Marketing Ethics in Non-Alcoholic Beverage Industry - Paper Example

Ethics are embodied in the particular practices organizations adopt to market and promote their good and services in terms of social marketing. While not ignoring the primary objective of any corporate institution making a profit, the fundamental idea behind the concept of ethical marketing is the existence of justice in society in which the business enterprises operate and the consumers they serve (Murphy, 2010; Alsmadi & Alnawas, 2012). The concept of social marketing can be defined as the correct practices with regards to the impact on the society (Farrell & Gordon, 2012). Social marketing stresses the need to strike an appropriate balance among business profit, the needs, and desires of consumers, and the long-term concerns of the society (Murphy, 2010; Solomon, Marshall & Elnora, 2012). This critical paper attempts to present the Diet Coke as an example of unethical advertising. The paper begins with an overview of the non-alcoholic beverage (soft drink) industry followed by a brief synthesis of marketing and ethics and critical analysis of the unethical marketing behavior of Coca-cola Limited Company. The paper wraps up the analysis with recommendations on how to educate Coca-Cola, consumers and the public about the ethical hazards of misleading and/or false advertising.

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Overview of the Non-Alcoholic Beverage Industry

The non-alcoholic beverage niche broadly encompasses soft drinks and hot drinks. On one hand, soft drinks contain three specific components - carbonated (or non-carbonated water), a sweetener, and a flavor (Bailey, 2014). On the other hand, hot drinks include coffee and tea. Nonetheless, the soft drink category remains dominant in the beverage sector and includes a wide range of niches, such as carbonates, juice, bottled water, and sports and energy beverages, among others (Bailey, 2014). The carbonated soft drinks niche largely dominates the global soft beverage market with an estimated market size of $337.8 billion in 2013 (Bailey, 2014).

The non-alcoholic beverage market is characterized by stiff competition and many companies going global (Transparency Market Research, 2016). The market completion in the soft drink energy is uneven as a few companies remain dominant both in the local and global market (Bailey, 2014). Coca-Cola Company (KO), PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP), Cott Corporation, Dr. Pepper Snapple group, Inc. (DPS), Red Bull, and Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST) constitute the leading players in the carbonated drink market (Bailey, 2014). For instance, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for 70% of the soft drink market in the United States (Heckman, Sherry, Mejia & Gonzalez, 2010). Sports and energy drink category have witnessed rapid growth transforming itself from a niche product to rapidly expanding product category in the global soft drinks market (Transparency Market Research, 2016).

Researchers largely attribute this phenomenal transformation to an increasingly evident consumer concern and focus on health and fitness. Due to the high incidences diabetes, overweight, and obesity among other chronic illnesses in many countries, consumers are consciously avoiding the consumption of dominant sugar-sweetened brands across the international market (Transparency Market Research, 2016).

Marketing and Ethics

Corporate institutions are mandated with the social responsibilities that are expected to balance the interests of a wide spectrum of stakeholders, encompassing business owners, shareholders, customers, employees, the environment, and the society as a whole (Solomon, Marshall & Elnora, 2012; Mills, Tanner & Adams, 2013). Unlike the traditional marketing practice, the contemporary marketing concept perceives the role of marketing in society as focused on satisfying consumers by meeting their needs and offering them with a wide variety of goods and services to choose from (Marta & Singhapakdi, 2005; Alsmadi & Alnawas, 2012). Generally, marketing practices can be perceived as being unethical when:

The product being promoted is neither safe nor fit for the intended purpose or use

There exists a conflict of interests between stakeholders

The advertising or promotional message is misleading

The business entity fails to maintain research integrity hence engaging in misrepresentation or omission of important facts. (Murphy, 2010; Solomon, Marshall & Elnora, 2012; Farrell & Gordon, 2012; Kent & Wanless, 2014).

However, there are chances of conflict to arise between interests of different stakeholders. For example, businesses will seek to make maximum profit margins for their owners and shareholders, which implies increasing their market share and maximizing their sales volume (Solomon, Marshall & Elnora, 2012; Farrell & Gordon, 2012). This might involve advertising or design promotional campaigns targeting children and youths, which result into unethical concerns with regards to the specific products and marketing practice including the campaigns establishing needs and promoting non-nutritional products (Kent & Wanless, 2014).

Unethical Marketing by Coca-Cola Company

Due to the increased consciousness of the adverse health effects associated with aerated beverages, a significant number of companies in the non-alcoholic beverage industry have over the two decades shifted to diet drinks that are perceived to contain low levels or are absolutely free of calories as compared to the dominant sugar-laded drinks (Future Market Insights, 2017; Transparency Market Research, 2016). According to Heckman, Sherry, Mejia, & Gonzalez (2010 ), there has been a rapidly growing trend these days towards diet drinks, a number of which are claimed to contain lower amounts of calories compared to the regular soft drinks or calorie-free altogether. However, DSouza (2013) argues that just because these beverages feature the label diet on their packages, does not necessarily means that these products are safe and healthy for human consumption. DSouza (2013) adds that the message packaged in the adverts of such drinks should not actually make consumers jump to the conclusion that they are healthier for them.

Diet Coke brand is a good example of unethical marketing where the company, Coca-Cola Limited Company has incorporated such misleading and/or false information and claims in its promotional campaigns (Patty, 2013). On a discussion Coca Colas unethical marketing practices, this paper will focus on a specific marketing campaign that the multinational launched to the global market and which was endorsed by Karl Lagerfeld. Karl Lagerfeld, a Chanel designer and the brand ambassador of Diet Coke purported to have shed off a whopping 80 pounds after restricting himself to a diet composed mainly of Diet Coke (Sauers, 2012; Patty, 2013). The Chanel designer claimed that he takes Diet Coke throughout the day, that is, from the minute he wakes up to the minute he retires to bed (Sauers, 2013).

The unethical aspect of this advert is in the target market and primary purpose it is intended to accomplish. The Diet Coke advert is creatively designed and primarily aimed at the young women as its weight reduction promises appeals to this vulnerable population (Boepple & Thompson, 2014). Because of its purported claim of helping consumers maintain healthy body weight, Diet Coke has transformed into an ultimate fashion trend with, according to Patty (2013), a world-renown fashion designer as its face. The story of the fashion designer appealed to many young women making the product a fashion trend in this population. This promotional campaign bears adverse impact on the self-esteem and perception of beauty in terms of body image among young women, as well as impacting competitors negatively (Shields, 2013). The marketing strategy of using perfect models like the fashion designers who are more often obsessed with body image suggests a wrong message, especially young women (Shields, 2013).

In Solomon (2014) perspective, Coca-Cola Company through its bombarding Coke Diet advertising is leading to consumerism. Consumerism describes a contemporary behavior in which consumers are increasingly enlarging their consumption pattern drastically to include a significant number of not only non-essential commodities but also very expensive products (Powers, 2015). In critiquing Coca Colas unethical marketing behavior, it is important to contemplate on the following important questions. First, what factors/actors influence how and why goods and services are produced? Second, what factors/actors influence the choice of consumption? Third, what role does advertising play in todays consumerist behavior? Nonetheless, Solomon (2014) argues the increased advertising activities play a major in establishing and maintaining a consumerist society (Solomon, 2014). Diet Coke advertising can also be considered unethical in the sense that its marketing activities put pressure on consumers influencing them heavily to purchase such non-essential goods like Diet Coke. Through its aggressive Diet Coke advertising, the Corporation aims at maintaining control over consumption of its product, which is to a larger extent unethical. Although advertising plays an important role in promoting goods and services and to satisfy consumer needs and desires, it has transformed into an intense force that exerts extravagant pressure on consumers. In addition to generating stress on consumers for acquisition or more goods, Diet Coke campaigns deceive consumers by projecting imaginary or more health benefits for this brand. It allures consumers into purchasing a product (Diet Coke) that they might not really need (Powers, 2016). Coca Colas fosters the process of information flux to its customers leading to the creation of promotional messages that are dangerously effective (Powers, 2016).

The turning point of Diet Coke, according to DSouza (2013) is when it focused the brand on women despite male supposedly constituting 40 percent of its customers. According to DSouza, a correspondent at the Guardian Magazine, celebrity endorsement has been an effective marketing strategy to moving a product, getting it to individuals who engage in bloody shopping. This marketing strategy largely explains why Diet Coke has not only become a lot of brand reputation in the global beverage market but become synonymous with the fashion industry as well. Therefore, the Diet Coke advert seems to foster the idea that obsessive dieting is an acceptable health behavior and that consumption of this product is an effective way through which young women can achieve a perfect body shape - becoming thin and beautiful (Shields, 2013; Boepple & Thompson, 2014). This is an extremely unethical marketing practice that might cause detrimental consequences, especially for young girls and women.

In addition to the negative consequence of young womens self-esteem and body image, excessive consumption of healthy drinks has potential negative health effects on the general consumers. As noted earlier, soft beverages are made up of water, nutritive and artificial sweeteners, and syrups (Miller & Perez, 2014). The main nutritive ingredient used in the manufacture of these drinks is high-fructose corn syrup a form of sugar (Miller & Perez. (2014). In some cases, manufacturers of non-alcoholic beverages use sucrose as the primary nutritive sweetener and utilize it in these products (Rogers et al., 2015). In addition to sucrose, soft drink producers use other artificial (also referred to as non-nutritive sweeteners), such as aspartame, acesulfame potassium, caffeine, saccharin, and cyclamate, among others (Miller & Perez, 2014).

Research on the Health Benefits of Artificially-Sweetened Drinks

Research on the health benefits of non-nutritive sweeteners is still inconclusiv...