The Role of Public Relations and Advertising in Shaping Economic Behavior

Public relations, also known as PR, and advertising both try to shape the way people think about products and companies to get you to buy. PR is about making a company look good, and advertising is about actually getting people to buy things. They both play a big role in what we decide to spend money on and how much we think we need certain products.

One example from the reading about holiday shopping was from Bah, Humbug. Companies use ads and PR to make holidays feel like they need to include buying lots and lot of gifts. This makes people spend more money, even money that they don’t have it because the ads convince them that buying more presents equals showing more love to people. A good side of this is that it can help businesses grow during the holidays. But the downside is it can cause overspending, stress, and even debt.

Another example is from Automobiles: Different People, Different Prices. This showed how companies use some pricing strategies and ads to make customers feel like they’re getting a deal, even when some people might actually end up paying more than other people. It shows how advertising doesn’t just sell a product, it also shapes how people feel about value.

This all connects to fast fashion too. Ads and PR campaigns make cheap clothes look pretty trendy and fun, which makes people want to keep buying them for the newest looks. But the downside is waste, pollution, and unfair wages for the workers. Ads really do push people to buy more clothes than they need, which helps the economy short-term but harms the environment and workers long-term.

Read more about how holiday shopping affects people's minds here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/biology-development-and-behavior/202311/the-holiday-shopping-mind

All in all, PR and advertising are powerful. They can boost the economy and give people access to affordable things, but they can also easily push us to overconsumption, debt, and harm to the planet and workers. The hard part about all of this is finding a balance.

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Shein has a campaign called “Shein X” where they team up with designers and brands to make special clothing collections. This makes people keep checking their website so they don’t miss out on new drops or their favorite collabs. It’s a smart way to keep customers coming back and spending more money.

The campaign makes shopping feel exciting, but it also encourages people to buy things they don’t really need. Here, you can find their campaign: https://us.shein.com/campaigns/sheinxcollabs