Data underlying the research of: (Counter)marketing and manipulation: a phone juxtaposition

Marketing faces challenges in the communication process while attempting to persuade the consumer, as external stimuli may influence the target consumer's response, and in the digital age, audiences choose how to receive messages, even if they opt to do so. Counter marketing, the “dark side”, involves social engineering and should be seen as a new kind of massive manipulation, as fake reviews, on digital media, try to influence the perception of a product during the purchasing process, as consumers rely on these opinions. We conducted a cross-platform (TikTok, Reddit, Apple Support Community, Google: Trends &amp; Finance) study to understand if counter marketing action could affect iPhone 15 and Apple’s perception after the device lineup launch on September, 2023.<br>

营销人员在试图说服消费者的沟通过程中往往面临诸多挑战：外部刺激可能影响目标消费者的反馈，而在数字时代，即便受众选择接收信息，也可自主决定信息接收的方式。被称为“黑暗面”的反向营销（Counter Marketing）涉及社会工程学，可被视作一种新型大规模操纵手段——数字媒体平台上的虚假评论会在消费者的购买决策过程中左右其对产品的认知，而消费者恰恰依赖这类评价做出选择。本研究覆盖TikTok、红迪网（Reddit）、苹果支持社区（Apple Support Community）以及谷歌趋势与财经（Google: Trends & Finance）等多平台，旨在探究2023年9月iPhone 15系列产品正式发布后，反向营销行为是否会对该机型及苹果公司的品牌认知产生影响。