Just today I had a conversation with the owner of the company I work for about ethics in advertising and marketing. We are a small retail store that sells about a dozen different products for the backyard. One of our newest product offerings are high-end outdoor furniture, and we are in the process of creating a brochure that elaborates on our three different lines of product. The owner was adding his input to the layout and content.
His vision for our informational brochures include adding customer testimonials. The use of testimonials in advertising and marketing is powerful tool that relays others' experiences with our products.
He asked me to search our Facebook and Google+ pages for a few good candidates, and suggested that I may truncate the message if I need to. However, he then added that this would only be necessary to clear up the message for printing purposes and he did not want to change the words of those who left their thoughts. He felt we had a moral obligation to convey the customers true meaning if we were going to use their testimonials. Otherwise it loses the point of adding them to our brochures.
I thought about his words for a while. He didn't say "make something up that sounds like a satisfied customer". He said share what our customers are saying. He said we have a moral obligation to be truthful. He understands marketing, and he knows people aren't as dumb as some advertising firms think they are.
We are inundated with advertising and marketing. Everywhere we look there is someone selling us something. Exposure is everywhere, and not all of it is ethical. Advertising and marketing can also be very expensive. The bigger the price tag the larger the expected return on investment (ROI).
I was watching the Masters this past year with my 6 year old son. He has shown an interest in golf, and I wanted to show him some of the best golfers in the world competing against each other. What I didn't plan on doing was explaining to my young son what Viagra was, or erectile dysfunction. I wasn't prepared for that.
Now, those who sell Viagra are targeting a selected audience. Apparently their audience watches a lot of golf. Did these advertising agencies consider the younger audience as well? Was that considered when making and placing their commercials? Did the benefits outweigh the costs? Not for me and my son, I can tell you that. It seemed like every commercial break had one of these ads. Eventually, we turned off the TV and found something else to do.
Marketing is a medium, and just like any medium the user is responsible for their message. I can attribute my quitting smoking to those horrific commercials of cancer patients talking about how they are dying because of their smoking habit. My 8 year old daughter saw just one of those commercials, turned around with fear in her eyes, and begged Daddy to quit smoking. That did it for me.
Those who intrude into our private lives should offer the option to disengage if they don't want to hear the message. Like the "click here" button on emails if you want to unsubscribe to future messages. It gives the consumer the choice to listen or not. That's harder to do with other forms of marketing like commercials and billboards, and that should be considered when designing the message.
Advertisers know how their message will be received, or at least have an idea on the emotional responses they want to attach to the minds of their viewers. If they choose to share unethical messages it will ultimately reflect on the product, how people view their company, and may generate publicity... just not the return they were shooting for.
There are certain lines that can't be crossed, but there are advertisers out there who get dangerously close. They push their limits further and further to see how far they can take it. While these companies see how far they can go, I wonder if they ever think if they should.
We are all responsible for our actions, and marketing our products is no different. It was important to my boss that our message be genuine, and this a clear example of how a business owner chooses to market his company. It was important to him that we send the right message and not cut corners to fluff it up. He understands that even if our customers read those testimonials and never question whether or not those are real words from real customers... he would, and that made all the difference in the world to him.
JP
His vision for our informational brochures include adding customer testimonials. The use of testimonials in advertising and marketing is powerful tool that relays others' experiences with our products.
He asked me to search our Facebook and Google+ pages for a few good candidates, and suggested that I may truncate the message if I need to. However, he then added that this would only be necessary to clear up the message for printing purposes and he did not want to change the words of those who left their thoughts. He felt we had a moral obligation to convey the customers true meaning if we were going to use their testimonials. Otherwise it loses the point of adding them to our brochures.
I thought about his words for a while. He didn't say "make something up that sounds like a satisfied customer". He said share what our customers are saying. He said we have a moral obligation to be truthful. He understands marketing, and he knows people aren't as dumb as some advertising firms think they are.
We are inundated with advertising and marketing. Everywhere we look there is someone selling us something. Exposure is everywhere, and not all of it is ethical. Advertising and marketing can also be very expensive. The bigger the price tag the larger the expected return on investment (ROI).
I was watching the Masters this past year with my 6 year old son. He has shown an interest in golf, and I wanted to show him some of the best golfers in the world competing against each other. What I didn't plan on doing was explaining to my young son what Viagra was, or erectile dysfunction. I wasn't prepared for that.
Now, those who sell Viagra are targeting a selected audience. Apparently their audience watches a lot of golf. Did these advertising agencies consider the younger audience as well? Was that considered when making and placing their commercials? Did the benefits outweigh the costs? Not for me and my son, I can tell you that. It seemed like every commercial break had one of these ads. Eventually, we turned off the TV and found something else to do.
Marketing is a medium, and just like any medium the user is responsible for their message. I can attribute my quitting smoking to those horrific commercials of cancer patients talking about how they are dying because of their smoking habit. My 8 year old daughter saw just one of those commercials, turned around with fear in her eyes, and begged Daddy to quit smoking. That did it for me.
Those who intrude into our private lives should offer the option to disengage if they don't want to hear the message. Like the "click here" button on emails if you want to unsubscribe to future messages. It gives the consumer the choice to listen or not. That's harder to do with other forms of marketing like commercials and billboards, and that should be considered when designing the message.
Advertisers know how their message will be received, or at least have an idea on the emotional responses they want to attach to the minds of their viewers. If they choose to share unethical messages it will ultimately reflect on the product, how people view their company, and may generate publicity... just not the return they were shooting for.
There are certain lines that can't be crossed, but there are advertisers out there who get dangerously close. They push their limits further and further to see how far they can take it. While these companies see how far they can go, I wonder if they ever think if they should.
We are all responsible for our actions, and marketing our products is no different. It was important to my boss that our message be genuine, and this a clear example of how a business owner chooses to market his company. It was important to him that we send the right message and not cut corners to fluff it up. He understands that even if our customers read those testimonials and never question whether or not those are real words from real customers... he would, and that made all the difference in the world to him.
JP
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