Reading: Common Ethical Issues in Marketing
Let’s start by taking at look at a hypothetical business situation:
Examples
You’re a member of the marketing team for a B2B company that sells software to restaurants. Your product is a point-of-sale system that manages orders, menus, and staff scheduling. While it generally works well, there are sometimes glitches that cause it to drop orders, and the system goes down more often than you would like. You are marketing the system to a major restaurant chain, and they’ve asked for a list of references from current customers. The marketing and sales teams sit around a table reviewing the current customer list trying to decide which references to provide. First, the team screens out those who have complained most vocally about the glitches with the product. There is one customer who told his account manager, “These things happen with all systems,” so the team thinks he would be a good reference. There’s also a new customer who started using the system recently and hasn’t yet experienced the system downtime that other customers have. The team selects that restaurant, as well, and prepares to send the two names to the sales prospect.
Question
Is that ethical? Is it fair and honest to cherry-pick the customer references, selecting only the ones that are unlikely to share negative experiences about your product? To be sure, there’s a range of customer feedback, and not all of it is positive. Are you expected to give a full picture of customers’ experience—warts and all—so the restaurant chain will know exactly what it’s buying?
Answer
In general, when prospective customers request customer references, they expect to receive favorable ones, and doing so is not a violation of their trust. It’s a lot like a prospective employer’s request for a job candidate’s work references. When you’re marketing yourself for a new job, you name the references who are most likely to report your talents and strengths—you don’t include a crabby boss who never had good things to say about anyone.
The question becomes more challenging when the customer relationship is more complicated. In every case—even the simplest—it’s a judgment call. Suppose your company compensates customers for providing references. A company might give some small thank-you gift to acknowledge that taking reference calls requires time, and that the company appreciates the client’s support. Is that unethical? Possibly. On one hand, it’s reasonable and desirable to express your appreciation to the customer, since part of maintaining the customer relationship is letting customers know that you value them and their time. On the other hand, there’s a risk, especially if the gift is large, that the customer might be influenced or even induced to give your company or product a favorable review. There is a point where the compensation begins to distort the customer dialogue and relationship, and then it’s clearly unethical—and if you’re inducing a customer to alter their behaviour in exchange for a gift, it’s bribery.
Marketing professionals face regularly face questions of this kind. Where the organization appreciates a close partnership with a client, a thank-you gift may well be appropriate. The challenge is to choose one of the right sizes that expresses appreciation but doesn’t compromise the integrity of the client or the marketing organization.
Difficult Ethical Issues Marketing Professionals Face
The world of marketing is continually evolving, and so are the challenges faced by marketers. In a 2025 article by Jeremy Taylor on TrinityP3, he highlights what TrinityP3 sees as the challenges today: “that businesses act as responsible corporate citizens, positively impacting communities, society and the planet. In the absence of a formal code”. [1] He quotes Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce,on ethics in marketing and business in general: “What really defines ‘success’ in today’s business world? Is it just about growth, profits and market dominance? Or is it about what good we do for our people and the planet? Should we aim for profit or to be prophets?”
The following is a summary of the top 10 ethical issues in marketing in 2025.
| Challenge | Key Focus | Best Practice / Ethical Approach |
|---|---|---|
| 1. AI and Automation | Risks of bias, misinformation, and loss of oversight. | Ensure transparency, human oversight, fairness, accountability, and protect consumer privacy. |
| 2. Cultural Sensitivity | Avoiding offensive or stereotypical messages. | Respect cultural values, avoid appropriation, tailor campaigns to diverse audiences. |
| 3. Data Ethics | Collection and use of consumer data. | Obtain informed consent, provide opt-outs, secure data, avoid discriminatory targeting. |
| 4. Environmental Sustainability | Impact of marketing practices on the planet. | Reduce emissions, use sustainable materials, promote eco-friendly products, advocate responsible consumption. |
| 5. Fair Pricing | Risk of discriminatory or exploitative pricing. | Set reasonable, justifiable prices; avoid targeting vulnerable groups; be transparent on pricing. |
| 6. Influencer Marketing | Lack of disclosure and misalignment with brand values. | Ensure transparency in sponsorships, select ethical influencers, promote responsible messaging. |
| 7. Misleading Advertising | False or exaggerated claims that mislead consumers. | Use accurate, evidence-based claims; fact-check; provide clear disclaimers; update content regularly. |
| 8. Privacy Concerns | Misuse or mishandling of personal data. | Collect only with consent, secure data, provide opt-outs, avoid third-party selling without consent. |
| 9. Social Responsibility | Growing demand for brands to align with social/environmental values. | Engage in cause marketing, support inclusion, fair treatment of stakeholders, reduce marketing footprint. |
| 10. Targeting Vulnerable Populations | Harmful or exploitative targeting of children, elderly, or disadvantaged groups. | Respect boundaries, avoid harmful products, prioritize consumer well-being and accurate information. |
Take the challenge. How ethical are you?
It is imporatant to understand how you may act in ethical dilemmas? Read the case studies in the short article How Ethical Are You?[2]
Creation note: This content was updated with the assistance of ChatGPT, a language model developed by OpenAI, and was subsequently reviewed and edited by the author for clarity and accuracy.
- Taylor, J. (2025, August 15). Top 10 ethical issues in marketing for 2025. TrinityP3. Retrieved [Date you accessed it], from https://www.trinityp3.com/ethics-in-marketing/top-ethical-issues-for-marketers/ ↵
- Ovans, A. (2012, November 12). How Ethical Are You? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2012/11/how-ethical-are-you ↵
