Introduction
The selected area of interest is the case with the Florida Barrier Reef. Like any other sphere of people’s activity, marine tourism undergoes human impact and suffers considerably. The Florida Reef Tract is an extensive continental reef system along South Florida and into the Florida Keys (Aeby et al., 2019). Coral reefs are utterly important for the area’s ecology and economy. Reefs serve as dwellings for many life forms, participate in photosynthesis, and help power seafood production and tourism (Crunden, 2023).
Being the world’s third-largest barrier reef ecosystem, the Florida Reef Tract has been severely affected by humans in various ways. These include densely populated coastlines, pollution of terrestrial run-off, excessive fishing, and large numbers of tourists (Aeby et al., 2019). Like others living in coastal states, Florida’s population depends on water as the major attraction for visitors who are eager to explore not only its beaches but also the underwater, making the Florida Barrier Reef a major driver of the economy. Tourism and its detrimental effects serve as the subject of this paper since it will analyze the connection between advertising and reef deterioration and how the negative effect can be mitigated.
Advertising and Its Effect on the Coral Reef Situation
Marketing is known to have a considerable effect on various spheres of human activity, some of which are more evident while others are less apparent. The coral reef case may seem like an entirely environmental issue, but it is not. While it is primarily environment-related, the situation is closely connected to the marketing sphere, especially the advertising dimension. The main connection between the ecological problem under discussion and the area of marketing is that coral reefs serve as “the engine” of the region’s economy (Jones, 2023, para. 9) and the “lure” for tourists (Voosen, 2019, p. 319).
Hence, the prosperity of many people depends on driving visitors to the natural beauties of the region, which is the job of marketing specialists. However, scientists examining the decline in the reef’s growth are alarmed at the rate of destruction that it has experienced. The reefs are frequently affected by illnesses (Ressa, 2021; Voosen, 2019). However, it would be wrong to underestimate the role of local and visiting people in aggravating the situation.
Not only do tourists destroy the habitat of reefs, but they also participate in amassing sewage pollution. Along with local citizens, visitors contribute to declining coral reef health (Lapointe et al., 2019). While many individuals neglect to make sustainable choices as a habit, there are also people misled by advertisements, making the problem with the Florida Barrier Reef a concern for the marketing sphere. In many instances, advertising is the first option for potential tourists to learn about a particular place of interest (Judge et al., 2020). Therefore, marketing is equally prominent in promoting the economy of the regions with natural or other types of attractions and destructively affecting these landmarks.
One way marketing can negatively influence tourist destinations is through deceptive advertising. As Bonsu (2020) notes, consumers can be deluded into making inappropriate choices and may spend money on unhealthy or unethical products or services with this advertising approach. The premise of this marketing approach is to emphasize improved investment and increased capitalization (Bonsu, 2020).
However, while achieving these goals, deceptive advertising inevitably causes harm not only to gullible consumers but also to the products they purchase. In the case of the Florida Barrier Reef, photoshopped images of the reefs can serve as an example of such a practice. Individuals who do not conduct any research but rely solely on marketing campaigns may feel disappointed and end up trying to discover the areas of the reef that are not included in the bargain.
There is also another side to false advertising that concerns tourist destinations such as the Florida Barrier Reef. Scholars remark that this marketing strategy can ensue when tourists’ expectations do not correspond to the legal requirements for a sustainable business (Judge et al., 2020). As such, it is crucial to promote clearer advertising and increase tourist awareness to minimize the harm to nature and people’s feelings.
Areas of Action, Applications, and Perspectives
The main spheres from the sphere of marketing that affect the Florida Barrier Reef problem include corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility, green advertising, influencer marketing, and greenwashing. Green advertising is the main area of action in the intersection of marketing and sustainability that affects the issue positively. This practice involves promoting products and services based on their environmental friendliness.
However, the problem has two sides: green advertising can offer relevant and useful information to potential consumers (Barrage et al., 2020). On the other hand, companies can also spread counterfeit information while attempting to pretend to be greener than they truly are. In the Florida Barrier Reef case, green advertising could promote people’s awareness of the reef’s disease and might discourage them from damaging the location.
Meanwhile, greenwashing is an area of action with a negative connotation. This tactic presupposes introducing deceitful information about one’s environmental intentions (Ioannou et al., 2023). Companies resort to fraudulent corporate responsibility strategies when they want to attract customers and increase their profits but are forced to deal with environmental issues. The most common ways of deceiving customers include misleading labels, selective or incomplete information, vague terminology, and exaggerated statistics. In Florida Barrier Reef’s situation, tourists have reported a requirement to use “only reef-friendly sunscreen” (Barnes, 2022, para. 2).
Because of this obligation, people used to overpay for the advertised sunscreen in the nearby shops only to learn afterward it was not reef-friendly. Hence, tourists were fooled twice: firstly, they were told that such a thing as ‘reef-friendly’ sunscreen existed, and secondly, they were paid an excessive price for the one that did not correspond to the title. It is no wonder that, according to scholars, people are more and more likely to approach corporate social responsibility skeptically (Ioannou et al., 2023). Greenwashing is a rather negative area of action in the sphere of marketing.
A careful consideration of influencer marketing is a viable application in the current case. This practice increases destination awareness, endorses destinations, and expands the target audience (Fedeli & Cheng, 2023). Influencer marketing has been reported to serve as a potential savior of some touristic spots struggling under traditional marketing approaches (Fedeli & Cheng, 2023). However, the outcomes of this tactic, both for consumers and tourist companies, are not always positive. The greatest concerns are associated with the authenticity and ethicality of influencer marketing. Influencers can bring benefits to the Florida Barrier Reef by sharing educational content and partnering with environmental organizations. They can also employ storytelling to influence their audience and promote responsible travel tips. Tourists and destinations alike can draw advantages from the application of influencer marketing.
Finally, the differentiation between social responsibility and irresponsibility is a relevant perspective to consider. The discrepancy between these notions is crucial since it will enable the consumers to make responsible choices and not fall for marketing campaigns unthoughtfully. Researchers urge the need not to mistake the lack of irresponsibility for responsibility and vice versa (Clark et al., 2021). Thus, it is important to increase the knowledge of both responsibility and irresponsibility to be able to notice the two tactics in marketing approaches and follow the suitable one.
How Marketing Can Improve the Topic
While several marketing approaches contribute to the deterioration of the Florida Coral Reef situation, there are also methods in this area that can be deployed to improve the topic. First of all, it is important to take care of green advertising practices as they positively impact environmental issues in general and natural tourist attractions in particular. The most noticeable effect of green advertising is its potential to increase society’s awareness of the problem in question (Gómez-Carmona et al., 2021).
Also, such an approach promotes sustainable practices and encourages responsible tourism. On the downside, green advertising can lead to greenwashing (Gómez-Carmona et al., 2021). However, when used wisely, this approach is likely to bring benefits much more likely than cause harm.
Other useful practices from the area of marketing include innovation and creativity. Paired with boldness, the ability to offer new and unique things is what can both generate profits and help protect the environment (Medel, 2020). Along with that, the issue of trust comes into play here: the value of protecting nature and commitment to the community is highly significant in marketing. Sustainable tourism marketing is yet another strategy that can be employed to mitigate the Florida Coral Reef crisis.
Focusing on the altruistic value orientation of consumers can help alleviate the damage done to the reef (Vinzenz et al., 2019). Finally, it is also very useful to take into account tourists’ behaviors and interactions when coming up with marketing campaigns (Wu et al., 2022). All of these approaches, whether utilized separately or in conjunction, have the potential to improve the situation with the reef.
Conclusion
The damage done to the Florida Coral Reef continues to be noticeable to a great extent, which makes it necessary to come up with solutions as soon as possible. Marketing is the area that has the means and possibilities to help cope with the problem through utilizing such methods as green advertising, influencer marketing, innovation, and creativity. Although marketing can be manifested through such negative approaches as greenwashing and corporate social irresponsibility, it is still a highly viable option for environmentalists to utilize with the aim of enhancing the situation with the Florida Coral Reef.
References
Aeby, G. S., Ushijima, B., Campbell, J. E., Jones, S., Williams, G. J., Meyer, J. L., Häse, C., & Paul, B. J. (2019). Pathogenesis of a tissue loss disease affecting multiple species of corals along the Florida Reef Tract. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6. Web.
Barnes, J. (2022). When Greenwashing gets the best of us. Fairtrade America. Web.
Barrage, L., Chyn, E., & Hastings, J. (2020). Advertising and environmental stewardship: Evidence from the BP oil spill. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 12(1), 33-61. Web.
Bonsu, S. (2020). Deceptive advertising: A corporate social responsibility perspective. International Journal of Health and Economic Development, 6(2), 1-15. Web.
Clark, C. E., Riera, M., & Iborra, M. (2021). Toward a theoretical framework of corporate social irresponsibility: Clarifying the gray zones between responsibility and irresponsibility. Business & Society, 61(6). Web.
Crunden, E. A. (2023). Ecological emergency’ grips Florida coral reef. E&E News. Web.
Fedeli, G., & Cheng, M. (2023). Influencer marketing and tourism: Another threat to integrity for the industry? Tourism Analysis, 28(2), 323-328. Web.
Gómez-Carmona, D., Muñoz-Leiva, F., Liébana-Cabanillas, F., Nieto-Ruiz, A., Martínez-Fiestas, M., & Campoy, C. (2021). The effect of consumer concern for the environment, self-regulatory focus and message framing on green advertising effectiveness: An eye tracking study. Environmental Communication, 15(6), 813-841. Web.
Ioannou, I., Kassinis, G., & Papagiannakis, G. (2023). The impact of perceived greenwashing on customer satisfaction and the contingent role of capability reputation. Journal of Business Ethics, 185, 333-347. Web.
Jones, B. (2023). America’s most iconic coral reef is dying. Only one thing will save it. Vox. Web.
Judge, C., Penry, G. S., Brown, M., & Witteveen, M. (2020). Clear waters: Assessing regulation transparency of website advertising in South Africa’s boat-based whale-watching industry. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(6), 964-980. Web.
Lapointe, B. E., Brewton, R. A., Herren, L. W., Porter, J. W., & Hu, C. (2019). Nitrogen enrichment, altered stoichiometry, and coral reef decline at Looe Key, Florida Keys, USA: A 3‑decade study. Marine Biology, 166, 108. Web.
Medel, I. L. (2020). The Palau legacy pledge: A case study of advertising, tourism, and the protection of the environment. Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 15(2), 178-190. Web.
Ressa, T. (2021). Restoration destination: The one-stop shop for all things coral reef restoration & the Florida Reef Tract. UC San Diego Capstone Projects. Web.
Vinzenz, F., Priskin, J., Wirth, W., Ponnapureddy, S., & Ohnmacht, T. (2019). Marketing sustainable tourism: The role of value orientation, well-being and credibility. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(11), 1663-1685. Web.
Voosen, P. (2019). Scientists track Florida’s vanishing barrier reef. Science, 364(6438), 319. Web.
Wu, J., Guo, Y., Wu, M.-Y., Morrison, A. M., & Ye, S. (2022). Green or red faces? Tourist strategies when encountering irresponsible environmental behavior. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 21(4), 406-432. Web.