FTC Ruling Changes Marketing Forever

The Federal Trade Commission released its newly revised guidelines regarding the use of so called “endorsements and testimonials” in advertising – both on and offline.

The new revisions seem to really put the spotlight on “bloggers” and other unscrupulous social media users, which would require them to openly disclose when and if they have received payment in the form of either money or product from a company or organization and produce content regarding said company or organization.

The FTC’s guidelines states that bloggers can be fined up to $11,000 PER POST for failing to properly disclose compensation. Ouch!

But it get’s worse because the FTC has a habit of making some rather unique interpretations when it comes to enforcing their rules.

For example you could be doing nothing wrong and think that you are in compliance, but the FTC may decide otherwise. Just ask big name marketers Frank Kern and Perry Belcher (Both great guys who got reamed by the FTC).

The upside to this is that like most government regulations, they may be hard to enforce. And the FTC acknowledges that its guidelines aren’t exactly the law themselves.

In a statement the FTC states:

The Guides are administrative interpretations of the law intended to help advertisers comply with the Federal Trade Commission Act; they are not binding law themselves. In any law enforcement action challenging the allegedly deceptive use of testimonials or endorsements, the Commission would have the burden of proving that the challenged conduct violates the FTC Act.

Think you won’t be effected if you’re not a blogger? Whoa there doggie, not so fast. The new rules presumably apply to publications beyond bloggers and social media users.

Clearly “bloggers” are the focus of the new mandates that the FTC had on its collective mind when drafting these guidelines. But clearly if you are using any sort of testimonials on your site, in your online or print advertising, then you should take a closer look at how these new rules could effect your business.

The rules are scheduled to take effect on December 1st 2110 so get your sites and advertising material updated before then.

And I just read a really great example of how this new ruling could effect your business even if you AREN’T blogging. Check it out on Frank Kern’s blog.