Socialmediaworx

Marketing guru Seth Godin wants to know if marketing – are marketers – are evil. Well, some of them certainly are:

I think it’s evil to persuade kids to start smoking, to cynically manipulate the electoral or political process, to lie to people in ways that cause disastrous side effects. I think it’s evil to sell a patent medicine when an effective one is available. I think it’s evil to come up with new ways to make obesity acceptable so you can make a few more bucks.

… I’ve got a lot of nerve telling you that what you do might be immoral. It’s immoral to rob someone’s house and burn it to the ground, but is it immoral to market them into foreclosure? Well, if marketing works, if it’s worth the time and money, then I don’t think it matters a bit if you’re doing your job. It’s still wrong.

Just like every powerful tool, the impact comes from the craftsman, not the tool… For me, marketing works for society when the marketer and consumer are both aware of what’s happening and are both satisfied with the ultimate outcome.

I think Godin puts it best when he writes: “Just because you can market something doesn’t mean you should.”

Which is true for any profession – not just marketers – there is a responsibility inherent in all that we do, and like the painful lessons we’re learning from Wall Street, simply because something can be done, does not mean it should be done.