On the Ethics of Marketing
Before you start reading this, I would like to ask that you keep one thing in mind. I am indeed the CMO for a startup but I’m not biased in favor of marketing. I am writing this blog from a purely objective point of view, based on observations I’ve made and knowledge I’ve acquired. If you disagree with what I write, please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comment section — I’m always up for a debate.
Marketing is not inherently unethical nor dishonest. Marketing is a beautiful thing that is often used to meet unethical or dishonest ends.
How do I see marketing? I see it as something that should let people know your product or service exists — nothing more, nothing less. At least, that’s my modus operandi when it comes to marketing. In the case of Venuepark, marketing essentially means letting people and potential clients know that we exist and that our services will improve their lives and businesses. However, I’m also fully aware that many products or services are portrayed in ways that bear little semblance to the real thing. Indeed, this tends to be standard practice. I’m not claiming that Venuepark are saints, I’m just using our marketing style as an example for comparison. There will no doubt be times when people think Venuepark isn’t being transparent or ethical — we’re fully prepared for that and are always open to defend the fact that we practice what we preach. Now, to the topic at hand.
In my opinion, modern marketing generally doesn’t represent reality accurately. Want an example? Think about any advert stating the product or service in question reaches “up to 99%” effectiveness or improvement. The words “up to” generally mean that 99% is just as likely a result as 1% — there is no guarantee of clearly measurable improvement or effectiveness. The only guarantee is that a change of some sort will occur. There are other examples to draw from, too. Consider any industry where a product is used or portrayed in situations that are extremely unlikely to happen in reality. Or what about services and products that solve problems that simply don’t exist? There are even products and services that are detrimental to people’s health but are not marketed as such. Do you see what I’m getting at?
I completely understand the reason for portraying products and services in such ways. When advertising, you want whatever is the focus of the advert to shine. But therein lies my issue with marketing in general. The product or service should sell itself. If you’ve got something that will genuinely make a positive difference to people’s lives or their business, there is no need to portray what you’re selling as anything but what it is. Maybe this is just my opinion as a novice, but I believe this opinion holds some water. I was a teenager when social media took its first steps towards ubiquity. I was also bombarded with TV adverts as a child, while YouTube and Netflix were still in their infancy. I experienced first-hand the power of modern advertising and can testify to the effectiveness of this power. In my eyes, adverts sell dreams. They portray situations which, although plausible, are extremely rare. Many of the products on sale wouldn’t sell well if they were advertised showing reality.
Let me add that the companies marketing like this aren’t actually doing anything wrong, from a legal standpoint at least. They are well within their rights to market their products as they see fit, provided these efforts fall within the confines of the law. I mean, what company wouldn’t do everything they legally could to keep themselves afloat? My problem with this type of marketing is merely the lack of truthfulness. Of course, companies can’t blatantly lie in their advertising, but the truth is often found somewhere between the lines. Yes, it can be argued that marketing only goes so far, that it’s up to the consumer to decide whether or not to buy a given product or to make use of a particular service. I suppose my whole issue is a “How do they sleep at night?” kind of thing. But that might just be me. While many argue that having a conscience is an inhibition to successful marketing and business, I see it as an asset. I will always choose my own conscience over a quick buck.
At this point, we’ve reached the foundation of this blog post: does marketing have to be about selling a product or service, the truthful lines of which are blurred?
My answer is no.
I suppose what I’m trying to do here is address the stigma that marketing faces from the general public. The following is a personal example I like to use to draw attention to this stigma (I’m using the word stigma for lack of a better word — I’m well aware that the word is generally reserved for more serious issues). I was hanging out with some friends in Luxembourg once, and a couple of people I didn’t know joined us. “Fine by me”, I thought — I’m always happy to meet new people. As I got to know people, one girl asked me what I spent my time doing. I told her I was a student and CMO for a startup. The moment she heard the word ‘marketing’, she said: “Oh, so you f*** people over?” I ignored her comment but was rather taken aback. This girl knew nothing about me, my goals, my intentions or my dreams, yet she was able to conclude that I’m a bad person for wanting to let people know about a service I was passionate about. But, with all that said, I still can’t make myself blame her for thinking this way — at least not entirely. As a marketeer, it’s easy to see why people might be quick to judge the profession. Nonetheless, at that moment, it became clear to me that there was a stigma of sorts against marketing.
To defend marketing and prove that it doesn’t have to be a question of stylishly blurred truths, I came up with an analogy. Imagine you organize a birthday party for yourself — your 30th, let’s say. You make the arrangements, buy the cake, snacks and drinks, you organize a band and even sort out a VIP arrangement at your favorite club. Then, you don’t tell anyone about this party and get surprised and disappointed when no one shows up. All of that effort for nothing, eh? This example is about a birthday party into which a lot of effort was put. The reasoning behind it can be directly applied to marketing any service or product.
Like I said in the beginning of the post, marketing should be about letting people know your product or service exists. I’m going to use Venuepark as an initial example because it’s what I know best. When I think about how to get people interested in Venuepark, I don’t think about how quickly I can convince a potential customer to use our services. I think about the value we add to people’s lives and the events industry in general. In other words, what does a given lead stand to gain from using Venuepark? Because of this, I market with transparency. I sell us as we are — I tell people what we do and how we do it. I don’t polish or tweak our marketing so the truth is nebulous. I get down to brass tacks immediately. The takeaway here is that I don’t need to shroud the truth. Venuepark is something I believe in completely. I believe in what we do and how we do it and I believe in our ability to leave an impact. As such, I can tell our story as it is. Because our service is so revolutionary and doesn’t support the idea of benefiting based on vague truths, all I need to market is us and only us. If a potential client isn’t interested in our services despite our transparency, then it just wasn’t meant to be.
Another example I want to use is Wafer Messenger, the revolutionary startup messaging app based in Luxembourg. Niels, their marketing guy, is a genius, hands down — there’s no other way to put it. He’s also a friend of mine. On top of that, he’s remarkably humble and kind. I remember when I first started piecing together marketing strategies for Venuepark, he invited me into his home and let me bounce ideas off him for 2 hours straight. His humility and kindness also shows in the marketing he does for Wafer. Let me tell you straight off the bat that Wafer has the power to change instant messaging forever. The technology behind it is like something out of a sci-fi novel. More to the point, the way Niels markets Wafer is brilliant. He tells people exactly what the app is capable of and how people stand to benefit from using it. If you look at a Wafer ad, you’re seeing the app in scrupulous transparency. No smoke and mirrors.
I will admit that it seems like I’m proselytizing right now. I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that. Hand on heart though, that’s not the case. I’m merely using two examples that I know well to prove that marketing doesn’t have to be dishonest. It is a practice that lends itself incredibly well to dishonest behavior but is not limited to such behavior. Marketing should be, at its core, a question of letting people know that your product or service exists. If what you’ve created leaves a genuine, positive impact on the world, then there is no need to promote your creation as anything but what it is. If you have a product or service that will genuinely make the world a better place, then you should by all means bring attention to this. There is nothing wrong with making money off marketing, either. There seems to be a perpetually pervasive idea that making money is an inherently bad thing. It isn’t. The pros and cons of money is a topic best reserved for a more philosophical blog, but I will say this — there is nothing wrong with making money just as there is nothing bad about marketing, from a purely objective point of view. The problem lies in what you do with those two things — nothing more, nothing less.
As usual, this topic will be discussed in more detail on Venuepark’s Instagram page, which can be found at www.instagram.com/venuepark/ — stay tuned to follow the discussion.
Thanks for reading.
