Last Tuesday, UMD AMA had the privilege of hosting an ethical marketing panel featuring speakers with distinct backgrounds working in B-Corps, non-profits, and for-profits.
The panel was moderated by Professor Rebecca Ratner, the Dean's Professor of Marketing at the Smith School, and panelists included Director of Bethesda Green, Kimberly Goodu-Alexander, Growth Marketing Manager at Teladoc Health, Kushaan Shah, and independent marketing and storytelling consultant for Social Good, Mallory Hauser.
Through their discussion, panelists shared how they each showcased their organizations' key core values, their definitions of greenwashing, and future trends, amongst other topics.
At the beginning of the event, Shah shared that in the healthcare system, privacy and transparency play a key role in messaging. He adds that privacy is stressed in every marketing piece they send out because they want to build trust with stakeholders. Additionally, Teladoc Health makes sure to have statistics and imagery that accurately represents the diversity of the people they serve. Shah encourages other organizations to not only communicate their values but also live them.
The conversation then transitioned to Goodu-Alexander explaining the term greenwashing, which can be defined as saying you're doing something environmentally sound when you're not actually doing so. To combat greenwashing, she addressed how B-Lab, a non-profit organization, can be used as a resource because they offer third-party verifications for for-profit businesses to prove they are sustainable.
In terms of future trends, Hauser stated that honesty is no longer a trend but an expectation. She explained that organizations have to both talk the talk and walk the walk or risk being called out for it. Organizations should focus on transparency and choose communicators who both represent the audience they're trying to reach and the organization's core values.
AMA is greatly appreciative of all the panelists who contributed to the discussion, the phenomenal moderator, and all our members who came out to engage in the conversation. As we wrap up our final panel for the semester, we give a special thank you to all our guests, members, and supporters who made these events possible.
-Melanie Rojas