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I’ve previously written about what ethics is and how we often respond to it in an unproductive way. In this post, I want to outline what I feel are the crucial drivers of marketing ethics today and the areas where these initiatives are most likely to be found.

There are three major reasons what ethics become a “topic” in marketing. Let’s call them three pressure points. Companies are thinking more of social responsibility (I see this a the aggregate manifestation of ethics at the level of the corporation) and ethical behavior of their managers (that would be ethics at the individual level) because:
1. They are put under increasing pressure from the investors and shareholders
2. They are put under increasing pressure from the non-profit sector (NGOs)
3. They are put under increasing pressure from consumers

And with the recent economic downturn and broader cultural crisis the pressure just keeps mounting. For point 1. and 2. visit and surf the endless pages of coporate-hostile NGOs (for example click here, here, here, there,…) or review the statistics on SR investing. It’s point three that interests me most.

First, consumers are interesting because they’ve recently acquired additional opportunities to engage in criticism and spread information (Wikileaks is a great example). Second, the line between consumer and citizen has become very hazy as today’s individuals vote with their wallets (think boycotting, donations, etc.) and put more trust in their power as spenders (as opposed to voters). As a result, politics and ethics have become a noticeable element in consumer behavior. Some companies owe part of their success to these trends (think Bodyshop, Ben&Jerry’s, Edun, etc.), others have experienced the pains of pissing off consumers with unethical conduct (think Pepsi, Nike, Esso, etc.).

In the current economic/political system it’s the consumer that essentially tips the balance. If there is no interest in ethical issues, no support for the good, no punishment for the bad, ethics remain an empty phrase. It is when consumer experience the joy of ethics that ethical marketing can truly come about. By joy, I am referring to the “feel good” and “feel proud” involved in doing the right thing and… well, also in messing with those who keep doing the wrong things. It’s marketing’s role to facilitate both types of ethical joy.