Target audience selection is crucial for businesses to customize messages and maximize marketing efficiency.
Simultaneously, it's crucial to maintain ethical standards in this process.
Despite that, vulnerable groups, such as children, teenagers, the elderly, low-income individuals, and ethnic minorities, are often unethically targeted.
This unethical targeting undermines the principles of equality and fairness.
For example, certain online games and apps can expose teens to inappropriate content, leading to stress, violent behavior, and uninformed in-app purchases.
Senior citizens, being more vulnerable, are often targeted for telemarketing fraud.
Low-income earners often get trapped into a cycle of debt, exposed to ads offering loans but at unfavorable terms.
Racial and ethnic profiling leads to wrongful stereotypes and biased practices, such as promoting skin whitening creams in tropical countries.
To address these issues, brands must prioritize responsible practices, ensuring their marketing practices are fair, inclusive, and transparent.
It should not take advantage of those who may be less informed or less able to resist persuasive advertising.