Week 5:

Sustainable marketing and

ethics in the digital age

EFIMM0148 – Operations and

Marketing Management

Dr Rushana Khusainova
 Learning outcomes
1. Define sustainable marketing in the digital age and discuss
its importance.
2. Identify the ways ethics impact elements of the marketing
mix.
3. Draw unit level takeaways and conclusions
Patagonia is telling consumers to buy less
 What is sustainable marketing?

“Sustainable marketing is socially and

environmentally responsible marketing that
meets the present needs of consumers and
businesses while also preserving or enhancing
the ability of future generations to meet their
needs” - Phillip Kotler
 Unsustainable Marketing

We need to critically evaluate marketing activity, not all of it is good

for society

Commodity
Manipulation Needs vs. choice
fetishism

Check it out:
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/unfair-treatment/unfair-commercial-practices/index_en.htm
 Marketing vs Manipulation

Commodity Needs vs.

Manipulation
fetishism choice

Framing Spin
• Presenting persuasive comms • Trick photography
• Situational (time limited offers) • Overstated benefits
• Attributes (product features)
• Actions (buy now pay later)
• Responsibilities (charity appeals)
 Commodity Fetishism

Commodity Needs vs.

Manipulation
fetishism choice

Pre Industrialization Post

• Removed from
• Made to order
process
• Exchanged with • Paid piecemeal
customer
• Product becomes
• Share of financial
tradeable
return
• Product has
Bristol Temple Meads station perceived value

Commodity fetishism refers to a process when “relationships between

people become obscured by their interactions with commodities”.
 Needs vs Choice (or Needs versus Wants)

Commodity Needs vs.

Manipulation
fetishism choice

Assumption Marketers meet consumer

needs Marketing of
More choice
= better alcohol, tobacco,
experience? gambling ethical?

Do customers
actually need
the product?
Drugs and
prostitution
• Self regulation bodies (see earlier marketing?
lectures) e.g. drinkaware.co.uk
• Unfairly disadvantaged groups
(countered by e.g. Fairtrade.) Dark web?
 Questionable Actions

• Large organisations in rich markets taking advantage of poor

working conditions in poorer countries?

• Cultural differences marketed in preference to those in the target

country (imposing own cultural norms on others)

• Consumption restrictions (by e.g. Government legislation)

• Market research vs consumer surveillance

 Surveillance capitalism and big data

Reading: Explainer: what is surveillance capitalism and how does it shape

our economy? In The Conversation.
 Sustainable Marketing

Accept limitations. But need to impose regulatory constraints

Economic
Equitable
Ecological
Marketing should
Marketing should not encourage long-term
Marketing should not
allow or promote economic development
negatively impact upon
inequitable social as opposed to short-
the environment
practices term economic
development.
 Three stages of sustainable marketing

Sustainable marketing of
green products
(recycled/upcycled) to
Encourage
increase demand
Ensure the process consumers to • Material recovery from end users
of production was consume • Designing reverse logistical products so they
can be dismantled for recycling
ecological ecological produce • ROI considers the full cost of production not
just cost paid, over a longer time frame
(e.g. perfume not • Environmental auditing of the entire product
lifecycle
tested on animals) • This has developed the Circular Economy
thinking
• Also a collaborative consumption
environment (e.g. AirBnB)
 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

• Prevalent in most organisations

• Corporations have responsibilities beyond the production of their offerings at a profit.
• These involve helping to solve social problems, especially those that the corporation
helped to create.
• Corporations have a broader constituency of stakeholders than shareholders alone.
• The impacts of corporations go beyond simple marketplace transactions.
• Corporations serve a wider range of human values, not captured solely by a focus on
economic values.
• Stakeholder marketing to address these
• recognizes the important role played by a multiplicity of stakeholders (for example employees, suppliers,
government, media, publics) in generating positive outcomes for the organization and for society at large
 Marketing and Ethics

‘the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016).

Normative ethics: How we should behave

A code of professional conduct
• e.g. American Marketing Association
1. Do no harm.
a. Consciously avoiding harmful actions/omissions
b. high ethical standards adhere to laws/regulations in our choice.
2. Foster trust in the marketing system.
a. Fair dealing
b. Avoiding deception in product design, pricing, communication
3. Embrace ethical values.
a. Enhance consumer confidence in the integrity of marketing
b. honesty; responsibility; fairness; respect; transparency; and citizenship.
AMA (2018)
 Product Place
Products and Ethics Promotion Price

Strict guidelines on product quality

Lack of quality can lead to injury or death
Most countries have minimum requirements for product quality
(though not service quality)
Food is very important. Some countries have separate bodies
dedicated to food
E.g. Food standard’s agency (UK)
 Product Place
Promotion and Ethics Promotion Price

Sexual and Shock Appeal

Naked or semi naked models exploit women and men
Past adverts encouraged models with a very small BMI
(banned in Israel in 2013)
Shock appeal used often by charities

Product Labelling
Food, pharmaceutical, clothing industries where
ingredients can be absorbed into the body
Specific meat products (e.g. halal/kosher)
 Product Place
Place (Distribution) and Ethics Promotion Price

How products get their route to market

Collusion
OPEC manages the oil production in some countries
Abuse of Monopoly Status
E.g. Web search engines
Exploiting supply chain partners
Selling a product at below price-cost (and passing this on
to the suppliers)
E.g. milk sector in the UK went through a period
where milk was sold cheaper than it could be
produced
 Product Place
Pricing and Ethics Promotion Price

Price gouging
High demand leads to significantly high
consumer price (esp. in vital industries, like
pharmaceuticals)
Price discrimination
Different prices for different groups
Linked to Market segmentation.
Not illegal but has implications
• E.g. airline seats
• Insurance policies based on certain attributes
Internet give more transparent prices these days
 Universalism vs
Cultural

“It’s just wrong” vs culturally acceptable

• Corporate gifts
• Entertainment
• Expenses
 Unit Conclusions and takeaways

• Week 1. Introduction to marketing and the marketing process.

• Week 2. Marketing mix: 7Ps of marketing
• Week 3. Understanding marketing environment
• Week 4. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
• Week 5. Sustainable marketing and ethics in the digital age
 Key takeaways
• All marketing should be sustainable
• Know your own ethical standards and your own personal
values
• Marketing is about information-based decision making
• It’s up to us to solve the paradox of marketing
 Main references

• Chapter 6 Baines, P. et al. (2019) Marketing. Fifth edn. United Kingdom:

Oxford University Press..

• Chapter 7/8 Dibb, S. et al. (2019) Marketing concepts and strategies. 8Th
edition / edn. Australia: Cengage.

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Your questions and key
takeaways