Media Literacy: The Next Chapter of Corporate Social Responsibility?

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By Ravi Singh

At the heart of many communications-based professions, most notably advertising, is the need to sell and contribute to an organization’s bottom line. Communication with users, clients, and customers, is the means by which advertisers persuade consumers to steer away from the competition. This type of communication is not limited simply to the details about the product, but also a subtle manipulation of the emotions and desires of customers through certain sounds, images, etc.

In a recent interview with NPR to promote his new book “Brandwashed,” advertising guru Martin Lindstrom went into detail about these very subtle and occasionally downright devious tactics. In one striking instance, the author notes that Whole Foods deliberately places employees at the front of the store to cut fresh flowers, thus conveying that everything in the store is fresh and organic, though this is not always entirely true.

While Lindstrom is probably correct that we are more saturated by brands and advertising than ever, we are also in an age of increased transparency and corporate social responsibility, wherein organizations have a vested interest in showing their investment in and commitment to matters in the public interest. The question, then, is where these two matters intersect, if at all.

Lindstrom acknowledges and emphasizes that education is vital. From a very young age, he argues, children need to know how they are targeted through branding and advertising and to be critical of the pressure placed on them by advertisers.

The bigger and more difficult question, however, is whether or not advertisers and communicators need to be more upfront and honest about the techniques they are using to grab the attention and dollars of customers. One cannot deny that the effects of overexposure to branding can be have long lasting effects on an individual, especially when it occurs at such a young age.

The ability to critically dissect the messages to which one is exposed every day is a vital one, and not having that skill leaves one opened to uninformed and unchecked consumerism and perhaps even detrimental effects to one’s own health depending on the products they consume. It may not be in the immediate interest of advertising professionals to promote media literacy, but as awareness of the consequences of oversaturation by branding as well the techniques employed continues to grow, a call for accountability will likely follow.

I believe this will be the next major question with regard to corporate social responsibility in advertising, communications, and public relations. It may be the case that organizations will become more open about these practices or experience a shift to a different kind of communication and advertising altogether.

As a non-expert, I cannot make an accurate prediction for the future. Nonetheless, I think the question remains an important one. Do communicators, particularly those involved in advertising, need to invest in media literacy as a matter of social responsibility or become more transparent with regard to their practices?

Ravi Singh has recently completed his master’s degree in political studies at Queen’s University with hopes of entering the communications profession. He has worked as a technical writer for a software startup and a copywriter for a small public relations firm in Toronto, where he developed and managed social media strategies and profiles and helped with online ad campaigns. He blogs at We are Living in a Society.

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