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Business News/ Industry / The ‘fairness quotient’ of fairness creams
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The ‘fairness quotient’ of fairness creams

Experts speak on the ethical responsibility of leaders when it comes to communicating a message about a product

Products that have a mental value, or affect the psyche of consumers, need to be more responsible in their communication. Photo: iStockPremium
Products that have a mental value, or affect the psyche of consumers, need to be more responsible in their communication. Photo: iStock

In the light of the Advertising Standards Council of India asking fairness cream makers not to discriminate against people with dark skin in their ads, we speak to three experts on the ethical responsibility of leaders when it comes to communicating a message about a product.

Brand strategy onus on leaders

C.K. Kumaravel, chief executive officer and co-founder, Naturals Beauty Salon India

It is always easier to attract customers by appealing to their greed. It makes them sit up and listen about the product," says Kumaravel. “A negative message reaches a customer faster, and that is a communication strategy used commonly by companies."

He feels the onus of a communication strategy about a product or service rests entirely on the leadership. “Leadership needs to be completely aware about how customers are perceiving them; so they need to be involved in it 100%," says Kumaravel. “The fairness cream tamasha has been going on for long, and it is the negligence of the leadership." For long, companies have exploited people’s ignorance. However, he also believes “as long as (there) are people to be exploited, there will be exploiters".

This is because companies are moving from one sales target to another, and they are focusing on what will get them there easily.

“However, the rules of the game have changed," says Kumaravel. There is increasing awareness of what a product can really do and leaders need to be much more conscious than before on what message they want to communicate about a brand. If the message is not consistent with what the product can really do, they risk losing customers, he adds.

While it is understood that advertisements are larger than life and tend to exaggerate, it must not trade on people’s fears, and if it does, it is irresponsible communication, says Kumaravel. He believes guidelines laid by governing bodies like the Advertising Standards Council of India have a big role to play here. “Indians are constable-conscious, not signal-conscious. We fall in line only when there is a guideline in place as we are a large country in a transformational phase of growth," he adds.

Be actual, factual and perceptual

Jagdeep Kapoor, chairman and managing director, Samsika Marketing Consultants

There are two questions to be asked, says Kapoor. First, should the leadership be involved in communication that is sent out and sign off on it? Yes. But do they do it? Mostly not.

Kapoor notes that when you are dealing with customers, which is your largest constituent, you have to not only be ethical, but also seen as ethical.

When leadership is involved in analyst meets and investor meets, why not invest time to see the issues that govern consumers? But what is ethical is, to some extent, subjective and it changes with every generation.

But basically, leaders need to keep three elements in mind when it comes to being ethical about communication. First, it needs to be actual, where it represents reality. Second, it has to be factual, where you have the statistics to back your theory, and finally, it has to be perceptual, which reflects the perceptions of society.

“If your communication is backed by actual and factual, but does not reflect the perception of society, it has not done its job completely," says Kapoor. As interactions grow within customers with increased influence of social media, perceptions about products are going to play a greater role, and the actual and factual elements will become just small elements. “Leadership has to balance these three elements well, and that will go a long way in determining what is ethical," he adds.

Products that have a mental value, or affect the psyche of consumers, need to be more responsible in their communication.

Also, with consumers becoming more and more aware, companies and their leaderships will do better to craft communication that is more relevant and correct, says Kapoor.

Ads should be in good taste

Pragya Barthwal Dhyani, MD and creative director, Thoughtshop Advertising and Film Productions

For a successful advertising campaign, a leader should ensure that the advertisement approved is attractive and interesting, creates a desire to buy and ensures that the desire translates into purchase of the product or service. It is, however, equally important that the commercial should not hurt public sentiments related to religion and physical appearance among others, says Dhyani.

“An advertising agency always goes with multiple ideas and scripts to its client. It is the leader who should have an understanding of what will be received positively and negatively by the viewers," he says.

There may be instances where the product being sold is harmful for health. In such cases, it important for a leader to ensure that the ill-effects are also communicated in the advertisement. For instance, we have seen how Red and White has been able to build brand recall and also attach a socially responsible impression of the organization upon the viewers through its Bravery Awards campaign, says Dhyani.

“A leader has to walk on a tightrope while deciding on advertisements, which should both be in good taste, should not over-promise and also convert into revenue generation," says Dhyani.

In case the regulations get stricter, there are always options to advertise in a different way. For instance, for selling baked chips, you need not show a person eating fried chips is fat. The advertisement can, however, show that if the person eats fried chips over a period of time then she may become fat, in a humorous way.

“A leadership should be able to find the mid-path between business and ethics," adds Dhyani.

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Published: 26 Aug 2014, 05:35 PM IST
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