Advertising and the Ethical Imperative: Safeguarding Consumers, Empowering Buyers, and Navigating Economic Downturns
In the modern era, the digital advertising revolution has supercharged the advertising sector making the advertising industry more powerful and influential than ever before, thanks to the advent of digital technologies and platforms. With this increased influence, however, has come increased scrutiny. Continued instances of unethical behavior, such as bribery and data misuse and abuse, fraud, unnecessary mark-ups and more, have marred the reputation of major players in the industry. Just in the last weeks and months, the ANA and the press globally have brought attention to several notable cases including large agencies, digital platforms and search giants.
1. Human Ethics - The Murky Waters of Bribery in Advertising: A Growing Concern
Bribery, in its simplest form, involves giving or receiving something of value in exchange for some kind of influence or action in return that hurts the buyer or seller or both. In advertising, this could manifest as paid positive reviews, securing partnerships, preferential ad placements, fraud, or other covert agreements that mislead buyers, sellers and consumers.
Some examples include media buyers using their influence for personal gain. Whether this is a check, cash, putting someone’s kids through private school to hide a money trail. This form of abuse not only tarnishes the ecosystem and the trust it so desperately needs to retain, but it is criminal and while it has happened in dark corners for years, these corrupt practices can destabilize the advertising market. We live in a different world today than that of the martini lunch many grew up in.
Another area of human ethics abuse lies in the unnecessary mark-ups the industry has built itself upon. Services should be paid for, but these costs, especially in a down economy MUST be reasonable and should aim to align incentives between buyers and sellers.
2. Data Ethics in the Digital Age
With digital footprints becoming more pronounced, there’s an increasing responsibility on advertisers and those platforms or companies who handle this data to do so ethically.
We have all read about the Google accusations, but this is nothing new, whether it be Meta, or other walled gardens or data sellers, data ethics are so critical to the growth and success of our channel.
Why are there 6-8x as many in-market car buyers in 3rd party data sets as people who drive in the US? Well because we have an ethics issue.
3. The Ripple Effects: Consumers and Buyers in the Crosshairs
- Trust: Trust is the foundation of any brand-consumer relationship and of any partner relationship. When companies engage in bribery or misuse data, they erode this trust, which can have long-term detrimental effects on their brand value.
- Implications for Buyers: For media buyers, these unethical practices can mean that a significant chunk of their budget doesn’t actually go towards media, but instead ends up lining the pockets of unscrupulous intermediaries. In a tightened economy, where every dollar counts, buyers need assurance that their investments yield genuine returns and are not redirected towards fraudulent activities. Buyers need to demand log-level transparency.
- Legal Repercussions: As seen with YouTube’s COPPA violation, regulatory bodies are increasingly vigilant around the globe. Companies that fail to uphold ethical standards face not only reputational damage but also hefty fines.
- Moral Responsibility: Beyond the business implications, there’s a moral imperative. Companies have a duty to act ethically, ensuring they are not exploiting users for profit.
4. Moving Forward: A Call for Transparency and Accountability
It’s clear that the advertising industry is at a crossroads. To maintain trust and ensure longevity, brands, platforms, and agencies must: Some of the buyers being most widely abused are the local and mid-market brands and agencies that are less sophisticated than global brands and agencies, but there are just as many larger brands and agencies feeling the impact.
• Prioritize Log-Level Transparency: Clear disclosure of advertising relationships, as well as how data is collected and used, and what mark-ups if any are being added is essential.
• Uphold Ethical Standards: Beyond just adhering to the law, companies need to ensure they are upholding the highest ethical standards in all their dealings.
• Empower Consumers: Giving consumers more control over their data and how it’s used will be crucial in the coming years.
The controversies surrounding large agencies, Google, META, and others serve as a stark reminder of the challenges facing the advertising industry. As we move forward, it’s imperative to prioritize human and data ethics, ensuring that advertising remains a force for good in society.
Posted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership self-publishing platform.
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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.
Gabe Greenberg
Greenberg, a 25+ year media and marketing veteran with tenure at Microsoft, Autobytel, Delivery Agent and Vibrant, is CEO of Octillion, a platform as a service company serving local and mid-market brands and agencies and of GABBCON (aka Los Angeles TV and In…
