Karla Genevieve S.

Eslera
TOPIC: Reflecting On ‘RFLCT:’ Manufacturing Customer Needs and Desires

Part 1: Main Ideas - Consumer Exploita on, Manufacturing Desires, and Tailoring Strategies
The Wildfang case highlighted the idea that consumers have speci c desires, and in a capitalist
world where the economy is market driven, it’s a fact that consumers determine how goods are priced
and in what amounts they are to be produced. The private corpora ons that run this world provide the
illusion that it’s all about the consumers and providing for what they need. However, it’s just an illusion.
Capitalists are notorious for their exploita ve prac ces like overworking without providing just
compensa on for their employees. This is brought on by priori zing pro t. As most if not all essen al
needs are already accessible in the market, the capitalists have moved on to exploi ng consumers as
well. 1 The Apple company for example, employs planned obsolescence in their business model to create
the constant need for upgrading to newer units. While the brand RFLCT, a skincare line aimed at
Millennial to Gen Z gamers, have on the other hand, a empted to manufacture a new desire for their
target market, a nod to consumerism. The brand boasted their blue light protec on formula which was
ques oned by their primary target market. 2 As the brand targeted people who have spent years facing a
screen almost everyday, they were immediately cancelled and people called the brand a scam because
there were no scien c evidence or proof that suggested the need for such a product. RFLCT proves how
important it is to analyze the market and demand before launching a product or brand.
This was my rst me encountering the business model canvas, the TAM-SAM-SOM, and the
VPC. All of which are tools that support marketers and adver sers in tailoring strategies to e ec vely
capture a market. Crea ng consumer desires isn’t at all an issue as long as there is a real demand that
needs to be ful lled and the aforemen oned tools help in analyzing this. As an adver sing student, we
rarely create such analyses but learning this has given me deeper insights on how to address and appeal
to certain markets. When targe ng Genera on Z as a market for example, it’s vital to consider their
preference for authen city and their a en on to social factors and implica ons that will be a ected by
the brand or product. Hence, manufacturing their desire for products like RFLCT and marke ng them in
the same way will most likely not turn out unsuccessful.

Part 2: Implica ons - Social Irrelevance and Materialism

As a gamer, I appreciated how RFLCT tapped into our market. However, it was disappoin ng how
they addressed our “desire.” The product seemed like a money grab and it was as if the manufacturers
expected us to be gullible enough to fall into their trap. RFLCT was a solu on created for a nonexistent
problem. As if the business model simply had the words “make money” wri en on it. This is a problem
because we see it quite o en lately with products like dget spinners, shoe umbrellas so your shoes
don’t get wet, baby mops for babies to clean oors while they’re crawling, and banana slicers. So many
resources are going into useless and ques onable products like these instead of products that people
actually need like the clothes that Wildfang o er, or sustainable products like biodegradable utensils. As
opposed to focusing on the consumers, the capitalists are simply priori zing pro t and manufacturing
desires for products that have no purpose, and they are making money o of consumers who are
vulnerable and easily in uenced. Addi onally, the situa on encourages throwaway culture and

1 Sarhan, “Planned Obsolescence: Apple Is Not The Only Culprit,” 2017

2 Kovak, “Fail Fast: The Two-Week History of Valkyrae’s RFLCT Skincare Brand,” 2021
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 Karla Genevieve S. Eslera
TOPIC: Reflecting On ‘RFLCT:’ Manufacturing Customer Needs and Desires

materialism, which both have no signi cant contribu on to the environment. Brands are supposed to
provide a voice and a pla orm for its customers like how Wildfang is for tomboys. Other brands should
not merely follow trends but they should create spaces where their customers can freely express who
they are through their products. Businesses are supposed to build rela onships and capture value hence
there should similarly be a focus on being there for the customers in the long run.

Part 3: Signi cance - Consumer Awareness

Capitalism is inescapable. As consumers, we are innately dependent on private corpora ons
since they provide our essen al needs. What’s important is for us to become informed and cri cal of the
products that we consume. We will always be prone to exploita on if we do not check the labels and
perform our own research. Our awareness also extends to acknowledging how the products are made or
sourced, and this is not limited to asking ourselves if we are helping posi vely or nega vely to
environmental degrada on. Equivalently, we must ask ourselves if the product or brand actually mean
something or create value for us. If we build rela onships with certain brands, what does that make of
us? People who are loyal to the Wildfang brand are both lucky and smart because not many brands can
perfectly cater to consumers’ needs while being inclusive and sustainable at the same me. The
rela onships that we build with brands should be mutually bene cial.

Part 4: Applica on - Advoca ng for Yourself

In the gaming community, one of the biggest issues that has been evident since day one is
sexism and one brand that ac vely ghts it is Logitech. Through their constant engagement with female
gamers and their crea on of products that cater to the female market, I resonate and connect the most
with their brand compared to other hardware brands. I think that nding brands that share the same
advocacy with individual consumers should come easy as long as the consumer has found an advocacy
that they themselves relate to and would want to promote. As consumers, it’s impera ve that we
recognize how we can largely in uence private companies. We also have power in the rela onship and
we should use it to advocate for ourselves.
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