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Media, Advertising and Direct Marketing
Any promotional activities must be carried out in accordance with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations and alongside two advertising codes of practice: the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code).
All marketing and advertising materials must be an accurate description of the product or service it is selling, and it must be legal, decent, truthful, honest and socially responsible.
As well as these criteria, the two advertising codes of practice ensure any promotion is legal while some specific products and services including food, alcohol, tobacco and environmentally-friendly products have enhanced requirements.
Advertising Standards Agency
When advertising your business, you need to be mindful of adhering to the relevant legal regulations set out by regulating bodies including the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ensure you don’t unintentionally mislead your customers.
Non-broadcast advertising has codes detailing the enhanced standards for accuracy and honesty in certain situations such as:
- Advertising to children
- Political advertising
- Causing offence
Our team can talk you through the legal pitfalls and ensure any marketing or advertising you do to promote your business or your products is legally compliant.
Broadcast media must follow the CAP code which determines the regulations for product placement and decency. These regulations are especially important when advertisements are aimed at children or are medicines and medical devices, as well as weight control, gambling and alcohol. Advertising any of these products will add to the complexity of advertising on television.
Trading Standards
Regulatory responsibilities are even clearer in relation to trading standards. All advertising activities must not mislead consumers or use false or deceptive messaging to entice individuals.
Breaking the regulations could result in receiving a fine or being prosecuted so it’s important that any advertising or marketing activities you undertake are in-line with trading standards.
If you are unsure of what is expected of your business, our Commercial Team can advise on what you can do and how to avoid any disputes over your compliance with regulations.
Comparative Advertising
Comparative advertising, where you name a trademarked, branded competitor, is an area full of legal pitfalls. If you are considering such an approach, we can ensure the Ad is not misleading, meets the conditions set out in the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive and does not discredit the trademarks, trade names and any other distinguishing marks of your competitor.
Direct Marketing
The GDPR sets stringent rules to follow when it comes to direct marketing to individuals. You should refer to our Brilliantly Simple Guide to the GDPR to understand the gravity of the requirements of the regulations or contact our Commercial Team who will be happy to discuss your options.
If you intend to market directly to individuals, you must ensure you do it in a GDPR-compliant and unobtrusive manner. This means gaining their explicit consent before you contact them in any way or share their data with a third party.
When you contact an individual, it must only be for specific and requested purposes and with a legitimate reason. You must always give the individual the option to opt out or to unsubscribe from any communications you send them.
It would be prudent to use a checklist with criteria you need to meet when intending to complete direct marketing so you can evidence the reasons for contacting the individual.
Our team has vast experience in working with clients to ensure their advertising and direct marketing meets the regulations stipulated by the GDPR so they are able to effectively and successfully connect with clients. If you would like advice on how best to approach advertising in your business, please contact a member of our team.
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