The dark side of marketing and how to resist it.

The old-fashioned paradigm of transactional marketing, centered on “selling, selling, selling” is definitively dead and buried for good. This is good news.

Relational marketing represents its brilliant evolution, modeled in the image of the digital society. In fact, it surpasses the old model in theory and in practice.

Although relational marketing is a vast discipline and consists of highly articulated techniques and strategies, its cornerstones are simple and can be summarized in few actions:

Build your business model around these fundamentals. In the end, that's the point of digital transformation: turn customer satisfaction into customer retention.

You should resist the dark side of marketing for two main reasons:

First, for an ethical question: a half truth is a half lie. 

Second, nobody loves manipulators. So, if your customers see even a hint of dishonesty, you will have pushed them towards competition. Bad brand reputation spreads quickly and is difficult to heal. 

It is thanks to your customers that you can keep your business open, therefore they deserve respect, gratitude and integrity. Welcome to the light side of marketing.

Moreover, ignoring the principle of honesty could have disastrous effects. Just consider a few examples:

In 2008, Dannon (Danone in Europe) launched a marketing campaign for Activia yogurt on the US market, boasting its “scientifically proven” and “clinically tested” effects on intestinal regularity and the immune system.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis was the chosen face for the popular television commercial mainly aimed to a female target customer.

In 2010 Dannon found itself facing a class action for misleading advertising. Spoiler alert: they lost.

Trish Wiener, an American caterer suffering from stomach upset, began to regularly consume Activia, without any significant benefit. How was it possible that a product advertised with such conviction (and more expensive than the others, moreover) basically did nothing? Soon, other consumers joined the complaints choir.

Even if it is true that clinical tests on probiotics (the bacteria contained in Activia) have shown an inhibitory effect on intestinal pathogens, it is incorrect and misleading to advertise yogurt as a medical treatment supported by laboratory studies.

During the hearings, it was widely disputed that Activia yogurt itself had “clinically proven” effects. The marketing campaign was misleading.

Even if Dannon tenaciously defended its position, the dispute ended in an unfavorable ruling, a $45 million refund to consumers and the obligation to remove any reference to the “scientifically proven” effects.

But wait, it could be worst. The Volkswagen scandal.

The more serious consequence of boasting beneficial effects, is the fact that you are consciously damaging everyone’s health.

That’s what Volkswagen did, altering the engine control units to pass tests fraudulently and lying about the quantity of harmful emissions released by their cars.

The deception was discovered thanks to an independent 2013 test drive carried out by the International Council on Clean Transportation on three different cars: two Volkswagen and a BMW. The cars were driven for almost 4000 km on American highways.

While BMW’s emissions were in line with the expected values, the findings on the two Volkswagen cars were shocking:

Volkswagen contested the reliability of the test and withdrew nearly half a million vehicles in 2014 to apply a patch to the software to resolve the inconsistencies between the detections. Unfortunately, an even more serious fact emerged from more independent tests: Volkswagen cars were equipped with a software named “switch” programmed to detect when a test was being performed.

The software ingeniously detected four parameters (the position of the steering wheel, the speed of the pace, the barometric pressure and the duration of ignition of the engine) and reduced the emissions accordingly when the parameters matched those typical of a test.

There was no longer any doubt about the intentionality of the fraud: Volkswagen had to admit the sensational deception. Over 11 million vehicles sold worldwide mounted the fraudulent software.

Volkswagen lost over $27 billion, including legal fees and the huge $14 billion fine. In addition, following the scandal the stock registered a 20% loss.

Of course, it is not just about money: Volkswagen had spent decades building a strong corporate image focused on the well-being of its customers and on setting new standards for car safety. That image is compromised and at least for a while, Volkswagen will no longer be «Das Auto».

What can you do to avoid making the same mistakes?
You should start by following these simple rules:

In conclusion, crossing the threshold of the dark side of marketing may seem tempting, but you have to be determined to resist in order to maintain your ethics and to preserve a positive image to the eyes of your customers. 

At the end of the day, honesty always pays.