Ethical marketing as a phrase is now commonly seen throughout the marketing industry and within all types of industries and companies. But what is ethical marketing? Ethical marketing can mean many things to different people and today I am going to explore some of the different philosophies behind it. I’ll also show you some of the things you can implement to make your marketing more ethically focused.

What is Ethical Marketing? A Definition

First, it’s always good to start these conversations with a basic definition. According to the Britannic Dictionary “Ethics, also called moral philosophy, the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong. The term is also applied to any system or theory of moral values or principles.” So, in the case of marketing, ethical marketing would be applying values or principles to the practical activities of marketing. Next would be to define what your morals are, always a contentious subject.

Focuses of Ethical Marketing

While each individual on the planet has their own “moral” compass, below are some of the frequently cited ethics that people may follow when pursuing an ethical marketing strategy. Many of these ideas will overlap, with some marketers focusing on many different angles while some may have specific focuses based on their niches or industry.

Environmental

Some businesses will focus primarily on environmental concerns. This may be because their products and services are specifically made to help the environment or because they have a strong commitment to environmental causes. Environmental marketing could be about:

Creating educational content that encourages their customers to help the environment.
Research how they can change their marketing to impact their carbon footprint. For example, did you know that swapping from the font Arial to Century Gothic can say 30% more ink! (https://www.atwoodprint.com/resources/articles/fontsandink.html#:~:text=Century Gothic%2C for example%2C uses,InkSaver%2C and APFill whenever possible.)
Promoting products and services that have a reduced environmental impact.

Animal Rights

Vegan businesses and marketers alike will look to put these personal priorities into their marketing efforts too. It might seem unusual but veganism and vegetarianism can be impacted by much more than just what you eat. Marketers may choose to :

Research whether any of their marketing collateral contains animal products such as dyes and glues.
Promote information on vegan living alongside their products and services.
Avoid using software, digital platforms and energy companies that use animal products.

Social Issues and Human Rights

Many brands will leverage their large audiences to promote social issues that are important to them. Although their main focus may be the social issue, it is also a marketing tactic that will engender these values into the brand. It can also be the job of marketers to be more inclusive when it comes to using imagery and text. Some social issues and human rights focused marketing strategies could involve:

Using more diverse stock imagery to represent your true audience as well as reflecting different aspects of our society.
Creating content that is accessible to people with disabilities.
Is your use of social issues sincere and does the commitment continue after a particular day or month I.e. Black History Month or International Women’s Day.

Legal

A marketer that is concerned with the legality of their practices will spend time ensuring their advertising does not break the law. While most people would not consider themselves criminals, there are large swathes of marketing “professionals” that use tactics that are in fact illegal. Some things an ethical marketer may consider are;

Are they adhering to communication laws such as GDPR?
Is the data they use to target people gained from legal means?
Is the wording on their advertisements discriminatory?

Ethical Marketing As A Philosophy

Ethical marketing can also be the focus itself. Creating marketing campaigns that go against some of the long-held unethical practices seen in the marketing industry for decades if not centuries. Ethical marketers focus on transparency, honesty and responsibility.

Ethical Marketing Practices

Here are some of the principles to stick to when it comes to ethical marketing in the digital age.

Transparency

Whenever you are marketing a product or service to customers, marketers should focus on transparency when it comes to:

Product information such as components, ingredients, supply chain, allergens, ethics and anything that can help a customer make an informed decision.
Pricing – No hidden fees, no unclear subscriptions and no use of charm pricing (£297). Instead, use round numbers (£300) and easily understand pricing, especially for repeat payments.
Availability – Be truthful about the real scarcity of a product or service – don’t say they are running out if they are not. This can be for product sales, workshops and events as well as opportunities to use discount codes. Stick to a timeframe for sales and communicate it clearly.

Honesty

As with transparency, honesty is all about providing the most accurate information.

Do not make false promises or say I have the secret ‘recipe’. No one does and it can encourage imposter syndrome in the industry by creating false claims.
Deliver the value promised when you marketed the product, service or free advise. For example, don’t offer a free workshop signup that turns in to an hour-long sales pitch.
Don’t make false comparisons. Avoid slating competitors unless you have hard empirical evidence to back it up. Focus on the positives of your products and services and be honest about what you can deliver and in what timeframe. This goes for both products and services.

Responsibility

As marketers, whether for one business or any agency, it is our responsibility to ensure that we:

Respect the laws that have been put in place to protect consumers and use them to create marketing that helps our business but that does not go against a consumer’s rights.
Are promoting products and services that do not hurt anyone whether that is end users or those involved in the creation of goods. Be honest about ingredients, product components, and the supply chain.
Do not use social issues to leverage marketing just for the purpose of making a sale. We should use our platforms to benefit others.
If customers have safety concerns about a product or service, then this should be seen as a company’s top priority. Always seek to protect consumer rights and immediately investigate any complaint.
Not to create fear through our marketing practices. Avoid countdown timers as they create anxiety.
Don’t stereotype or discriminate – by improving our marketing in terms of diversity and inclusivity we can actually help societal shifts towards a more progressive world.

Am I an Ethical Marketer?

I have always considered myself an ethical marketer and I will continue to strive to better my practices both personally and professionally. Recently I signed up to The Ethical Move Pledge. The Ethical Move is an organisation that is making the ethical move to create a new marketing standard based on transparency, trust, and honesty.