• by Danielle Oster , July 26, 2024

The Association of National Advertisers has released an “Ethics Code of Marketing Best Practices” in an effort to provide a comprehensive ethics framework and resource guide that outlines best practices for marketers.

Unveiled last week, the “Ethics Code of Marketing Best Practices" incorporates and expands existing ANA and AIMM (Alliance For Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing) guidelines and research, with recommendations for best practices to ensure consumers are kept informed and protected.

This includes the ANA's first guidelines around the ethical uses of AI in marketing, as well as best practices that address privacy, diversity and inclusion, and advertising to children.

“The ANA has always encouraged its members to set industry best practices and adopt self-regulatory standards to protect consumers, but historically, those principles and practices were spread across a range of sources and programs. The ANA Ethics Code of Marketing Best Practices consolidates and expands those disparate standards and programs into a single comprehensive framework for the industry,” ANA Senior Vice President, Center for Ethical Marketing Senny Boone told Marketing Daily.

The Code reinforces the organizations' “mandate to be a ‘force for good" in the industry, Boone added.

Legislative changes and technological innovation have brought a sense of urgency to outlining standards for ethical marketing in their respective areas.

“With the widespread adoption of new state privacy laws and regulations, we felt it was important for ANA to provide a unified source for privacy standards to protect consumers. The Ethics Code also includes new standards around emerging areas like the use of generative AI in advertising,” Boone said.

Among the ANA’s guidelines around the ethical use of AI is transparency in the use of technology in marketing campaigns, as well as addressing best practices for mitigating certain risks associated with AI. "If AI is trained on flawed data and assumptions, it will lead to flawed outcomes, including potential errors and bias in how individuals and groups are presented in advertising,” Boone explained.

“We have offered steps in the Code to help minimize these and other AI-related risks in marketing, fundraising, and advertising,” Boone added.

The release of the Code -- which includes a section devoted to “Diversity And Inclusion Best Practices And Principles”--  comes in the wake of companies including John Deere and Tractor Supply recently abandoning diversity and inclusivity commitments, in response to anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-DEI efforts led by far-right media personalities and conservative lobbying groups. 

AIMM co-founder Carlos Santiago told Marketing Daily that the group has consistently found that “diversity in marketing is not just ethical – it's a key driver of business growth.”

Santiago pointed to data that demonstrates “both consumer expectations and tangible benefits of inclusive marketing,” including AIMM’s findings that ads that score high in cultural relevance are connected to a nearly threefold (2.9x) lift in purchase intent, 3.8x improvement in brand perception, and 5.4x boost in brand trust for ads with high cultural relevance scores.

Santiago also cited a recent AIMM research report, which found that 60% of companies reported business growth resulting from increased multicultural marketing spending, and 43% reported such growth from greater diversity in their marketing teams.

The ANA said the ethics Code will be used for both consumer inquiries and the Center for Ethical Marketing's industry self-regulation practices by December 1, as well as in informing training materials produced by the Center for Ethical Marketing promoted to ANA members.

ANA members are invited to offer suggestions or make inquiries with regard to the final document by December 1.

In the coming months, the ANA will promote adoption of the new guidelines through educational training modules for members, roundtable discussion, committee meetings, and the publication of white papers on the topic.

The release of the document is the culmination of a process that began over a year ago. Designed by industry leaders in combination with ANA membership input, the ethical principles were shared in a draft version with ANA members for input before publication.

The biggest challenge was ensuring the document could function as a “comprehensive” ethics code while remaining “applicable to common industry practices,” Boone said. “It needed to reflect the industry's advances tempered with transparency and accountability for our consumer audiences.”

The ANA emphasizes that the guidelines will be a “living document” reviewed regularly by its recently formed Marketing Ethics Code Steering Committee, with the goal of keeping guidelines effective and up to date.

“The advertising industry is going through a period of rapid change, and it's important that our standards and best practices keep pace with those changes," Boone said, adding that the committee will "review and update specific areas of the Code based on any changes in technology, policy, or law.”