how to build ethical brands
Two of the toughest questions you might face in life are: What is the right thing to do? And: what is the right thing to say? Branding sits right at the intersection of both, so no wonder the pursuit of ethical branding is complex.
At yesterday’s hangout, Anne led the discussion on ethical branding with the community and two special guests, Francesca Folda and Anyo Green.
Members spoke from various different perspectives: as brand builders, marketers and comms experts in commercial companies, NGOs, social impact enterprises, and independent consultants.
Community voices that we captured in our notes are, amongst others, Michelle Chakkalakal (Canada), Maria Spitaleri (Argentina), Veronica Fossa (Italy), Gisele Medeiros (Brazil), Marieke Griffioen (the Netherlands), and Howard Drakes (South Africa).
Watch the full recording, the Miro board, and browse the key takeaways from the chat below 👇:
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE ETHICAL BRANDING debate
14:40 What are the ethical dilemmas we encounter on the job?
Using scarcity and ‘fear of missing out’ tactics to make people feel they have to buy now or lose out.
Explaining data in a way that supports your story, leaving the other interpretations out
Working for unethical clients or on projects that are not aligned with your values
Crafting a ‘qualitative’ story that obscures the quantitative picture
Emotional exploitation, for example, using victim stories as emotional hooks to tie donors in
Selling promotional products that are sustainably produced but superfluous at the same time.
24:56 What is ethical branding, and how might we define it?
Do what you say and say what you do. Walking the talk.
It is about being transparent about your intentions, upholding your values, respecting your customers/clients, and never overpromising.
41:21 What could an ethical branding code of conduct look like?
Let’s look at an example: the Ethical Move has a code of conduct for marketers. It empowers people and businesses to move away from marketing tactics that rely on psychological manipulation.
What would a branding code of conduct look like?
This is such a huge topic to unpack that we want to dedicate a second session to it.
The first topics of the code that popped up were:
How do we ethically present our impact and vision?
How do we do justice to the people that the brand represents?
How do we align action with communication?
1:02:27 How might we resolve the ethical issues we encounter at work?
Be open to learn and be humble enough to acknowledge when you don’t know something.
Explore the different ways you can align your values and mission to your work.
Help your team or client transition towards ethical options where possible.
Help colleagues de-stereotype their visual and verbal representations of people.
A BIG thank you to our guest experts
Francesca Folda is an award-winning journalist with 20 years of experience reporting from conflict zones, on the Italian mafia, and social issues. She is currently the head of communications for Amani Institute, a school in Kenya, Brazil, and India which trains professionals in the impact sector.
Anyo Green is a social media expert and one of the brains behind The Ethical Move, a group of marketers building a movement to take responsibility for the part they play in the cycle of consumerism. The ethical move is setting out to empower conscious consumers and business owners by creating a new marketing standard based on transparency, trust, and honesty.
