The marketing discipline has drawn considerable scrutiny from ethical decision makers, as marketing practitioners are responsible for satisfying both active and inactive consumer ‘needs' (Tsalikis & Fritzsche, 1989). Coincidentally, sport organizations have recently extended promotional endeavors to include faith-based activations, targeting fans via their individual core values. The purpose of this paper is to present a decision-making model for accessing fans' core values within the sport setting. In their assessment of behaviors derived from marketing mix variables in the sport setting, Laczniak, Burton, and Murphy (1999) observe “no sector of sports marketing is more rife with ethical issues than the area of promotional strategy” (p. 48). This conceptual paper applies the Issue-Contingent Model developed by Jones (1991) as a foundation for formulating a decision making model for application when targeting fans core values.
Method
The conceptual nature of this paper precludes application of traditional forms of quantitative or qualitative methodologies. Rather, an in-depth review of literature explores existing literature relating to business and marketing ethics models, and promotional strategies in application to the proposed decision-making model. The formal presentation will include a model/flowchart for further clarification.
Analysis/Results
While marketers serve to alter consumer perceptions and interests, the ethical marketer must acknowledge the existence of consumer engagement boundaries. These boundaries should be considered when developing targeted promotional campaigns which access consumer core values. Recognition of this moral obligation adds specificity to the environmental influences modeled by Jones (1991) by including factors which represent external forces shaping the overall decision making construct. Conversely, recognition of these prima facie conditions acknowledges the moral responsibility of marketers, which may be independent of prevailing societal conditions. These obligations may support recognition of a moral issue, similar to an environmental influence. Moreover, due to the potential for access to the core belief structure of a consumer via a faith-based activation, consideration of these moral obligations should also be acknowledged as a component of the decision making model. Thus, the proposed model is appropriate for application to marketing and promotional activities which access consumer core values (e.g., faith-based activations).
Conclusions
The proposed model represents a theoretical construct which has not been tested within the marketplace. An investigation of the integration of this moral obligation principle into development of target market efforts would serve to test the proposed model. A broader understanding would then allow for development of considerations to be integrated within similar targeted promotional campaigns.