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Marketing Ethics

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Karl Treacher is the CEO of Brand Behaviour, a brand psychology and intelligence group. Brand Behaviour’s team of psychologists and behavioural scientists observe, audit, report and commentate on the relationships that customers have with all brands in select commercial arenas.

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Warning: the following may make some marketers uncomfortable. If you were looking for a light-hearted read, turn the page. If you have a social conscience, read on. Karl Treacher reports.

So you are a marketer, huh? What does that mean? It means that you are well-paid, respected, educated in marketing and, hopefully, skilled in the areas of influence and persuasion. You are the person who endears your company, product or service to an identified section of the community. You are paid to persuade people to buy, develop dependence and ideally fall in love with your company and its offering.

All going to plan, you increase market share, exceed revenue targets and shareholder returns grow. As a result, you get bonuses and are able to trade your Honda, and lease the new Audi A6.

Sounds all right you think; however, when you scratch the surface things aren’t as they seem. For many, the role of being a marketer involves unknowingly condoning and rewarding practices that are unethical, cruel and inhumane. For most of us, the term ‘social responsibility’ refers to environmental issues and the more overt corporate acts of disrespect towards the planet and the larger community. Marketing practices are seen by most of us to be responsibility neutral, but if you dig a little you may find that you as a marketer are in some way responsible for significant hardship and suffering.

You see, effective marketing increases demand and grows brand equity. This leads to increased purchase orders, inventory and manufacturing. Stop right there. Did someone say manufacturing? I can hear you saying, “I am a marketer not a manufacturer, what do I know about manufacturing?” Excellent question and welcome to the big picture. What do you know about the manufacturing procedures involved in getting your offering on the shelves? Probably very little.

Exploitation and suffering is far more widespread than most marketers understand. Most marketers stay focused on achieving targets, optimising outcomes and gaining reward for their efforts. Somehow the bigger picture and political issues that exist around the brand are either completely unknown, or seen as someone else’s concern.

Money and recognition are identified as the most potent motivators for human behaviour, and for the majority of marketers, these motivators provide a very clear, easy and safe mode of operating. Sadly this modus operandi can be directly attributed to why animal and human exploitation continues to boom.

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