Moral Problems in Online Advertising, Especially Influencer Marketing Ethics Sample

Ogilvy
Date: March 29th, 2021
TO: Adam Tucker, Global Leader, Advertising
FR: Ke Jin, Freelance influencer, KOC
RE: Moral Problems in Online Advertising, Especially Influencer Marketing Ethics
Influencer marketing has become one of the most recent trends concerning technology and business. The rise in social media implies that conventional advertising systems face a major competitor in their advertising revenue. In the quest to secure the bag' as they say, many influencer marketers at Ogilvy have turned into unethical practices, with the precise focus being on their misrepresentation of products through words or altering of images in the process of posting them on their timelines. This practice is utterly wrong considering the firm's quest to improve and be the best in the industry (Ogilvy, n.d.). Ogilvy has been around for more than a century, and thus, it is bound to protect its reputation and that of its clients.
The Challenge
It is very important to recognize the dangers of such unethical behavior on the reputation of the entire organization and its clients. Customers today exist in a perfectly competitive market and, thus, gain information relatively quicker. Consequently, their purchases convey support for organizations that conduct their operations ethically (Zbuchea, 2013). To this end, we should ensure that our influencers' posts are up to the expectations and meet organizational standards that have guaranteed the longevity of this firm for this long. Appropriate reactions need to be devised. In addition to referring to Ogilvy's code of conduct, honesty, fairness, respect, loyalty, and promise-keeping are important elements (Ogilvy, n.d.). In the process of looking for influencers, the company should pay more attention to influencers' personal qualities, and the company should not force influencers to release false statements in order to increase sales.
First and foremost, the company's credibility needs to be protected, and thus, influencers are to sign a legal disclosure policy in the contract agreement. In this case, the policy is to be formulated concerning the dynamics underlying the respective media kit. A legal disclosure policy is a major instrument to curb the cunning nature of influencers. They are much likely to be biased and thus, deviate from what we as the organization had agreed initially. The influencing niche consists of several concepts, including persuasion, compliance, obedience, and socialization, and thus, it is up to the management to make stringent measures that protect both the firm's and clients' interests (Balaban & Mustatea, 2019). Further, the legal disclosure policy should include other guidelines that the firm finds crucial to meeting its objectives.
Secondly, the firm is going to keep track of their influencers' content to ensure compliance. Our company has several influencers that, at times, we are unable to establish whether they have accomplished their tasks as asked. This responsibility is quite challenging for the organization considering that it is conducted manually. Nevertheless, it has to be done; otherwise, the firm will begin making unnecessary losses. To this end, the organization is to employ an influencer management platform's services to ensure that relat...