Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Dear Research Scholar,

Google the term "covert marketing definition" and you'll find a plethora of useful content, all ripe for the reading, and all of which will answer your question.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

After you do the research and have some examples that are relevant, it would be interesting to hear YOUR opinion of whether covert marketing is ethical or not. Then you'll probably get a lot of "help" with that aspect from the experts here.

This is not a response to your question, Research Scholar, but some food for thought to my peers and colleagues on MarketingProfs' Know-How Exchange in connection with your question.

Some 47 years ago, I sought research assistance that I had paid for, and was told, “we don’t do homework.” For this reason, I’m not so hasty about refusing to help students. I think (and hope) my story will give you business and marketing experts a different perspective about students’ expectations.

It was 1962. I was 20 years old. I worked full time and attended college at night. I spent a lot of time at the school library and in the main NYC library, which required a long subway ride. When I wasn’t working or going to class, I was studying. Free time was sparse. We didn’t have Google, so when a door-to-door encyclopedia salesperson told me I could get written research as part of my encyclopedia purchase, I jumped on the offer and made the purchase.

I had written an English Literature paper as part of my midterm, using information from my new encyclopedia as well as from intensive library research. I’m detail-oriented and somewhat (all right, a lot) compulsive about doing things really well. I thought that my paper could be “meatier” if I had more information, so I asked the encyclopedia people a question about my topic, hoping they would provide information I hadn’t discovered.

We didn’t have email in those days either, so I waited for their answer by U.S. mail. Finally, I received their response, but it was a “we don’t do homework” message, followed by a three-paragraph lecture on ethics and responsibility. Needless to say, I was greatly disappointed and felt cheated. More than that, I was highly offended by the writer’s hasty, incorrect analysis of my intentions and while the letter was professionally written, it came across as condescending and elitist.

As you can tell by my vivid memory of this incident, I’ve never forgotten it. So every time I see a student’s question undermined by a “we don’t do homework” response, I think about how unfair and condescending MarketingProfs and we “experts” must appear to the students, even though we actually have good intentions.

I don’t know what the answer is to distinguish between a student who legitimately seeks the help of experienced experts and a student who just wants to take a shortcut, but I don’t think that’s our task. Students use MarketingProfs as a resource and they have certain expectations that are spelled out by MarketingProfs, specifically for students. I don’t believe, therefore, that we should deny any student the benefit of our experience and expertise. If we’ll help a businessperson without a lecture and without any qualms about that person’s intentions, why not help students? So what if we help some to take shortcuts, at least we’ll be helping others who are deserving and who ultimately will have lifelong gratitude for our help.

As I said, just some food for thought.