The World Needs Mindful Marketing
Marketing is one of the world's most pervasive influences
- Consumers are exposed to hundreds of marketing messages a day
- Millions of people work in marketing-related fields including advertising, customer service, digital marketing, research, sales, and social media
- Often the further people advance in their careers (e.g., VP, president, CEO), the more marketing they do.
Unfortunately, marketing does not have the best reputation for ethics
- Unlike fields such as accounting, healthcare, and law, people who practice marketing do not need to be certified, which invites more objectionable behavior
- Each year, Gallup asks survey respondents to rate the honesty and ethical standards of 20-24 different occupations; inevitably, near the bottom of the list are several marketing-related occupations like advertising practitioner, telemarketer, and car salesperson
Mindful Marketing is Unique
Mindful Marketing keeps ethics top-of-mind; it makes ethics sticky
- Uses the power of branding, including distinct images, words, and colors
- Leverages business strategy through a unique 2 x 2 decision tool, the Mindful Matrix
- Continually examines important ethical issues in the field through the Mindful Matters blog
- Provides ongoing opportunities for meaningful discussion of issues through social media and the Mindful Marketing website
What is 'Mindful' Marketing?
It's marketing that's effective
- Meets consumers' needs
- Accomplishes marketers' goals
- Benefits other stakeholders, e.g., employees, investors, suppliers
It's marketing that's ethical
- Decent: avoids excessive violence, vulgarity, immodesty, sexual explicitness, and profanity
- Fair: treats people equally, based on their common humanity, recognizes different starting points via equity, and accounts for different inputs with merit
- Honest: upholds truth by not breaking it (lying) or blurring it (distortion)
- Respectful: affirms each person’s inherent worth and holding them in esteem
- Responsible: meets the needs of those disadvantaged