The Need for Accountability in Advertising and Marketing

I'm working on an in-depth post about the process of buying a home from deciding to moving in. I've recently completed the process myself and would like to share my advice and my experience in the matter. In the meantime I'm publishing this post I wrote for Helium.com some time ago in the hope you'll find it interesting.

Accountability, according to Merriam-Webster is “the quality or state of being accountable; especially: an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions”. Is there a place for accountability in advertising or marketing?

Companies invest in advertising and marketing in order to build a brand, raise awareness to a product or service, target a new audience, increase market share and more.

Intuitively, a more credible and accountable message or advert would better achieve the desired results. However, accountability is not one of the traits usually attributed to advertising or marketing. Most people would say the opposite when asked for the place of accountability in advertising.

Why then, do advertisers make enormous efforts and invest huge amounts of money trying to create a feeling of accountability in an advertisement?

1) There is a lot to gain in an advertisement which creates a sense of accountability and credibility

Advertisers use celebrities, poles, market researches, demonstrations and more in order to create that sought after sense of accountability. By creating this feeling in the target audience the impact of the campaign is highly increased.

Increasing campaign impact does not necessarily require telling whole truths. It requires just that delicate balance which creates a general sense of accountability around the advertisement.

2) There is a lot more to lose if accountability is lost

A marketing campaign which makes use of bold exaggerations or lies will eventually backfire on the product or service advertised and of course on the company as a whole.

Accountability is highly sought after by the public and is more precious then gold. Having a brand name which is associated with accountability is having a brand which appeals to some of the most basic values of western society and mankind as a whole.