We are here to bring a voice to Ethical Marketing.

It's always a little intimidating diving into the world of 'Ethics', so we've broken it down into our juiciest topics (without being too preachy and judgemental - we hope), to build up your moral compass and ground your identity.

So what does it mean to be Ethical?

Ethical by definition, means being in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong, however 'Ethics' means different things to different people. We see it as the relationship between doing what is right and making money, it's a balance.

And what is Marketing?

Well, there currently is an overabundance of definitions for what ‘marketing’ really is, and combining them into one is not on our to-do list, but please enjoy this list instead;

Definition 1

“The all-embracing function that links the business with customer needs and wants in order to get the right product to the right place at the right time”

Definition 2

“The achievement of corporate goals through meeting and exceeding customer needs better than the competition”

Definition 3

“The management process that identifies, anticipates and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitably”

Definition 4

“Marketing may be defined as a set of human activities directed at facilitating and consummating exchanges”

Reading through those, you get the essence of what the purpose of ‘Marketing’ really is.

Combine the 2, and here we have Ethical Marketing.

We have interpreted it as less of a marketing strategy and more of a 'philosophy' that guides most marketing efforts. We see descriptions of 'ethics' in marketing mainly around 'feeling good, doing good' and labelling 'how people OUGHT to act', 'the RIGHT conduct', culture, compliancy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and much more, and we do strongly believe that ethical marketing is crucial to the economic future of the world, not just a topic for lentil-eating sandal-wearers.

The imposition of ethics in contemporary marketing spreads across a multitude of focuses, from value-neutral activity such as surveillance to larger ethical dilemmas of comparison marketing and data brokerage.

Media, environmental, information, business and legal ethics constitutes only a small selection among the plethora of disciplines within 'Applied Ethics', we have only touched the surface.

What makes ‘Ethical Marketing’ complicated?

There is no ‘one way’ to think, act or speak, Ethical is not defined as ‘this is the only way to be ethical’. It is about reflection and consideration for the reasons of doing what you do, not compliance or prescription to behaviour. However, our boldest advice is this;

Honesty leads to transparency; transparency leads to trust and trust leads to loyalty. The most powerful wins are in the reflection of your practices and the creation of your moral fibres.