Search results matching tag 'Ethical'

Is it time for a new set of values for a new era of advertising?

322703 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:42:00 GMT

Words can be like brands and one word that has now got the worse brand image of all time must be 'greed'. T-shirts are already appearing in markets with a Thatcher cartoon on and the slogan "greed is good for a few and bad for the rest of us".

The recession has exposed an indefensible amount of unethical behavior by bankers who's only value has been greed. Eric Daniels, Andy Honby, Lord Stevenson and the rest may have got a good grilling by the press and politicians and stimulated a lot of public anger, but when you have been pocketing obscene bonuses for years it's a small price to pay as you sip vintage champagne on your yacht in the Maldives. Saying "sorry" and then defending bonuses as "well earned" isn't washing (Bob Diamond got paid £20m at Barclays in 2007). As the Independent on Sunday said, 'what planet are they on? A different one from the rest of us.'

Apparently, the backlash has resulted in lots of students signing up to left wing groups and anti-capitalist organizations in colleges. The next generation doesn't sound like it's going to be very ad friendly. The recession has left almost everyone asking the question, "what is the true cost of making money?" While religious leaders are quoting "money is the root of all evil" in their Sunday sermons and most of us are starting to agree as we fear for our jobs and homes.

Money is a twin edge sword that can motivate or corrupt. One agency (that will remain nameless) discovered how bonuses brings out the bad in people. Account handlers started fiddling invoices and double billing clients to make targets and get big
bonuses. As this legendary story goes, the agency nearly ended up in court and had to pay back all fees to one client to avoid a public scandal. The simple rule I read (I think in a Peter Drucker or Tom Peters book) was, if you have to use money to motivate people to do their job properly you have the wrong people. I haven't yet met a really good creative who did better work for a bonus. Or a nurse, policeman, soldier or teachers. I've heard of lots of stories of bent traffic wardens though.

The Triple bottom line – People, Planet & Profit has been at the core of many ethical businesses but even mainstream brands must be looking to be a little more ethical given the public outcry. Could this result in a move to more ethical business models like Quaker, Puritan or even Islamic models? These all balance a businesses need to make money with making a positive effect upon society. Brands like Cadbury's built houses, schools, churches and health centres for their workers. Brands like The Body Shop and John Lewis make employees part of their business. There are many brands that prove that you can make money without abandoning basic social values or exploiting people.

Of course the ad industry is going through many changes and the big question is, is the current model (largely based on the 60's model) right for the future? Has it become too fat in places with too much admin? Could the recession be the perfect
catalyst for a positive change, after all we are one of the last creative industries to change.

In these dubious times redundancies are so common they no longer make the pages of the news and all of us in the ad industry have got friends who have been laid off in the last few weeks. Freelancers and juniors are getting an equally negative message, "we're not hiring" or "we're cutting back on freelancers." It's a tough business and the really tough bit is to treat people fairly and with respect. I've recently heard some disgusting stories of how some agencies have been trying to get people out without decent pay offs. Cutting costs isn't the same as making money and trying to save on redundancies packages only puts us in the same hall of shame as those bankers.

Equally as concerning in these times is the pressure those still in a job are going to be put under. The work needs to be done but with less people how will this impact upon families? Will we see more stress related illnesses? Are clients aware of the outcome of paying less but demanding more?

What if the ad business turned over a new leaf and tried to be more ethical? To adopt new values? Having worked with many charities, how would it be if agencies were set up as social enterprises? This means they can't make money for shareholders but have to reinvest any profits back into the business – people, talent, training, resources, etc. This model has worked really well in other industries (especially ethical business) as it's a value based business model not a profit based one. This
forces the business to focus on its core values. Makes you think, how different would an ad agency look?

My book - Ethical Marketing and the New Consumer: Marketing in the New Ethical Economy

Will the credit crunch kill off organics? How will other ethical brands fair in a recession?

322703 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:53:00 GMT

Recession or no recession, greening up your marketing is still hot on the agenda of most businesses. Marketing magazine (front cover last week) may be predicting organics will be suffering as a consequence of overpricing in a price sensitive market but everything else ethical could actually thrive in a recession.

This may sound like an idea that swims against the tide but when things get tighter community values increase, caring for others becomes more important. Hard times brings us together, Government based research has shown that community is high on our agenda of wants. Charity giving is far more common within poorer communities than rich ones. And many ethical brands are people based – fair trade being the prime one.

I don’t disagree that organics, having taken the position of being overpriced, could be a victim of the recession but even when times are tight people still care. I believe that environmental brands will continue to thrive, though slower, because recession or no recession there’s too much media force forcing social change. A majority thought politicians and corporations should be responsible for sorting out environmental issues.

Leaving people to help people. The Ethical Price Index, a national survey into how much extra people will pay for ethical goods, is soon to be released. It makes for fascinating reading, and even given the credit crunch, shows that people are prepared to pay more for most ethical value based products and brands. Prior to a recent debate I was chairing, ‘People vs Planet, a survey of almost 400 people was conducted to see if people had a preference.

When confronted with a choice, the vast majority – 2/3rds - picked people first. Also revealing, 2/3rds don’t trust green ads but only 1/3 distrust green claims on packaging. However, overall there’s a strong drift towards ethical consumerism and people like to embrace new eco ideas. The latest to catch my attention (even before Treehugger got it) are Green Rewards. A great yet simple loyalty programme and a brilliant idea - reward your customers for buying the right things and then with the points they can trade them in for eco products, services and experiences. Or even donate them to a charity.

Why hasn’t anyone thought of it before? It’s already been signed up by a number of retailers, including Abel & Cole, and seems a simple way for them to show just how committed they are to ethical issues. Further more, by using a simple incentive scheme people are encouraged to change buying behaviour, as psychologists will tell you, you need to change cognitive behaviour before you get mind change. www.greenrewards.co.uk As a regular speaker at marketing events on creativity and more recently ethical marketing I have to say “told you so” to Richmond Events (who run the Oriana marketing seminars).

Most of us have probably been on the Oriana – though now it’s the Aurora (bigger, better boat) and every year they survey clients to establish top issues. No surprise this year that one is green & ethical marketing. What marketers want is to navigate this complicated area and avoid the greenwash. Their research panel revealed that over half support buying local and the majority thought climate change was one of the most important environmental issues of today. Mark Price of Waitrose is the keynote speaker at this year’s Marketing Forum and talking on educating children about the values of quality food.

Waitrose have been busy behind the scenes working with schools and have sent education packs to almost half of all secondary schools in the UK in the battle against poor diet. It’s shocking that that many children think eggs come from cows and 90% have no idea what animal ham comes from. Last year I had a great time mixing with agencies and clients, then I was doing a series of creative workshops.

This year I’m going back in September to talk on ethical marketing and the new consumer and with an impressive list of top brands present, let’s hope we see less greenwash and more honesty ethical marketing as a result.

The DMA will also have a presence on board, no doubt the number one question will be about the government’s targets on reducing landfill - 55% of direct mail has to be recycled by the end of 2009. Seems a bit unbalanced to me that while the newspaper industry’s target is based on recycled paper content, the marketing industry is just about percentage of paper that ends up in landfill. While DM is an easy target, it really only accounts for less than 2% of household rubbish, packaging and even clothes are a more serious problem.

By contrast the newspaper industry accounts for 11% of landfill. But then I guess politicians don’t want to upset Fleet Street too much. And finally, discovered on the Green Rewards site, is a great animation from Free Range Studios running on Green TV called the Meatrix. It’s fun anti-factory farming piece of propaganda, best not watched while you’re eating a burger. Also check out Story of Stuff, a fascinating and alarming look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns with a flavour of The Corporation (but a lot shorter).