have now changed as there is an alternative and they are being forced to up their game to attract people back to the dollar. Bitcoin has forced their hand as it gives people a way to opt out of the currency controlled by central banks and governments around the world. Want to know the best and final part?
Bitcoin has no marketing department.
This is a guest blog. Views expressed are their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bitcoin Collective.