Affecting Adolescence: Scrutinizing the Link between Advertising and Segmentation
质疑广告与市场细分相互独立的主流观点，提出广告可能影响细分市场形成，并用实证表明青少年态度/价值观细分可被广告影响，呼吁将细分纳入广告伦理讨论。
The ethical credentials of advertising in regard to young people have been questioned for some time. It is thus intriguing that the same scrutiny has never been directed at the concomitant practice of segmentation. Market segments are usually assumed to exist quite independently of the targeting process and are thus not considered within the same agenda as advertising. But what if advertisers influence the formation of segments? In this postulate, firms are not creating a product for a segment but instead are creating a segment for a product. Advertising and segmentation become interlinked and the ethical concerns expressed over advertising must also be applied to segmentation. The article highlights the link between advertising and segmentation and presents empirical evidence that adolescent attitude/value-based segments can be influenced by advertising. If this result can be generalized, the ethical debate on advertising needs to be widened to include the commercial practice of segmentation.