Ethical and Social Considerations for Promotional Campaigns

Promotional campaign refers to various advertisements conducted using different methods. The various methods aimed at informing individuals of similar ideas and message to promote a particular organization of products in business to the targeted audience. Therefore, multiple media resources are adopted when conducting promotional campaigns such as the newspapers, print advertising, radio, television, and internet.  Designing the promotional campaigns the most engaging task in the promotion since the businesses should take care of the ethical and social responsibilities to conduct a successful promotion. For that reason, any organization or business designing promotional campaign should understand its ethical and social responsibility. Therefore, this paper provides detailed information concerning the issues involved in designing the promotional campaign. The type of business considered in this paper is a local club whose focus on increasing food and beverages revenue as well as visitor patronage. This paper also provides evidence based on various advantages and disadvantages of establishing facilities of child care in a licensed club having gambling facilities. The paper considers both ethical and social responsibilities and also focuses on the specific ethical approach.

A local club whose aim is to increase revenue for food and beverage, as well as visitor patronage, may experience various issues when designing a promotional campaign. First, the local club is obliged to consider various ethical and social responsibilities as discussed in this paper. The club promotions include sales, events, advertisements, and entertainment. The local club should stay in line with the codes of conduct and protocols involved in ethical and social responsibilities. This implies that for the local club to increase revenue, it has to design an effective promotional campaign that will reach a mass audience and also offer reasonable prices. On the other hand, to increase the visitor patronage, the local club should maintain values such as compassion and honesty from an ethical view. From a social viewpoint, the club should ensure it organizes events which have positive impacts on the society as well as the immediate environment. This suggests that the club has to maintain an excellent reputation to earn trust from the consumers which translate to an increase in sales and visitor patronage (Djelassi & Decoopman, 2013). Therefore, in analyzing the issues experienced in designing a promotional campaign for this club, this paper will focus on a good reputation. A good reputation is an ethical and social responsibility which should be ordained. Conversely, a good reputation facilitates a positive image of the business hence engages the customers in socially responsible tasks.

Design Issues and Challenges for Promotional Campaigns

The local club should focus on the issues which may hinder appropriate designing of the promotional campaign. For instance, the target audience is a significant issue associated with designing a promotional campaign. This is so because the local club has to invest their time in identifying the appropriate audience. Factors which should be considered in regards to the audience are the income levels, gender, age, interests and so forth (Little, De Waal, Manfredi, Bullard, Iddings, Schneider, & Gipp, 2014). Therefore, the whole promotional design should be created based on sensibilities, tastes, and wants of the customers to maintain a good reputation. Moreover, the local club should define its target audience in detail to ensure it achieves its goals and objectives. Second, customer preferences are another issue that the local club may experience when designing the promotional campaign. It implies that the designer should understand what customers look for in a business to buy their products. Moreover, the business culture and structure should match the customer’s preferences.

Third, matching the target audience to the type of media which is available is also an issue. Therefore, in designing a promotional campaign, the local club should identify the media to adopt which is accessible by the majority of the consumers. For instance, online adverting can be utilized as a promotional strategy. However, it may not be useful since the older persons may not have access to the internet. Therefore, thinking about the right media channel may be an issue which should be given the proper attention (Babin & Zikmund, 2015). Fourth, describing the promotional goal is an issue that the local club may experience in designing a promotional campaign. For instance, the defined purpose should align with the promotional strategies for effectiveness. Additionally, specified products and prices of business will lead the local club towards identifying the consumers of the food and beverages hence increasing the business reputation in the society. Also, by defining the goals, the club will determine its needs and what should be achieved through the promotional strategy. At the same time, the local club evaluates and describes its business brand to increase sales and visitor patronage. Finally, determining budget and determining the effectiveness of the campaign may be an issue experienced when designing a promotional campaign. This is because the club should determine the cost breakdowns which are affordable and manageable. Besides, the local club should estimate the effectiveness of the promotional campaign to ensure the right promotional design is implemented.

Benefits and Demerits of Establishing Childcare Facilities in Licensed Clubs with Gambling Facilities

Just like other leisure and entertainment products, Gambling is seen as a recreational outlet for many children. In some licensed clubs which offer gaming facilities, it is normal to find childcare facilities. The topic has sparked unrelenting debates due to its controversy, including the argument that the demerits of this decision outweigh the benefits. Therefore, this essay will outline both the benefits and demerits of setting up a childcare facility near a gambling site in the sections below.

Advantages

It is argued that gambling is another form of entertainment, just like purchasing tickets for a symphony or cinema (Trost, Sundal, Foster, Lent & Vojta, 2014). Hence, it may be considered an alternative form of entertainment to the children since it is harmless and offers a recreational outlet. In addition to the entertainment purpose, gambling facilities provide a chance for the children to engage socially with the adults. Associating with the adults gives the children a perfect opportunity to enjoy the excitement of gambling.

Another strong argument supporting the enactment of childcare facilities near gambling sites is that it leads to enhancement of motor coordination and critical thinking skills. When children are exposed to gambling screens, for instance, visual motor skills including the hand-to-eye coordination is enhanced. A recent study conducted by the NYU Child Study revealed that in the presence of proper moderation, gambling facilities could improve motor skills (Saprikis, 2016). Besides enhancement of motor skills, gambling facilities enhance critical thinking skills. In a setting where these services are readily available to the children, educational goals can be easily met. It must, however, be noted that not all gambling facilities may be beneficial to children since most of them are for entertainment purposes. Gambling facilities that involve mathematical skills and reading can help children refine their critical thinking or analytical skills. The chess game is one example of gaming facility that enhances a child’s critical thinking skills.

Just like adults, children also suffer from stress. The NTU Child research further pointed out that children who engage in entertaining activities, such as gambling, have a lower stress level compared to those who don’t (Mahmood, 2015). After a long day at school, therefore, a few hours in front of the gaming screen can help reduce stress. In fact, stress relief is associated with more benefits for the family.

Disadvantages

When the gambling facilities are enacted around childcare facilities, the children may be affected indirectly. For instance, if a parent is dealing with gambling problems, a child may feel depressed due to the negligence of the parent (Donati, Chiesi & Primi, 2013). Parents who visit a club with gambling facilities in the company of their children may spend more time gambling rather than accompany their children to the childcare facility. This is often observed especially in cases where the parents are addicted to gambling. Also, gambling absorbs a lot of resources and time which could have been spent on more meaningful activities. In cases where the children are exposed to gambling for a prolonged period, they may also become gambling addicts in the future.

When children are exposed to a gambling environment, they become unwilling to take part in other worthy causes including extracurricular activities (McCormack, Shorter & Griffiths, 2014). Instead, the children spend more time thinking about their next gambling session. According to a study conducted at the University of Michigan, children spend fewer hours watching television compared to the earlier decades (Durell, 2013). However, the report further indicated that the children do not utilize the extra time for social or sports activities. Rather, they spend most of the time on their computers and gambling facilities. In fact, children will even spend more time gambling if childcare facilities are located near gambling sites.

In other scenarios, putting up childcare facilities in gambling sites may pose eminent health problems to the children. More often, children will prefer to skip meals or sleep to get ample gambling time (Gainsbury, King, Hing & Delfabbro, 2015). Also, children who spend most of their time in front of gambling facilities instead of undertaking physical activities may be subjected to obesity at an early age. The University of Texas points out that headaches, eyestrains, backaches, and other medical issues are as a result of gambling addiction. Still on the health effects associated with gambling facilities, a study involving 18 children of Chinese origin indicated that youngsters who are exposed to video games and gaming facilities show sign of atrophy in some brain parts (Gainsbury, Russell, Hing, Wood, Lubman & Blaszczynski, 2015). This is according to the MRI scans. Experts are also worried that in addition to atrophy and childhood obesity, children who are exposed to gaming facilities may suffer from poor decision-making skills and cognitive damage (Nolen-Hoeksema & Rector, 2015).  Notably, it is challenging to prevent such medical problems if the gambling facilities are enacted near the childcare facilities. Children will always find it hard to avoid gambling facilities.

To summarize, the local club should strive to operate by the codes of conduct and protocols as provided for in ethical and social responsibilities. Also, for the local club to generate the desired revenue, efforts tailored to designing an effective promotional campaign that has the capability of reaching a mass audience and also offering reasonable prices must be initiated. Concerning the issue of visitor patronage, the local club needs to foster values including, but not limited to, compassion, honesty, and trust. Also important to note is that the entire promotional design should be customer based. In other terms, it should be developed while paying attention to the sensibilities, tastes, and wants of the customers to maintain a good reputation. Also notable in this essay is the controversy behind the issue of setting up a childcare facility near a licensed club with gambling facility.

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