ETHICAL MARKETING AND THE EFECT 1

Ethical marketing and the effects

Nowadays, ethics is a thorny issue having many caring; because of that, business ethics are

not out of the range. For many reasons, ethical marketing technique is widely supportive not only

because of the effects it brings to the community but because of the positive effects impacted on the

brand. It is becoming a new trend that companies choose to improve their image. Ethics are used to

attract the trust and credibility of consumers. Ethical marketing technique is considered a form of

advertising effective long-term strategy. Innovative ethical marketing strategies can dramatically

improve the enterprise's image. In my opinion, I agree with this statement, but not totally. Ethical

marketing is only effective when the enterprises understand how to capture and take advantage of it.

This essay will focus on the ethical marketing technique: definition, advantages and results on the

enterprise's image.

What is the ethical marketing?

First, we must identify what is ethical marketing. Ethical marketing, in brief, is a marketing

strategy that aims at the thought and affection of consumers. Nevertheless, it is a process with more

philosophy and less a marketing strategy. Ethical marketing mainly attracts the kindness of

customers with media or advertising strategies regarding the benefits that the enterprises bring to the

community such as charity, promotion, global saving and so on. This technique intends to build trust

and call for support day by day. It is not a speedy strategy, it must be developed and maintained

through each day. That is because people cannot evaluate or recognize the ethical issues in one or

two days. Ethics is truly difficult to judge, so most people usually have judgments in a subjective

way. For this reason, ethical marketing technique requires the flexibility in activities to suit the

circumstances at the time of the promotion. I believe that ethical marketing is becoming the latest

trend in business. Ethical marketing, despite some limitations, has many advantages and effective for

enterprises. This technique can build a strong and lasting relationship with customers, start from

building trust. A 2010 Cone Cause Evolution study (as cited in Bowie, 2016) showed that 80 percent
ETHICAL MARKETING AND THE EFECT 2

of costumes changed their brand because of the good cause the brand associated. It explained the

growth of profits of the company using the ethical marketing technique as well as the number of

enterprises using this technique. That is the reason why ethical marketing is the new successful

marketing technique in the present day.

Principles of ethical marketing

Some reviews revealed that numerous consumers were skeptical or even distrustful ethical

shopping. The biggest reason for this is the abuse of ethical business to conceal unethical issues or

exploit consumer confidence to consume the product. This has caused the confusion and suspicion of

customers while ethical marketing is growing and spreading. Sharma and Sharma (2014) mentioned

that: "In the present well-informed society, marketers need to follow ethical marketing practices to

win consumers loyalty." Therefore, enterprises need to know principles to build an effective ethical

marketing strategy. The first principle is being truthful and clear. Customers never want to feel

manipulated and cheated; hence, honesty and clarity are the traits that are chosen and accepted by the

customers. Products and services are tools enterprise exchange and get money. Advertising, sales

promotion are tools help the brand approach customers, find and generate promising leads, and

propaganda helps brand spread. For the sake of the customers, all these things, products, services

information, advertising, sales promotion and propaganda, could be shown sincerely, transparently

with true details, undoubted interpretation. The second principle, really important, is the protection

of consumers’ data. To make marketing strategies more profitable, successful, accessing customer

data, privacy for the database is one tremendous thing the enterprises need. Despite the great value of

the third party can give to the company. The enterprises must be sure to not sell customer

information in order to protect their data, privacy. So that the enterprises can advance customer

belief.
ETHICAL MARKETING AND THE EFECT 3

Main activities of ethical marketing

There are many activities that enterprises use in their marketing campaigns. We can notice

many projects for the same purpose used by different brands in various ways. Based on brand

campaigns, we can recognize the main and general activities of ethical marketing campaigns. Charity

is the first choice of many brands. Today, charity is an activity supported by companies to promote

the brand. Sticking to charitable activities always brings a positive image to the enterprise. The

charity campaigns are an effective promotion to consumers, slowly but deeply. Contributing to

philanthropic activities not only brings the brand closer to difficult lives but also closer to those who

are interested in and follow up. In business runs, which brand is well-known and gain more

consumer confidence, this brand easily has a larger position, and how to do that, nothing more than

charity. Besides, along with charitable activities, the enterprises also use promotional and media

campaigns to support community cohesion. These campaigns include video clip, billboards, or

promotional activities. Big brands often use this way to bring their brand to the hearts of consumers.

We can see the success of Pepsi in the Indian market through the movie "Sun in a bottle" in 2016. On

the occasion of the New Year, we can see short films of family affection or reunion through the

advertisements of Neptune, Choco Pie and so on. This is a process to bring the brand into daily life,

reaching to many customers with sincerity and openness.

Advantages of marketing technique

Ethical marketing brings many advantages and benefits for companies employed. There are

three significant benefits we will mention in this paper. The first is the ability to build a lasting and

rooted relationship with the customers. It is no surprise that ethical marketing can do this, as it is a

way to build trust over time. Analyze of Sharma and Sharma had found that: "Consumers prefer

products having quality, after sales services, companies respecting social and cultural values and

companies following ethical marketing practices." The second benefit that ethical marketing brings is

the enhancement of brand credibility and brand image. Business strategies affect the image of the
ETHICAL MARKETING AND THE EFECT 4

business, making the business good or bad in the eyes of consumers. Many companies have become

stronger and more popular with customers after moral campaigns because of the beautiful images

that they spread and bring. Many other companies use unethical factors to boost their image and, of

course, get objections and boycotts from consumers. Ethical marketing also brings a lot of

competitive advantages for businesses, especially in the modern era of internet development. The

fact that today's times, customers can completely learn about what they care about on the internet.

Therefore, they have the right to actively use the products and services that they desire. Also, the

competition on the internet is becoming more intense than ever. Ethical marketing, then, will become

a tool for consumers to make their choice and also a tool for entrepreneurs to create advantages over

competitors.

Companies use ethical marketing technique

There are many great brands that use ethical marketing as tools to bring their brands to

consumers. The first is Pepsi India with advertising: "sun in a bottle." The movie is about a girl who

wants to catch the sun in a water bottle to bring light to her house. The message that the ad conveys

really impresses the consumer. Next comes Coca-Cola with water storage campaigns in Thailand and

Vietnam. These campaigns have received strong support from farmers and even local authorities. In

the footage of the campaign and the interviews of the people that Coca-Cola has given us, we can

recognize that the name Coca-Cola is only known by the girl's shirt. However, this is a gentle way to

promote the brand widely. Another example we can mention is Everland, a clothing brand. Referring

to the apparel industry, we are left with a series of unethical problems. Everland, however, gives

consumers moral commitments in a clear and transparent way. Everland's products are manufactured

in stringent quality processes and quality, moreover, the transparency of Everland's commitment.

These are also the reasons Everland is trusted by a large number of customers.
ETHICAL MARKETING AND THE EFECT 5

Conclusion

Ethical marketing is growing and becoming a new trend in business. It offers many benefits

to companies if they know how to use and exploit. Ethical marketing improves the image of the

brand in the eyes of the consumer. Ethical marketing campaigns are favoured because it builds trust,

builds lasting relationships between brands and customers. Ethical marketing is an effective way of

creating consumer choice. However, to achieve these advantages, enterprises must strictly adhere to

ethical marketing rules. Not all companies are successful in using ethical marketing to build a brand.

That is a big problem that companies have to calculate and consider.

ETHICAL MARKETING AND THE EFECT 6

Reference

Bowie, D. (2016). Generosity And Charity Are The 'New' Marketing. Retrieved from

https://www.businessmagazinegainesville.com/generosity-and-charity-are-the-new-

marketing/

Curlo, E. (1999). Marketing strategy, product safety, and ethical factors in consumer choice. Journal

of Business Ethics. Retrieved from

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1005973306941

Dhanani, Z. (2017). Charity Marketing: Six Explosive Ways To Reach Millennials Through

Generosity. Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2017/11/28/charity-marketing-

six-explosive-ways-to-reach-millennials-through-generosity/#359132a818a8

Ethical Marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-

marketing/ethical-marketing.html

Gauzente, C., & Ranchhod, A. (2001). Ethical marketing for competitive advantage on the internet.

Academy of Marketing Science Review. Retrieved from

http://www.geocities.ws/r_santos_cori/ebusiness/gauzente10.pdf

Mulvey, K. (2017). These brands have programs to donate part of your purchase to charity.

Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-that-give-back-2017-6

Sharma, N., & Sharma, B. R. (2014). Ethical marketing as a tool for developing customer relations:

An empirical analysis. International Journal on Customer Relations, 2(2), 26-31. Retrieved

from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1845261666?accountid=63189

Shewan, D. (2017). Ethical Marketing: 5 Examples of Companies with a Conscience. Retrieved from

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/09/20/ethical-marketing
ETHICAL MARKETING AND THE EFECT 7

Swanepoel, C., Lye, A., & Rugimbana, R. (2009). Virally inspired: A review of the theory of viral

stealth marketing. Australasian Marketing Journal, 17(1), 9-15. Retrieved from

https://search.proquest.com/docview/199341931?accountid=63189

Tsui-Hsu Tsai, T., Arthur, J. L., & Li, E. Y. (2014). The effect of philanthropic marketing on brand

resonance and consumer satisfaction of CSR performance. Chinese Management Studies,

8(3), 527-547. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/CMS-04-2014-0074

Wikipedia contributors. (2018). Ethcal Marketing. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_marketing