“Write a blog post about Ethics in Marketing”… It may sound like a joke, but it’s the assignment… So I started to wonder how can I talk about ethics and marketing in the same post?! Isn’t it like talking about a nuclear bomb and… Growing flowers in the same spot?! I may exaggerate a bit, but it’s the general idea.
Most people see it like that nowadays. Most people see ethics as the sustainable, nice part of an idea or a product, while they see marketing as the evil process which will make you buy stuff. But minds, attitude, perception and culture are changing, people are looking for sustainability, they are starting to escape from the “bigger and cheaper” to look for “better and greener”.
That’s the moment when marketing people get in trouble. How do you adapt marketing to that completely new type of demand? They may also ask how to redefine the previous strategies which used to work, but are now given a cold shoulder by customers?
Let’s look at an example: in France, in 2006 (it shows that this concept is not totally new), the French water brand Volvic launched a campaign called “1L=10L”. It means that every time someone bought 1L of water, Volvic financed the drill of well in Niger, to collect 10L of water for the local population. This is what we call Ethical Marketing. The positive aspect of the purchase is 3 main points: for the local population (they get some water, a physiological need), for the customer (they feel good about their purchase, a self-actualization need), and for the firm (they increase their sales, improve their image, and achieve their main goal of creating more profit).
So if ethical marketing is so positive, why aren’t people more aware about that? Why don’t they act more that way? Preconceived ideas may be to blame, but it’s probably not all!
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I really enjoyed reading your post! In retrospect, I’m quite shocked that many students seemed to talk about only negative aspects of “ethical marketing”. Personally, I decided to discuss the harmful effects of unethical behaviour in marketing campaigns and I am glad to see that you’ve written about how some companies can use sound ethics to the benefit of their company and to the benefit of others. Volvic seems to be doing great work and while I still would be hesitant to purchase bottled water, I would certainly be more inclined to consume their product as it would have a positive outcome for the people in Niger.