Below are a few photo highlights from ERA’s recent networking reception in Toronto.
Click here to get info on all upcoming events!
Registration is now open for the 2009 ERA D2C Convention!
Posts Tagged ‘electronic retailing association’
ERA Takes Manhattan June 18th!
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
As we’ve discussed before when asking you to book your tickets to our eRetailer Summit in Miami, always check with SNL’s resident travel expert Judy Grimes for tips first.
Please join ERA at the New York Networking Reception on June 18, 2009 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. for cocktails and great networking with senior leaders of the direct response industry. The reception will be held during DM Days at the Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips offices in Times Square.
Immediately following the reception we will be holding our fourth Meet the CEO Dinner beginning at 8:15 p.m. It will be an intimate gathering where you can mingle with our new CEO, Julie Coons, as well as our Chairman, Nathan Fagre, board members, and ERA staff.
To register, please contact Katie White at kwhite@retailing.org or (703) 841-8284.
Pat Cauley is Electronic Retailer magazine’s eMedia editor.
GA Fly-In Pics!
Thursday, April 30th, 2009The following are a few highlights from ERA’s 2009 Government Affairs Fly-In.
To view more pictures, click here.
Don’t miss out on upcoming ERA networking, education and fun!
ERA Webinar: How to Fight Online Knock-Offs and Counterfeits- May 14
ERA NYC Networking Reception- June 18
The 2009 Electronic HomeShopping Conference- June 28-30
The ERA European Conference and Trade Show
ERA L.A. Networking Reception- July 21
GA Fly-In Testimonial Videos
Thursday, April 30th, 2009ERA hosted the 2009 Government Affairs Fly-In in Washington, D.C. on April 20 and 21. Over 50 ERA members came together in our nation’s capital to network and meet with members of Congress to highlight their concerns over the revised Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guides on Endorsements and Testimonials. Attendees participated in over 40 meetings with members of Congress and their staff, enjoyed a dynamic keynote speech by Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR), and networked with the movers and shakers of the D2C industry at two cocktail receptions.
For more video testimonials, click here. To learn more about ERA’s government affairs efforts, click here.
Results May Vary
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009As this year’s ERA Government Affairs Fly-In comes to a close, the FTC’s view on testimonials and endorsements has been the hot topic. The following column addressing this issue first appeared in Electronic Retailer in March of 2007.
Disclaimer: Some readers of the following column may be amused and entertained; others may be put off by a perceived self-indulgent rant. Results may vary.
A few years ago, a client of mine who was sponsoring a car at the Indy 500 was gracious enough to invite me along. Just prior to the start of the race, a parade of stars was introduced. Who do you suppose elicited the greatest ovation from the crowd? Was it pop star and Proactiv endorser Jessica Simpson? Late night star cum racing team leader David Letterman? Jim “Gomer Pyle†Nabors singing “Back Home in Indiana†just prior to “Lady (thank you, Danica Patrick) and gentlemen, start your engines?†No, it was Jared Fogle. Jared Fogle? Yes, Jared–the Subway Guy.
I mention all this because as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) begins the process of reviewing its policy on testimonials in advertising, Jared and the billowing pants he used to wear when he was 235 pounds heavier are about to endure the kind of scrutiny serial dieters reserve for their waistline. The FTC is examining whether highlighting such extraordinary cases of success within advertising creates expectations in the mind of the consumer that are misleading or even deceptive, even though they may be accompanied by a disclaimer along the lines of “results not typical.†Given the prevalence in health, fitness and even financial direct marketing of such endorsements, this may threaten a core device advertisers have long employed to spur couch potatoes to take action.
The Jareds of the world are aspirational catalysts who inspire others to change their lives. Does anyone really think that by working out at 24 Hour Fitness, they can ride a bicycle like Lance Armstrong? No, but by endorsing this chain, Armstrong may lead the target audience to healthier living. Similarly, a tearful weight-loss infomercial testimonial that causes a viewer to pick up the phone could be viewed as a public service. Given the rate of obesity in America, shouldn’t these authentic testimonials be framed in a positive light?
In a world with scant heroes, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that commoner Jared received the greatest roar at Indy. Subway has tried many different campaigns in the near-decade since our bespectacled everyman first “ate fresh,†but keeps coming back to the icon that represents the ability of the average person to achieve extraordinary results. And what of the role of personal responsibility in making choices (something I would think our government would want to extol)? Having sat through countless focus groups, I can attest that consumers pay close attention to those mouse-typed disclaimers, and comprehend every word. The FTC should give them more credit. Perhaps a more appropriate disclaimer for such testimonials would be: “Individual desire or will may vary.†Fat chance.
Rick Petry is a freelance writer who specializes in direct marketing. He can be reached at rick.petry@me.com.
For more information about ERA’s government affairs efforts, click here.
2009 eRetailer Summit Photos!
Monday, April 6th, 2009Below are a few photos from ERA’s eRetailer Summit held recently in Miami. Check back often, more photos will be posted soon!
Don’t miss out on future ERA networking, education and fun!
ERA Webinar: Optimizing Your DRTV During a Downturn
April 7, 2009 at 2:30 p.m. EDT
ERA Webinar: Changing the FTC Rules on Endorsements & Testimonials: Why You Should Care!
April 16, 2009 at 2:30 p.m. EDT
ERA Government Affairs Fly-In
April 20-21
ERA Toronto Networking Reception
April 29, 2009
Chicago Tribune Interviews ERA’s CEO Julie Coons & Product Partners’ Jonathan Gelfand
Friday, March 27th, 2009Consumers lured by advertisements promising rock-hard abs, sparkling white teeth and bulging bank accounts soon may get a reality check.
Updated guidelines on ad endorsements and testimonials under final review by the Federal Trade Commission—and widely expected to be adopted—would end marketers’ ability to talk up the extreme benefits of products while carrying disclaimers like “results not typical” or “individual results may vary.”
Instead, companies would be allowed to tout extreme results only if they also spelled out typical outcomes.
“For a good part of the last decade, we have noticed a problem, particularly with consumer testimonials,” said Richard Cleland, assistant director of the FTC’s division of advertising practices. “The use of consumer testimonials had become almost a safe harbor for companies as long as they threw in some sort of disclaimer about results not being typical.”
The changes are sending shudders through companies that worry about their ability to motivate consumers to buy their products if they can’t sell the sizzle.
“There would never be another Jared,” said Julie Coons, president and chief executive of the marketing trade group Electronic Retailing Association, referring to Jared Fogle, who became Subway’s spokesman after losing 245 pounds eating the chain’s sandwiches and exercising. “We’re all going to have to regroup” if the proposals stand.
To read the entire article, click here.
ERA’s Government Affairs Team Wants You!
Friday, March 27th, 2009Click here to register for the GA Fly-In.
Don’t be a Gilly! Follow ERA, Silly.
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009Don’t be a Gilly! Instead, get to the head of the class and ahead of your competition by attending ERA’s webinars, receptions and meetings. You’ll learn about best practices, new trends and also network with your industry peers in a fun, relaxed setting.
Upcoming Events:
ERA Webinar- Optimizing Your DRTV During a Downturn: Your 2009 DRTV Stimulus Package—March 19
ERA Chicago Networking Reception—March 22, 2009
ERA Government Affairs Fly-In—April 20-21
ERA Toronto Networking Reception—April 29, 2009
Only You Can Prevent Changes to Endorsements and Testimonials!
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
The Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) was mentioned in a recent AdvertisingAge article for its work with the FTC on the proposed changes to endorsements and testimonials.
According to AdvertisingAge, “Results not typical” or “Experience may vary” used to be enough to protect marketers using testimonial ads to move their wares. But maybe not for much longer.
The Federal Trade Commission wants to toughen the rules for endorsements and testimonials by requiring evidence that results are likely to be typical — a move that would put pressure on purveyors of diet pills and exercise equipment, among others.
The FTC is proposing the change as part of a rewrite of its now-29-year-old guide for endorsements. In part, it’s an attempt to bring the rules up to date in order to meet some of the challenges of the internet and buzz-marketing age.
The biggest change: Advertisers that feature endorsers touting dramatic results will either have to demonstrate that consumers are “likely” to have similar success or describe in the ad what the “generally expected performance” is.
The Direct Marketing Association warned that the change could make it difficult for new competitors to advertise at all, and the Electronic Retailing Association and the Council for Responsible Nutrition said the change could make even well-documented claims difficult to make.
To read the complete article, click here.
Want to have your voice heard on Capitol Hill? Then we invite you to ERA’s Government Affairs Fly-In on April 20-21, where you’ll have the opportunity to meet with members of Congress and let them know your concerns and opinions on this issue and many others affecting the direct-to-consumer, multichannel marketing industry.
Click here for more information.
CNN Direct Response Segment
Friday, March 6th, 2009FTC, Behavioral Advertising and You!
Friday, March 6th, 2009
The FTC recently released revisions to its self-regulatory principles for online behavioral advertising. But, how might these changes affect your business? In these particular principles, the FTC is focused on “third-party†advertising, rather than contextual or “first-party†advertising. Basically, a website using behavioral advertising only for one website and not aggregating data across multiple sites will not be directly subject to these principles, although they are still subject to other applicable privacy laws. Similarly, advertising based on a specific web query or click will not be subject to the principles unless that data is stored and applied to future actions.
The FTC’s principles focus on increasing transparency and consumer control, reasonable security and limited data retention, affirmative express consent for material retroactive changes to privacy promises, and affirmative express consent or prohibition of the use of sensitive data.
• Increasing Transparency: The principles require a disclosure to consumers that data is being collected and give a meaningful opt-out opportunity. The FTC voiced the desire for strong self-regulation even where data is not personally identifiable if that data “could reasonably be associated†with a particular consumer or device. The FTC also encourages disclosure in places other than the privacy policy. This might include a disclosure on or near an advertisement. They also encourage the use of empirical data to test whether the consumer understands the disclosure.
• Data Security and Retention: The protections should be based on the sensitivity of the data and the nature of a company’s business operations, the types of risks a company faces, and the reasonable protections available to a company. The FTC added that companies should retain data only as long as necessary to fulfill a legitimate business or law enforcement need.
• Material Retroactive Changes: Consent must only be obtained if the change is both material and retroactive. This makes data collected under the old privacy policy subject the old standards and new data subject to new standards, unless affirmative consent is obtained.
• Sensitive Data: The FTC continues to promote “opt-in†standards that require affirmative consent from consumers.
Ultimately this is an attempt to encourage and direct industry self-regulation, but it does not have an independent enforcement mechanism.
Tomi Turner is ERA’s legislative manager.
