Ethics and Marketing

Good companies are able to market themselves in a way that aligns with their core values and philosophies. But does ethics play an important role in the foundation of businesses?  Many companies have been adding ethical and social goals to their business foundation as not only does this have a positive influence on the society as a whole, it enhances the image of the company. Through the transition of marketing in the 1900s to one that is value-based, companies are creating customer profiles by analyzing consumer behaviors in order understand their needs and wants. For example, a growing trend towards environmental responsibility has increased the number of environmentally friendly products. Companies can use these findings to implement good ethics in their business practices.  Seventh Generation, for example, states its social and ethical goals in its mission statement. They create products that are “healthy for the air, community and environment”. Though many companies are now practicing social and ethical responsibility, this has been more of a recent phenomenon. Many marketing campaigns have been deemed unethical through the revelation of marketing errors. Some ethical problems in market audience include, selective marketing or targeting the vulnerable. On many accounts, children are targeted as they are less likely to understand the marketing tactics employed to persuade a purchase. Children love Happy Meals from McDonalds because it comes with a toy. It is a marketing tactic that suggests kids need a product to be happy. Unfortunately, some of these misconceived perceptions become engrained in the brains of children that prevail throughout adulthood. Luckily, as consumers as becoming more adept to increasing their quality of life, such unethical marketing techniques are slowly losing its effect. Consumer awareness of taking care of themselves and their surrounding environment has been pushing companies to do the same.