LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

PGDM GENERAL 2019-21

MARKETING MANAGEMENT-2
ETHICS IN MARKETING

SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. S.P. Ketkar

SUBMITTED BY:
Section C, Group 8
Aishwarya Tiwari 173/2019
Sahil Dewan 174/2019
Somya Singh 175/2019
Avnish Gupta 176/2019
Divyansh Jain 177/2019
Shresth Sharma 178/2019

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 CONTENTS
S.No. Title Page

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. PESTEL 5

3. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 7

4. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE 10

5. MARKETING MIX AND ETHICS 11

5.1 PRODUCT 11

5.2 PROMOTION 13

5.3 PRICE 14

5.4 PLACE 15

6. SUMMARY & CONCLUSION 17

7. REFERENCES 18

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Ethics are moral principles that us differentiating between what is right and wrong or just and
unjust. In some cases, people are well-aware of right and wrong but still they find it difficult to
evaluate whether this situation is ethical or not. Ethical choices are difficult to make because one
has to use his or her own logic to judge and estimate the potential consequences of taking that
decision on others. Apart from logic sometimes the decision can be influenced by number of
factors such as self-image, personal gain etc. which could lead to unethical results. On the other
side there are instances where people feel that end justifies the means. If the result is favorable,
the means does not matter even if it is unethical.
Ethical marketing is employing the moral principles for broadcasting a company’s image, values,
goals and objectives to the public. It basically focuses on being honest, fair and responsible
towards its customer and society as a whole.
Managers can only make an ethical decision when their values are in line with the company’s
values and norms. A marketer decides how an image of a company’s brand will be projected in
the market by various advertisement campaigns, marketing plans, customer service strategies etc.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the values of company and marketer are
complementary in nature. Also, the image projected by various advertisement campaigns must be
in accordance with the values regarded by audience as ethical.
One such instance of unethical marketing was when in 2017, Jawed Habib featured gods for
selling service during Durga Puja. This was disliked by people as they value Gods and this
advertisement was blasphemous in nature. This advertisement received a lot of criticism and later
Jawed Habib had to issue an apology.

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Need for ethical marketing

Twenty-first century is seeing a lot of business due to globalization, technological advancements,

etc. Companies are growing on a global level. Due to the increased involvement of the
companies or businesses across diverse cultures and religions all over the world, there are a lot of
complex ethical issues. For businesses to run smoothly in such complexities, marketing ethics
has undoubtedly become a topic of interest. Business behavior may vary from place to place,
culture to culture as in one place it might be deemed ethical but in another culture, the same
practice might be viewed as unethical. This makes it very important for the marketers to
understand the existence of variance and to be well rounded. Marketers cannot always not rely
on their understanding of practices and ethical judgments while marketing abroad. In fact, ethics
needs to be understood on a cross-cultural basis, while marketing abroad, due to variation in
ethics from country to country and culture to culture [1].

Companies such as Herbalife, Amway, or Tupperware are different from other companies and
the marketing of these companies’ products and services is done by self-employed distributors
who sell products to consumers, and recruit, motivate, and educate the customers themselves
turning them into new distributors to do the same. Though these companies have seen growth in
their business but these companies are actually facing ethical and legal issues [2].

Implementation of marketing ethics

Marketing ethics mean that the organization should be honest with the customers by providing
them with reliable and safe products and services. The customers should be treated and the
organizations should provide them honest information. Health and safety of the customers should
be promoted by the organizations in order to abide by the law to give the products and services
of standard and quality. Ethics are also important for business transactions also [3].

Community and society benefits should be supported and promoted by the organizations keeping
in mind the health and development of the society by making their products eco-friendly so as to
protect the environment [4].

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2.0 PESTEL ANALYSIS

POLITICAL- Many politicians believe that almost everything is allowable in their campaigns
because once they reach office, they will be outstanding public servants. And often, these same
politicians, feel that moral corners must be cut in order to gain that competitive advantage over
their competitors. However, such unethical practices reinforce the cynicism and negative outlook
that people have towards politics in general. Ethical dilemmas in politics often arise from two
major factors: - Advertising, and Financing.
One sentence that sums the ethical marketing issues in politics is- “Not all positive pieces are
truthful, and not all truthful pieces are positive. Especially in the Indian context, Politicians often
use information about their opponents to steer away from crucial issues just to turn the vote
count in their favor, However, some information, such as their work while previously in office or
any other legal information available through public portals and as such could be considered
acceptable. However, when those same campaigners use unfair means to source personal and
confidential information about their opponents through under-the-table means, just to get a small
edge over them is where it crosses the line. However, there is a problem here to, that, although
under normal circumstances private information should not be used to target and isolate anyone
but some information which reflects deeply on the character of the person so involved in the
campaign, should that be allowed to go public or usage of that information is unethical means.
In an Indian Perspective, Politics is largely done on vote banks, i.e. targeting minority groups
and their votes. Politicians almost always either take sides with the minority or take a tough
stand against them to win back their majority support. Most Recently, Yogi Adityanath was
banned from campaigning for BJP in the 2019 elections for using racial slurs and targeting the
Muslim minority community which make 13% of the Indian population.

ECONOMIC- The economic facet of Ethics in Marketing deals with mostly how the funds are
sourced for such marketing campaigns, it is a fact that marketing campaigns, whether online or
offline require huge amounts of capital to be effective, and sometimes, due to a host of reasons
such as to evade taxes, or boost profits, or just to stay competitive, Marketers often use nefarious
means to source the funds for such campaigns or for financial firms, dress up their financial
records, just in order to appeal to the prospective investors, and almost in every case, it is the
general public that gets cheated out, whether it be through monetary or financial loss. Such
Fraudulent fund raising is often detected in the Indian Political Scenario where the Political
Parties are not required to disclose the source of their donations and funds.

SOCIAL- Marketing is sometimes criticized for its huge impact on the personal and social well-
being of not only individuals but the society on a macro level. Well this might be true in some
cases, marketers know that if a business damages welfare at an individual or societal level, it
cannot hope to continue for an extended period. Marketing has also been critiqued for creating
“False Wants” to promote the purchase of non-essential goods, also using individual targeting to
boost sales. Marketing activities have also been in limelight due to the strata of control that
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strong private organizations have on them and that they steer it accordingly to favor their
interests at the cost of public health and welfare. Nestle was criticized hugely during their Maggi
Fiasco at the time of recalling all the faulty batches of the product only when there was a huge
public and media outcry and not as soon as they detected the high amounts of heavy metals in
their product.

TECHNOLOGICAL- It would not be incorrect to mention that technology has changed the
Paradigm of marketing for once and for all. Throughout history, advancements in technology
have played a critical role in how individuals are being exposed to new information. With the
rapid growth of web connectivity along with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and
Machine Learning and the adoption of the long due concept of Internet of Things, Marketers
have found new ways not to only individualize their campaigns but also completely personalize
them according to their target costumer’s perception, But this has not only led to better revenues
for companies due to more successful campaigns but also a huge crisis in terms of the invasion
of privacy of the consumers and costumers. A famous experiment by the name of the “Cat Food
Experiment” where in 2 days of just reiterating words like ‘Cat’ and ‘Cat Food’ in their house
while using their phones, Facebook started showing them Ads of , ”Food for Cats” even though
they had no purchase history of purchasing cat food or searching about cats.

LEGAL- According to the Article 19(1)(A) of the constitution, “We, therefore hold that
“commercial speech” is a part of the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed”. “In India,
the field of advertising is subject to a multiplicity of laws in the absence of a comprehensive
statutory mechanism that would lay down ground rules in clear terms for advertising in the
country. However, there are several laws that relate to marketing such as the “Consumer
Protection Act(1986) which grants the consumers the right to be informed about the quality,
quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods and services, as the case may be so, as to
protect the consumer against unfair trade practices”. “Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products
(Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and
Distribution) Act, 2003- Section 5 of this Act, inter alia, prohibits both direct & indirect
advertisement of tobacco products in all forms of audio, visual and print media.”. “Cable
Television Networks (Regulations) Act, 1995 and Cable Television Networks (Amendment)
Rules, 2006- Section 6 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulations) Act, 1995 provides that
no person shall transmit or re-transmit through a cable service any advertisement unless such
advertisement is in conformity with the advertisement code prescribed under the Cable
Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2006.” However, this provision does not apply to
programs of foreign satellite channels received without the use of any special gadgets. Although,
these laws have been effective so far, there is need to evolve these laws due to the other
environmental factors evolving at a greater rate such as technology.

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3.0 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

With the advent of technology resulting into conscious consumerism, the significance of ethical
marketing has increased manifold. Subsequently, the prevalent ways of marketing are in flux.
Consumer is not only aware, high on networking and more skeptical than ever towards
marketing. Hence, businesses are scrutinized with slim tolerances for them to be careless or
worse ignorant in terms of their demeanor and acts. Misleading campaigns by firms to deflect the
public gaze from overindulgence in unethical practices, social and CSR led activities that have
more to do with obligation than intention no longer unnoticed.
Every company tries to place themselves high on the ethical marketing pyramid since the past
researches suggest that brands that have a tendency to operate in an unethical manner are
avoided and discarded by specific groups of consumers, on the other hand a clean image is often
synonymous with increased brand equity, induce customer loyalty and favorable word of mouth.
Unethical Targeting
Targeting is a major component of STP (Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning) with the help of
which marketers identify and by which to better identify and advertise to potential customers.
Ethical dilemmas originate when vulnerable consumer.1 Since children and youngsters are
vulnerable to peer pressure as well as societal, targeting them on the grounds of “fitting in” or
“next hip thing” incessantly and unnecessarily is a major case of unethical targeting.
Then there are instances of huge Tobacco corporations for instance British American Tobacco,
that have turned to third world countries like Africa owing to the declining sales in western part
of the world. What is actually venal about their marketing scope and strategy is, it includes and
even focuses on children. The very fact that Africa is extremely backwards by all standards and
the information asymmetry is maximum, the amount of awareness and relevant information with
the customer is lowest; which makes them visibly prone to exploitation. Another instance would
be of JUUL, the electric cigarette from USA which comes in multiple “cool flavors”, looks like
a flash drive and hence can be sneaked to any place possible is specifically targeted to the
teenagers. The drawbacks of using Juul however are far reaching and way more damaging than
an average teenager could think of.
Children as the target market and marketing to them is anyway a disputatious notion, since they
are less likely to be aware of the product, gauge its usability and harms (if any) and judge the
kind of content they’re bombarded with, in terms of marketing. Although when it comes certain
products and services which are meant to be consumed primarily and wholly by children, and
part of their customer experience; products like tobacco and Juul are totally unacceptable and
deceitful.
British American Tobacco, have openly refuted the claim that they market to young people in
Africa (BAT.com, 2019) nevertheless critics argue that the logic behind selling to the young age
group and children is paramount and can’t be ignored. Since they’re a large segment of
consumers and although marketing to this section falls under the grey area, it is still vital that this
age group is marketed to, to ensure better odds for the businesses. The tobacco industries are

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levied with heavy taxes, especially in India and their declining profit points towards the bleak
reality, hence these immoral and unethical practices gain significance with the marketers.
The Indian government took a stern action against the e-cigarette segment as a whole, just before
the arrival of Juul in India and banned the entire category. Given the amount of lung diseases,
deaths and other side effects of e-cigarettes, promotion and consumption both, of these products
are prohibited.
Moreover, the case with food corporations gets even more shadier. As depicted by an episode
titled “Sweetums” on American sitcom Parks and Recreation, it was shown that how food
conglomerates lure customers into consuming their downright harmful and obesity inducing
products with sneaky and pervasive marketing tactics. The children targeted for these
confectionary and food products are too naïve to comprehend the immediate and the after effects
of these products. In real life, brands like Nestlé and McDonalds with their campaigns and
appeal to the younger generation have pawned off consumer sentiments and vulnerability. It
results into them making huge profits at the expense of health and money of these consumers.
Despite knowing the cause and effect between their marketing and manifold increase in obesity,
they continue to operate in the same way.
Big Data Use
There is an ongoing furor about the ethical consequences of Big data use by corporations. All the
biggies in every sector be it Google, Facebook, Uber, Morgan & Stanley who have been known
to indulge in this malpractice time and again.
Big Data means “unparalleled volume, velocity, and variety of primary data available from
distinct consumers”. In today’s world where knowledge is power and the universal currency on
which all businesses run, not only it provides a competitive edge to the firm over others, but
emerges as a great source and cause for new-age marketing. As with the case of anything
significant, Big Data too has turned out to be an instrument of manipulation, distortion and
misuse.
Since it’s a relatively new phenomenon, with technology revising and improving every day, the
ethics and implications of Big Data are experimental and unregulated in nature. Phrases like
‘Terms of Service’ prove to be the key drivers of the conversation around the topic. On the
other hand, the prevalent opinion predominantly in marketing, there are talks about how the
restrictions imposed by the regulators will be likely to hamper the new avenues of marketing and
consumer insight Big Data has to offer. Similarly, we can’t rule out the possibility that it is now
too late that the restrictions imposed by ethical regulations to keep a check on these firms as
neither the framework nor the methods are devised yet.
Nonetheless there should be a fixed criteria and guidelines that all the firms should agree upon.
many critics argue that ethical guidelines for big data use must be agreed upon. The entire
conversation around privacy and the minute profiling of customers on every possible basis are
some of the biggest dangers of Big Data. Right to privacy is a fundamental right in not only India
but all the free and democratic countries, hence reducing if not eradicating privacy concerns is

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pivotal to the world of both marketing and ethics. Extensive transparency of how, why and
where the data of the consumer is employed and ensuring practices to avoid exploitation and
manipulation is expected and hoped for.
If only the firms get candid and forthright about the data use and the ways this is used to market
and target the consumers, the more consumer confidence and loyalty they gain. Needless to say
an ethical organization is far more successful in terms of convincing and marketing their
products to the desired customers than their unethical counterparts.
Looking upon the recent breaches of privacy and misuse of data, Facebook-Cambridge
Analytica scandal figures in largely. The kind of hullabaloo it provoked, which was not only
justified but had a long time coming, as the extent and scope of morphing and misuse laid bare
the ethics upon which Facebook is built upon. They were thoroughly questioned and prodded
and the consumer trust on the organization was tested in big ways. YouGov survey, shows that
69% of consumers would go the extent of boycotting a brand that has been known to misusing
their data.
Ugly ways of Beauty industry
 Issues that deal with ethics in the beauty industry are rampant and varied in nature. From
highlighting and promoting fair skin as the prototype and ultimate triumph of human
excellence and instilling the notion that darker skin is synonymous with failure, rejection
and heartbreak, depressingly so into the minds of young girls blurs the line between
sound marketing tactics and ethics. Brands like Fair & Lovely who, for generations have
made profits on the insecurity of women about their skin color are now heavily criticized
and laughed at, in fact the brand had to change its marketing campaigns from fair is
beautiful to now promoting confidence and success as the parameter, is an attempt to fill
the void it had created for itself.
 Use of child labor, carcinogenic ingredients, animal testing, use of “non-inclusive” brand
ambassadors, etc. all are now debated upon. Brands like Fenty Beauty by Rihanna have
shown that it is easy and feasible to earn huge profit margins without being vicious and
unethical by including more than 40 shades in their foundation range which celebrates
beauty and color. Cruelty-free brands like Wet n Wild which are not only cheap and
superior than their counterparts have now gained core competence and increased market
share with their innovative and moral ways.
 In fragrance industries specifically men deodorants and perfumes, women sexuality is
used as a bait, objectification of women and mostly young women to market their
products is not a new phenomenon. Our fathers had become victims of it, now our
brothers and it will continue to our progeny as well. All these tactics wreak havoc on
human psyche and put a question mark on the credibility and ethics of these firms.

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4.0 PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

1.) Development Stage

Marketing ethics started evolving in 20th Century due to trust issues and concerns regarding
consumer’s protection. Sharp and Fox in 1937 published a book on business ethics. It had
chapters on fair pricing, ethics of bargaining, limits of persuasion which are all based on
marketing Ethics. In 1950’s marketing ethics as a term was not yet coined but some academic
material related to it was available such as fair trade, antitrust and pricing.

2.) Introduction

In 1960’s, countries started facing various environmental problem such as pollution and disposal
of waste. Four basic consumer rights which were later called as Consumer’s Bill of rights came
into picture: the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, and the right to be
heard. In 1967 Bartels introduced an in-depth model on ethics in marketing for the first time. It
described how different variables play a role in marketing ethics decision making. Ferrell and
Weaver, in 1978 provided helpful insights on how marketing mangers’ ethical beliefs and
behavior, impact the relationship in an organization.

3.) Growth

In the following years, marketing ethics was described in two broad ways-

1.) Normative ethics theory- which articulated and justified the ethical code in an organization
given by Gundlach and Murphy in 1993.

2.) Positive Model- which described various factors that influences ethical decision making in an
organization given by Hunt and Vitell in 1986.

Many models and frameworks followed which described the role between ethical marketing in
decision making process.

In 2000’s, ethics became an integral part of business due to various scandals associated with
Enron, Worldcom and many more companies. A need to develop a trustworthy relationship with
the stakeholders especially customers emerged. Since then it has been in growth stage with ethics
becoming a part of teaching in various B-schools as well [5].

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5.0 MARKETING MIX AND ETHICS

Marketing mix consists of various tactics or strategies using Product, Place, Price and Promotion
to influence customers to buy their products. The marketer of a company communicates using
this marketing mix and helps in building a perception. It is very essential that ethics is being
followed in all the elements of marketing mix. Here is analysis of how ethics play a role in each
element of marketing mix:

5.1 PRODUCT/PACKAGING

Marketing executives face plenty of ethical issues associated with planning and application of
product strategies for instance, Faulty merchandise are put on the market which can harm
consumers. Ethical approach of thinking should inherit all levels of marketing from engineering
to client support. Some ethical problems associated with product choices include:

 Information on labels which are typically used as deception although it's technically true.
 Rubbish problem that packing cause after its usage.
 Decline of recalling of product although it's problematic.
 Failing in terms of guarantee associated with product and performing Planned Product
Obsolesce to shorten product life cycle.

Business have to account for ethical issues regarding their products and services. They are
responsible for the product and service that they've designed and delivered. Product issues
includes:

1.) MISLEADING INFORMATION: Producers may make something which seems

acceptable to the customers and has the right price but in fact it's dangerous for example,
a toy for children. The parents think it's quite acceptable to buy it but the toy might have
sharp edges or small components which could be swallowed by the child or it's dangerous
in any other way. It shouldn't have been on the market, there is no need to expose a child
to that sort of risk but there was nothing in the literature about the toy to suggest this it's
unethical. Marketers must take into account product safety as described above.
2.) IMPACT ON CULTURES: Sometimes the Product may offend people in their own or
different countries so there's got to be sensitivity about what is acceptable and what's not
acceptable according to the particular society.
3.) ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: In making the product how much resource has been
used up, how frivolous is the product compared to the damage it does to the environment
and how wasteful it is in terms of resources. Accountability is an issue when there's a
commercial demand for the product. Is it the responsibility of producer who's wasting the
planet’s scarce resources in making the product or is it the responsibility of the buyer
who has encouraged the producer to make the product?

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 4.) VALUE OF THE PRODUCT: We need to be careful as to what we mean by value,
sometimes we use price and value interchangeably i.e., something which is valuable
would be a high price but we could have a different perspective on the word value which
is How good is the product and how appropriately it functions. Value is a tricky term and
customers want value for money, in other words they want a product which is not only
reliable but also been produced efficiently.

PACKAGING

It is the element of marketing mix that influence customer in making a buying decision based on
the looks of the product. It helps a product stand-out from other products and influences the
customer to make a buying decision. The ethical packaging can be divided into 3 broad
categories:

1.) Misleading Label- Exaggerated claims or false information to lure customers. Example:
Dominos started selling sugar with the
package claiming carbon-free sugar.
The formula of sucrose the main
content is C12H22O11. Without
carbon content, sugar would be as
equivalent to water

2.) Packaging graphics, shape - The graphics used on packaging might be disturbing or
obscene. The shape of the packaging is offensive to the customer. Example

Dove introduced a
new packaging with
tag line “Beauty
comes in all shapes
and sizes” and
people found it
very offensive.

3.) Type of Packaging Material- The packing material used is not

eco-friendly and cause harm to environment. The packaging itself is harmful and it might
contaminate the product.

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 4.) Unnecessary packing- Extra packing material is used which not only waste resources but
also cause harm to environment.

Unnecessary extra plastic being The nature has already provided a

used for each tablet. natural packing to Banana.

5.2
PROMOTION

Advertisers are expected to show good and honest facts about a product. High ethical standards
are vital for the long-term health of advertising if people regularly see unethical advertisements,
they will lose confidence in the advertising industry. Advertisers who stay true facts about their
products build confidence in the customers mind gain goodwill and get a competitive advantage.
For example, the Tata Group enjoys a competitive advantage partly owing to their strong ethical
advertising which helped in building the brand image and ultimately leads to customer loyalty,
which make repeat purchases and also recommend the brand to other. Ethical issues in
advertising include:

1.) EXAGGERATION: When the advertisers make tall or big claims about the products in
ads to puff up a product to make it seem like more than what it is for example the AXE ads
showed angels falling from the sky after smelling the deodorant.
2.) PRESSURE TACTICS: Some firms use pressure tactics to persuade customers to buy their
products for example the recent Micromax ad uses pressure tactics to convince customers
to buy their mobile phones
3.) MISREPRESENTATION : Misleading information in ads to convince customers to buy
the product for example the Airtel’s 4G ad that claimed “Fastest network ever and if your
network is faster we will pay your mobile bills for life” was misleading which led to
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) sending them a notice to withdraw the
above mentioned add.
4.) FALSE STATISTICS: Some advertisers use false statistics to substantiate the superiority
of their products, for example Garnier’s ad claimed that their facewash removed 99.9% of
pimple causing Germs. This statistic was false which led to Advertising Standards Council
of India (ASCI) banning the advertisement.

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 5.) TOTAL LIES: Some advertisers blatantly lie in their ads to trick customers for example
Nivea's body lotion claimed that “Its regular use significantly reduces body size”. Nivea
had to pay nine hundred thousand dollars as a settlement for this misleading ad and had to
stop production of the bio slim product.
6.) POOR TASTE: Advertisers may show vulgar scenes involving sexual innuendo nudity and
double meanings for example Axe deodorant ads involved nudity and sexual innuendos
7.) UNHEALTHY BRAND COMPARISON: Some advertisers engage in brand comparisons
that may confuse customers about the right choice of product for example ad was between
Flipkart, Snapdeal, OLX and Amazon confuse the consumers.
8.) SURROGATE ADVERTISING: The Advertisement which is used to promote banned
products like cigarettes and alcohol through another product carrying the same brand name
for example royal challenge advertises their brand through their Sports drinks or soda.

5.3 PRICE

Pricing is defined as a value that a firm receives in exchange for its product and services that it
offers. It is considered as one of the most dynamic elements of the marketing mix. Many
marketers may consider that pricing is only limited to profit and sales, but the important thing is
that it depends on the type of industry as well [6].The pricing policy also brings along a lot of
ethical issues with it such as:

1. Price discrimination- selling same product at different prices to different customer

depending on his willingness to pay.
2. Monopoly Gouging- it happens generally for those goods whose perceived value is much
higher than the cost of producing the goods. Example Pharmaceuticals.
3. Price skimming- when the product is sold at a very high price and then gradually
lowered.
4. Price fixing- Competitors come together in an agreement to sell a product above a fixed
price by mutual consent so as to drive their profits higher.
5. Bid Rigging-Favoring one group when multiple groups had an equal chance to get the
bid.

For both the company and the customers to be on same page, it becomes important to keep the
Quality/price ratio high. [3] Price of a product plays a very vital role in determining the success
of the product, if kept in accordance with the expectations of the customers, the firm will boom
and vice versa. Pricing of a product or service is decided based on:

1. Customer
2. Competition
3. Cost

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Customers feel connected to the firm more when there is transparency between the products that
they offer, and the costs incurred.

EVERLANE example of ethical pricing

EVERLANE is a company that tapped upon the price transparency of the products that they
offer. The company lets its customer know about all the intermediate costs that are incurred
throughout the process. This technique is considered ethical by the customers and hence helps in
increasing the value of the firm.

The above-mentioned company along with providing price transparency also does activities for
the benefit of the society, it includes donating some percentage of their revenues to some or the
other causes.

Transparent pricing
at the webpage of
Everlane for all the
customers

5.4 PLACE

Place is a channel that help in moving the product from the producer to the end customer. It
includes trade channel, distribution channels, sale support, transport, Inventory etc. It might seem
that the location of purchase might be harmless but it is not.

a.) From consumer’s point of view:

1.) If a harmful/addictive product like tobacco, alcohol etc. are readily available.
Nestle Case [6]. The company nestle developed an infant formula as a replacement
for breastfeeding. It was also available in third world countries where the mothers
diluted the powder with unclean water which actually lead to increase in infant
mortality rate and malnutrition.

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 2.) Not making a product available: Some of the products such as generic drugs must be
available to common public. Another example is if a country discovers a drought
resistant crop, but it not available to developing countries.

b.) From producers’ point of view:

The producer usually have to pay a slotting allowances- a kind of tax levied by the
retailer to give a storage or selling space for his products. This discourages various
producers and also excludes some of the genuine producers [7].

c.) Other unethical practices include hoarding of goods, reciprocity, accepting favors from
suppliers, corruption, sharp practices etc.

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6.0 CONCLUSION

 After PESTEL analysis, it comes to picture that while all other factors are accelerating at
fast pace, the legal aspect of ethical marketing is not. All over the world, almost every
other day we hear cases of breach of privacy as well as fatal accidents happen just
because there aren’t any proper regulations regarding the same. Although the Lawmakers
are working very hard to balance both consumer privacy and freedom, there is a high
requirement that the Legal aspect of this got more stringent.
 In past the marketing ethics was a distinct term not used frequently. It was after the work
of Gundlach and Murphy in 1993 and Hunt and Vitell in 1986 that an awareness of
marketing ethics developed. After various scandals in 2002 there was an urgent need of
marketing ethics developed in market. Nowadays, it has become a part of curriculum in
various B-schools sround the world.
 It has been established, predominantly amongst millennials, that ethical practices are
appreciated, celebrated and preferred when making conscious purchase decisions. In the
modern times, malpractices on any front be it deceitful marketing, stealth marketing,
pressure inducing tactics like “One time Sale” and campaigns targeting the insecurities
and playing with the health of consumers are called out and shunned.
 According to various research papers and literature available, the major problem is the
difference between the ethical and unethical marketing for a marketer lies in the
difference of perception of customer and the marketer.[8] The marketer might roll out a
product, promote it, price it and place it as per his beliefs. When this is against the beliefs
of the customer, it leads to unethical marketing. According to Hunt and Vitell (1986), a
decision maker when faced with an ethical dilemma, can choose to evaluate various
possible remedial actions that can be taken.
 As discussed in case analysis each element of marketing mix can be unethical in its own
way. So, marketer while choosing an element or a mix of elements need to check whether
he or she is not following any unethical practices in marketing mix.

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References

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[2] The Role of the Distributor Network in the Persistence of Legal and Ethical Problems of
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[3] VOLUME NO. 4 (2013), ISSUE NO. 10 (OCTOBER) ISSN 0976-2183 INTERNATIONAL
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[4] Kotler, Philip, and Armstrong, Gary. (1999). Principles of Marketing, 12th ed. New York:
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[5] Caner Dincer, Banu Dincer- November 2014- “An Overview and Analysis of Marketing
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[6] Gimesy, Douglas. Every breath you take: adding ethics to the marketing mix. Market
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[7] Constantinescu, Mihaela The Relationship between Quality of Life and Marketing Ethics,
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/05/09/why-ladies-didnt-love-doves-
latest-gender-empowering-ad-stunt/

https://www.packaginginnovation.com/other-cool-things/3-ethical-packaging-problems-
designers-brands-face-every-day/

http://designethicsuoc.blogspot.com/2013/04/unethical-packaging.html
https://www.bartleby.com/essay/The-Case-Of-The-Nestle-Baby-Formula-P3LMQRVKRY3Q

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