Ethical marketing

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Ethical marketing is an honest and factual representation of a product, delivered in a framework of cultural and social values for the consumer. It promotes qualitative benefits to its customers, which other similar companies, products or services fail to recognize. The concern with ethical issues, such as child labor, working conditions, relationships with third world countries and environmental problems, has changed the attitude of the Western World towards a more socially responsible way of thinking. This has influenced companies and their response is to market their products in a more socially responsible way.

The increasing trend of fair trade is an example of the impact of ethical marketing. The idea of fair trade is that consumers pay a guaranteed commodity price to a small group of producers. The producers agree to pay fair labor prices and conserve the environment. This agreement sets the stage for a commerce that is ethically sound.

The philosophy of marketing is not lost with this newfound ethical slant, but rather hopes to win customer loyalty by reinforcing the positive values of the brand, creating a strong citizen brand. However, this new way of thinking does create new challenges for the marketer of the 21st century, in terms of invention and development of products to add long-term benefits without reducing the product’s desirable qualities.

Ethical marketing should not be confused with government regulations brought into force to improve consumer welfare, such as reduce carbon dioxide emissions to improve the quality of the air. Enlightened ethical marketing is at work when the company and marketer recognize further improvements for humankind unrelated to those enforced by the government. By way of example, the Coop Group refuses to invest money in tobacco, fur and any countries with oppressive regimes.

[edit] See also

Marketing ethics

[edit] Further reading

Murphy, Patrick E; Gene R. Laczniak, Norman E. Bowie, and Thomas A. Klein [2004] (2005). Ethical marketing. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0131848146. OCLC 54805964.
Laczniak, Eugene R; Robert F Lusch; William A Strang (1978). Ethical marketing : product vs. process. Madison: Graduate School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison. OCLC 33226121.
Ginsburg, Roy S (2006). Ethical marketing skills for lawyers. Denver: Continuing Legal Education in Colorado. OCLC 133147723.
Fan, Y. (2005) “Ethical branding and corporate reputation”, Corporate Communication: 10:4, 341-350, accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/2438/1283