{"id":3938,"date":"2023-06-19T13:55:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T01:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reportitnow-global.com\/nz\/?p=3938"},"modified":"2023-06-19T14:30:23","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T02:30:23","slug":"marketing-the-theatre-where-every-line-warrants-scrutiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reportitnow-global.com\/nz\/marketing-the-theatre-where-every-line-warrants-scrutiny\/","title":{"rendered":"Marketing: The theatre where every line warrants scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the age of hyperbole, ethical marcoms in more important than ever, writes ethics expert and director of the Ethics Conversation<\/a>, Jane Arnott MNZM<\/strong>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketers are not immune to ethical challenges as they juggle the task of achieving sales targets or increasing margins, along with maintaining consumer trust and confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, \u2018trust and confidence\u2019 measures are unlikely to secure a promotion or a bonus \u2013 but sales undoubtedly do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, marketing is a theatre where every line warrants scrutiny. And there are major players who have major reputations at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing departments are not immune from ethical lapses \u2013 the moments where increasing sales eclipse all else \u2013 including good judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too often, however, the people that make up the marketing value chain operate in silos.  They may well see their role as one piece of the jigsaw but fail to piece it all together. And so accountability or responsibility falls away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cracks appear and outright deception, manipulation and artfulness take hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s probably a pretty reasonable explanation of how packaging and associated written content, designed to please and attract sales, falls foul of basic compliance \u2013 such as the Fair Trading Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a company perspective, too often departments, functions and outputs aren\u2019t considered when conversations about ethics or speaking up take hold. The governance aspect focuses on overall business behaviour without diving into the details of areas where risks accrue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing departments and the range of roles that feed into any product, be it financial or edible, are a prime example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning now to chicken. Chicken and Herb tortellini to be precise, qualified by a secondary headline that refers to \u2018succulent chicken,\u2019 and then adds the visual association of beautifully sliced, juicy and tender breast meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this, I will argue, is seriously divorced from a list of ingredients that state 3.5% chicken in tiny font on the reverse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could these headlines and subsequent wording comprise an accidental overstatement or a deliberate attempt to confuse and tempt the consumer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, and above all else, has the opportunity to guide employees in their understanding and application of values such as integrity, honesty – along with speaking up – been overlooked?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Someone could and probably should have spoken up. This type of misleading headline is surely a breach of the Fair Trading Act. It could have been avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies like Report it Now<\/a> are geared toward listening and subsequently ensuring that an intervention can occur before a concern leads to a production and reputational disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking up is the one area that can save reputations if undertaken early enough. Speaking up can also be the backstop to ensure due process doesn\u2019t overlook ethical considerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, had the product manager and product designers talked to the product tasters, and those tasked with the graphic design and body copy? Who was tasked with overseeing the overall accuracy and positioning of the product given its brand promise?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company itself, Pams, is quite a namesake to us all. Under the heading of \u2018social and ethical,\u2019 Pams outlines that it plays an active and privileged role in delivering value, quality and care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is clarified to include responsible sourcing, healthy living, sustainable packaging and transparency around practices and production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truth-telling, unfortunately, is missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Controversy, we know, is not always unwelcome in marketing departments, but in the midst of a cost of living crisis and exorbitant inflation across food prices, truth-telling rises to a class of its own. It becomes very, very important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing departments benefit from vigilance and a well-honed understanding of consumer behaviour, even when times are tough. There are plenty of customers hoping to find value for money and this is well documented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so to the learning. Ethical pointers for marketers starting now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n