RTS -Mental health

Influenced? Influencer?

Power is a tool, influence is a skill; one is a fist, the other a fingertip. Nancy Gibbs

This is not about mental health. It is not about my recovery. It is about two words, influenced and influencer.

I am not a professional marketer. In secondary school I did, however, I took marketing classes for three years. It was basic, there was not any social media. It involved print, radio, store front displays, and television.

I have been noticing something in my life that has caught my attention. I have given this much thought. What I have noticed is the fact that I have been doing certain things and then my best friend also begins doing these. It has been little things, like trying a new product from the grocery store, watching a certain program on television. I was an influencer.

I have had conversations in the past with a person a debate about name brands versus generic. His stance was, always by name brand products. I would rebut that with the fact that I found generic products are also good. Also, generic is can usually be cheaper. Saving money at the checkout line!

I am not timid about trying new products. I have just recently tried a new cereal and found that I enjoyed it. I spoke to my best friend and he tried it and now has added it to his morning breakfast.

I can sometimes be influenced by how a product is packaged, or maybe a friend or family recommends one to me. I have now been influenced.

In some cases you get what you paid for. When it comes to electronics I have gone to a name brand that I have confidence in. Generic in this matter is not always the best venue to choose.

I am sure Vee from Millennial Life Crisis could go into greater detail. She is the professional when it comes to matters of marketing.

So dear reader, I would ask you this question, Are you influenced more than being an influencer? What are your thoughts about name brand versus generic? I welcome your thoughts on this idea.

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Comments (

10

)

  1. Ashley L. Peterson

    I am cheap, so marketing that encourages me to buy something more expensive/better is less likely to be effective than marketing that makes me think I’m getting a good deal.

    With generics, I will buy the generic unless there’s a noticeable difference in the product, in which case I’ll go with what I like more.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. kimconrey

      I second Ashley’s point of view. That tends to hold true for me as well. A company really has to prove their product is better than generic.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. rts – Facing the Challenges of Mental Health

        I totally agree with Ashley and Kim!

        Like

  2. Chel Owens

    I read a book about retail: placement, spacing in stores, packaging, etc. We’re being played as much as possible!

    We grew up eating a lot of the generic brand of things. I’ve noticed there is a distinct taste difference in some food products. I see that name brands don’t have to cut corners. They don’t add weird extras to their medicines. Like mentioned, go with generic if it really doesn’t matter.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. rts – Facing the Challenges of Mental Health

      Thanks Chelsea! I agree that name brands may not have to cut corners.
      I have learned that some name brands have commissioned other producers to make their product. One item that comes to mind is Ketchup. Also, many generic batteries are made by the name brand producers. A clerk at a grocery store told this to me. At the time he told how to distinguish how to know which company is responsible for the generic product. Go figure?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Chel Owens

        That’s true as well! I remember a clerk telling me that about parts of appliances all coming from the same factories.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. rts – Facing the Challenges of Mental Health

        Yes, it seems like some things are a monopoly. If only more consumers knew the truth!

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Angie

    I find in some cases there is a big taste difference between brands. And sometimes the cheaper ones taste a lot better. Looking in our fridge and cupboards you will find a variety of generic and name brand products. I’m not influenced much by what I see on tv or hear on the radio, my husband definitely is though! When buying things like electronics, I do my research and read reviews first. When I worked at the big retail store I could see what name brands were being returned the most and tended to stay away from those.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. rts – Facing the Challenges of Mental Health

      I am basically the same Angie. I have a mixture of brands and no-names in my house.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  4. Renee🌻

    I go for the generics when I can to save money, unless it doesn’t work or taste good. This involves a lot of trial and error along the way. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
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