There has never been a better time than right now to join the Electronic Retailing Association. Below are the top five reasons why you need to be a part of the only non-profit trade association that represents the dynamic direct response marketing industry.
One free registration to ANY of our domestic conferences (including September’s ERA D2C Convention) – a $1,600 value!;
Networking opportunities with our 450+ member companies;
Significant discounts to all of our industry events;
Advocacy: This year we have moved the ERA Government Affairs Fly-In to the middle of the week not to avoid the Monday blues, but to give you more opportunities to meet directly with members of Congress. Staff level meetings are extremely important, but we hope added member meetings will help to make the experience more interesting and help to create a lasting impression of our industry. Education: This year we are expanding our educational content. We’re going to keep it as informative as last year, but we’ll also make it fun. Here are a few key changes:
We’re sponsoring an interactive game that helps to provide perspective on what is important to a member of Congress. I’ve participated in it and it is really informative for those with a great deal of political understanding as well as those who are new to the process.
The educational sessions will be presented in a live webinar the week before the Fly-In, this will give you more time to think about how your business could be affected and can help you share specific information on how your company will be affected.
We’re also including a dynamic presentation on how the electoral landscape could shift in the next election. This brings one of the most exciting elements of politics to our stay.
Last year the networking was a resounding success, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t improve it. This year we’ll use our educational offerings opportunities to get to know your colleagues in the industry. By participating in our interactive game and presentations you’ll see a different side of colleagues you have known for years and get to know people who are new to the industry.
More than 35 industry members have already registered to attend! Register today and learn more at retailing.org/fly-in.
ERA’s annual Government Affairs Fly-In is where direct response executives get together to advocate for our industry on the Hill. First, participants get the latest information on upcoming legislative and regulatory proposals. Then they have a hands-on opportunity to present our industry’s concerns directly to members of Congress and their staff. The work you do at the Fly-In lets lawmakers know we aren’t just advocates in Washington, rather we are an entire industry of entrepreneurs that can be affected by what happens inside the Beltway. Of course the event wouldn’t be complete without great networking, so we include two vibrant networking receptions. Plus, spending time on the Hill is like playing a team sport, so you get beyond exchanging business cards and start forming real relationships.
We’re also adding new features this year. Because we are moving the Fly-In to Tuesday-Wednesday, we’ll have more meetings with members of Congress. Plus, our education will be both more informative and more interesting than ever before. You’ll have an in-depth educational webinar before the Fly-In. At the Fly-In you will participate in an interactive game where you can experience the day to day pressures faced by a member of Congress. This is a helpful tool for those new to politics and seasoned veterans alike – plus it’s a lot of fun. (Warning: This can get competitive!) We’re also including an exciting presentation on how the electoral landscape may change in 2010 – so you can be in the know before anyone else.
Electronic Retailer’sJanuary 2010 issue featuring Jeff Taylor (founder of Monster.com and CEO of Eons.com) is now available online. For more information on Jeff’s upcoming keynote address at the ERA Great Ideas Summit, click here.
The FTC has recently released new Guides on Endorsements and Testimonials. These new Guides mean new rules for all types of marketers and talent. But are you ready to comply? Take this pop quiz to see if you are prepared:
Can celebrities have liability for endorsing a product that does not work?
Can you ever use a disclaimer like “results not typical�
Do you need to do a study to show what the generally expected result will be for your product? If so, what kind of data do you need?
Are you responsible for the claims your affiliates make? If so, what can you do to avoid liability for the actions of rogue affiliates who make claims you don’t agree with?
A celebrity wears clothing with your logo as part of a contract. Is this an endorsement?
What is a clear and conspicuous disclosure on a blog?
When you show a testimonial, are you claiming that others will experience similar results?
Can you structure your TV spots in a way that does not send consumers the message that they will experience similar results?
(How) Can you comply by simply editing your existing spot?
What is the FTC particularly concerned about? How can you make sure you are complying with the Guides?
Get the answers to these questions and ask your own at the ERA Spotlight Sessions: Endorsements and Testimonials. The first session is December 7 in New York City, the second session is December 14 in Long Beach, CA and the final session will be a live webinar on December 17 (free to ERA members).
Rich Cleland, an Assistant Director in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection will participate in each session. He will be joined by top legal experts in the industry to answer your questions. The two in-person sessions will be half-day events including two panels and a question and answer session with all of the panelists. These in person sessions will give you the opportunity to meet and share strategies with others experiencing similar challenges. See the details and register now. retailing.org/ERA_Spotlight_Sessions
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission released its revised Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. The Guides are more than 80 pages long, so we’re still analyzing the changes. However, there is no question that our extensive advocacy efforts have had an effect on the final iteration of the Guides. The commentary included with the changes explains that advertisements using consumer testimonials should be evaluated by the net impression of the advertisement. A footnote in the revised Guides also suggests that in some cases a disclaimer could be sufficient. A more comprehensive legal document will be circulated shortly, but it is clear from a preliminary review that our efforts have not been made in vain. The 35 advocacy meetings on the Hill, 40 constituent meetings at the Fly-In, the testimony before the Senate, two sets of detailed comments and our suggested language were all helpful in presenting our case to the FTC.
However, the new Guides certainly do present some challenges, both to traditional TV marketers and those in social media. ERA is already planning educational opportunities that will provide suggestions for compliance with these changes. We hope the FTC will seize the opportunity to improve the marketplace by presenting to these changes to ERA members at one of our conferences.
Members who attended the Fly-In, supported the Leadership Reception, participated in the Government Affairs Committee, helped to author and review our comments to the FTC, and of course, testified before the Senate, were all instrumental in mitigating some of the more harmful changes. We thank you.
It has been an exciting week in the world of net neutrality. This week, Julius Genachowski, the Chairman of the FCC, announced the Commission’s intention to enter into a formal rulemaking process to codify the four principles of net neutrality currently in use and to add two more principles. The additional principles include a statement that consumers must be able to access the lawful content of their choice, subject to reasonable network management. Essentially, ISPs cannot block traffic to say, NBC Video, just because they have a partnership with Hulu. However, they still may prioritize all video content over all file sharing in order to manage the use of the network. In addition, networks must be transparent about what they are doing to manage traffic. This would give small business and direct response marketers more information about how consumers are experiencing online offerings like video advertising. Specifically, if you are providing an application for wireless devices or making videos available on sites like YouTube, you will know if some of the network providers are slowing certain services during peak hours. You will then be able to adjust your content delivery accordingly.
Electronic Retailer’sSeptember ‘09 issue featuring Montel Williams is now available online! For more information about Motel’s upcoming keynote presentation at the ERA D2C Convention on Monday, Sept. 14, click here.
Late last week Representatives Markey (D-MA) and Eshoo (D-CA) introduced a bill that would keep the Internet open by preventing Internet service providers (ISPs) from imposing “a charge on any Internet content, service, or application provider to enable any lawful Internet content, application, or service to be offered, provided, or used. In other words, they cannot charge you (as a content provider) more than the cost of service for your lawful content and any lawful applications you make available.
The bill also prevents ISPs from providing or selling any content, application, or service provider any offering that prioritizes traffic over that of other such providers. This addresses concerns that ISPs will sell premium access to some companies, which would have the end result of degrading everyone’s content. This is important to any company that is using video online, but is not interested in paying more than they currently do to ensure the quality of the video is not reduced. It’s not easy to be moved by advertising when the video is pixilated or freezes every three seconds.
Similar bills were introduced in the last two Congresses. However, the larger Democratic majority and President Obama’s stated priority of keeping the Internet open may mean there will be some movement on this bill. However, the House will be in a District Work Period (aka recess) until after Labor Day.
In the meantime, you can watch this video.
For more information on ERA’s government affairs efforts, click here.
Tomorrow, the Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Advertising Trends and Consumer Protection.†The hearing will consider several issues in advertising, including the use of the word “free†and Endorsements and Testimonials. This is part of a broader reevaluation of the FTC’s powers and funding. An explanation of tomorrow’s hearing is really not complete without an explanation of last week’s hearing. Last week, from the first opening statement to adjournment, the hearing focused on testimony from consumer groups and emphasized that consumers are targeted by scams and needed additional protection from the FTC (P.S.- You can watch this hearing and kind of see me in the background on C-SPAN here). On a panel of four, a lone dissenter, Tim Muris, former FTC chairman, claimed that the FTC did not need a major expansion in order to effectively protect consumers.
In contrast, this week we have two ERA members testifying and one representative from the National Advertising Review Council (NARC), which administers the ERSP program (ERA’s independent self-regulatory program). We look forward to hearing some dynamic testimony from Guthy-Renker’s Greg Renker and Product Partners’ Jon Congdon. We worked hard to make sure our industry was represented and that this hearing would be more balanced than the last. We’re certain that Renker and Congdon will provide effective counterpoint claims that the FTC needs more authority on the testimonials issue. They can show that our industry is enthusiastic about creating an environment that protects consumers. They are our customers for Pete’s sake! They will also show how effective principled self-regulation is in promoting honest business practices.
For more information or to watch tomorrow’s hearing live or immediately upon completion, click here. (The video may not post until the conclusion of the hearing)
Follow me on Twitter for my live updates from the hearing: Tomi_ERA
Watch as ERA CEO Julie Coons delivers a sneak peak of what attendees can expect from ERA’s upcoming 2009 D2C Convention in Las Vegas September 13-15. Register now!Early bird ends July 1!
If you are thinking about buying something online, one of your first steps in evaluating the product might be to see what kind of reviews the product has received. But what if the reviewer was paid to give a favorable review? This is a practice that clearly has some troubling implications. That’s why the FTC recently addressed this practice in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (yes, this is the same proposal that would require evidence of typicality for some testimonials).
But, consider this: You want your product to appear on reviews because you believe it will help increase the visibility of the product or brand. You send a free sample to a well-known blogger and you explicitly tell them they should be neutral in their review and should disclose that they received the product for free. Under the FTC’s proposed changes you may have liability. If on the same day you also send your product to a product reviewer for a publication without any agreement requiring disclosure, and they do not disclose that they received the product for free, you do not have liability!
Product reviews online come in many forms. In some contexts consumers will expect that the product was given to the reviewer as a free sample. If a college student reviews a new game console every week, would anyone really think that he or she is spending thousands of dollars a month to share friendly advice? This is a complicated issue deserving careful analysis; the FTC must consider the nuances of product reviews before adding new regulations for bloggers.
Get involved! You can learn more and do something about these proposed changes here.
For more information on ERA’s government affairs efforts, click here.
Electronic Retailer’s 
It has been an exciting week in the world of net neutrality. This week, Julius Genachowski, the Chairman of the FCC, announced the Commission’s intention to enter into a formal rulemaking process to 
Late last week Representatives Markey (D-MA) and Eshoo (D-CA) introduced a bill that would keep the Internet open by preventing 
Tomorrow, the Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Advertising Trends and Consumer Protection.†The hearing will consider several issues in advertising, including the use of the word “free†and Endorsements and Testimonials. This is part of a broader reevaluation of the FTC’s powers and funding. An explanation of tomorrow’s hearing is really not complete without an explanation of last week’s hearing. Last week, from the first opening statement to adjournment, the hearing focused on testimony from consumer groups and emphasized that consumers are targeted by scams and needed additional protection from the FTC (P.S.- You can watch this hearing and kind of see me in the background on C-SPAN 
If you are thinking about buying something online, one of your first steps in evaluating the product might be to see what kind of reviews the product has received. But what if the reviewer was paid to give a favorable review? This is a practice that clearly has some troubling implications. That’s why the FTC recently addressed this practice in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (yes, this is the same proposal that would require evidence of typicality for some testimonials).
