What are the FTC's 4 Important Things to Remember when Advertising your Products?
If you use native advertising, consider the context. As the FTC explained in Native Advertising: A Guide for Businesses, “The watchword is transparency. An advertisement or promotional message shouldn’t suggest or imply to consumers that it’s anything other than an ad.” Review your native ads from the perspective of consumers who don’t have your industry expertise about new forms of promotion.
If there is a material connection between your company and an endorser, disclose it. What’s a material connection? According to the FTC’s Endorsement Guides, it’s a connection between the endorser and the seller that might materially affect the weight or credibility a consumer gives the endorsement. Read The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking for nuts-and-bolts compliance advice and apply those principles if you enlist influencers, bloggers, or others in your marketing efforts.
Disclosures of material connection must be clear and conspicuous. What about explaining a material connection in a footnote, behind an obscure hyperlink, or in a general ABOUT ME or INFORMATION page? No, no, and no. As with any disclosure of material information, businesses should put the disclosure in a location where consumers will see it and read it. The terms of the Lord & Taylor settlement apply just to that company, of course, but for prudent marketers, a good rule of thumb is the standard in that order: “in close proximity” to the claim.
Train your affiliates and monitor what they’re doing on your behalf. If your company uses social media campaigns like this, make your expectations clear at the outset with influencers and follow through with an effective compliance program. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking lists elements every program should include:
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Because advertisers are responsible for substantiating objective product claims, explain to your network the claims you can support;
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Instruct them about their responsibilities for disclosing their connection to you;
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Periodically search to make sure they’re following your instructions; and
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Follow up if you spot questionable practices.
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For more information, see here: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2016/03/ftcs-lord-taylor-case-native-advertising-clear-disclosure
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