CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

UNETHICAL MARKETING STRATEGY

Brand Identity Marketing Strategy

Stealth marketing strategy

Infiltration marketing strategy

False/Deceptive Advertisement Marketing Strategy

UNETHICAL PRACTICES IN MARKETING &

UNETHICAL PRACTICES IN MARKETING

UNETHICAL MARKETING STRATEGY EVALUATION & EXAMPLE

UNETHICAL PRACTICES CONTROL BY CONSUMER ASSOCIATION

CONCLUSION

REFRENCE

Introduction

Marketing strategy is a method of focusing an organization’s resources on a course of action that

can lead to increase in sales and dominance of a targeted market. A marketing strategy combines

product development, promotion, distribution, pricing, relationship management and other

elements; identifies the firm's marketing goals, and explains how they will be achieved, ideally

within a stated timeframe. Marketing strategy determines the choice of target market segments,

positioning, marketing mix, and allocation of resources.

Ethical marketing is the application of marketing ethics into the marketing process, it does with

philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular marketing issue that are

matters of moral judgment, ethical marketing is an honest and factional representation of product

and service, delivering a framework of culture and social values to consumers.

Unethical marketing is the act of lying, cheating, stealing, deception, which involves ethics that

are ethical standard which pertains to marketing. Unethical marketing is promoting misleading

or false claims about a product and also misleading of consumers to buy a product that are not of

standard or genuine (Gershon & Buerstatte, 2003).

In marketing sometime, ethics takes the backseat in the need to please. Every

marketers/companies are looking for the same thing – Profit. There are many blatant and

international forms of ethical violation that is becoming common today.

Now days, marketers in India (and across the world) are targeting children for marketing their

products, kids represent an important demographic to marketers. It is hard to find some ethical

advertisement today because we are surrounded by a lot of unethical and illegal advertising in

newspapers, television, billboards and on the radio. Young children and early aged teenagers are

persuaded by false advertisement today and become trapped by these products because

everybody else has them.

Today many soft drink companies such as Coco-Cola and Pepsi try to cover up the fact that their

soft drink is extremely unhealthly, by creating new, no sugar soft drink to promote that fact that

there is no sugar in their drinks. Instead of putting sugar into their drink, they use artificial

sweeteners to make it make have that the same taste as the original drink, thereby misleading

people, which is unethical.

For example, McDonald’s is a major franchise restaurant worldwide that have lured millions of

children into eating at their restaurant, by supplying a free venue for birthday parties and an

outdoor area with a children’s playground. This can create an image of “if you want a happy

time, go to McDonalds”. They also have their name on some of the educational products such as

stationery and programs on computers used in primary schools. This encourages young children

to want to eat McDonald’s which is a very unhealthy fast food, and as it is a part of the schooling

environment, children think that this has the approval of the education department. This could

lead to poor food choices in later life.

UNETHICAL MARKETING STRATEGIES

Brand Identity Marketing Strategy: How you want the consumer to perceive your product or

your brand. Companies are now bridge the gap between their brand image and the brand identity,

marketers are how using this strategy to sell their product, by deceiving consumer that it is the

same brand and from the company. Customers are now expose to different products in the

marketing place and are face with brand identity of a product but different company producing

this product.

Example; a new company which into sport products, are now using almost the spelling or name

with the popular know NIKE and most customers can hardly tell which product is the original

NIKE product.

Stealth Marketing Strategy: is strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing

message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and

influence. Stealth Marketing strategy is the use of surreptitious practices that fail to disclose or

reveal the true relationship with the company producing or sponsoring the marketing message

(also see Balter & Butman, 2006; Kaikati & Kaikati, 2004; WOMMA 2007).

Song Ericsson’s Stealth campaign fathom communication hired 60 actors to pose as tourists in

10 cities across the U.S. on behalf of the company (Branscum 2004; Hin 2006; Thomas 2004;

Vranica 2002: walker 2004). Unsuspecting persons were asked to photograph the take tourist

with the newly launch T68i camera phone. The actors were instructed to approach people with

the simple request of taking a photo, usually near some tourist attraction like the Empire state

building in NEW YORK. After the persons obliged, the Song-paid and scripted actors

demonstrated the mechanics of the camera phone & began talking up the benefit and features of

the phone.

Infiltration Marketing Strategy: This is the act of using fake identities in an online

discussion to promote a product; taking over a web site, conversation, or live event against

the wishes or rules set by the proprietor. Is a marketing practice that takes a specific

approach to strategy, creativity and success tracking, where all three are driven by a

thorough understanding of the business objective at hand?

How days marketing are also now being done on the internet and marketers are taking

advantages using fake identities online discussion to promote their products. Example; is the

act through which a marketers take over the website to talk with customer online about their

products and posting/act as the owner of the site.

False/Deceptive Advertisement Marketing Strategy: False/deceptive Advertisement Marketing

Strategy is another legal consideration in brand management. Advertising is considered to be

false or misleading if it could mislead consumers about a product’s place of origin, nature,

quality, or maker.

Example; Technically, McDonald’s and Coke are not falsely advertising because they are not

making the claim that their products will turn you into an Olympic athlete. Further, the athletes

are not technically endorsing Big Macs or carbonated sugar water. However, McDonald’s and

Coke are cleverly branding the Olympics with the most widely recognized symbols for fast food

and junk beverages.

Given the outrageous obesity and diabetes issues plaguing many Western nations, the last thing

we need is fat kids feeling OK with their Super Sized fries because they falsely believe Shaun

White lives on crap too. The Olympic Committee should be ashamed of themselves. There are

plenty of other companies which can support the greatest athletes in the world. Just because

something is “legal” does not make it right. In this case, you can’t become an Olympic athlete

eating McDonald’s and drinking Coke. The Olympic Committee should stop projecting

otherwise.

Unethical practices in marketing –

• Dumping – selling at a loss to increase market share and destroy competition in order to

subsequently raise prices

• Price fixing cartels

• Encouraging people to claim prizes when they phoning premium rate numbers

• “Bait and switch” selling - attracting customers and then subjecting them to high pressure

selling techniques to switch to an more expensive alternative

• High pressure selling - especially in relation to groups such as the elderly

• Counterfeit goods and brand piracy

• Copying the style of packaging in an attempt to mislead consumers

• Deceptive advertising

• Irresponsible issue of credit cards and the irresponsible raising of credit limits

• Unethical practices in market research and competitor intelligence

• Pricing lack of clarity in pricing

Unethical practices relating to products -

• Selling goods abroad which are banned at home

• Omitting to provide information on side effects

• Unsafe products

• Built in obsolescence

• Wasteful and unnecessary packaging

• Deception on size and content

• Inaccurate and incomplete testing of products

• Treatment of animals in product testing

UNETHICAL MARKETING STRATEGY EVALUATION & EXAMPLES

Unethical marketing is how most businesses today make a lot of business profits. This can

escalade them to a multi-million dollar business. It is very wrong to falsely claim that your

product is something when it’s really not. People are manipulated by the unethical marketing of

products (Luthar, et al. 1997). They begin to believe the claims made and purchase the products

that will not live up to their claims.

Unethically is everywhere and seems to be the only way for businesses to sell their product, it is

shocking to see our children become the main group of people who are lured and fooled by this

marketing strategy. Girls are targeted especially, for example Barbie Dolls was a major selling

product and still is today, it made young girls to think that they have to look like Barbie Dolls

and dress to a particular fashion like the models and celebrities that are seen on television and

heard about on radio stations.

IIIegal marketing is the marketing that actually breaks the laws. An example of this is the Ribena

scam where they advertised illegally by claiming their drink had 4 times more vitamin C than

oranges. When a science experiment was conducted by 2 high school students in Auckland, New

Zealand the result was that they found no vitamin C intake on Ribena. They were legal

consequences for Ribena.

Another area of unethical marketing happens on the internet. There are millions of spam, pop

ups, that invade personal computers, promoting competitions to lure people into buying certain

products in order to participate in the competition. This method of marketing invades personal

space. Billions of people all over the world have access to the internet whether it’s at their own

house or even at a internet café, so this form of marketing opens up heaps and heaps of

opportunities.

Some sites are very dangerous and ask for personal details such as credit card details, home

address, and phone numbers. Hackers are just waiting for you to fall for their fake advertised pop

up on the internet so they are able to scam you. These pop ups on the internet come up so quick

before the page has even been loaded and leads you to another window and then it gets the

reader’s attention to participate in their quiz or competition and you are lured into a scam.

UNETHICAL PRACTICES CONTROL BY CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION

All marketers should be aware that unethical practices are currently used by unscrupulous or

uninformed companies. The standards of ethics and consumer protection are evolving rapidly,

and marketers must learn about the current standards.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has been quite aggressive in running after unscrupulous

marketers but in spite of their efforts, they cannot fully protect gullible consumers because every

year and more products making false and unsubstantiated claim pop up.

Like in the USA the government and the trade commission are make laws and make sure that

traders do the right things and consumers are protected

Congress ponders legislation requiring id chips in all U.S. Farm animals : Congress is debating a

controversial program called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The system

would require tagging or implanting all farm animals with radio frequency devices and

registering those animals with a federal government tracking system. The plan would require

every owner of even a single livestock animal to register their home with a national tracking

system, including Global Positing Coordinates (for satellite tracking) and implant or tag every

animal with a radio frequency device (RFID). Large-scale livestock producers say NAIS would

help them control an outbreak of disease by allowing individual animals to be tracked to their

origins. Small-scale farmers say the registration fees, RFID expenses and administrative

bureaucracy of the system would drive them out of business. OCA supports the principle of

being able to track animal diseases back to the source in order to protect public and animal

health, but any national program needs to be designed so as to not harm small farmers and must

insure the privacy of farmers and animal owners. Take action:

(http://www.organicconsumers.org/rd/nais.cfm)

DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AFRICA (DMASA)

The direct marketing association of South Africa (DMASA) has made tremendous progress in

mobilizing the industry. It represent not only direct marketers but it focus on the consumers also.

It aim is to protect both the industry and consumers from unethical or ignorant practitioners and

lobby against adverse legislation from government and other regulatory bodies (Singhapakdi, et

al. 2000).

The Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA) has launched multiplatform

functionality for its pot out register via SMS, internet and call centre which allows consumers to

remove their details from mailing lists used by the association’s members to promote goods and

services via.

"According to proposed law, any company embarking on a direct marketing campaign will be

required to run their list against the Opt Out registers and ensure that any names on the DMA

register are deleted off their database. There reduction in the unsolicited direct mail you receive,

not all commercial mail will be stop. For example you may continue to receive mail from

companies with which you already do business with, for example a banking institution - where

you have provided consent for them to market to you. In addition, you may continue to receive

mail addressed to the "resident" since the mail is not personalized, explains Brian Mdluli, CEO

of the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA).

"The Opt Out Register has been developed by the DMA in response to required Government

legislation to professionalize the industry and curb unsolicited marketing messages via mail,

SMS, e-mail, telephone and post to unsuspecting consumers," explains Brian.

All companies making use of databases will be required by proposed law to run their database

through the opt out register each and every time they run a direct marketing campaign and

remove any names appearing on their lists that have been registered on the opt out list. Failure to

do so will result in heavy penalties and the process will be regulated.

Conclusion

Marketing involves communicating and dealing with customers. As a result, marketing practices

are under more public scrutiny than other business functions (Lacmiak and Murphy 1985).

Because of the questionable practices by some marketers, consumers may lose faith in business

enterprises and start calling for more legislation and restrictions on the free market economy.

Although restrictions can be placed through legislation, it does not necessarily lead to more

ethical business climate.

Unethical perceptions of marketing practices can lead to more legislation and restrictions placed

on business firms. Hence, determining these perceptions is affected by cultural values and socio-

economic characteristics of consumers. Spam marketing, telemarketing, direct marketing, email

marketing, and fake product reviews and advertorials that pose as legitimate literature are some

of the potentially unsolicited channels by which marketing efforts are conveyed. These

undermine the privacy and self-determination of consumers.

APPENDIX

International boycott against Nestle continues

By Mary Assunta, Third World Network

The international boycott against Nestle is very much alive since its launch two decades ago.

This boycott is still on because Nestle continues to employ unethical marketing tactics in many

countries.

Nestle is one of the world's largest food manufacturers, with a turnover of U.S. $42 billion. It

controls approximately 40% of the worldwide market for baby food. It influences UN systems,

food legislation, market trends and company behavior more than any other food company.

Nestle's persistence in violating the World Health Organization (WHO)'s International Code of

Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes was once again revealed in a four-country research

commissioned by the Interagency Group on Breastfeeding Monitoring (IGBM). Entitled

'Cracking the Code', the report reveals the massive scale of company marketing malpractice.

Initially Nestle dismissed the IGBM report, even before reading it, and announced on BBC

World Service that it would not accept reproaches from self-appointed groups'. However in the

face of the scandalous findings a week later Nestle changed its tune to, 'We take this report

seriously.'

According to the latest Update of Baby Milk Action's Boycott News, the international boycott is

having an important impact on Nestle, not only in direct economic terms but also in wielding

damage to its corporate image, management morale and management time the company must

spend combating it. The Update reports that in recent years many companies have reversed

policies as a result of public pressure, to the benefit of people, the environment and their own

image. Nestle however has only curbed some of its more blatant malpractices.

The Update states that Nestle's latest efforts in countering the boycott is to advertise itself as a

squeaky clean beneficial force by distorting facts. An advertisement which appeared in the

Oxford Independent claims that even before the introduction of the WHO Code, '... Nestle

marketed infant formula ethically and responsibly and has done so ever since.'

The Update however cites some examples of Nestle's promotions in India where there are laws to

prevent companies from advertising infant formula. Nestle has come around this by aggressively

promoting other expensive processed baby food products with idealized pictures of babies on the

tins and in a language locals don't understand. Such promotions continue to undermine breast

feeding. Nestle is the sole advertiser of baby foods in the Indian edition of Parenting magazine

and its Cerelac advertisements are found in pharmacies. It even offers cash incentives for local

salespersons to display products. A pharmacist in Jaipur said that only Nestle representatives are

offering payment in return for a prominent display of baby foods. He receives 200 rupees each

month.

The Update also points out that the advertisement in the Oxford Independent makes no mention

of criminal charges against Nestle in India or the company's challenge to the Indian law, or its

attempts to undermine strong baby food legislation in the Philippines, Ghana, Pakistan, Uganda

and Europe. The advertisement mentions Nestle's new Charter on its infant formula policy in

developing countries. However despite its attempts to whitewash its real practices with a feeble

Charter the truth is Nestle continues to undermine legislation in many countries, promote its

products through health facilities, give gifts to health workers and has never disciplined its staff

for violating the International Code.

While Nestle's biggest complaint has been over-regulation and has been actively undermining

attempts to bring about strong baby food legislation in many countries, ironically it is calling for

legislation of a different kind to be strictly enforced.

Nestle wants its corporate brand - the nest - to be protected and entrenched in the law and strictly

enforced by the authorities. The Update reports that Nestle's Vice President, Peter Brabeck, made

this call for better brand protection and speedy trade deregulation when addressing government

representatives of developing countries at the October 1996 Global Investment Forum organized

by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He said, '... Our

corporate brand - the nest - is the seal, it takes our products out of anonymity which one might

find with other products... The consumers' trust helps us to introduce completely new concepts...'

For decades Nestle has used 'the nest' to get mothers to 'trust' in their products which have caused

suffering to infants all over the world. This is indeed a scandalous betrayal of trust, especially of

the poor from developing countries. In the face of Nestle's continuous irresponsible marketing

practices, the international boycott against the company is still on in 17 countries. This boycott

will continue till Nestle stops its irresponsible behavior.

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