Aberdeen Ethical Marketing Company, SM Marketing, in conjunction Ethical Marketing News, the Ethical Marketing Website has launched the world’s first Ethical Marketing Audit.
The audit is designed to test a business’s marketing strategy and check that it is responsible and ethically sound. It looks at things such as diversity, inclusivity, how you choose your market, your supply chain, how you work with charities or your local community, as well as your honesty and your environmental credentials.
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To create the audit Stuart Mitchell, who is both Marketing Director of SM Marketing and an editor of Ethical Marketing News, worked with a number of people from both organisations to come up with an audit which combines auditing traditional marketing but also highlights the ethical side of marketing. He said:
“In a world where the media are constantly being accused of ‘Fake News’. it’s become more important for customers to know that the marketing and claims made by a company are honest and it’s also becoming more and more important to be able to show that what you are doing is environmentally responsible, and we feel that this gives companies a chance to have someone look over what they’re doing and help them improve it, and then we can certify their marketing as Ethically Sound. We hope that this will give companies a way to show companies that their marketing has been checked and is ethically and environmentally up to standard, we hope the process of the audit will become an important annual or biannual event for companies looking to be as responsible as possible.“
During the audit, which the company believe should take about 2-3 days with the marketing person or department, a general audit will be done which will ask a number of questions about the marketing strategy and audience, they will then go into more detail working with the company on ways to improve the ethics of their process as well as checking over things such as brand consistency and supply chain. One of the aims is to work with the company to create a series of procedures which can be maintained and will ensure ethical marketing is maintained for the future. At the end of the audit a report will be sent to the company to highlight where there is need for improvement and where they are doing well. If, after the procedures are in place and the final report is done, they reach over a certain level then their Marketing will be certified Ethically Sound.
Stuart Mitchell said:
“We have devised this programme so companies can showcase their marketing is ethically sound. It’s a chance for those who are doing it right to say: ‘look, someone has looked over what we’ve done and it’s all good.’ How a company chooses to do its marketing will become, i think, one of the biggest things in years to come, and we will hopefully help to make sure people are doing there’s in a way that is ethical and responsible.”
