Is honest marketing an illusion? Is marketing still ethical?

An article by Madelon Engels made me reflect on whether marketing is actually still ethical.

In a world increasingly driven by making money — where almost anything seems justified to that end, as long as it's within the law — can you still get anywhere by simply wanting to be honest?

'The way marketing is practised increasingly puts me off'

I recognise that feeling all too well. Not just how marketing is practised, but I find myself increasingly questioning the way many organisations run their businesses and treat people.

I wonder what the purpose of all these companies is, beyond making money? Fortunately, more and more business leaders and entrepreneurs are starting to ask themselves the same question.

Is it a philosophical reflection on the purpose of things that comes with age? Or have we truly slipped so far as a society that money and power are the only real measure of success?

Transparency is advancing and social media confronts us daily with all kinds of unfair practices.

We're finding out that refined sugar is the great culprit behind many health problems.

Thanks to Tony's Chocolonely, we know there's slave-free chocolate — and the other kind.

We know that McDonald's fries contain a type of silicone also used in breast implants, toy slime, hair conditioners and other cosmetics.

That Primark has clothing made by children in third-world sweatshops.

That Monsanto now controls the world's seed market, meaning our entire food supply is genetically modified.

That Blue Band margarine consists entirely of chemically synthesised trans fats and artificial additives with virtually no nutritional value.

We know that white-collar crime is flourishing, that bankers at Rabobank, ABN AMRO and ING are greedy profiteers, we know about the derivatives fraud at housing corporations like Vestia and we know about fraudulent accountants at KPMG.

We know that Facebook doesn't take our privacy seriously, we know Unilever's sustainable living plan and we know they put suspicious little pellets in their Lipton tea.

Last week I was a guest at the Art Directors Club Netherlands for a debate on advertising with substance — and what advertising even means today.

Aside from being a stimulating evening with a lively discussion, what stuck with me most was that the advertising profession is in considerable decline.

'Whose bread one eats, whose word one speaks'

The general tone was that advertising should primarily focus on selling the products and services of advertisers. Campaign success is measured in terms of return.

Advertising makers have no independent social purpose and operate mostly in an executive capacity, dependent on the wishes of their clients.

Going against the client is difficult because the relationship suffers and loyalty is hard to come by. Clients hop from one specialist agency to the next.

What does the profession still have to offer talented, visionary creatives when money has seized power here too?

Fortunately, there is also good news. Things are bubbling away underground. Many people are disappointed by the practices of large companies.

They want change. All kinds of tipping movements are emerging. People are taking the initiative again. They no longer want to wait for change to come 'from above'.

A counter-movement is forming. A bank like Triodos senses this well and fans those sentiments further. Things must — and can — be different.

It creates opportunities for entrepreneurship. Pushing back against the great mastodons stuck in their pursuit of profit.

Think of supermarket chain MARQT and its drive to let us eat real food again.

Or ad agency Lemz, which with its pro-social purpose tries to encourage positive behaviour.

What seems to matter is that the moment money becomes the guiding principle, all kinds of perverse incentives arise. All kinds of unfair practices.

Joris Luyendijk writes about how the financial world in London has returned to the practices of before the financial crisis.

De Verleiders, with their show 'Door de bank genomen', make it painfully clear through pitch-black humour that the financial world is truly laughable — if it weren't simultaneously so heartbreaking.

If money isn't the goal, then what is?

This is the challenge that Kim Cramer PhD and I at BR-ND have been increasingly preoccupied with for our clients in recent years.

What is a purpose big and inspiring enough to motivate genuinely positive, honest behaviour? Behaviour that creates happy customers and employees.

And more importantly: how do you ensure that such a purpose doesn't just stay in the boardroom, but is experienced by everyone as inspiring, important and worth striving for?

If you'd like to know more about 'emotive branding', don't hesitate to invite us for a conversation.

Alexander Koene

BR-ND People