Moral Ambition: Available for Marketers?
I've been having SO much fun listening to Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman, and I've been thinking a LOT about the role of Marketers in the current state of things.
In the book, the author urges high‑talent professionals—including those in marketing—to redirect their skills toward solving pressing global challenges. Yet SO many businesses—and marketers within those businesses—are spending so much time and money on things that don't even contribute to the business results; little lone the global state of humanity.
Today, consumer goods, automobiles, technology, and pharmaceuticals lead the way in advertising spends. And we can probably all agree that makes sense when we look at the fact they are part of massive global markets with intense competition and high profit margins. And because their budgets are huge, they can also attract top talent, leaving the world's best "Do Good" organizations with people who have time left on their hands to donate it.
But what if we used our smartest marketing peeps to be a force for real change? Instead of wasting all that talent in huge organizations that would replace them at the drop of a hat?
That's what I'm excited to explore with this article today. And you better believe that this morally ambitious marketer has all of the intention of doing something about it (more on that later).
Defining Moral Ambition in Marketing
Bregman identifies "moral ambition" as combining idealism (heart) with ambition (hustle) to use your professional talents not for promotion (which is pretty much what ALL marketers are doing), but for purpose. Which maybe sounds easy, but the bigger problem is that most marketers end up using their ambition (hustle) towards things that don't really matter to them; which is why burnout rates are so high, especially in the ad agency world.
So, let's look at both idealism and ambition to understand what each really looks like in marketing:
Idealism = messages reflect real values (e.g., sustainability, equity)
Ambition = efforts deliver measurable outcomes RELATED to those values.
The relation is the key here. And it's also why it's so easy to tell when businesses are "jumping on band wagons"; the results aren't related to the narrative at all.
Now, personally, this is why I focus on Authentic Marketing. Because once you know your REAL values, the efforts seem to create themselves. And it also ties in deeply to the problem YOU are out to solve in the world.
So, and👆THAT👆 problem? It's likely connected to other things as well.
Step One: Define YOUR Solvable Problem (as part of a bigger whole)
We all know that humans don't operate in a silo. Yet somehow—from a marketing perspective—we like to think that "we'll just do our thing over here" and it doesn't have to connect to anything else.
And sure, it doesn't.
But what if it DID?
Bregman presents a Venn Diagram to help outline where it makes the most sense to FOCUS when solving big problems, that is based on picking challenges that are sizable, solvable, and overlooked; the exact formula that leads to success in any business.
And if the problem YOUR business solves is in fact sizable (and not just in an imaginary TAM you made up to look impressive on your pitch deck) and solvable (as in there's no larger reason why this problem can't be solved; either technically or otherwise), it's probably connected to a bigger whole of SOME kind.
And what if some of your marketing budget went to the bigger whole?
It opens a door to working TOGETHER toward success; can you say Brand Community?
Step Two: Building Bridges (that lead to...)
Marketing is really all about building bridges; whether that's making connections to potential customers, flowing leads through a funnel into sales, or connecting with other organizations who are trying to contribute to the same causes as you.
Of course, that only works if your most important cause is your pocketbook.
Which, for morally ambitious people, it's not.
Now, that doesn't mean you don't need to pay your mortgage and put food on your table, or that money doesn't matter to you at all. It just means it's not the ONLY driving factor.
I remember hearing a local CEO say she had turned down a partnership (that would have come with a large investment) because the values of the organization didn't match. That kind of stand is rare though, unfortunately.
And there are a LOT of businesses out there who ARE all about the pocketbook. I just don't anticipate that any of them are reading this article 🤣
So, I'll say this instead to my Morally Ambitious Marketers...what in your day-to-day looks like building bridges? And are you standing for that? Or letting it slide?
Step Three: Connecting the Dots (towards MOVEMENT)
The concept of a "movement" is generally saved for social justice. But if there is no movement in marketing efforts (think flow through a funnel), then we're just hoarding.
With each of our businesses—and the businesses we represent—we have the opportunity to not only create movement for ourselves, but to allow that flow out into our wider communities as well. And again, we can keep that movement cycling only within ourselves, but if we increase the connection points, we create an opportunity for OTHERS to contribute back to us as well; lightening our own load💡
This also ties back to the original formula for moral ambition: idealism + ambition
And in making the KPI's related to the DIFFERENCE we are making amongst the dots.
This also creates the concept of a circular economy, which is maybe better understood in recycling than marketing. Here we're really talking about ENERGY flow in and out of the business, which creates connection, which leads to trust, and ideally DOING. That doing then lends itself to impact and value...but only if we LET it.
And more likely if we CREATE it.
Creating from Moral Ambition
In the book, the author poses this question: are we aiming high for OURSELVES, or for EVERYONE? As marketers, we have the ability to hold this line. After all, we are PART of everyone, so the things we create in that capacity are ALSO for ourselves 💖
So, what if, as marketers, we wielded our creativity, storytelling, reach and community building not just to elevate the brands with the big budgets, but to transform mindsets, systems, and lives. What if we stopped giving businesses the "easy out" by letting them just offload marketing tasks to us, and we stood up for what we COULD do in marketing?
This can start as soon as TODAY. Immediately after readying this article.
Marketers can re-imagine their current email campaigns to drive something BIGGER.
Leaders can decide to reward bold, impact-oriented marketing ideas.
Consultants can create a proposal that has wide-reaching gains.
Job seekers can look for opportunities with impact-driven organizations.
Brands can decide to be more than empty promises on a website (or social post).
We throw around empty words like Corporate Social Responsibility, and we wait for our company to create something for us. But the morally ambitious don't just sit around and do nothing.
We—the Morally Ambitious Marketers—CAN re-engineer marketing for meaning and measurable impact. We can stand against wasted budgets that find ways to contribute those funds meaningfully for EVERYONE.
We can. But will YOU?
That’s the future I'd like to see for Marketing. But it doesn't happen if we don't go create it; TOGETHER 💞
Want in on what I'm building next in this arena? DM me 😉
