Ethical content management: A double-edged knife to success

The future where there is multiple contact points such as televisions, mobiles, and computers competing to gain consumers’ attention. This fierce competition is forcing all content makers to look for ways in gaining maximum impact when launching their contents.  

However, there are a few ethical dilemmas marketer or advertiser should have to consider before publishing their contents. Is the content appropriate for the market and society? With this much at stake, we should ask ourselves whether gaining maximum impact is the only goal in creating content or we should all comply with dilemmas at hand. Let’s take a deeper dive into understanding why content is such a big deal and why ethically managing them is necessary.

According to the 2014 global executive survey from Effie Awards held in New York earlier this year, advertisers and marketers have listed content marketing as one of the top three industry most pressuring issues. This is a great indication that content is the hot topic everyone is looking forward to when implementing their next campaigns. By this, marketers and advertisers with contents in their hands now have the power to use them as they see fit. They will be the one to control what consumers will get to see. To top it off, the power of content grew even stronger with the help of social media in amplifying the content to other people in the form of viral effect. Once the content hits social media, it will spread like wild fire giving much joy to content makers that they have successfully made the right content choice enabling endless conversations.

Because holding content is like holding the key to power, western markets really hit it off and enjoyed the prosperous effect from managing it correctly. The main factor of success for the western market is the fact that they have ethics and laws which they uphold strictly, making their contents worthy to be shared.

If content owners in western markets were to show their contents in an unethical fashion in order to gain impact, they will be shamed upon causing the brands to forever hold negative feeling from consumers who disapprove of what they saw. There will also be legal actions from multiple parties directly against the brands, marketers, and advertisers who are responsible. This is the sole reason why content managing is a knife with two sharp edges. It can help the brands but if used inappropriately, it will hurt them.

Now, if you were to look closer to home, you will see that contents and ethics are walking together in parallel lines but never eventually meet.  

Let’s take a closer look at Thailand’s content landscape.

There are many ways to consume media especially with the arrival of digital TV and rising mobile internet penetration giving consumer more choices than ever. With this inevitable trend, content across all of these platforms also became the key to get consumers’ attention. The power now lies with content makers in Thailand from marketers, advertisers, and press. It is all up to them to choose which content will be put on these multiple screens for consumers to see.

From the recent news and the voices of people on and off line, one thing is certain in this market, Thais are still unaccustomed with the concept of ethic when it comes to content. There are numerous complaints literally every month from concerned citizens and netizens about how inappropriate contents are forced on to Thailand media scene by content makers.

This type of complaints has sparked many debates whether it fits to be shown in mass mediums ranging from the controversial previews of explicit scenes from popular teenage drama or inappropriate graphic of deer carcass as raw material from admired cooking show. All of these issues as of late are results of looking to create maximum impact or ratings of the content without considering the effect it may cause to the mass consumers.

This is a misinterpretation of why content is king by local content makers. Of course, the competition in seeking consumers’ attention is fierce but not everyone should resort to inappropriate controversial piece just to get maximum impact.  Content makers have to be mindful that Thailand still lacks the direct laws to administer unethical use of content except for self-governing censorship which are rules but not laws. It is understandable that publishing inappropriate content will gain high impact and amplification from consumers in the fast social world but the consequences are dire.  

Contents are depended on the conscience of Thai content makers and owners to decide what to put in the mass medium. Alas, re-looking at the double-edge knife metaphor should be a good reminder. If gaining impact cuts its way to success by hurting the conscious of the viewers, the other edge can also cause the wound to your brands or reputation. Let’s keep Thai society away from these cuts, only then, content shall be the true righteous king.

 

Maas Virajoti is Group Head, Strategy & Innovation, IPG Mediabrands Thailand