Let’s talk about ethical marketing. Marketing has an unfair wrap where many non-marketers see marketing as legal lying. Yep, you read that right, legal lying. Many consumers see marketing as an unethical manipulation tactic that brands use to try and force you to buy their product, even though they might not particularly need it. Basically, marketing is a scam.
It’s a pretty harsh label, especially considering that it employs 75,000 Australians, and is predicted to be a career with a strong growth forecast! Now, the naysayers aren’t entirely wrong. Some brands have taken advantage of their customer base and fed them misleading information in a bid to win their sales. It was only last year where Heinz was fined AU$2.25 million for misleading their customers into believing that one of their children’s products had added health benefits when, in fact, it never really did anything helpful.
Then, there are the claims that marketers track all of our personal data and information, and even listen in to our conversations to tailor their ads to us. Yes, there are even some people self-indulgent enough to think that a single person is paid to monitor their conversations 24 hours a day.
But marketing is so much more than that. It can do so much good. Marketing is a tool that we can all use to spread word of all the good that happens in the world, but more importantly, it gives us a voice to create a movement in the right direction. A chance to be better as a society. If done in the right ways, marketing allows us to improve.
10 years ago, women’s sport was almost non-existent in terms of media coverage. Today, women’s sport in Australia is viewed by just over 5 million people. Many brands have jumped onto the women’s sports scene, but one has been there from the very beginning; Nike. Through their “Dream” campaign, Nike encouraged young women across the world to put their runners on and have a go at emulating their favourite sports stars, in the hope of one day becoming a sporting star themselves. Aussie Sam Kerr is the current face of Nike, and is inspiring a nation of young Australians to live their sporting dreams. Take a look at Nike’s recent FIFA Women’s World Cup ad. Tell me it isn’t inspiring. I dare you.
Marketing has the capabilities to inspire a movement, to create change in the right direction. It isn’t all about forced selling, lies and misconception. It is about creating a message. Something that we can all get behind. Our favourite brands have power, and whilst some brands, like Heinz, tend to abuse that power, many, like Nike, use it to strike change, resonate with the public, and give us a gentle nudge in the right direction for a common social cause.
It’s time we remove the stigma around marketing. Ethical and socially responsible marketing is the way forward. It won’t be easy, and brands won’t always get it right. We will divide opinions and generate conversation. It’s our job as marketers to do this. But it is also our job to move society forward as one.
Written by Jason Cuschieri
Let's Get Digital 
I think as consumers become more aware of social and ethical issues there will be more focus on this in marketing from brands. What will make or break a brand is if the rest of the business is ethical in their practice and not contradictory to their branding and campaigns!
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Great post Jason, i agree, as marketers we need to be ethical
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