Responsible Marketing & Public Relations Policy

Why this policy exists

Quarry exists to make uncommonly meaningful, humane technology. How we talk about ourselves should hold to the same standard as the work itself. This policy sets the rules for how Quarry markets its services and represents itself publicly, so that everything we publish is honest, accessible, respectful of people’s attention and data, and consistent with our values, especially Honesty, Integrity, Regard, and Craftship.

It also satisfies B Lab’s expectation that a Certified B Corp maintain a written responsible marketing policy and apply it in practice.

Scope

This policy applies to Quarry’s own marketing and public relations, meaning every place Quarry speaks in its own voice:

The quarry.team website, landing pages, and SEO content
Case studies, portfolio pieces, and client testimonials
Email marketing and newsletters
Social media, both organization accounts and team members posting on Quarry’s behalf
Proposals, pitch decks, capability statements, and sales collateral
Press releases, media interviews, podcast and conference appearances, and award submissions
Paid advertising and sponsorships, if any
Recruiting and employer-brand content

It applies to everyone at Quarry, including contractors and vendors producing marketing on our behalf.

Out of scope for now: marketing, growth, or persuasive features that Quarry designs for clients. Those are governed by our design ethics and client-engagement practices, which may be linked here in a future revision.

Principles

Truthful and substantiated. We say only what we can back up.
Respectful of attention and autonomy. We persuade with the merit of the work, never with pressure or manipulation.
Accessible and inclusive by default. If it isn’t accessible, it isn’t finished.
Privacy-respecting. People opt in; we never trade in their data.
Transparent about how content is made, including our use of AI.
Accountable. A named human reviews and stands behind everything we publish, and we correct mistakes openly.

Commitments

Truthful claims and substantiation

All factual claims about Quarry (team size, experience, results, metrics, clients, capabilities) must be accurate, current, and verifiable at the time of publication.
Outcome and results claims (conversion lift, accessibility scores, delivery timelines) must be backed by data we hold and can produce on request. Where results depend on client-side factors, we say so.
We do not overstate our role in a project. We credit collaborators, client teams, and third-party vendors accurately.
Comparative claims about competitors or industry norms are limited to what is fair, documented, and non-disparaging.
We do not present speculative, future, or in-progress capabilities as current.

No manipulative or exploitative practices

We do not use in our own marketing the patterns we would advise clients against:

No false scarcity or urgency: no fake countdowns, no “only 2 spots left” when untrue
No fear-, shame-, or guilt-based messaging
No confirmshaming, pre-checked boxes, bait-and-switch offers, or hidden costs
No disguised advertising: sponsored, paid, or affiliate content is always labeled
No astroturfing: we never create or pay for fake reviews, fake accounts, or undisclosed endorsements
No targeting of, or content directed at, minors
No exploitation of stereotypes about race, gender, disability, age, religion, or any other protected characteristic, including in humor or imagery

Accessibility and inclusion

Accessibility is central to Quarry’s purpose, so our own communications must model it:

All digital marketing (website, emails, social posts, PDFs, decks, video) targets WCAG 2.2 Level AA at minimum.
Every image gets meaningful alt text; every video gets captions and, where relevant, transcripts or audio description.
We write in plain language, use sufficient color contrast, avoid conveying meaning by color alone, and provide readable, structured documents with proper headings and tagged PDFs.
Imagery, examples, and language reflect the diversity of the people we design for and the team we want to be. We use people-first or identity-first language according to the preference of the community being described.
Events and appearances we host or sponsor are planned with accessibility in mind: captions, accessible venues and platforms, materials shared in advance.

Email marketing is opt-in only. We never buy, rent, or scrape contact lists.
Every marketing email includes a clear, one-step unsubscribe honored promptly, and identifies Quarry as the sender.
We comply with applicable law wherever our audience is, including CAN-SPAM, CASL, GDPR and UK GDPR, and CCPA/CPRA, and default to the stricter standard when in doubt.
Marketing analytics are limited to what we need. We prefer privacy-respecting tooling and honor consent choices and do-not-track signals where technically feasible. Our Privacy Policy describes what this site collects.
We do not use dark patterns in our own cookie or consent experiences.

Client work, case studies, and testimonials

We publish client names, logos, or work only with written permission from the client, and within the bounds of any NDA or contract.
Testimonials and quotes are real, attributed accurately, current, and approved by the person quoted. We do not edit quotes in ways that change their meaning.
Case studies describe outcomes honestly, including constraints and lessons learned. We do not cherry-pick metrics or omit context that would materially change a reader’s understanding.
Confidential client information is never used to market Quarry, even in anonymized form, without explicit client consent.

AI-generated and AI-assisted content

Quarry uses AI tools thoughtfully and expects the same transparency from ourselves that we advocate for in the products we design. How we use AI describes our practice in the work itself; this section covers what we publish about ourselves.

Human accountability. AI never publishes on Quarry’s behalf. Every piece of marketing or PR content, regardless of how it was produced, is reviewed and approved by a named Quarry team member who is responsible for its accuracy, tone, and compliance with this policy.

When we disclose. We disclose AI involvement whenever it would be material to how a reasonable person interprets the content:

Synthetic or AI-generated imagery, video, or voice that depicts people, places, or product work
AI-generated images presented in a photographic style, or used where a viewer would reasonably assume a photograph
Content where AI produced a substantial portion of the substantive text, for example a long-form article drafted primarily by a model and lightly edited
Any AI-generated portrayal of Quarry’s design or engineering work. Our portfolio must show work our people actually did.

Disclosure is plain and visible, as a caption, footnote, or note in the post, not buried in metadata.

When we do not require disclosure. Routine assistance (grammar and copyediting, summarizing, translation, transcription, brainstorming, research support, image cropping or clean-up) does not require a label, provided the final output is human-reviewed and accurate.

Hard lines. We never use AI to:

Fabricate testimonials, reviews, quotes, client logos, team members, or portfolio work
Generate deepfakes or synthetic likenesses of real people without their explicit consent
Imitate the distinctive style of a named living artist, designer, or studio
Process confidential client material in tools that have not been approved for that data

Rights and provenance. We use AI tools whose terms permit commercial use of outputs, check generated assets for infringing or identifiable material before publishing, and retain a record of how significant AI-generated assets were produced.

Impact, sustainability, and B Corp claims

Social and environmental claims (“humane,” “accessible,” “ethical,” “sustainable”) are backed by specific, verifiable practices or measurements, the same ones we report against in our B Impact Assessment. We avoid vague virtue language that we cannot substantiate.
We use the Certified B Corporation name and logo only once certification is granted, and then strictly in line with B Lab’s brand guidelines. Until then, we may say we are “pursuing B Corp certification” where accurate.
We do not overstate our diversity, pro bono, or community-impact metrics. Where we publish them, we publish the actual figures and the date they were measured.

Public relations, media, and spokespeople

Designated spokespeople for Quarry are the founder and leadership team, or a team member they explicitly authorize for a given topic. Team members are encouraged to share their perspectives publicly, but should make clear when views are their own.
Statements to media are truthful. We do not comment on matters we cannot speak to accurately, and we do not speculate about clients’ internal affairs.
We disclose material relationships when they are relevant to what we are saying, such as a client, investor, or partner relationship with an organization we praise or recommend.
Award submissions and partner or vendor badges reflect real achievements and current status.
Crisis or sensitive communications (a security incident, a client dispute, public criticism) are coordinated by leadership before anything is said publicly.

Corrections

When we get something wrong, we fix it visibly and promptly: we correct the content, add a note describing what changed and when if the error was material, and notify anyone who relied on the incorrect information where practical.

Roles and approval

Content author. Checks their own work against the commitments above before submitting for review. Flags AI use and any client-related content.
Reviewer, a named team member. Confirms claims are substantiated, accessibility requirements are met, consents are on file, and disclosures are present. Approves for publication.
Leadership. Approves press releases, crisis communications, new client case studies, impact claims, and anything using the B Corp mark. Owns this policy.
All team members and contractors. Follow this policy when speaking on Quarry’s behalf. Raise concerns when something doesn’t feel right.

Before anything is published, the reviewer confirms that:

Every factual and outcome claim is accurate and can be substantiated
There is no urgency, fear, or manipulative framing
It meets WCAG 2.2 AA: alt text, captions, contrast, plain language, structured document
Client permission and testimonial approvals are on file where applicable
AI involvement has been assessed, and disclosure added where this policy requires it
Impact or B Corp claims are specific, current, and verifiable
Sponsored, paid, or partner relationships are disclosed
A named reviewer has approved

Raising concerns

Any team member, client, partner, or member of the public who believes Quarry’s marketing or PR falls short of this policy can raise it with leadership directly, or through our stakeholder grievance mechanism. Concerns are acknowledged, reviewed, and responded to, and material issues are corrected as described under Corrections. No one will face retaliation for raising a concern in good faith.

Review and governance

This policy is reviewed at least annually by the leadership team, as part of the December review of Quarry’s purpose, social, and environmental impact, and updated when laws, platforms, tools, or our practices change.
It is published here and kept in our internal wiki alongside our other policies, consistent with B Lab’s transparency expectations.
Adoption and each subsequent review are recorded in meeting minutes as evidence for certification and recertification.