Guide to Marketing Labor Laws

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for preventing unfairness and deception in the marketplace. Because of this, the FTC Act was established, giving the Commission the power to bring law enforcement against misleading and false claims that a certain product is of U.S. origin. It requires a product to be “all or virtually all” made in the United States. To provide guidance to all marketers who want to make a qualified Made in USA claim and an unqualified Made in USA claim under the “all or virtually all” standard, the Commission also issued an Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims.

A lease ad is any message inviting, offering or announcing to the public the availability of a consumer lease. It can be in the form of oral, visual, print or electronic media.

The Consumer Leasing Act is a federal law requiring lease agreements to include specific terms like a statement of the number of lease payments plus their dollar amounts, penalties for not paying on the due date and whether a lump sum of payment is due at the end of the agreement.

In 2003, the CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) was established to set requirements for those sending commercial emails, gives penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised as spam and violating the law. It gives the consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.

The law became effective on January 1, 2004 with the Federal Trade Commision which is the nation’s consumer protection agency as the one authorized to enforce this act. The Department of Justice (DOJ) also has the authority to enforce criminal sanctions on the spammers.

The National Organic Program (NOP) implements, handles, develops, administers national production and sets labeling standards for organic agricultural products. It also accredits foreign and domestic certifying agents who inspect the production of organic products and handles operations certifying that they meet USDA standards.

In 1990, the Organic Foods Production Act was implemented requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to launch a National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances that identifies which synthetic substances can be used and non-synthetic substances that may not be used in handling operations and organic production.

The marketing of private medicare plans is governed by the principles and code of ethics of the marketing industry. However, there comes a time when marketing practices become too aggressive and customers are left with less freedom over choosing the perfect medicare plan for them. This must be the main reason why some U.S. states are seeking more regulatory authority over the marketing of medicare plans. Or so they believe.

MedicalNewsToday.com shares that several states will soon ask Congress to let them set marketing standards for private medicare plans. Apparently, they are continuously flooded with complaints regarding the “abuses” of firms selling medicare plans. I think that if this is really the case, then pushing for more regulatory authority is justified. Let’s see in the next few weeks if Congress shares the same viewpoint.

For more juicy details, click here.

Starting the first of July, there will be minor changes in the way motorists drive their vehicles. Mosdaq.com reports that several U.S. states such as California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York will be banning the use of hand-held phone while driving. For motorists who bring their cellular phones with them on a regular basis, the technique is to use a hands-free device.

Apparently, the law is aimed at ensuring greater safety on the road. While wireless communication devices have proven to be of help to people during emergencies, the fact remains that many road mishaps occur and traffic violations are being committed when motorists use phones through their hands.

For the link to the article, click here.

According to Wikipedia, Internet TV is television distributed using the Internet. Basically, it gives people the freedom to choose the shows they prefer to watch. Internet TV is a low-investment service as it relies on existing infrastructure such as wi-fi, cable and satellite to operate. This is what makes it a sought-after service by other service providers and content owners in search of potential clients.

A new research conducted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has identified Internet TV as the most powerful medium in generating a direct purchase. Actually, there were 2,000 respondents asked about direct communications and how they react to them. Research results showed that the top three direct media that can easily persuade people to make a direct purchase are Internet TV, field marketing and e-mail marketing.

For a more in-depth discussion on the said research, click here.

Image Source: http://www.pcentraide.com

Online marketing is now a very lucrative business. In fact, several web-based companies have been experiencing increase in sales primarily due to the growth of their online marketing services. Take for example the case of Baidu, Inc., a Chinese web search operator.

In a news article from Yahoo! Finance, Baidu announced that its first quarter profit grew by a whooping 70 percent due to an increase in its online marketing services revenue. From 85.5 million yuan profit first quarter of last year, Baidu has managed to earn 146.6 million yuan by March 31st.

Online marketing services comprise the bulk of revenue of Baidu and it’s no question that its growth has tremendously affected the company’s profit. With more and more people coming around to the idea of online marketing, then it will be more favorable to companies such as Baidu.

Image Source: http://marketplace.publicradio.org

The marketing industry is continuously growing and evolving. As long as a need can be created, marketing will exist. Marketing firms use marketing plans to outline and achieve their goals.

Every marketing plan is evaluated to know if the marketing strategies employed by the company are effective. From here, the company is able to know the strengths and weaknesses of a particular marketing plan.

There are several indicators that tell if a marketing plan is successful. One of them is the sales or income. If it is going up, then it means you got it right. There are also the direct responses and repeat business of clients. If the numbers are high, then it’s a sign that the marketing strategy is living up to expectations.

Image Source: http://marketing.marketingmo.com

When you are confronted by a weak economy making its presence felt through a slowing housing market, static job growth, fuel price hikes and volatile prices of basic commodities, you won’t have a choice but to practice some frugality. Indeed, this is what many Americans have resorted to do.

KansasCity.com reports that the recent reduced consumer spending has resulted in a decline in retail and restaurant sales.

This is expected to continue as more and more households strive to put their financial house in order. Instead of using their money in discretionary spending, funds go to debt-servicing, savings and investments.

This is a big challenge for the retail and the restaurant industries. I think they should be more creative in their marketing strategies so that they could encourage people to use their purchasing power more often.

Image Source: http://www.gs1.org