Questionable Ethics in Promotions and Ad in Food and Hygiene Industry in the United Arab Emirates - Case Study Example

QUESTIONABLE ETHICS IN PROMOTIONS AND ADVERTISING IN FOOD AND HYGIENE INDUSTRY IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) Introduction Promotions and advertising are fundamental elements used in marketing strategies and are important for any profit making and non- profit-making organizations. This is because advertising and promotion informs and educates the public on available product and services and their usage. It creates awareness of the existence of the organization, creates entertainment as a way to attract the attention of the public, increase profits for organizations, influence consumer behavior, increase market share and is a route used to increase competition among producers of the same service or product (O’Guinn, Allen, Semenik). However, promotions and advertising has been used unethical techniques to influence consumer choice, consumer buying and product and service consumption globally. This report shall critically look at the reasons as to why food and hygiene industries in United Arab Emirates (UAE) use questionable ethics in advertising and promotions with questionable ethics, and possible solutions using fish born diagram (Andersen, Fagerhaug). Brainstorming and Fish Born Analysis on Unethical Promotions and Advertising on Food and Hygiene The main objective of the study is to clearly highlight why food and hygiene industry in UAE has resulted to promotions and advertising of its products and services which have questionable ethics. Brainstorming and fish borne diagrams are tools of analysis that allow one to clearly evaluate causes and effects of factors to a particular phenomenon in this case questionable ethics in advertising and promotions, thus formulating possible solutions to the problem (Andersen, Fagerhaug). Ethics in marketing are important in order to allow stakeholders involved to get their money’s worth, acquire value for service and ensure there is no occasions when one will feel misled, fraud or lied to (Hass, Wessels & Brennan 217). Ethics are important in exerting pressure to producers and manufactures to assume responsibility in offering high value and quality in their products and services and establishing good brand name and image. Unethical marketing practices leads to consumers whose needs are not satisfied, mistrust among stakeholders be it distributors, suppliers, producers and consumers, negative publicity, reduced or lose of business thus incurring losses or shutdowns, and facing legal repercussions arising from law suits (Brenkert 104). Questionable ethics in promotion in food and hygiene industry in UAE leads to social implications where consumers associate lack of quality, immorality by use of sex appeal, and lack of ethics to the organization in question. Other implications are that organizations are perceived as liars, fraud and misleading to their stakeholders, by indicating that they apply particular standards, product contents and use approved production processes, when they have not (P.R.G.42). Legal implications arise when organizations are taken to court on charges of mispresenting facts, and using unethical aspects in advertising like using sex appeal to lure consumers. Other factors include manipulating standards of products contrary to the bureau of standards board, mispresentation of product contents thus causing psychological, religious and physical harm due to content that violate consumer’s religious belief, and causing diseases or allergies (Hass, Wessels & Brennan 243). Environmental implications arise when the organization production process and waste disposal cause environmental degradation through pollution contrary to what they had advertised their product and organization as. During a brainstorming session among key areas that cause food and hygiene industry to indulge in questionable ethics in promotions and advertising is namely because of the elements of; Price Food and hygiene industry in UAE has fallen victims to promoting their service and products and neglect to inform the consumer on the hidden costing and surcharges in the advertised price (P.R.G.111). This misleads consumers to buy items on prices they assume fair only to realize that it was not. Advertising influence prices especially when disposing off items that have neared its sell by dates, consumers rush to the low priced food commodities advertised only to realize they are almost expiring, and since some are perishable goods and consumers may have bought in bulk end up being spoilt, or causing health problems if consumed. Furthermore, they advertise that their food products are organic, which is relatively more expensive to purchase due to the increased demand for organic foods, thus offering them low quality food with less value than the consumer wanted, thereby consumers do not get value for their money. Price is relative to quantity of product and service in the market. The higher the quantity of a product, the higher its price is (O’Guinn, Allen & Semenik 32). Marketers of food and hygiene products have been known to manipulate the packaging to mislead consumers, that a product’s net weight is more than it really is. Meat products have been injected with brine and use of color fillers in peanut butter, which increases the mass of the product, hence consumers buy at prices not equal to the actual amount. Promotion Promotion has been used to among other things lure consumers to purchase the product or service, therefore food and hygiene marketers have used promotional techniques in pursuit to increase market share and profits (Brenkert 104). Among promotional malpractices in the sector includes using labels that indicate that foods are organic and not processed when they are not, food products are environmentally friendly when they have not been studied and found to be true. Other factors include halal and kosher foods to lure religious consumer segments, indicating labor used, like union labored foods when it has not been verified it is, selling the products as products produced under hygienic conditions and processes, and promoting and labeling commodities not to be genetically modified foods which is not easy to verify (O’Guinn, Allen & Semenik 102). If all these positive elements of the foods as indicated are not true, they may cause health implications, for example for people with allergies to particular elements in foods which may be used by producers and not indicated on the packaging. Moreover, violating religious beliefs and traditions of people like saying foods are halal or kosher and they are not, and occurrence of malnutrition due to uptake of foods promoted to have important body minerals and diet components when they actually do not (P.R.G.89). Other unethical promotion practices including designing adverts to manipulate the attitudes of minority markets and stereotyping them by associating particular foods to particular people. Moreover, associating high quality priced commodities to particular segments of people (Hass, Wessels & Brennan142). Food and hygiene industries like international food chains like MacDonald, Wimpy and Chicken inn have been known to use adverts and pictures which are enticing to look at but pose health risks. Moreover, like cigarette smoking, they put the health warning in small letters and hidden on the side of the packet which illustrates the value they place on health safety and health hazards. Samples of burgers advertised Samples of cigarette packets with hidden health warnings People The major reason why food and hygiene industry in UAE may use questionable ethics in promotion and advertising of its products is people (P.R.G.240). People include marketers, consumers, competitor, distributor and suppliers. These stakeholders have perceptions regarding particular foods based on experience, age, taste, status, beliefs, preference and peer influence. More often than not, consumers will buy goods that they believe are environmentally friendly, products formed from recycling, products that promote fair trade, and products from organizations that have ethical standards. In addition, products which are not genetically modified, that during production of the said products animal and human rights were not violated, and the products are not from organizations that have been boycotted or perceived to have low ethical standards. Marketers and producers of food and hygiene products therefore, are more likely to use the said elements in promotion and advertising of their products, if it will appeal to the majority of the people (Goldsby & Martinchenko184). Furthermore, use of offensive and explicit materials when advertising has been viewed as unethical in morally and socially since it promotes sexual immorality in the society, and needless to say promotion of unhealthy food products to children has resulted in unhealthy lifestyles and contracting lifestyle diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart problems. Symbol people look for on packaging to establish that materials used are recycled. Symbol for organic products Image of fair trade products logo, people look for before purchasing Process In this case, the process of production has influenced the content of promotions and advertising (Goldsby & Martinchenko 220). As the world evolves and there is an increased need to go green and increase efforts in environmental conservation, more and more organizations and industries are aligning their production processes in this line. Food and hygiene industries have influenced more people to buy and consume their products and discredited their competitors by using production processes as tools to improve quality not only of the product but life in general. They advertise that they have used green technology when producing and distributing, used recycled materials for their packaging, have disposed their wastes safely to avoid water, air and land pollution which are primary causes of global warming. Other malpractices used in promotion during distribution of products include enticing retail and distributors to sell products only from them, influencing them not to display products from competitors or reduce shelf space display of competitor’s products (Goldsby & Martinchenko 164). Moreover, reducing the price minimally and seasonally in order for the consumer to think that competitor’s product are expensive, and giving false promises to distributors and retailers that shipments will be made on time knowing well it wont happen. Sample of products produced by green technology and is eco friendly on usage. Solution The only way that UAE administration can eliminate use of questionable ethics in promotion and advertising of food and hygiene products is implementing punitive measures against the vice, and ensure such products pass through the bureau of standard testing to evaluate its quality, safety, and quantity. It should encourage free trade which will increase competition, thus improved prices and quality of products in the market, ban use of sexual explicit materials in advertising, pass legislation that make it mandatory for manufacturers to indicate actual and true contents of products and boycotting products from unethical organizations or producers (P.R.G. 313). Conclusion Promotion and advertising are tools in marketing mix and strategies. Good advertising educate, informs and create awareness of products and services and the organization. It helps increase market share thus increased profits and influence consumer choice and behavior. Questionable ethics in promotion and advertising have however, been realized globally. Looking at use of it in food and hygiene industry in UAE, findings formed from brainstorming session and the fish born diagram, it is apparent that the major causes are price, promotion, people, and process. Solutions include implementation of punitive measures to offenders, forming legislation policies on correct information on packaging and product contents and boycotting products from unethical organizations. Evaluations It is difficult to know which food and industry producers and marketers are unethical or use questionable ethics in their promotions and advertising. Since they are no legal frameworks in place to engage them in presenting true facts, others use innuendo words like ‘light’, low cholesterol, low calories which is relative depending on who is consuming the product, it is hard to evaluate the authenticity of information provided by the manufacturers and marketers based on the ignorance of the consumer. Therefore, further research and analysis need to be done, and other factors leading to use of questionable ethics in promotion evaluated and looked at critically since they may be justified to using those methods to increase their market share thus increasing profits and surviving in the rapidly changing economies and competitive markets. Other analysis tools should be used which as described by (Andersen & Fagerhaug 15). References Andersen, Fagerhaug. Root cause analysis: simplified tools and techniques. Toronto: American Society for Quality, 2006. Brenkert. Marketing ethics. Michigan: Blackwell Pub, 2008. Goldsby, Martinchenko. Lean Six Sigma logistics: strategic development to operational success. London: J. Ross Publishing, 2005. Hass, Wessels, Brennan. Getting it right: business requirement analysis tools and techniques. New York: Management Concepts, 2007. O’Guinn, Allen, Semenik. Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion. London: Cengage Learning, 2008. P.R.G. Advertising Services in United Arab Emirates: A Strategic Entry Report, 2000. Icon Group International, Incorporated, 2000. Read More