Chapter 13: ethical issues in marketing communications
Ethics and marketing communications
Ethics is the study and application of morality: those practices and activities that are importantly
right or wrong.”
- Morals: beliefs or principles that individuals hold concerning what is right and wrong
- Ethics: principles that serve as operational guidelines for individuals and organizations
o In the social consciousness (attitudes and feelings) of organizations or populations
Society needs to follow these
Classical distinction between:
- Deontological approach focuses on
duties: some actions are intrinsically
right or wrong (regardless of the results) f.e. lying
is always bad
- Teleological approach focuses on consequences:
good or bad depends on what happens as a
result of the action (depending on the
consequence, something is good or bad).
Based on clash between business practice and social concerns:
- Environmental and social concerns
- Societal notions about honesty, honor, virtue and integrity
- Creating a materialistic culture of conspicuous consumption
- Playing on emotions
- Simplifying real human situations into stereotypes
- Exploiting anxieties
- Hidden persuasion
- Maximizing appeal and minimizing information
- Trivializing
- Reducing people to the role of irrational consumer
- Invading people’s privacy
“Marketing communications shape society” determines what we do
- Marketing creates culture of consumption, materialism and overspending
- Marketing drives up the cost of products and makes us buy inferior or harming products (e.g.,
alcohol)
- Marketing sets unrealistic expectations, is in bad taste and visual pollution (e.g., nudity in
ads)
- Marketing imposes American culture on other cultures
“Marketing communications mirror society” it follows what society is/does = reflection
, - Marketing’s persuasiveness is largely overestimated, consumers still have power over
themselves
- Overspending is common in many societies and not just because of marketing (e.g., banks,
credit)
- Materialism is not necessarily wrong and companies sell to interested and loyal consumers
- Marketing integrates the emerging social consciousness about the environment
Reality = mix of both
Ethical decision-making models and rules
Any marketing communications decisions should in any case be:
Legal: allowed under current regulations and laws of the country in which company operates
Decent: not contain anything that is likely to cause widespread offence, fear or distress (e.g.,
shocking claims or images to create attention)
Honest and truthful: not exploit inexperience or lack of knowledge of consumers
(e.g., inaccurate claims, ambiguous or misleading statements or omissions)
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