Demarketing

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Demarketing means trying to reduce or discourage demand for a product or service. It’s used when supply is limited, costly to offer, or when a group wants people to use less. It’s the opposite of typical marketing, which aims to increase demand.

Types of demarketing
- General demarketing: trying to lower overall demand for a product.
- Selective demarketing: discouraging demand from certain groups.
- Ostensible (or apparent) demarketing: creating a perceived shortage to make people want the product more.

How demarketing works
- Price: raising prices to lower demand.
- Promotion: reducing or stopping advertising.
- Place: limiting where or how a product can be bought.
- Product: redesigns or changes that make the product less attractive or harder to get.
- Alternatives: highlighting other options or making the desired behavior easier than buying the product.
- Policy and behavior: encouraging choices that don’t require the product (for example, using less of a resource or adopting healthier habits).

History and ideas
- The term “demarketing” was popularized in the early 1970s by Kotler and Levy. They explained that demand can be higher than what a producer can supply (overdemand), and different marketing approaches are needed to reduce it. They also contrasted demarketing with countermarketing, which aims to destroy demand for harmful or unhealthy products.

Demarketing in practice
- It can involve a mix of the 4 Ps (product, price, place, promotion) to reduce demand while boosting alternatives.
- It’s used by governments and organizations in social marketing to promote healthier, safer, or more sustainable choices.
- Examples include water or electricity conservation campaigns, programs that limit access to overused healthcare services, or policies that encourage replacing coal with cleaner energy. People may be nudged toward using fewer resources, paying for more of their own care, or choosing healthier food options.

Social marketing vs. demarketing
- Social marketing uses demarketing ideas to promote beneficial behaviors (like saving energy or using preventive health measures).
- Countermarketing, by contrast, tries to destroy demand for harmful products, such as smoking or illegal drugs.

Possible drawbacks
- Sometimes demarketing messages can backfire, making people want the product more or view the ads as unnecessary. Careful research and sensitive design are important to avoid these “boomerang” effects.

In short, demarketing is a set of strategies to reduce demand when needed—using price, availability, promotion, and incentives to guide people toward better or more sustainable choices.