The marketing industry is a very broad industry simply because at its core is a common business function. Marketing helps companies thrive in the commercial environment by covering the gamut of customer and business owner needs and goals. Marketing leaders are responsible for creating the look and feel of a brand, both for companies and products, and developing strategic ideas of how to engage and inform consumers about the brand. Successful marketing is about sticking to the fundamentals, but that doesn’t mean that all marketing is the same. Because this industry is highly competitive it is paramount for leaders to make quick and informative decisions because change is so quick and frequent it can be the determining factor of who is on top with room to maneuver. Different marketing scenarios call for different angles and analysis in order to recognize future trends to mitigate risks. As a leader knowing where these differences lie can mean the difference between success and failure.
It is this pressure to succeed that has some leaders in marketing taking shortcuts or for lack of a better word being unethical. One of the most distinctive areas of marketing is that of global marketing. While fundamentals still apply, selling a product abroad requires a perspective far different than one used for domestic business. Domestic marketing often takes culture for granted, but in foreign markets, culture is invariably different. It is the marketing industry’s job to be aware of these differences and how they impact consumer behavior.
However, communications is the bane of expansion efforts by most companies. It doesn’t matter whether companies are selling a product or service, the issues are the same. Examples of this poor culture research done by global marketing firms can usually be seen on the nightly news. Typically the result is video of consumers showing their displeasure with a company’s attempt to enter a market without putting the country’s religious or cultural norms into consideration. Some of this is a result of public relations.
Polly Devaney writes, “Concepts of internationalism, equality and other altruistic values were found to be less associated with American culture in 2004 than they were five years ago. It seems that the American brand has been suffering from a gradual image decline for some time. (Delaney, pg. 32) Aside from the external issue of global leadership in marketing there lies the internal challenge of training the global sales force. In an Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 3 ra of globalization, the dominant culture appears to be corporate culture. However, companies that are going global will have to take into account more than just the language barrier when it comes to training international sales forces. Jacqueline Chmielnicki adds that, “Managers who are creating training content must acknowledge different cultural traditions, country laws, and business environments. ” (Chmielnicki) Marketers need to first identify the target market, then tailor the marketing to that local market.
Another important issue to an effective leader in the marketing industry is the understanding of technology as it is used in global applications. Technology is mandatory for successful expansion and to effectively control the flow of products and information in other countries. There is the obvious upkeep of knowledge management, but part of that knowledge management in the technology arena includes identifying new opportunities and forms of marketing communication vehicles.
The internet has been around for awhile, but it is finally coming of age where more and more companies are figuring out how to use it to their advantage. If a business leader does not have his or her companies presence on the internet competitors will pass them by. A great example of this is the startup Netflix. When they entered the movie rental market Blockbuster was king, but entrepreneurs saw opportunity in a new business model by using the internet to their advantage. Now with Netflix gaining ground by the day Blockbuster is struggling to keep up.
Timothy Mullaney supports this argument by writing, “Truly ambitious web startups think of making money merely as a starting point. Real respect goes to companies that change the rules of the game. Right now, though, it’s Netflix that is causing angst for Blockbuster and Movie Gallery, which lost a combined $1 billion last year. Pressure from Netflix, which doesn’t charge late fees, led Blockbuster to drop most late fees last year, costing it about $400 million. Hastings’ small, tart dig at Blockbuster: His cubicle sports a big chart of his rival’s cash-flow collapse. (Mullaney) A great example of marketing industry leaders not seeing potential in technology and the internet is the long battle the entertainment industry has had with consumers over downloadable Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 4 media files. Shawn Fanning created a simple software program, called Napster, in college that put the power of change in the hands of consumers using the internet. It allowed the consumer to have a voice where it didn’t have a voice with regards to pricing of music and movies.
Instead of embracing this technology by working with Fanning and others to create new business models using new technology entertainment associations took them to court. While Shawn is still going strong with other startup ideas it is Napster that helped change the business model and the way the marketing industry views technology. However, it should be noted, by playing devil’s advocate, that because technology such as the internet was so new a lot of companies did not know how to handle it.
Also, the dot com bubble that burst was proof that business and consumers were not ready and were rightfully fearful of entering new uncharted waters again. Many perceive that global marketing strategy is only suitable for giants such as Proctor & Gamble and Microsoft, which have big budgets to spend and big brands to promote. However, the advent of the Internet, as the final stage in a process of globalization, gives firms of all sizes the opportunity to sell their products and services to many countries around the world.
If a leader plans to go this route he or she must also be prepared to deal with new challenges such as the breakdown of trusted resources, because everyone with a web site, newsletter, blog, e-zine, mail list or forum is a journalist. This creates an atmosphere for which public opinion makes it harder for marketers to do their job by giving the power to consumer opinion. Today consumers can get their information from web sites to do product comparisons and read customer reviews to make sure it is something they want to purchases.
Socially engineered websites like Google, MySpace, YouTube, Amazon, eBay, and Wikipedia not only have changed the way marketing leadership views how the business is done, but has become a pervasive part of culture and it is evident that the new consumer generation to target is Y and Z. In order for effective leaders in the marketing industry to direct the industry into the future they must understand the new consumer and how he or she interacts with marketing vehicles. Some experts like Chief Experience Officer Kelly Mooney, of Columbus, OH based Adams
Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 5 Resource Interactive are calling these new consumers “New Millennials” also known as “Digital Millennials. ” She defines this type of future buyer as, “perpetually connected – doing homework and shopping online, multitasking and productive – consuming lots of media at once, filtering for immediacy and control – they process information differently and much faster. They are critical of ads that get in their way. They are self-expressive, yet assimilative. They consult their friends on everything. They are optimistic and self-entitled.
They believe businesses should ask them their opinions. ” (Resource Interactive) Knowing what the future consumer’s preferences are will be essential and it will be up to the leader to cater to them. In saying this, it is consumers who become the creative directors, because of the trend for niche markets, can cost effectively use brands for the consumers individually customized needs. An example of this in action is Nike’s ID shoe line. It allows customers to control the look of 27 footwear styles and view their final creation before deciding whether or not they want to purchase the product.
It is the idea of monograms on a whole other level. This obviously is just the beginning of future implications in the marketing industry. Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age predicts some future trends will include: “ramp up of marketing for commercial space travel, consumers will be more selective about brand loyalty, and alpha moms will be well-informed, strong, decision-making multi-taskers. ” (Thomaselli) Some of these marketing concepts started to show in 2006, but will be even more apparent in 2007.
Concepts such as consumer generated media, the return of organic foods in a fast food nation, nanotechnology and organ replacement, etc. The list goes on. While all these new innovations are helping drive marketing and vice versa, the underlying issue is the need for ethics and corporate social responsibility. This refers to Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 6 businesses’ analysis of the negative effects that marketing might have on being socially irresponsible to stakeholders while trying to appeal to the bottom line ideology of the shareholders.
The question becomes whether or not a company’s profits outweigh the side effects of a product through marketing. Some critics say this is the gap between innovation and marketing and that in some instances there are no new ideas, but rather just products being repackaged. One such critic is Gary Hamel who states, “Most leaders create roles or structures for product innovation: R&D is supposed to work with Marketing, and they’re supposed to innovate. But when you have a specific innovation role or particular units that focus on innovation, you tend to end up with innovation ghettos.
When innovation is compartmentalized, everyone assumes, ‘I don’t have to think deeply, profoundly, and creatively about alternatives. I just do what I do every day because somebody else is worrying about where we go next. ’ “ (Hamel) In general, fundamental social problems, such as the negative influence upon culturally affected values, the advancement of conformity instead of individuality and the discrimination against class, cultural imperialism, and ecological problems caused by production, distribution and consumption, take center stage when the ethical aspects of marketing practices are discussed.
From drug sales representatives targeting physicians to promote their drugs over the patients long term viability to marketing to children who have to ask their parents for the money, marketing has a responsibility to help companies achieve bottom line results. Susan Linn, Professor of Psychiatry, Baker Children’s Center at Harvard talks about how pervasive marketing can be. “Comparing the marketing of yesteryear to the marketing of today is like comparing a BB gun to a smart bomb. It’s not the same as when I was a kid, or even when the people who are young adults today were kids.
It’s much more sophisticated, and it’s much more pervasive. It’s not that products themselves are bad or good. It’s the notion of manipulating children into buying the products. In 1998, Western International Media, Century City, and Lieberman Research Worldwide, conducted a study on nagging. This study was not to help parents cope with nagging. It was to help corporations help children nag for their products more effectively. ” (Achbar) Lucy Hughes, VP of Initiative Media defends such action by saying that “Somebody asked me, “Lucy is that ethical? ” You’re essentially manipulating these children.
Well, yeah, is it ethical? I don’t know. But our, our role at Initiative is to move products. And if we know you Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 7 move products with a certain creative execution placed in a certain type of media vehicle then we’ve done our job. ” (Achbar) Along with being ethical in the way companies market products and services the marketing leaders of tomorrow will have to direct companies into ecologically friendly environments to help support a company’s image with savvy consumers in order to attain a sustainable business model.
Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface and the world’s largest commercial carpet manufacturer is passionate about this change in a company’s way of thinking, “For 21 years, I never gave a thought to what we were taking from the earth or doing to the earth in the making of our products. And then in the summer of 1994, we began to hear questions from our customers we had never heard before: “What’s your company doing for the environment? ” And we didn’t have answers. The real answer was, “not very much. ” At sort of the propitious moment, this book landed on my desk.
It was Paul Hawkins book, “The Ecology of Commerce” And I began to read the “The Ecology of Commerce”, really desperate for inspiration, and very quickly into that book, I found the phrase “the death of birth”. It was E. O. Wilson’s expression for species extinction, “the death of birth,” and it was a point of a spear into my chest, and I read on, and the spear went deeper, and it became an epiphanal experience, a total change of mindset for myself and a change of paradigm. Can any product be made sustainably? Well not any and every product.
Unless we can make carpets sustainably, you know, perhaps we don’t have a place in a sustainable world, but neither does anybody else, making products unsustainably. One day early in this journey, it dawned on me that the way I’d been running Interface, is the way of the plunderer. Plundering something that’s not mine, something that belongs to every creature on earth, and I said to myself “My goodness, the day must come when this is illegal, when plundering is not allowed”. I mean, it must come. So, I said to myself “My goodness, some day people like me will end up in jail. ” (Achbar)
Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 8 Famous comedian Bill Hicks once said in his standup routine that anybody in marketing should kill themselves because it is an evil profession. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but the fact is that marketing is necessary for the business which in turn helps economies thrive and survive. This is even more so in the business that is the global leadership and ethics of marketing. The world is changing in a number of important ways. Television and the Internet allow all of us to share the same pop culture.
International travel is more popular than ever. Trade barriers are falling and competition is more global. In short, countries and cultures are bleeding together. As a result leaders are finding that customer needs are converging all over the world. In order for an effective leader to direct the marketing industry in the fourth wave he or she will face heavy challenges in communication, technology, culture, ethics, ecology, and recognizing implications to future trends. A leader who can face these global issues and ethical challenges head on will be successful not only in the short term, but the long term goals as well.
Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 9 Annotated Bibliography Achbar, M. (Producer), & Achbar, M. (Director). (2004). The Corporation [Motion picture]. United States: Zeitgeist Films. One hundred and fifty years ago, the corporation was a relatively insignificant entity. Today, it is a vivid, dramatic and pervasive presence in all our lives. Like the Church, the Monarchy and the Communist Party in other times and places, the corporation is today’s dominant institution. But history humbles dominant institutions.
All have been crushed, belittled or absorbed into some new order. The corporation is unlikely to be the first institution to defy history. Based on Joel Bakan’s soon-to-be-published book, “The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power,” this documentary is a timely, critical inquiry that examines the very nature of the corporation-its inner workings, curious history, controversial impacts and possible futures. We begin by learning that under the law, corporations have all the rights and yet few of the responsibilities of people.
By viewing the behavior of the corporation through the prism of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (or DSM III, the gold standard of psychiatric evaluation) the filmmakers discover that if the corporation were indeed a person, the person would be considered a psychopath. Featuring candid interviews with CEOs, whistle-blowers, brokers, gurus, spies, players, pawns and pundits, the chronicle charts the spectacular rise of an institution aimed at achieving specific economic goals as it also recounts victories against this seemingly invincible force. Altilia, T. , Breeding brand champions. , Marketing Magazine; (4/17/2006), Vol. 11 Issue 15, p29-29, 1/3p, 1bw The article informs that it is vital to train passionate brand champions among both marketers and advertising agencies to build global Canadian brands. As more major brands are managed from the south, fewer and fewer succeeding generations of Canadian marketers will have the opportunity to learn the fine art of brand leadership. Roots, The Four Seasons and RIM are Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 10 examples of great Canadian brands, but the list is short and the chance for Canadians to build brands diminishes continually.
Brand champions can clearly articulate the brand’s promise and fight every step of the way to ensure it delivers against that promise. Amine, L. , The need for moral champions in global marketing. , European Journal of Marketing; (1996), Vol. 30 Issue 5, p81, 14p, 1 diagram One might reasonably wonder why well-educated, professionally trained managers, who work for companies with international reputations, might take decisions that risk provoking censure by the world business community. Is it just the result of the “profit motive” run rampant?
Is it merely the “ugly face of capitalism? ” Or are there other reasons that might explain the apparent willingness of western managers to run the risk of jeopardizing the health and well-being of consumers in the developing world? This article discusses these questions by framing the issues in the context of ethics and social responsibility in global marketing. Of particular interest here is the “opportunity” for managers to become involved in dubious ethical decisions and practices when marketing potentially harmful products to consumers in Less Developed Countries.
In order to portray the ethical implications of marketing potentially harmful products to vulnerable consumers abroad, a new descriptive model is presented that identifies relationships between the manager, the global company, its home market environment, a host market environment, the global business environment, and a target consumer. Atkinson, C., Marketers weigh efficacy and ethics of guerilla efforts. Advertising Age; Reports on the guerilla-marketing campaign of McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson for its Tylenol brand. Market targeted by the advertisement; Views on the ethics of stealth marketing; Plan of the American Marketing Association to release the results of a survey on guerilla marketing. Benady, D. , The Global Power Struggle. , Marketing Week, Vol. 26 Issue 13, p24, 4p Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 11 This article examines the role of the global marketing director.
Globalization of brands offering cost savings on marketing spend as well as cross-border synergies; Questions on balancing international values against local cultures; Impact of globalization in forcing companies to look at ways to control their international image and to police their marketing service providers. Chahal, H. , Sharma, R. D. , Implications of Corporate Social Responsibility on Marketing Performance: A Conceptual Framework. , Journal of Services Research; (Apr-Sep2006), Vol. 6 Issue 1, p205-216, 12p Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) means firm’s obligation to protect and improve welfare of the society and its organization, now as well as in future, through its various business and social actions, and ensures that it generates equitable and sustainable benefits for the various stakeholders. As such CSR can serve as an effective marketing tool to compete and sustain competitive advantage in the present fast changing, hyper competitive environment. Though there are research studies that provide the domain of CSR and its effects on the business performance but they have varied viewpoints and are inadequate.
Given its broad conceptualization as such, it’s really arduous to define the domain of CSR. Presently, lots of efforts are being taken to know its domain and its actual impact on the organizational performance in various settings. The present paper is an effort towards this direction. The main objective of the paper is to build grounding for analyzing the impact of CSR on various marketing performance measures through various propositions based on antecedents and consequences of business and social actions.
The authors have described the antecedents of CSR from comprehensive perspective, which include organization culture, human resources, products and services, social development activities, and regulatory environment. The impacts of these activities are correlated with three marketing performance parameters namely, economic, social and relationship measures. Chmielnicki, J. , Lost in Translation. , Sales & Marketing Management; (Oct2004), Vol. 156 Issue 10, p20-20, 2/3p, 1c Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 12
This article discusses the need of sales persons’ training in this competitive era. In the era of globalization, the dominant culture appears to be corporate culture. Still, companies that are going global these days have to account for more than just the language barrier when it comes to training international sales forces, experts say. Bruce Carocci, vice president of marketing and sales for Via Training, a developer of customized Web-based and blended training programs, based in Portland, Oregon, says that training programs are not one size fits all.
Managers who are creating training content must acknowledge different cultural traditions, country laws, and business environments. In Asia, where instructors tend to do all the talking, trainees are less accustomed to class participation, says Steff MacDonald, vice president of global services for Via Training. When developing training programs, managers must still make sure their program’s design is generic enough to suit all locales. Clegg, A. , Out of the mouths of babes. , Marketing Week, (6/23/2005), Vol. 8 Issue 25, p4343, 1p This article comments on; the expertise of market researchers to discover the desires of children and their parents on behalf of clients, suppression of talks about the ethics of marketing to young people; Need for researchers to develop an independent view of ethics and opportunities of marketing to young consumers; Measurement and tracking of marketing effectiveness. Costa, J. , Ethics & Marketing (Cover Story), Marketing Magazine (5/22/2006), Vol. 111 Issue 19, p12-14, 3p, 1c The article focuses on professional ethics in marketing. People are more conscious of ethics in business.
Global research shows that less than half the companies with ethics codes bother with any employee training. Almost two-thirds of companies that adopt an ethics program in response to scandal become repeat offenders within two years. Consumers are generally smarter about ethical considerations yet do not necessarily follow through their concerns or values in purchase decisions. Marketers and advertisers are by default on the front lines for resolving the dilemma in ethical expectations. Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 13 Devaney, P. How the American dream became a global nightmare. , Marketing Week (6/3/2004), Vol. 27 Issue 23, p32-33, 2p, 3c Discusses the all-time low perceptions of U. S. brands outside North America and the challenge of regaining the world’s consumer trust. Data issued by global market research organization NOP World; Brands that have suffered a decline in popularity and international consumer trust; Impact of U. S. actions in Iraq and abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib; Role of U. S. media; Countries whose consumers felt least aligned with American culture; Corporate scandals; Economic uncertainty. Devaney, P. Who cares wins, but is there a hidden agenda? , Marketing Week; (4/28/2005), Vol. 28 Issue 17, p34-35, 2p The article focuses on issues related to social responsibility in corporate world. From the food people eat to the clothes they wear and the coffee they drink, consumers are becoming more aware of the origins of the everyday things they buy. As a result, the line between corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy and marketing strategy is increasingly blurred. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the world’s largest retailer, has also been trying to set a better example through socially responsible actions.
Devaney, P. , Hargreaves, P. , The ‘bigger is better’ dream of America is getting greener too. , Marketing Week (10/6/2005), Vol. 36 Issue 40, p32-33, 2p, 1 graph, 4c Reports on the transformation of American consumers of becoming more aware in choosing environmentally friendly products. Statistics indicating comparison of sales in environmentally friendly merchandise and their non-green counterparts; Steps taken by product manufacturing companies to comply with environmental issue; Growth in the sales of organic products. Fritzsche, D. , Tsalikis, J.
Business Ethics: A Literature Review with a Focus on Marketing Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics; (Sep89), Vol. 8 Issue 9, p695-743, 49p, 10 diagrams Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 14 In recent years, the business ethics literature has exploded in both volume and importance. Because of the sheer volume and diversity of this literature, a review article was deemed necessary to provide focus and clarity to the area. The present paper reviews the literature on business ethics with a special focus in marketing ethics.
The literature is divided into normative and empirical sections, with more emphasis given to the latter. Even though the majority of the articles deal with the American reality, most of the knowledge gained is easily transferable to other nations. Guggenheim, D. (Producer), & Guggenheim, D. (Director). (2006). An Inconvienant Truth [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures. Director-producer Davis Guggenheim captures former Vice President Al Gore in the midst of waging a passionate campaign — not for the White House, but for the environment.
Laying out the facts of global warming without getting political, Gore makes a sobering impression in this Oscar-nominated doc on the audiences who hear his message, urging them to act “boldly, quickly and wisely” … before it’s too late to act at all. Hamel, G. Innovation Gap, Leadership Excellence; (Dec2006), Vol. 23 Issue 12, p9-10, 2p The author presents his views about innovation which most leaders affirmed to be a critical capability. He said that many leaders are paying lip service to innovation and have no purpose of working hard on it.
In order to make innovation a deep capability, one must enlarge his view of innovation and imagine what could be and devote less time and energy to optimizing what is present. R&D is supposed to work with marketing and is supposed to innovate. Holt, D. , Quelch, J. , Taylor, E. How Global Brands Compete. , Harvard Business Review; (Sep2004), Vol. 82 Issue 9, p68-75, 8p, 2 graphs, 1c Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 15 It’s time to rethink global branding.
More than two decades ago, Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt argued that corporations should grow by selling standardized products all over the world. But consumers in most countries had trouble relating to generic products, so executives instead strove for global scale on backstage activities such as production while customizing product features and selling techniques to local tastes. Such “glocal” strategies now rule marketing. Global branding has lost more luster recently because transnational companies have been under siege, with brands like Coca-Cola and Nike becoming lightning rods for antiglobalization protests.
The instinctive reaction of most transnational companies has been to try to fly below the radar. But global brands can’t escape notice. In fact, most transnational corporations don’t realize that because of their power and pervasiveness, people view them differently than they do other firms. In a research project involving 3,300 consumers in 41 countries, the authors found that most people choose one global brand over another because of differences in the brands’ global qualities. Rather than ignore the global characteristics of their brands, firms must learn to manage those characteristics.
That’s critical, because future growth for most companies will likely come from foreign markets. Consumers base preferences on three dimensions of global brands-quality (signaled by a company’s global stature); the cultural myths that brands author; and firms’ efforts to address social problems. The authors also found that it didn’t matter to consumers whether the brands they bought were American– a remarkable finding considering that the study was conducted when anti-American sentiment in many nations was on the rise. J. G. , Shades of Gray. , Sales & Marketing Management; (Nov 2004). Vol. 56 Issue 11, p26-26, 2/3p The article discusses the unethical practices employed by sales personnel. “Omission is a misrepresentation, and it is a method used by many hard closers,” says Len Hansen, an author and expert on mature adults, based in Bellingham, Washington. Salespeople must engage in full disclosure as a baseline ethical standard. Reps should “reveal every feature of the product or service that you discuss with the prospect, and every benefit and detriment of each feature,” says Jacques Werth, president of High Probability Selling, a sales training firm based in Media, Pennsylvania.
Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 16 Kathrin, S. , Marketing Ethics in Emerging Markets – Coping with Ethical Dilemmas, IIMB Management Review; (Mar2006), Vol. 18 Issue 1, p95-104, 10p Discusses the role of marketing ethics in emerging markets. Criticism on multinational companies for behavior that only values the principle of profit maximization; Inclusion of pricing in ethical dilemmas in marketing activities; Incorporation of social responsibility in business to cope with several ethical dilemmas. Kessler, C. Retailing in the global village. , Soap, Perfumery & Cosmetics; (Apr96), Vol. 69 Issue 4, p26, 2p, 2c, 1bw Examines the pivotal role that point of purchase can play in helping a brand compete. Increase in the percentage of unplanned brand choices in stores across all categories; Point of purchase as a useful tool in global marketing; Important aspects of the process; Need for the designers of point of purchase to be sensitive to the differences in culture and attitudes of consumers. Klein, T. , Laczniak, G. , Murphy, P. , Ethical Marketing: A Look on The Bright Side. Marketing Management Journal; (Spring2006), Vol. 16 Issue 1, p228-243, 16p This article offers an alternative to conventional approaches to ethical analysis in business and marketing. We submit that studying companies with exemplary records of ethical conduct and social responsibility offers useful and compelling guidance to marketing students and managers. It provides another needed perspective beyond simply examining examples of misconduct or offering normative advice that may not reflect the specifics of corporate situations.
Based on examples presented in a recent text by the authors and Better Business Bureau Torch Awardees, we present information on thirteen companies of varying size and from several different industries. That information includes ethics policies, management practices, environmental practices, and company reputation. From these examples, we draw lessons that should offer ethical guidance to marketing managers. Roderick M. Kramer says it isn’t bad when leaders flip-flop. Julia Kirby describes new efforts to redefine the problem of organizational performance. Joseph L.
Bower praises the “Velcro organization,” where managerial responsibilities can be rearranged. Jeffrey F. Rayport argues that companies must refocus innovation on the “demand side” Eric Bonabeau describes a future in which computergenerated sound can be used to transmit vast amounts of data. Roger L. Martin says corporate systems such as CRM that are highly reliable tend to have little validity. Kirthi Kalyanam and Monte Zweben report that marketers are learning to contact customers at just the right moment. Robert C. Merton explains how equity swaps could help developing countries avoid some of the risk of boom and bust.
Thomas A. Stewart says companies need champions of the status quo. Mohanbir Sawhney suggests marketing strategies for the blogosphere. Denise Caruso shows how to deal with risks that lack owners. Thomas H. Davenport says personal information management–how well we use our PDAs and PCs–is the next productivity frontier. Leigh Buchanan explores workplace taboos. Henry W. Chesbrough argues that the time is ripe for services science to become an academic field. Kenneth Lieberthal says China may change everyone’s approach to intellectual property. Jochen Wirtz and Loizos Heracleous describe customer service apps for biometrics.
Mary Catherine Bateson envisions a midlife sabbatical for workers. Jeffrey Rosen explains why one privacy policy won’t fit everyone. Tihamer rvon Ghyczy and Janis Antonovics say firms should embrace parasites. And Jeffrey Pfeffer warns businessbook buyers to beware. Krol, C. , Maddox, K. Schwartz, M. , Special Report: Outlook 2007. B to B; (12/11/2006), Vol. 91 Issue 17, p1-32, 3p, 1 chart Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 18 The article reports on the top 10 marketing trends for 2007 based on interviews with ad agencies, analysts, marketers, media companies and industry experts.
It discusses the rising influence of chief marketing officers (CMO) at the executive table and how third generation CMOs are gaining respect and being groomed for leadership of organizations. Marketing trends also include the explosion of Web 2. 0 applications, globalization, boom in online video ads, user engagement, more sophisticated search marketing programs and the comeback of trade shows. Remarks from Anheuser-Busch chief executive officer and president Steve Burrows on the move; Foreign investments of Anheuser-Busch; Implications of politics and culture on marketing in foreign countries; International expansion plans of Anheuser-Busch. Linnett, R. , The humbled persuaders. (cover story), Advertising Age; (8/12/2002), Vol. 73 Issue 32, p1-21, 2p, 4c This article provides information on the annual conference of the Account Planning Group (APG) in Washington D. C. in 2002. APG is an organization in the U. S. that represents a job category within advertising that would probably flourish in a medievalist society.
Account planners do not create advertisements. They are the devisers of brand strategy. They research and analyze and write marketing plans and they apply the findings of disciplines as wide ranging as semiotics, quantum forensic mechanics and method acting to the task of determining the essence of a brand. This discipline is taking some hits as jobs within agencies have been eliminated to a client’s return on investment is questioned. It was a humble group of planners that gathered in the capitol for the 10th APG conference, which used the images of boxers in the ring as a motif.
Moreover, the theme of the conference was Changing Minds in America: The Art and Science of Persuasion. Emma Cookson, director of strategic planning at Bartle Bogle Hegarty led a conference forum. Cookson and David Hackworthy, forum partner and director of strategic planning at TBWA/Chiat Day of Omnicon Group, presented a list of factors to consider in account planning. Furthermore, attendance at the APG conference was down by almost half in 2002. Many spent time in practical quantitative research courses and training sessions led by Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 19 consulting agency Headmint. Other sessions explored the ethics of marketing and a presentation titled From Pennsylvania Ave. to Madison Ave. , delivered by Boston University Professor Tobe Berkovitz. This presentation examined the similarities and differences between brand advertising and political campaigning. The company’s profits doubled in 2005 and shares rose by 157%. It is largely responsible for the decline of DVD rental behemoth Blockbuster. Some investors are fearful that Netflix will not be able to stand up to pressure from movie downloading, but CEO Reed Hastings has a number of new initiatives, including film production and web distribution, to keep the company on top.
Impact of the campaign on retail sales; Use of testimonials from people who say they have abandoned their old PCs in favor of a Macintosh; Details of the marketing strategy of Apple; Debate about the ethics behind the campaign. Resource Interactive, Decoding the Digital Millennials. , Litmus Newsletter (Nov2006) HU http://resourceinteractive. com/adx/aspx/adxgetmedia. aspx? MediaID=654 U This newsletter talks about the costumer of the future and what it will take for business leaders to persuade them to buy products and services. Schultz, S. & Shapiro, J. , Prescriptions: How your doctor makes the choice. U. S. Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 20 Discusses the tactics used by pharmaceutical companies to market products. Impact of pharmaceutical sales representative visits on what type of drugs doctors prescribe; Promotional tools used by sales representatives, including free products or paid meals; Dangers of prescribing drugs solely on the basis of promotion. Spurlock, M. (Producer), & Spurlock, M. (Director). (2004). Super Size Me [Motion picture]. United States: Showtime Networks.
Documentary filimaker Morgan Spurlock makes himself a test subject of this documentary about the commercial food industry. Rigorously eating a diet of McDonald’s fast food, three times a day for a month straight Spurlock is out to prove the physical and mental effects of consuming fast food. While doing this, Spurlock also provides a look at the food culture in America though its schools, corporations, and politics as seen through the eyes of regular people and health advocates. “Super Size Me” is a movie that sheds a new light on what has become one of our nation’s biggest health problems: obesity.
The article presents predictions about trends in the advertising industry in the United States in 2007. According to the Luxury Institute, luxury goods and services firms are starting to realize that African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans are profitable demographic segments of the wealthy population. An uptick in marketing via social networks is a projected likelihood. It is expected that 2007 will be the year private companies ramp up marketing for commercial space travel.
Adams Global Leadership and Ethical Issues in Marketing & Advertising 21 The article focuses on Sony Pictures Entertainment’s controversial testimonial movie advertisements. It is viewed that Sony’s creation of phony reviews by a phony critic cannot be excused. It is also wrong on the part of the company to pass off studio employees as unbiased film fans in television ad testimonials. There is a need to fix the movie marketing culture and it should start with the demand for adherence to basic standards of truth.
his article presents the views of several chief sales executives about their leadership challenges in the year 2006. This year’s mantra is to keep the focus on the customer. According to M. MacDonald, president, global accounts and marketing operations, Xerox Corp. , every senior officer at Xerox and every vice president is assigned specific high-level customer relationships. They have assigned hundreds of their people to different customers and they’ll support from a high level those sales teams’ efforts.
Kendra, executive vice president, sales and services, Symantec Corp. , says that they use customer advisory councils and partner advisory councils, which are an absolutely superb way of getting customer input on the company’s products and sales coverage. S. Glasgow of Sony Electronics Inc. says, one of the reasons that they started their own stores was so they could touch consumers, and they are continuing to do that, not so much to compete and be a retailer but to understand what consumers like and don’t like about Sony’s products. Promises must be kept.
The article examines why product claims are not borne out by consumers’ experience. In order to demonstrate a difference between the old and the new, advertisers are driven to exaggerate a product’s benefits. They are becoming more product-promiscuous and less loyal to brands as they are faced with greater choice and product intelligence. Design has become a tool for creating differentiation. However, if this is carried out in the absence of research into what consumers really want, it can result in overselling.
