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When Education and the Corporate World Meet
With the recent controversy surrounding Procter & Gamble's efforts to market its toilet tissue brand, Charmin, to toddlers through a story book, Edu-Promo thought it appropriate to introduce some ethical guidelines in this regard.
The corporate community has a very distinct role to play in the development and upliftment of children - especially in developing countries like South Africa where resources and funds are in short supply. Not only do ethical corporate sponsorships contribute significantly to important school programs, activities and educational material, but by adding educational value to its marketing material, the corporate community can also provide children with an additional source of education.
From a business point of view, corporate involvement plays an important role in building good relationships and, by doing so, creates a competitive advantage. Today's society expects businesses to be pro-active and adopt a societal management philosophy which ensures that customers' needs are met with their best interest at heart. Good marketing can therefore be described as adding value to the consumer's life whilst generating sustainable business value.
Having said this, it is important to note that corporate involvement in schools and education in general must be planned with the utmost care and conducted according to strict ethical guidelines.
With the recent controversy surrounding Procter & Gamble's efforts to market its toilet tissue brand, Charmin, to toddlers through a story book, Edu-Promo thought it appropriate to introduce some ethical guidelines in this regard.
a) Corporate Involvement in Schools via Sponsorships
School-business relationships based on sound principles can contribute significantly to the quality of our children's education. It is, however, very important to ensure that educational values are not distorted by commercialism. The focus should fall on relationship-building and social responsibility through sponsorships and not direct, sales-driven marketing.
The 'Principles for Corporate Involvement in Schools', developed by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the US, is a good ethical guide in this regard:
Milwaukee Principles for Corporate Involvement in Schools
These principles were developed at a meeting proposed by Alex Molnar and hosted by the School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, November 26-27, 1990.
b) Marketing Material with Educational Value
Ethical marketing material with educational value can be a pro-active answer to the global ethical issues regarding marketing to children. Not only does this type of marketing not harm, but it actually gives something back to the child. It can also address specific educational needs of developing countries by providing a much needed new and additional source of educational material. Edu-Promo strongly believes in this shift from 'how can we implement marketing without doing harm' to 'how can we implement marketing to the benefit of South Africa's children'.
The key words here are, however, 'additional source of education'. One should not confuse adding educational value to marketing material with adding marketing value to educational material. There is a fundamental difference.
Adding educational value to marketing material in its recognisable format i.e. promotional toys, advertisements, marketing services etc. adds value to the marketing process and the child's marketing experience at large. However, using traditional educational mediums such as books, learning material and educational shows as a new way of marketing to children and primarily for commercial gain, could be questionable, especially if its commercial purpose is not highlighted. A billboard advertisement with educational value is, for example, plausible. The problem comes in when a story book is used as a billboard.
Although marketing material with educational value is a wonderful way to add value to the marketing process, build relationships and provide a much-needed additional educational resource, marketing should at all times be recognisable as just that - marketing - especially when it comes to children with limited understanding.
Where marketing material can be mistaken for something else and the lines become blurred, it is the marketer's responsibility to ensure that consumers are correctly informed. The Edu-Promo mark of approval, for example, not only highlights the educational value of marketing material, but also the fact that the material has a commercial purpose (occupational therapist approved marketing). A simple notice along the lines of: 'This is an advertisement' can also do the trick.
About Alda Heunis
Alda Heunis is Managing Director of Edu-Promo (www.edu-promo.co.za), a company that aims to encourage a more holistic, responsible and educational approach to marketing by taking into account all aspects of healthy child development when designing and producing marketing and promotional material aimed at young children. Contact: Email ; Tel: (021) 930 7927.
