Honest, ethics and marketing

Honesty and ethics are important! One of the issues around creative destruction is the ability of a company to be able to educate the customer to a new offering. If you are an inventor starting off - how would you interpret this? On one hand it is a mistake to love your product too much, and better to focus on benefits to the consumer. In doing that how important is it for your business to behave in an honest and ethical way?

I am sure you cannot forget former directors of the Daily Telegraph taking $32m in unauthorised payments. Alternatively Conrad Black, the then CEO spending $20,000 of shareholders money on a surprise party for his wife. Whislt Black is in jail the Daily Telegraph flourishes on a diet of MP's expenses, ethics and transparency.

The tiny island of Sark had 150 years of feudal rule. The now owners of the Daily Telegraph had been investing £5m a year into the island, they live in a neighbouring castle. In Sark's first democratic elections the people of Sark failed to the Barclay Brother's estate manager and immediately all the investment stopped. I am sure this would not have been a return to feudal rule with the Lord's of the castle employing a sheriff to carry out their duties.......

Links between the Barclays Brother's and UKIP - and an underlying agenda to the MP expenses agenda has been made. Interestingly their response was to get lawyers to make the hosts of the blog where the allegation had been made simply to take it down. (and they did) – So much for transparency and open public debate.

Seemingly the debate is more about power – and this is a lesson for marketing and those businesses that think that honesty and ethics are the way forward.

“Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still. For only they can lead us out of the tunnel of economic necessity into daylight.” Keynes 1930

The above quote is still apt. Translated into more palatable business language – give the customer what they want without ignoring your need for income (avarice or greed) – make sure you get in a good position to do this (yes, well run systems count, but so does influence) – and don't take unnecessary risks.


As with other successful business men the Barclay Brothers have amassed a fortune and may well have worked out that influence matters as well as giving the customer the stories that they want to hear. Taking down an annoying blog is about risk management.

On a much small note it is my birthday today and I received a “handmade wooden clock” in the shape of a guitar – and very nice it is too. It reminded me of pork sausages. Pork sausages must contain 42% pork meat, of which 30% can be fat and 25% connective tissue. The clock was made out of plywood. Would an ethical marketeer say “handmade plywood clock”? If they did would it result in more or less sales? As I stated earlier – the clock is very nice and fit for purpose.