Archive for the ‘Legal’ Category
July 12th, 2010
Why are so many Sweepstakes void in Quebec?
The government of Quebec has a number of laws in place that are intended to protect the citizens of Quebec, but in–turn impose a significant burden of resources and money to Sponsors.
In order to allow residents of Quebec to participate in a Sweepstakes, Sponsor must do some or all of the following things:
Continue on…
Categories: Budget Friendly, Legal, News, Promotion Risks, Tips
May 27th, 2010
Follow Up to “Whatever happened to freedom of speech?”
It’s official the FTC has revamped it’s guidelines concerning endorsements to take account of the new boom in social marketing, blogger endorsements and word of mouth promotion.
The FTC says it wants to extend to digital communication the same user protections it enforces in offline advertising: namely, to make sure that consumers know when a commentator or content creator has a “material connection” to the marketer. Though most marketers don’t control what is said by the bloggers they enlist in their promotions, the FTC says, just the fact that they’re offering these bloggers benefits — even in the form of samples or review copies — must be made clear starting Dec. 1, 2009. Both the bloggers and the advertisers could be held liable for failing to disclose these links. Continue on…
Categories: Advertising, Legal, News, Technology, Tips
April 26th, 2010
Puerto Rico’s Regulatory Revisions
On November 27, 2009, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico released revised, less restrictive, Sweepstakes and Games of Chance Regulations. In the past, the regulatory barriers made it very difficult and sometimes impossible for many brands/sponsors to open their promotions to residents of Puerto Rico.
The new less restrictive regulation better aligns with regulations upheld by the United States, therefore, seems likely that brands and sponsors will begin extending their promotions to residents of Puerto Rico. Continue on…
April 26th, 2010
Prizes, Taxes, & 1099 Forms
Taxes on that prize? No one ever told me… When that 1099 tax filing arrives in your mailbox and you don’t remember where it came from or why it was sent to you, think back for a moment.
It could likely be from a prize you won in a sweepstakes the prior year. Prizes over $600 are considered miscellaneous income to the government and sponsors are required by law to issue a 1099 form to winners who receive a prize (or multiple prizes) valued over $600. Continue on…
February 5th, 2010
CARU’s Guidlines
In today’s world, the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) has its work cut out for them to stay on top of the latest and greatest social networking and marketing trends as it relates to advertising to our children. As defined on their site, www.caru.org, CARU is a non-profit organization that fosters truth and accuracy in advertising directed to children who are under 13.
Categories: Advertising, Legal, Tips, Uncategorized, Winners
October 1st, 2009
The Random Factor
Equal Opportunity = Legal Promotion
“Equal opportunity” doesn’t solely exist in the HR world. It is imperative that it exist in the Promotion world as well.
Clients often ask, “Can we select the winner from a specific state?” We answer with a resounding, “No”… and offer the following explanation… Continue on…
Categories: Legal, Prizes, Promotion Risks, Tips, Uncategorized
July 19th, 2009
No Small Blunders in Cyberspace
Gone are the days where a local PR event gone awry would cause local bad buzz and in a few days’ time, be forgotten. Local newspapers would pick up the story; the faulted company would spend an afternoon preparing a statement to coincide with the drop of the negative article in tomorrow’s paper. If the company was lucky, the bad news would spread as far as the paper route.
With the expansion of online and social media, there is no longer such a thing as local. Nor is there such a thing as having an afternoon to prepare. Pepsi’s recent NY Yankees ticket giveaway in NYC comes to mind Continue on…
Categories: Advertising, Legal, Media, News, Technology
July 14th, 2009
Old Laws vs. New Technology
As you might know, the laws that govern the promotion industry are often complex and unclear. Throw into the mix the myriad of new technologies and you get a giant “legal question mark”.
In the old days, the formula was fairly straight forward: a promotion became illegal if all three of the following elements were present in a concept: Continue on…
Categories: Legal, Technology
June 5th, 2009
Whatever happened to freedom of speech?
I recently read an article titled “Advertisers brace for online viral marketing curbs”. The article speaks to the possibility of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) revising guidelines on endorsements and testimonials submitted by bloggers and users of social networking sites who receive samples of companies’ products. The main target of the new guidelines appears to be Continue on…
Categories: Advertising, Legal, Media, News, Technology
January 15th, 2009
Sony to Pay $1 Million to Settle COPPA Case
There’s a big price to pay if you do not comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”)……
Sony BMG Music Entertainment will pay $1 million to help settle Federal Trade Commission(”FTC”) charges that it violated COPPA by allegedly collecting, maintaining and disclosing personal information from thousands of children under the age of 13 without their parents’ consent. Continue on…
Categories: Legal, Media, News, Promotion Risks, Technology, Tips, Winners