Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
These legal terms present on the organic egg carton while they limit consumers
from understanding the production and distribution of the food they are buying, they
help building brand credibility. Compliance marketing merges green selling with
the aim of influencing buyers' decisions. Williamson explains the way advertising
produces knowledge. For the author, words and images establish a legitimization of
a certain product that is automatically regarded as truthful by its consumers because
of “a pre-existing bodies of knowledge allow(ing) reference to take the place of
description, connotation of denotation, in ads” (Williamson 1978 , p. 100). Hence,
complying with food regulations by including text that underlines the nature of the
product creates a sense of authenticity and legitimization for Esselunga .Legalterms
and information are juxtaposed with images of green selling, in this way associating
marketing to food labeling regulations. For example, when a consumer sees an
image of chickens running in an infinite field reinforced by the text “free range,”
this person associates the package as adhering to state and federal organic and food
regulations, suggesting that the brand and company are green. In other words, the
sign has become the signifier, “a system of meanings, a referent system, is used
in its entirety to give significance to the product” (Williamson 1978 , p. 106). Text
and images chosen by marketers in compliance with state and federal laws aim to
persuade customers to act in a certain way. As a result, when the consumer believes
she/he is choosing, the choice has already been pre-packed by the retailer as well as
the state.
The implications for the consumer-citizen when shopping organically is based
both on the intervention from the state in regulating packaging of goods as well as
green marketing strategies to sell a product. Such combination does not necessarily
empower the buyer. On the contrary, the case of Esselunga illustrates that confusion
can emerge from the overload of technical terms associated to the packaging of
organic eggs. In this way, the consumer is left to act passively, meaning that
the individual must assume the information provided is adherent with his/her
socially and political ideologies. In regards to green selling as the practice of
developing marketing strategies to generate profit for a company, it must be noted
that companies are faced with the challenge of complying with laws imposed by
the government. Italian regulatory laws must be in compliance with the European
Union. Eggs must contain information for traceability purposes and must meet
organic standards, limiting food firms from covering packages with deceptive green
slogans. However, this paper also noted that complying to state regulations can be
an asset for companies like Esselunga that are tying to infiltrate the organic market,
by adding credibility to their brand and company. As a result, the intervention of the
government becomes to be known as 'complying marketing,' whereas information
on goods that must be included due to organic laws becomes a marketing strategy
to sell at a higher price. More studies on the role of food labels on organic
products is needed to evaluate from the point of view of the consumers whether
this overabundance of information increases the willingness to buy green products.
A point, however, from this study is clear, the information provided is too technical
and complex to decode, thus suggesting a dependable consumer agency.
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