Week 5-MBA6101- Ethics in Marketing

 Marketing Ethics

With the introduction of social media, everything is shared, retweeted, posted or liked. This could be as simple as a picture of a dog or a tv commercial that is introducing a new type of burger at a popular restaurant. This also includes controversial ads, extreme political opinions or stances, and debatable actions. In the past, these pieces could be taken down instantly without much recourse. However, today these situations linger with the existence of social media. Businesses need to keep this in mind when creating its marketing strategy. One inappropriate or insensitive ad could lead to the brand being "cancelled" and sales plummeting. Being cancelled is a newer term that means to remove a brand, person or symbol from a high status due to controversy or offensive behavior. 

For a business to have a successful marketing campaign and to avoid being "cancelled", it is important for the marketing team to do its research. By learning about different demographics, opinions, current slang and culture icons, a business can avoid mistakes and making assumptions. This is where many companies run into controversary because they will use their own assumptions about certain topics before doing research and learning the facts. For this to be impactful, the marketing team need to be honest and vulnerable with their opinions so that there is a clear understanding of the facts. This also ties into stereotyping which can cause significant damage to a business's brand and reputation. 

Once a marketing campaign is launched, it is best to survey the target audience to see if the strategy was appropriate and displayed the business's values. This is the time for the business to listen and to be aware of comments. If what they launched did not align with the original intent or was not received well, it is best to reconvene and come up with a recovery strategy. This entire process is ongoing until it is time to come up with the next marketing campaign. With social media and "cancel" culture being more prevalent than ever, businesses need to be aware of consumer attitudes and opinions about certain topics.