Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults

In her latest book, marketing critic Einstein (media studies, Queens Coll.; Black Ops Advertising) argues that marketers use cultish tactics to create and manipulate emotional connections between consumers and products. She defines a cult as a group that comes together based upon a shared idea, which, in this case, is a shared belief about a product, a service, or other commercial offerings. Einstein asserts that marketers encourage people to spend more time online because it increases available consumer data and makes its use more effective. Utilizing real-life examples, industry interviews, and both scholarly and business research, she makes a convincing case and asserts that interactive relationships on social media often lead to cultlike behavior and extremism. Her book shows readers how to spot these tactics so that they can make informed decisions about what, if anything, to do next.