Posts Tagged ‘ftc’

Spectrum Public Affairs
Spectrum

Part II: Public Health in Philadelphia

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Today was the first full day of sessions and posters at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.  Our Spectrum team spread through the conference and heard some interesting things, including:

Menu Labeling and Policy

In a session on menu labeling in New York City, Portland, and Seattle, research and policies were compared.  The Spectrum blog has previously written about research conducted in NYC.   The session started off with a discussion about why menu labeling is important; James Krieger asked the room to guess how many calories are in a variety of fast food meals, ranging from Burger King to Pizza Hut.  The Pizza Hut Cream Chicken Alfredo Pesto Pasta has a startling 3,270 calories per serving.  That’s nearly double the recommended calories for adults in an entire day.

There are currently 16 jurisdictions that have passed and/ or are currently implementing menu labeling initiatives.  Additionally, the health reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday evening includes a menu labeling provision, which would preempt any state and local legislation.  The provision would only require calorie information to be posted, unlike some jurisdictions where fat, sodium, and other nutritional information is made available. (more…)

Posted in Health Policy, Public Affairs, Research, Technology, Tweets, Uncategorized
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lmoon
Leah
Moon

An Update to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s Code of Ethics

Friday, October 30th, 2009

To align more closely with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines governing endorsements and testimonials, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) has updated its Code of Ethics – the WOMMA Code. These guidelines help define best practices, unacceptable practices, and baseline rules for WOMMA, the leading voice for ethical and effective word of mouth and social media marketing.

WOMMA’s Member Ethics Advisory Panel (MEAP) and its Board of Directors agreed to refine a section of the Code of Ethics to change the following statement:

We stand against marketing practices whereby the consumer is paid cash by the manufacturer, supplier or one of their representatives to make recommendations, reviews or endorsements.

And replace it with the following:

We stand against marketing practices whereby the marketer or its representatives provide goods, services or compensation to the consumer to make recommendations, reviews or endorsements without full, meaningful, and prominent disclosure. (more…)

Posted in New Media, PR Industry
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MaggieSchmerin
Maggie
Schmerin

The Truth Shall Set You Free: What Bloggers Need to Know to Comply with the FTC’s New Guidelines

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

In an effort to regulate blogger endorsements, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced new guidelines yesterday which require bloggers to disclose freebies or payments they receive from companies and/or advertisers in exchange for writing reviews of their products or services. These new rules, which go into effect on December 1, are the first update to the FTC Act since 1980 and carry a fine of up to $11,000.ftc-logo

While traditional news outlets are typically required to return items they review to the original source, bloggers have long been compensated for reviewing a product or service whether it’s in the form of a free book or a free vacation – all in exchange for their write up, and inherent promotion.

While the FTC did not specifically mandate how these relationships should be disclosed, Rich Cleland, assistant director of the FTC’s advertising practices division, said disclosure should be “clear and conspicuous” regardless of what format it takes.

As the FTC stated, “The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims. ” (more…)

Posted in New Media, PR Industry
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Spectrum Public Affairs
Spectrum

FDA and FTC: Enter at Your Own Risk

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Summers are normally quiet in Washington. Traffic thins out. Cabs are more available, and Capitol Hill can feel like a ghost town. But this summer, the story was different.

Health care reform kept the government and the media buzzing with details about the proposed overhaul – debate over a public option, discussion of non-profit coops, and concerns over access and quality of care.  While the conversation on Capitol Hill focused on one angle of health care reform, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chiseled away on another. Quietly, each released new proposals that portend major changes for how pharmaceutical and medical device companies advertise, interact with the consumer, the patient, in the future. (more…)

Posted in Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, Media Relations, New Media
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