Norway’s revised marketing law comes into effect on 1 June 2009. After attending a seminar organized by the Consumer Ombudsman in Norway, we conclude that telemarketers will face new hurdles, while three interesting opportunities arise: contests, coupons and bargain gifts.
The marketing law governs marketing, business practices and documentation requirements, and applies primarily to activities directed towards consumers, but also contains a chapter on protecting the interests of businesses. The revised marketing law replaces the current marketing law of 1972, and incorporates elements from EU directives – including a “black list” of marketing activities that are banned.
The black list contains activities related to unfair business practices, with emphasis on “misleading” and “aggressive” practices. For example, it is misleading to employ certificates or quality or environmental brands without fulfilling requirements and attaining necessary permissions to use them. Aggressive practices can, for instance, be creating false impressions that a consumer has won something, when there is no prize involved – or the reward requires costs for the consumer.
Telemarketers face increasing regulation. The weekend is declared a telemarketing free zone, which confines telemarketing activities to 09:00-21:00 Monday through Friday. Computer assisted calls will no longer be permitted, to prevent “no voice on the other end” cases, which have been a cause for distress among some consumers. There will also be stronger information requirements for telemarketers, and most importantly, consumers will have to provide written consent to telemarketing sales. The format of the consent could be e-mail, SMS, fax or some other form of communication, as long as the format supports the necessary information requirements.
The most visible changes to consumers will likely be three elements that are strongly regulated in the current law, but which have been omitted or moderated in the revised marketing law. These are contests, coupons and bargain gifts (Norwegian “tilgift”).
Contests with random winners are not allowed in the current marketing law, only skill-related contests. This helps explain why we have quiz questions in commercials and TV shows with questions such as “How much is 2+2?” or “What is the prime minister’s name?” When the new law comes into effect in June 2009, this requirement is forfeited – and we will be spared the ridiculously easy questions designed to circumvent the current law.
Coupons are an interesting area, as they can assume many formats – not just the old “cut the piece from the newspaper” variant some associate the word with. To which extent will coupons be virtual, and how will they be distributed? SMS is a viable channel, and mobile ticket solutions already exist in the Norwegian market, provided by the mobile marketing company InCent.
Bargain gifts may well represent the most interesting change. A bargain gift is essentially a bundled additional product provided along with the main product you purchase. In the current law, there is a requirement that a bargain gift needs to be associated with the main product, for instance a bargain gift t-shirt along with a pair of jeans is accepted, while a CD is not. This requirement becomes obsolete with the new law. In theory, we could see cars being bundled with apartments, credit cards bundled with iPhones, household appliances with a new mortgage (there’s an incentive to switch banks!), or movie tickets to go with flowers for your date.
The new marketing law comes into effect 1 June 2009. Marketers, get ready, set… go!
