Ethical Marketing and sustainable brands
In recent years, we have noticed a huge change in the way companies do business. The concept of sustainability has grown significantly over the past 20 years, reaching an all time high with the younger generations’ expectations of the future. According to a recent study, 92% of Millenials are more likely to consume products that are ethically sourced - meaning that their carbon footprint is low compared to other brands and that the processes involved in creating this product didn’t harm humans, animals or the environment. They tend to opt for locally sourced products as opposed to internationally imported ones, and appreciate more and more the fact that companies have a philanthropist mission.
Let’s take a moment to define what “ethical marketing” is. It is pretty self explanatory but long story short, it refers to the process by which a company markets its goods and services along with how its activity is beneficial to the community by being socially responsible and environmentally conscious. It’s a philosophy as opposed to a strategy as it is a long-term commitment. Ethical marketing means that brands ensure that their advertising is honest, genuine and trustworthy - no fake promise or vague statements. Poultry companies for instance, often put on their packages that their livestock is “free-range” and is not fed with “routine antibiotics”. Unfortunately, this is misleading - what does free-range really mean? Is your livestock eating grass only? Are they outside all day long or only for an hour a day? Also, “not fed with routine antibiotics” means that they are fed with antibiotics, just not everyday. Big food producers will do the minimum requirements to be listed as “ethical” but that’s it. This concept is called “greenwashing”, where companies often mislead their audience with vague statements to make their products sound more environmentally sound and friendly. Not cool! Being a leading digital marketing agency operating in Dubai and having dealt with clients from various industries (hospitality, food & beverages, banking, healthcare etc.), this is something we recommend avoiding altogether.
However, people are caring more and more about the impacts of a lack of ethical principles from the well-known bigger brands. They often insist on knowing where the products come from, how it was processed, who was involved in the process and how they were treated etc. Here’s a little throwback - if you remember correctly, Nike was accused of outsourcing its production to China’s Ouïghours community, who is already a marginalised and persecuted group on the mainland. Apple was also accused of the same (not sure how they’re planning on getting out of that one). It’s sad to say but companies seem to choose profit over being morally right most of the time. Here at Mint Stalk, we understand the implications of such choices, especially on the long-term.
One of the first industries to have been put on the spot is the consumer goods industry. Food and beverage companies started to feel the pressure when it came to their usual plastic packaging. But also, why would you put every single one of them in a plastic package when there’s already a thick layer of peel that consumers will have to remove before eating it anyway ..? It does not really make sense to do that anymore. Social media platforms have allowed consumers to keep big brands accountable for the stupid things they do, like putting already peeled oranges in a plastic container. Sometimes their thought process is absolutely mindblowing - you really wonder who had come up with this brilliant (not) idea and who approved it in the first place *rolled eyes emoji*. Same goes for food waste - food retails often throw tons and tons of “okay” food every month instead of giving them away to charities or people in need, using the excuse of “it’s not good for business if we start giving free things away”. In France, the government has made it illegal for big supermarkets to throw away good quality food - they are now forced to sign contracts with charities or face heavy penalties.
One of the best ways to be ethical, even if your statistics are not so impressive, is to be 100% transparent with your audience. At least this way, people will respect you a little bit more than those who greenwash and pretend like everything is fine. Some brands take a step further by breaking down all their costs and put it on their website to try and make their pricing and other processes more available to the audience. Every impact that is making a difference in the livelihoods of people, big or small, is still significant. Does your company support employment in the area it operates in? Does your company do anything to keep its surroundings clean and free or pollution (e.g. clean-up days)? Does a small portion of your profit go to a good cause? Does your company have societal programs (e.g. sponsoring the education of children from poorer backgrounds)? If you’re working with influencers, are they people who actually have the same values as your business in terms of ethics? Business can do good AND do well - they can still advertise more or less the same way that they are used to, while incorporating long-term strategies to help their consumer make better choices as well.
It’s important to note that unfortunately, not every company or industry is suited for ethical marketing. Oil & energy or mining for example, will always have a hard time with their heavy environmental impacts. However, they could compensate by putting their efforts into other initiatives like focusing more on their employees’ benefits and other societal programs. As a leading digital marketing agency based in Dubai, we have picked up on some techniques that businesses can be use to market their products in a more ethical way:
Enough with the urgency
Usually when brands use phrases such as “ONLY A FEW PRODUCTS LEFT” or “QUICK! Time is running out …”, they sound desperate and the problem with this type of messaging is that it creates a sense of urgency and fear of missing out, which pushes people to buy impulsively something that they don’t actually need or want. Which inevitably is bad for both their wallet and the problem that over-consumerism is associated with: impulsive buying (which is also associated with compulsive buying disorder), short-term self-gratification and people getting rid of a low-quality product quicker (which end up in landfills).
Build trusting collaborations
If you associate yourself with other companies or figures that support the same cause as you, it makes you look even more relevant in the eyes of your audience. An example of this is National Geographic and Leonardo Dicaprio’s documentary “Before the Flood”. Dicaprio has been named UN messenger of peace and is fighting to raise awareness for climate change with the help of an already renown platform, creating high-quality informative videos on the current environmental crisis, speaking to other industry leaders such as Elon Musk.
Concentrate on your existing customers
Listen to what your audience wants and nurture that relationship/communication between you and them before eagerly trying to get new clients.
It’s important to be able to inspire others to do good and encourage others to consume consciously. There is nothing worse than buying a cute top and having to throw it away after 3 washing because the fabric could not handle it. As a consumer, spending a little bit more for real quality and supporting local businesses is more important. As a business/marketer, you need a strong vision and you need to be able to translate it well. Just like any other leading digital marketing agency based in the UAE, we saw firsthand the surge in new trends regarding sustainability as the region promises to become one of the greenest cities in the world by 2050. Here at Mint Stalk, we have worked with enough ethical businesses to understand their preferred tone of language as well the content they aim for - it has been a great learning curve to be able to work with industries that are new to this scene and ready to make the world a better place.
