Why Ethical Marketing?
Blick Rothenberg is an ethical firm with strong values.
Our Values:
- Collaborative: We are stronger together. We share knowledge, ask for help and empower each other to achieve more collectively
- Authentic: We constantly ask ourselves what is the right thing to do for our people, our clients and our business, acting with integrity at all times
- Respectful: We are open minded and value everyone’s contribution, embracing our differences and fostering a culture of trust and inclusion
- Dynamic: We adapt quickly to change, finding smart ways to deliver the best results and remain one step ahead
We are also a firm with a clear purpose.
Our Purpose: to improve the lives of our colleagues, our client and our communities in a sustainable way.
Our purpose is reflected in our social commitment where we extend our core value of collaboration to encompass how we interact with our clients and our colleagues, and our local communities and the planet. We genuinely care about helping to build a better future and take action to make a difference, managing our business in a responsible and sustainable way.
2.0 Purpose
This ethical marketing policy (the ‘Policy’) sets out Blick Rothenberg’s position on marketing practices and efforts to go beyond compliance to ensure honesty, fairness, and responsibility in our ways of working.
3.0 Scope
This Policy applies to all employees and third parties associated with Blick Rothenberg, or any of our subsidiaries or their employees, no matter where they are located.
The Policy also applies to Officers, Trustees, Board and/or Committee members at any level.
4.0 Principals
4.1 Legally Compliant
All marketing communication must be lawful, decent, honest and truthful.
All advertising must be compliant with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
All marketing materials will be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society.
We will respect the privacy and confidentiality of our clients, protecting them from unwarranted infringements of privacy. Should we receive any complaints or questions
about our privacy policy we will take them seriously and investigate them.
We will not unfairly portray or refer to anyone in an adverse or offensive way.
4.2 Foster Trust
We seek to build long term partnerships with clients by being honest and straightforward.
We take all reasonable care to avoid misleading statements, concealment, and overstatement in all advertising and public statements. If in error we make a misleading or inaccurate statement or quote in our material or online, once notified we will endeavour to correct the error at the earliest opportunity.
We strive to communicate clearly with all.
We will not imply that expressions of opinion are objective claims or make any subjective claims that might mislead the consumer.
On our social media channels, we respond to genuine questions and queries and will assist with redirecting concerns to the relevant people. If we require additional information or personal details, we may re-direct you to private messages or to our website where your details can be securely sent.
We are fair to our competitors. Our communications do not denigrate or ridicule competitors or their products, other firms, organisations, or persons. We do not make unjustifiable use of the name, logo or trademark of another firm or institution, and do not take undue advantage of the goodwill belonging to others.
When we run competitions or offers, we make clear the criteria or terms and conditions.
4.3 Challenging Ourselves
We ask ourselves the following questions during all marketing activity strategy and execution:
- Are we clearly communicating our service’s value without exaggerating or misleading our key audiences?
- Are we using language that honestly communicates the features and benefits of our services?
- Are we accurately quoting our clients, partners, and team when we share reviews or testimonials?
- Is our use of data and examples honest and accurate when promoting our features, benefits, or the impact of our services?
4.4 Permission-Based Email Marketing
We commit to communicating with people that have opted in to receiving marketing messages and not with those that have opted out.
We pledge to focus our email marketing on:
- Creating value within any free content (including videos, blogs, online resources, webinars, social media posts, etc.)
- Being GDPR compliant
- Maintaining the trust of email lists by continuing to offer value and restricting messaging to content related to the original opt-in intent
- Operating a clear published policy and process for dealing with any data or compliance issues or requests
4.5 Environmentally Conscious
We commit to sourcing environmentally sustainable marketing merchandise from our suppliers.
We will avoid printing publications or flyers wherever possible. We have moved predominantly to digital-led publications now.
4.6 Diversity & Inclusion
We will challenge ourselves and others on whether we are using diverse people imagery that authentically reflects our firm.
We will aim to increase the accessibility of our marketing and external communications for those with disabilities e.g., through the introduction of subtitles for our video content.
We will value individual differences and avoid stereotyping clients or depicting demographic groups e.g., gender, race, sexual orientation in a negative or dehumanising way.
We acknowledge that there are groups who are vulnerable that must be considered in judging how marketing activity will be understood and acted upon by society in general.
We are considerate about the language of our communications and campaigns.
We make every effort to understand and respectfully treat all stakeholders (clients, suppliers, partners, etc) in our community and the cultures they are from.
We will not include anything in our marketing communications likely to cause widespread offence.
4.7 Impact or Green Washing
Impact washing is similar to greenwashing and happens when a business exaggerates their positive impact to gain a marketing advantage or uses ‘feel good’ marketing to cover up or distract from negative outcomes that their core business model is having in other areas –whether socially or environmentally.
We pledge that our marketing activity:
- Is honest and transparent about the social and environmental impacts of our work
- Includes an ongoing review of chosen strategies and tactics to ensure that we are not engaging in impact-washing
We will also ensure that any environmental claims are aligned with the CMA Green Claims code.
5.0 Responsibilities
The senior marketing team, led by the Head of Marketing, have the ultimate responsibility and accountability for ensuring compliance with this Policy.
The wider marketing department are responsible for the delivery of activities in line with this Policy.
The Senior Leadership Team, led by the Chief Executive Officer, should be consulted where any key decision points arise or in case of any breach of our Policy.
All employees and third parties who have any responsibility for the activities which this Policy relate to, will be required to understand and agree to this Policy.
6.0 Training and Communication
Blick Rothenberg will provide regular ethical marketing training to all relevant employees.
All employees will have access to this Policy via our firmwide Intranet (BRian).
The Head of Marketing must ensure any employees for whom this Policy is relevant to their operational responsibilities have agreed to this Policy and attended training.
Blick Rothenberg will communicate this Policy to all third parties, e.g., freelance suppliers, at the outset of any business relationship, and as appropriate thereafter.
7.0 Monitoring and Review
Blick Rothenberg will evaluate the effectiveness of this Policy and the ongoing implementation of and adherence to this policy through an annual review, to ensure that it remains effective and reflects best practice.
We will regularly assess internal and external control systems and procedures and encourage feedback from employees and customers in our community on how this Policy can be improved.
8.0 Reporting
Blick Rothenberg will include information on compliance to and continuous improvement of this Policy in our B Corp Impact Report to ensure transparency of operational practices.
9.0 Questions and Feedback
We believe that all marketing efforts should provide genuine value to the target audience in order to earn their attention and their trust. Our strategies are based on a foundational belief that marketing should be honest and that marketers should not take advantage of anyone’s personal data.
This policy statement lays out the ethical marketing practices we follow at Blick Rothenberg and the commitments we have made to ensure that our work meets or exceeds the highest ethical standards of our industry.
We always strive to do the right thing and adhering to these ethical practices is part of that work. If you have questions or feedback to share that will help us do better, we encourage you to reach out and let us know.
Please contact us using our website contact form for any of the following:
- To request more information
- To provide feedback
- To register a complaint
If you have any concerns regarding privacy or data, please review the privacy policy page of our website which provides details of the point of contact for any data protection matters.