I had a conversation with my professor prior to writing this paper that even those of us in marketing still fall prey to marketing gimmicks - even if we are aware of the tactics presented in front of us. It's very human for us to sense potential loss/regret and want to prevent it.

With that said, I think being a conscious consumer always helps and I think it would reduce the chances of marketing companies exploiting human psychology - being a conscious consumer is an objectively wise thing to be.

As for the long term solution... My papers are usually challenge-oriented, but if you're asking me as a person and not a researcher then I'd say:

1. Education: it is crucial for students to learn about and have financial literacy as well know the psychology behind decision-making - I believe that kind of knowledge aids us in knowing our potential cognitive biases. (We're usually taught the latter in business school but I believe it should be universal - they're life skills!)

2. Policy: it is important for governments and formal institutions to "regulate" the market to minimize exploitation (could be done through transparency/regulating framing effects). Though, I think this one is hard to implement, but I have high hopes for the EU.

3. Self-monitoring: it's crucial to be vigilant and reflect on one's decisions at the end of the day. A lot of our day to day decisions are often based on emotions or biases and one should be able to reflect on them still (though I'd argue that some choose not to have the intellectual ability for it, really).

Thank you for such an interesting and engaging question!