The big debate - do people care about the ethics of brands?
The marketing debate
The University of Derby marketing group hosted its second in a series of events titled "The big debate" on the 3 December 2010. We were joined by an active student audience and our collaborative partners from around the world via live video links.
The debate motion
"This house believes that people's ethical concerns are not reflected in their purchase of brands."
- How much do you care about where a product comes from, how it is made and how much the producer has paid for it?
- When faced with the marketing of big brand names, do you believe the surface impression of the brand or do you dig a little deeper to find out what their success is really built on?
"The big debate" is the second in a series of events for students hosted by the Marketing subject group in the Faculty of Business, Computing and Law.
Background
Many companies today have ethical policies and all have to abide by legislation governing working conditions in countries where they operate. The Fairtrade movement is also growing, with consumers taking more interest in the origins of the products they buy.
The debate was between leading members of the Marketing subject group. They highlighted critical issues in the debate, for and against, using examples from current practice to illustrate how much or how little consumers care about ethics when they choose to buy a branded product.
