Ethical Marketing is not just for Christmas, it's for life!

With big brands buying out their eco-friendly counterparts and junk food being re-badged with nutritional values - ethics in business is here with a bang and everybody seems to be jumping on the bandwagon. Can it last, or is it just a gimmick?

The last year has seen a number of high street retailers changing direction in their marketing strategy to maintain customer loyalty. In this shift of trading patterns, we've seen companies with a previously less than ethical persona making moves to be associated with companies who can give them a leg up the ethical ladder. The big news this week was L'Oreal buying The Body Shop for £652M; highlighting again the gathering momentum of ethical consumerism and the impact it's having on ethical branding not just on the high street, but on businesses as a whole.

Not all of us have businesses that are on the high street; therefore it's not the only place where you'll find good ethical practice. In the current climate it's easy to assume that ethics in business are limited just to environmental policy, which isn't the case at all. It's a great starting point to have an efficient office such as recycling paper and saving energy - Marketing these points is certainly a step in the right direction. But what about other areas of your business which you can publicly highlight? The way you look after your employees or stating why you choose certain suppliers - if you've chosen a certain supplier because of the way they operate, it sends a clear message that you take things seriously. It's a very appealing proposition and a perfectly valid reason why a prospective customer will choose YOU over another supplier.

Communicate positive messages about the way you are already conducting your business in stronger, but ethical light.

For the immediate future we can expect to see more business operations communicating on an ethical platform to market their service or products and it will continue to be seen as a bandwagon; for a while. But remember, ethical marketing isn't a trend, a fashion statement or a flash in the pan - companies who for years have traded on their ethics are now market leaders. If you do decide to use it as a route to market, your business ethics must be upheld as if they fall by wayside it will get noticed. This time it's one style of campaigning that's here to stay.

It's something close to our hearts here at Persona Creative. Not only because some of our clients are charitable organisations, but because we ourselves try to trade ethically. Everything from our workplace environment being filled with greenery to abiding by codes of practice in marketing. It puts us in a good position if you want to discuss ways of bringing ethics to the front seat of our communications or indeed if you're looking for a supplier with a heart.