We have reached a tipping point where our values fail promote human and societal benefits that or goods and services are supposed to serve. This has led to the current state of affairs where marketing occurs in an environment void of integrity. We sell relentlessly and too often without regard for rules of conduct.

Integrity is defined as “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” As part of the marketing process integrity is also a vital core agreement that establishes a foundation for establishing trust, achieving effective communication, and communicating value. Integrity is and has been substantially subverted in competition with the relentless pursuit of profits, by far the leading market value. It is spoken of. It is placed at the forefront of ethical and operational standards. Rules are established to punish unethical behavior. Yet unethical acts occur consistently, and the prevailing values are used to justify those actions. In our present state of affairs as a marketing community, ethics are nothing more than words, text and ideals that are rarely upheld.

If we are direct, the roots of this issue extend far beyond the realm of marketing activity. And there are many sound ‘chick or egg first’ arguments to justify unethical actions. But in the end the marketing community, beginning with each individual in it, has to choose to change and act differently. The fact is that things can be sold without misleading buyers. And the marketing community can be a powerful change agent for the adoption of more ethical behavior on behalf of its clients. It all comes down to the bottom line. There is a choice to be made between whether profits or values will drive our actions. Presently we choose profits overwhelmingly. In the design business there is a mantra for effective design that reads “form follows function”. Why we do something and the benefits we seek are the function. How we do it and the benefits that result are the form. Profit is now a core function and the design of systems and solutions to achieve it have inherent misgivings.

We have evidence of the outcome when we relentlessly pursue profits and favor minority interests over those of the majority. Gross imbalances occur requiring more resources to mitigate the effects of those imbalances. And ultimately the very markets we count on to drive our profits are unable to support the demand because the necessary moral, social and capital resources are depleted. We are living this reality as the richest capital markets in the world in the west have declining sales prospects across the board, and the response is to shift attention to new developing markets like China, India, and Russia. At a cursory level this is insane behavior, akin to addressing chronic headaches by changing hats. The real issue here is a different result is not being sought.

What we are saying with this course is — we’ll take what we can get, for as long as we can get it, at the expense of forever depleting our ability to have anything at all.

There are many areas where integrity can be a key driver and force in marketing practice. I welcome your comments and feedback as part of an ongoing dialogue on integrity in marketing.

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