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In his seminal work “The Social Contract,” philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau discussed a theory in-which all people within a society give up a certain amount of freedom for the greater good of all. While this theory was mainly applied to politics and revolution, it can be relevant to marketing as well.
I realize this may seem like a stretch, but bear with me.
As marketers we have the inherent freedom to write whatever we please to promote our product or service. However, we also exist within a society, and as members of that society we have certain responsibilities. Though we could write about certain topics, in theory, we avoid doing so for the greater good.
When a marketer breaks this invisible contract, he or she is seen by the rest as an outcast; someone who does not heed the unspoken oath that we all take.
Exploitation of Loopholes to Increase Social Presence
My first example of such a transgression involves an “ingenious” marketer who realized that negative Google reviews had the same SEO “Juice” as positive ones. This e-commerce storeowner decided it was easier to harass customers so they would give him a negative review than to treat them well in the hopes they would give a positive one.
“Hello, My name is Stanley with DecorMyEyes.com…I just wanted to let you guys know that the more replies you people post, the more business and the more hits and sales I get. My goal is NEGATIVE advertisement.”
In 2010, Clarabelle Rodriguez made a fateful mistake in ordering from the online store DecorMyEyes. What ensued turned out to be one of the most frightening episodes in her life, culminating in physical threats from a man calling himself Tony Russo.
The threats ramped up to a breaking point when Mr. Russo emailed Rodriguez a picture of her front door, indicating that he knew where she lived and had been by her residence. This was the final straw, and she decided to go to the police.
The full story of this saga can be found in this candid New York Times expose’.
Disrespect Social Sensitivities
Along with exploitation of loopholes to increase your company’s promotion, regardless of what it takes, there is a different form of exploitation. While not as heinous, marketers have taken advantage of raw emotions for their own selfish gain.
There are events that happen in the world that defy geographic, political and professional differences, and bring humanity together. Sometimes these events are joyous, sometimes they are exciting and sometimes they are mournful.
When an important world event happens, it can be a great opportunity to appeal to the excitement that surrounds this occasion, in order to attract readers to a piece of content or marketing material you have written. However, often times it is best to stay away. And, if you do decide to reference such an event, use the utmost tact and avoid using it as a blatant marketing pitch.
While the following may be a direct contradiction to what I have just written, it is the best example I can find to elucidate my point.
An extremely well known and well-respected world leader, and civil rights icon recently passed away. This was one of those events that brought all of humanity together, and nearly everyone who spoke of this man did so with the greatest respect… nearly.
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The above was a tweet made on the day of Nelson Mandela’s death. While the world mourned for this amazing man, this person felt it a great opportunity to promote an upcoming movie. For the sake of anonymity, I have blurred out their name, but I believe I am doing them a service they do not fully deserve. As you can imagine, the response to this tweet was emphatic and filled with disgust. However, while this was a tasteless and outrageous form of self-promotion, it can be a lesson to all of us.
Holidays, sports events, historically significant days of the year – these are a few examples of when a marketer can intertwine the importance of the day in order to promote his product or service. The point is, as marketers, we have an obligation to respect the sensitivities of the world. Taking advantage of the mourning of the world at large for your own, selfish reasons is an abomination of the highest order – and makes us all look bad.
These are just two examples of serious marketing infractions that break the unspoken “social contract” that all marketers are held by. As with Rosseau’s theory, the social contract only works when it is respected by all. When we, as marketers, break this contract we lose the credibility of the very people we are trying to market to.
What are the social rules you think we need to abide by when marketing? Please leave a comment below!
*This is a guest article by Mark Lerner*
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