Ethical Marketing Reflections Assignment

Ethical Marketing Reflections Assignment
Part One – Two ethical marketing
reflections; 500 words per reflection, 1000 words total
To provide context on the subject
matter, you are required to read the an FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) report
namely Vulnerability exposed. The consumer experience of vulnerability in
financial services that was compiled following a commissioned study.
An extract is featured below, a full copy of the report is on BB. This FCA study
was commissioned to explore and build an evidence base establishing the
experiences of consumers in a range of vulnerable circumstances with different
financial services providers. It sought to highlight both problematic
experiences and good practice, with a view to supporting future decision-making.
You must then reflect on the components
of the extract from the report noted below. In your reflections, you are to
demonstrate your understanding of best practices in marketing as well as
critical analysis of the findings featured in the extract, using more of the
full report if appropriate.
FCA REPORT
Vulnerability exposed. The consumer experience of vulnerability in financial
services.
Extract from pages 22 – 23. Challenging firm behaviours.
Unclear marketing materials means consumers are unable to prioritise
information.
The research found that where
information is not presented in a simple manner, consumers can struggle to know
if action needs to be taken – especially if they are under stress and
struggling to cope. A common problem is the challenge of distinguishing between
sales literature and product information, with some consumers mistaking
advertisements for important applications (for example, receiving letters
marked ‘important information inside’ or ‘your new rate’ when the contents are
sales information and don’t relate to any product an individual already holds).
Examples:
a. Paula,
in her 40s, is a single parent to two kids living in Bristol. She works part-time
in a chemist, and the rest of her time is spent on childcare. She recently
received a letter from the provider of her savings account which, to Paula,
looked like an advertisement – bright colours, bold font, up-beat tone and
style. She left the document on her table at home in the lounge, until her
friend came over for dinner. Her friend, noticing the document, highlighted to
Paula that she’d left her statement out in public view and maybe might want to
put it away. Paula hadn’t registered that the document contained all her
personal details and an overview of her savings account balance, because ‘it
didn’t look like a statement’.
b.
“It’s their own language and you have to
belong to that select circle to understand it. I don’t have a hope in hell of
knowing what these letters are. I just want them to write, at the top of the
letter, ‘keep this’ if it relates to my actual account. Or, you know, they
could write ‘marketing’ on the junk they send me.” Male, 80s, Older Person
c.
“I didn’t know it was a credit card. It
said it was a something card. I thought it just came out of my account, you
know like a normal card. It didn’t say ‘credit’ card. I got it when I got my
account” Female, 70s, Older Person
Assessment Criteria
Criterion
Weighting
50%
Clarity
The language is clear, and a reader can picture the situation
described. Abstract concepts are explained accurately. Both the situation and
the concepts are assessable to an uninformed audience.
15
Attention to assignment/activity question
Reflecting on the case studies that have been provided and addressing
them from an ethical marketing perspective.
15
Effective
use of the Gibbs reflective model
You should structure your reflections according to this
model of reflection. However, do not include the parts of the model as
headings in your work.
10
Self-criticism
Your ability to question your own biases, stereotypes,
assumptions, and uses these questions to form new approaches/learning.
10