Ethical and Legal Considerations Discussion replies to classmates
When responding to your peers, discuss other examples of stealth being used in a positive way, and explain why they are positive. Do you agree or disagree with your classmates’ responses?
The classmates posts.
Here is classmate #1:
The strategy that I find to be most unethical is Brand Pushers because it is the most surreptitious of them all! Using this method violates the trust of the people being marketed to and has the potential to turn a lot of people off from the brand. Some of the situations described like young women being placed in bars to push a particular brand of alcohol or drink on men specifically could have horrendous consequences. Many times when someone feels misled by a person in such an intimate setting, especially when drinking is involved, there is the potential for violence. The way that I would handle it differently would be to initiate a policy of announcing the Brand Pushers intentions to the target once report has been gained. This can be done in a way that doesn’t make the target feel used, and also keeps them interested in the brand by using personable actors who have been trained on how to diffuse and deflect potentially scary situations.
Here is Classmate #2:
The stealth marketing strategy I believe to be the most unethical is Brand Pushers. First impressions matter a lot to someone like me. So, when I meet someone on the street, if they are friendly I’ll strike up a conversation and build up a relationship. The same thing goes when I’m in a store, however, I also take extra precaution in a store because I know employees are attempting to do or say whatever they can to get a sale. This is why I do not like brand pushers. Using people to go out and push your product on unsuspecting consumers is wrong and deceitful. It hinders a consumer from making conscious decisions about a product without any third party influence. My remedy for this would be to enforce brands to make pushers have to identify themselves. I have no issue with someone coming up to me and pushing a product as long as they identify who they are working for, that way I understand that their intentions are to conduct business.
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Response
I would agree that brand pushing marketing approach may sometimes go beyond the bounds of social ethics or the ethical judgments regarding marketing. However, it is important to note that brand pushers are aggressive marketers with the aim of achieving purchase and are rarely concerned with the long term effects of the marketing venture. Furthermore, the marketing approach remains quite similar to the traditional marketing approach and the purchase decision is largely within the consumer’s will.
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