Advocacy

ERA Featured in Full Page Ad in Roll Call

April 22, 2010

Today ERA was featured in a full page advertisement in the top Capitol Hill news source, Roll Call. The ad explains that it would be inappropriate to grant the FTC broader powers to regulate retailers and other non-financial industries in a financial services bill. This ad is part of a broad coalition effort involving associations representing magazine publishers, online publishers, and all types of advertisers. The coalition members represent many different business models but share an interest in fair regulation.

ERA Joins Coalition to Prevent FTC Expansion

March 16, 2010

ERA has joined with a variety of industry associations to stand in opposition to potential changes to FTC rulemaking authority. As explained in this letter, ERA believes the FTC best serves businesses and consumers by staying focused on its current mission and does not need to more rulemaking authority to be effective. If a rule is needed, Congress can grant and has granted the FTC authority on a specific issues that are of particular concern. Read the full letter here.

ERA Introduces New Member Benefit for Canadian Members!

January 15, 2010

This month ERA launched a new member benefit for members doing business in Canada. The Canadian Corner Policy Notes will keep you up to speed with critical developments at the CBC, the CRTC and in Parliament. The newsletter will automatically be sent to all Canadian members monthly and if any urgent information needs to be communicated. If you have any questions or if you are an ERA member outside of Canada and would like to receive the newsletter, please e-mail Tomi Turner at tturner@retailing.org.
 

ERA Hosted Three Successful Spotlight Sessions with the FTC on Testimonials

Dec. 17, 2009

ERA created two regional educational sessions and an online webinar designed to address these issues and help your business prepare for these changes. Participants from television networks, producers, and even telemarketing companies enjoyed learning more about how to comply. The panel included a wealth of practical information on what to do right now to avoid potential liability.

The ERA Spotlight Sessions: Endorsements and Testimonials took place on:

• December 7, 2009
  • New York, NY at Digital Sandbox
• December 14, 2009
  • Long Beach, CA at the Hilton Hotel
• December 17, 2009
  • Live online webinar

Attendees at the ERA Spotlight Sessions: Endorsements and Testimonials learned:

• Creative ways to comply with the removal of the “results not typical” safe harbor;
• What’s new with celebrity endorsements; and
• Why you need a social media policy to protect your business

Learn more and see the videos. If you are an ERA member you can still view the webinar for free. Please contact Tomi Turner at tturner@retailing.org for details.

The FTC has released its revised guidance on Testimonials

Oct. 5, 2009

Please find an official FTC press release here. The full Guides are available here. Our legal experts are considering these changes now and we will be releasing analysis soon, but there are some initially encouraging signs. The revised Guides have clearly been influenced by ERA’s extensive work on the issue, including our successful self-regulatory efforts, the detailed comments we have submitted, the coalitions we have formed, and our direct advocacy. We believe the 35 advocacy meetings on the Hill, 40 constituent meetings at the Fly-In, the testimony before the Senate, and our suggested language were all important. In addition, stay tuned for educational opportunities for ERA members that will help you comply with these changes moving forward.

Two ERA Members Testify Before the US Senate

July 22, 2009

Greg’s years of experience exemplified the industry’s longstanding and sincere commitment to protecting the consumer. Jon’s colorful testimony was filled with real life stories and emphasized the difficulty business would have with complying with the proposed changes to the FTC’s guidance. Greg and Jon were both asked tough questions –especially regarding why an advertiser would be opposed to using an average. Both were articulate and persuasive in their answers. 

Perhaps more importantly, the FTC received some tough questions and it was clear that Senators understood the Endorsement issue as they placed additional pressure on the FTC to consider the ramifications of their proposals. Another particularly impressive part of the hearing is that the many diverse witnesses found a good deal of common ground around self-regulation as an integral part of consumer protection.

 Click Here View The Hearing: (note testimony begins a short way into the video)

ERA Gets Article on Endorsements in AdAge

 March 16, 2009

AdAge gets it mostly right. The new requirements placed on advertisers in certain categories will be greatly restricted by the FTC’s proposed changes to the Guides. However, affected product categories may include household products, beauty products, financial tools, and anything else that uses quantitative testimonials or endorsements.

Proposed Changes Could Put Squeeze on Ads for Diet Plans and Fitness Equipment

By Ira Teinowitz 

Published: March 12, 2009

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- "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 commission believes that certain advertisements employing testimonials may not convey that the endorsers' experience is representative of what consumers will generally achieve," the FTC said.
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.
Several associations suggested the FTC hold off on issuing the part of the guidelines that applies to new media until it has more experience with problems.

Read the story here. 

ERA Submits Comments to the FTC

March 1, 2009

ERA submitted two sets of comments to the FTC regarding proposed changes to the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials. Our response focused on the flaws in previous studies, the difficulty marketers will have in complying with these changes, and the potential consumer confusion these changes may create. 

Read our FTC Comments:  short comments or  detailed comments. 

ERA Gets Extension for Endorsements and Testimonials

Late last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) granted a request for an extension filed by ERA and other prominent advertising associations. Our request focused on the significance of the changes for direct marketers and for “new media.” These changes could dramatically affect both industries, so it is essential any changes are made with caution. The period for comment will now last until March 2, 2009. The previous deadline was January 30th. The vote for the extension was unanimous. This extension is only the first step in our advocacy efforts. Moving forward we will lead a coalition of trade associations to seek a solution that is beneficial for our member companies and for consumers. If you would like to learn more about this issue, please click here. 

ERA Sets the Record Straight on  the Streamlined Sales Tax Project

As Published in the Palm Beach Post

The Post's editorial, "Collect Internet sales tax" argues that joining the Streamlined Sales Tax Project would help Florida businesses. In fact, the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement would be disastrous for Florida's electronic retailers and do little to help brick-and-mortar businesses.

The editorial doesn't take into account that Main Street retailers use the Internet to compete against mass retailers. Also, simplifying sales-tax systems is not nearly as straightforward as the editorial suggests. Finally, the suggested potential for revenue is based on tax loss numbers that don't add up.

Although its original mission was to bring simplicity and uniformity to state sales-tax laws and make sales-tax collection easier for online retailers, the Streamlined Project has accomplished little of either. The Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement has failed to reduce the number of sales-tax jurisdictions, which stands at around 7,500. Nor has it reduced the number of local and state sales-tax rates. In fact, it allows for state and local rates, so Florida businesses could have more than 15,000 rates to keep up with.

Meanwhile, it has not reduced the number of audits a Florida business would be subject to. Each state still could conduct its own audit of any Florida business that sells online. And last year, the project abandoned one of its bedrock principles, having a uniform destination sourcing rule, in favor of a two-tiered system. Now, some states can have local businesses collect taxes based on the single rate where the retailer is located, while Internet retailers will have to collect whatever rate applies in each customer's taxing jurisdiction.

The states, big-box retailers and other advocates of the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement continue to use faulty revenue loss estimates. They cite a 2004 University of Tennessee study that blames e-commerce for more than $22''billion in lost sales tax during 2005. That figure was half as much as the same researchers had forecast in a 2001 study. Their reduced estimate recognized greater use of tax compliance by businesses and the growing trend of chains like Walmart and Home Depot to collect sales tax on online sales. A study by Forrester Research found that 75 percent of all online sales come from "multi-channel" retailers, which most likely already have a physical presence in Florida and collect sales taxes. Joining the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement would not generate anywhere close to the amount of revenue proponents are hoping for and would make things more complicated for Florida businesses.

See older advocacy efforts