How Your Social Media Campaign

Will Get You in Trouble... Maybe

SMX Advanced London, May 2010

Melissa Campbell
 The Laws and Guidelines

SMX Advanced London, May 2010

ASA’s UK Code of Non-
broadcast Advertising, Sales
Promotion and Direct
Marketing
AKA - “the Code”

The Digital Economy

Act 2010

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) is the self
 regulatory body that creates, revises and enforces the Code.
 – Ref: Preface to the Code

 CAP Help Note on Advertising Virals states:

 Advertising virals are e - mail , text or other non - broadcast marketing messages that are designed to stimulate significant circulation by recipients to
generate commercial or reputational benefit to the advertiser from the consequential publicity. They are usually put into circulation (“seeded”) by the advertiser with a request,
either explicit or implicit, for the message to be forwarded to others. Sometimes they include a video clip or a link to website material or are part of a sales promotion
campaign.

”
What You Are
Doing Wrong

SMX Advanced London, May 2010

 Not making your identity or intentions
clear
2.2 Unsolicited e-mail marketing communications must be

obviously identifiable as marketing communications

without the need to open them (see rule 10.6).


2.3 Marketing communications must not falsely claim


or imply that the marketer is acting as a consumer

or for purposes outside its trade, business, craft or

profession; marketing communications must make

clear their commercial intent, if that is not obvious from

the context.


Ref: the Code, Sections 2.2 and 2.3




 Orlando Figes and the false Amazon
reviews

 References:
 Orlando Figes – Bocko M. on Flickr http://bit.ly/9vWjk2
 Guy at computer – scriptingnews on Flickr http://bit.ly/atbHYn

 Being wilfully offensive to get
attention
 4.1 Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence.
Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or
age. Compliance will be judged on the context, medium, audience, product and prevailing standards.
 Marketing communications may be distasteful without necessarily breaching this rule.
 Marketers are urged to consider public sensitivities before using potentially offensive material.

Ref: the Code, Section 4.1

Tombola Bingo’s offensive video Offensive Facebook ad
 Misusing databases
10.10 The extent and detail of personal information

held for any purpose must be adequate and

relevant and should not be excessive for that purpose.

10.11 Personal information must not be kept for

longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was

originally obtained.

10.12 If after collection they decide to use personal

information for a purpose significantly different from that

originally communicated, marketers must first get the

explicit consent of consumers.


Ref: the Code, Section 10.10 – 10.12




Lego Fail Whale - tveskov on Flickr http://bit.ly/9pdgUQ
The consequences

SMX Advanced London, May 2010

 Violations of the Code could result
in:
 Sanctions
 Adverse publicity
 Withholding of media, contractors’
and service providers’ services
 Imposed pre-vetting
 Referral to the Office of Fair
Trading for legal action


 Ref: Preface to The CAP Code – The UK Code of Non-broadcast

 Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (the Code)


 BUT...
 This is determined
 by a self-governing
 industry panel


 The panel is not

 a police force – someone
must
 make a complaint


 Ref: Preface to the Code


 The Digital Economy Act

2010
The Digital Economy Act covers
copyright infringement.


Do you know where your images, videos and text

come from?
Ø


Are they Creative Contents-licensed?

Ø


Have your credited sources properly?

Ø
 Digital Economy Act
consequences
 Inclusion on a copyright infringement list
 Section 4 of the Digital Economy Act


 Having limited or blocked internet access

Sections 9-12 of the Digital Economy Act


 Paying for costs incurred during a subscriber

appeal Section 15 of the Digital Economy Act
 References
The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales
Promotion and Direct Marketing



http://bcap.org.uk/The-Codes/New-Advertising
Codes.aspx


Help Note on Advertising Virals



http://copyadvice.co.uk/Ad-Advice/Help


Notes/Advertising-Virals.aspx


The Digital Economy Act 2010




http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2010/ukpga_20
00024_en_1



SEO Consultant
> melissa.campbell@distilled.co.uk
> twitter.com/melissac601

Distilled
> www.distilled.co.uk

Melissa specialises in social media



marketing and content creation.



She was a copy editor for an international



legal guide before joining Distilled.

