Ethical Issues in Branding and Advertising - Essay Example

Ethical issues in branding & advertising: Impact & implications “An image is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan or an easily remembered pic- ture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corpora- tion, product or service.” – Daniel Boorstin Introduction *I have chosen to investigate and contextualise the branding and marketing strategies of 2 high profile consumer driven organisations. Nestle and Abercrombie and Fitch have both sensationalised and infiltrated the media with targeted and driven advertising and branding campaigns, utilising current consumerist culture (Thompson, 2013) whilst aiming rhetoric at vulnerable communities (Muller, 2013) to satisfy an end goal. In order to better understand the underlying impetus behind their market and branding strategies, and what this implies for the individual I must first examine why it is that these practices happen....* In contemporary marketing communications, branding and advertising have come to assume centre stage, a company is no longer defined by the product it creates but the image it projects. The increasing focus on branding and advertising as promotional tools has brought into question the very foundation of marketing practice in general and the use of unethical branding strategies in particular (Clifton, 2009). This shift in attention has allowed companies to emotionally manipulate consumers into purchasing products, which they have, little or no real information about, from your morning coffee to the latest piece of throwaway technology. Brands today are the face of organisations and are strategically modelled to convey a strong message about the company’s values and beliefs as well as attitude towards issues concerning the consumers (Fisher & Vallaster , 2008). They are highly visual symbols which tend to stimulate consumers’ perceptions and influence their buying behaviour. Branding strategies carry a much stronger message and are highly effective means of communication intended to deliver a twofold attack on the consumer; they aim to elevate the product attributes as well as the organisation as a whole (Zaltman, 2002). However the use of unethical branding strategies is likely to affect a brand image, the consumers, and bring into question the ethical foundation of the companies endorsing the product (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2010). Branding strategies must be designed effectively in order to prevent any unethical messages or content that may harm or upset the target group. Over the years various types of branding strategies have emerged which can be categorised as unethical, however despite the outcry companies continue to condone such practices. Some of the most common instances of unethical branding and marketing strategies include shock advertising, use of excessive sexual references and tropes, stereotyping, the use of excessive claims about product efficiency (Brenkert, 2008). The last one is especially harmful and damaging if the products are targeted toward vulnerable consumers such as children, old people or pregnant women. This was observed in the case of Nestle, where the company was surrounded by controversy and faced large-scale public outcry due to its branding and marketing strategies involving infants and young children from vulnerable communities. Nestle Nestle the Switzerland based multinational is a well-known brand and is marketed across the globe. However the brand has suffered huge public backlash due to its unethical branding and marketing strategies. Aggressive advertisement campaigns claimed its baby food could be used as an alternative to breast milk; this campaign was then consciously targeted at less economically developed countries1 (BACK UP THIS STATEMENT). These poorer and often less educated consumers, the brands main target audience, had barely any means of assessing its implications on their health and well-being (Muller, 2013). Years later the company is still known for this unethical marketing tactic, which included violations of internationally recognised marketing standards. This disregard for international laws and consumer welfare was believed to have resulted in the death and illness of infants among the poorer communities, due to lack of nutrition and poor education resulting in the company being labelled ‘Baby Killer’ See Appendix Fig. 1 (BACK UP THIS STATEMENT). The gravity and implications of the issue could be estimated by large scale lobbying by international groups including the International Baby Food Action Group and the Save the Children group for a public boycott of all Nestle products in the wake of the scandal (Alliance for Natural Health, 2015). More recently the company was widely criticized by one of the most prominent and well known environmental groups – Greenpeace for allegedly causing destruction of rainforests, and harming the wildlife. Incidences such as these go against the company’s brand image which promotes as providing “Good food, good life”. The company explains its slogan as "... these words represent the promise we commit to everyday, everywhere - to enhance lives, throughout life, with good food and beverages"2. Nestle has historically promoted its products as brands that care for the people and the environment and yet it’s advertising and marketing strategies have gone against it’s brand image and caused serious irreparable damage to both – the people they cater to as well as the environment and wildlife. ************************************************************** The significance and use of ethics in marketing is highly crucial since it tends to affect communities and strongly influence consumer behaviour and attitudes toward the brand/s in question. However despite the wide ranging issues raised due to lack of appropriate standards to govern the use of ethics and morals in marketing and the extent of damage likely to be caused due to misrepresentation or communication of inappropriate images to the target consumers, there is little regulation to prevent or stop such practices. The typical guidelines for preventing the use of unethical branding strategies used by organisations include those that tend to disregard laws of the country, use false claims to exaggerate the product attributes, improper or insufficient labelling, etc. (Crane & Matten, 2004). The rise of the alternative media such with highly effective platforms such as YouTube, Twitter or Facebook and other similar social networking sites have made it difficult for advertisers to effectively convey their message to the target audience. This is mainly due to the fact that such social networking sites offer the opportunity to use ‘ad blocks’ hence consumers either forward the ads, switch channels or download music to avoid listening to advertisements. With rapidly reducing attention spans and lower scope for reaching out to the target customers, companies today are relying on eye-catching tactics that often tend to ‘cross the line’. However since most of the ethical concerns that gain any attention involve those that tend to threaten public health or border on racial or ethnic stereotyping, overtly sexual advertisements targeting young vulnerable children are often overlooked. Various concerns have been raised over the years about the persuasive power of images conveyed by brands especially those targeted at young vulnerable audience. The images communicated by cosmetics or clothing and apparel companies that endorse slim figures as beautiful have a profound impact on the manner in which young girls perceive themselves. Such branding strategies are highly unethical and unacceptable since it is likely to cause serious health concerns among the youth, especially young women and girls (Kilbourne, 1999). Abercrombie & Fitch Various well-known clothing brands aimed at youth tend to use excessive sex appeal and perpetuate notions of ideal unhealthy body proportions causing eating disorders and a strong negative impact on self-image perception among young girls. Abercrombie and Fitch is one such brand guilty of indulging in such unethical advertisements. The company uses half-naked models in their stores as a way to attract the young crowd who are their target consumers and promote the now renounced stereotype of slim is beautiful. The branding strategy adopted by Abercrombie & Fitch is not only unethical but also highly harmful since it deliberately excludes fat bpeople by catering to slim size customers. The brand overtly supported its branding strategy by stating that it is only marketed toward the “thin and cool people” implying that those who do not fit a certain body type image are uncool and hence unworthy of being their customers (Thompson, 2013). The brand faced large-scale public outcry and was publicly shunned and criticised by celebrities and common citizens alike for discriminating and alienating over-weight customers. The chief executive of the companys open and unabashed support for its branding strategy was apparent by his statement in an interview where he stated that "In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then are the not so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people dont belong (in our clothes) and they cant belong" (Thompson, 2013). Such branding strategies that tend to discriminate against a certain section of the consumer segment are highly unethical and must not be encouraged. The company had to withdraw its stance owing to the widespread negative sentiment among the citizens and rethink its branding strategy. Ethical branding: Key issues & Implications “Public-relations specialists make flower arrangements of the facts, placing them so the wilted and less attractive petals are hidden by sturdy blooms.” – Alan Harrington Brands today not only represent the product but also the values and beliefs of the company itself. It communicates not just the product attributes but the values and beliefs of the company endorsing it. Hence it is inevitable for companies to exercise adequate caution while designing their branding strategies and ensure that they are highly ethical and moral and bring no harm to those likely to the consumers. The growing incidences of unethical branding strategies by renowned companies such as Nestle and Ikea which landed them in the now infamous horse meat scandal and resulted in large scale public backlash, is indicative of the fact that even closely guarded brands are not immune from such unethical practices (Castle & Higgins, 2013). The rise of such unethical practices by prominent multinationals bears testimony to the above stated quote that suggests that all brands, large or small, are susceptible to indulging in unethical business practices but the availability of a strong PR team especially in case of large companies make it easier for them to maintain a good public image or rebrand their products by hiding their "less attractive petals" behind the sturdy blooms. Ethical brands are defined as brands "that recognise their environmental, economic and social responsibilities because they respect the interests, needs and concerns of their stakeholders. They are genuinely committed to doing the right thing and their commitments are independently monitored and verifiable.” (Bouckaert & Zsolnai, 2011, p. 222). Ethical branding helps the marketers in identifying and differentiating between the right and wrong behaviour and enable them to design an appropriate and ethical branding strategy. Conclusion: Ethical branding has gained rapid significance and relevance in contemporary corporate market place and the public awareness regarding ethical practices has also risen drastically. The rise in technology has opened up newer avenues for companies to promote and market their brands across a wider social platform. The use of such powerful tools by organisations enable them to manipulate their target consumers emotionally and achieve their goals and objectives, most of which are centred on profit maximisation. Such branding strategies could be ethically and morally questionable and has often led various companies to suffer public scrutiny and boycott. With increased presence of companies’ online and increased access to media, companies today need to be more careful in developing their branding strategies and ensure that they are morally and ethically sound and efficient. Works Cited Clifton, R. (2009). Brands and Branding. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons Pub- lishing. Fisher, C., & Vallaster , C. (2008). Connective Branding: Building Brand Equity in a Demanding World. West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons Publishing. Zaltman, G. (2002). How customers think. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Hawkins, D., & Mothersbaugh, D. (2010). Consumer Behavior Building Marketing Strategy. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Publishing. Brenkert, G. G. (2008). Marketing ethics. Michigan: Blackwell Publishing. Alliance for Natural Health. (2015). international groups including the International Baby Food Action Group and the Save the Children group called for a public boycott of all Nestle products in the wake of the scandal. Retrieved February 20, 2 0 1 5 , f r o m A l l i a n c e f o r N a t u r a l H e a l t h : http://anh-europe.org/news/nestle-ethics-called-into-question-as-it-plans-to-dev elop-medical-food-range Muller, M. (2013, February 13). Nestlé baby milk scandal has grown up but not gone a w a y . R e t r i e v e d F e b r u a r y 2 0 , 2 0 1 5 , f r o m T h e G u a r d i a n : http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/nestle-baby-milk-scandal-foo d-industry-standards Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2004). Business ethics: A European perspective . Oxford: Oxford University Press. . Castle, S., & Higgins, A. (2013, February 25). Ikea Recalls Meatballs After Detection of Horse Meat. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from The New York Times: 8 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/world/europe/ikea-recalls-its-meatballs-ho rse-meat-is-detected.html?pagewanted=all Kilbourne, J. (1999). Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Ad- dictive Power of Advertising. Free Press. Thompson, P. (2013, June 16). Abercrombie hit by A-list backlash over anti-fat bias: Brand under fire again after chief executives comment that its clothes are for cool kids is republished. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from The Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2342851/Abercrombie-Fitch-hit-A-list- backlash-anti-fat-bias.html Bouckaert, L., & Zsolnai, L. (2011). The Palgrave Handbook of Spirituality and Business. London: Palgrave MacMillan Publishers. "Nestlé: The unrepentant chocolatier", The Economist, 29 October 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2012 Appendix: Figure 1: Source: http://www.waronwant.org/attachments/THE%20BABY%20KILLER%201974.pdf Read More