When I’m dealing with companies who are in trouble with the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) for breaching the laws on direct marketing, it is amazing how often they don’t actually know whether they have been doing it.
Even the company’s marketing people often look blankly at me and ask, “But, what is direct marketing?”
Direct marketing is defined quite simply by the Data Protection Act 2028 as:
“the communication (by whatever means) of advertising or marketing
material which is directed to particular individuals”
So, what does that mean in real terms?
It’s really just about marketing to specific individuals, rather than just general, traditional marketing to the public as a whole.
To consider it in detail, there are three distinct parts to the definition:
1. Communication (by whatever means)
Any type of communication that you might use for your direct marketing,
which could be emails or text messages; phone calls; social media marketing
or just good old-fashioned post.
2. Advertising or marketing material
This is interpreted very widely and covers any advertising, promotions or
marketing material, including commercial marketing of products or services
and even the promotion of aims and ideals, such as fundraising or political
campaigning.
3. Directed to particular individuals
This means that the marketing material must be “directed to” a particular
person or categories of people, which includes calls to a particular telephone
number; emails to a particular email account; advertising on social media
that is targeted to a particular person and personally addressed post.
Why is it important to know this?
Well, quite frankly, if you don’t know whether you are doing direct marketing, then it is quite difficult to know which laws apply to you and whether you are breaking them.
The main ones being the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (“PECR”).
At Andrew Swan Law, most of the companies I represent before the ICO have fallen foul of PECR and are facing huge fines as a result, including the unsuspecting directors. Very often, they had no idea that the rules applied to them, let alone considered their compliance.
If you need advice on such matters, then just contact me at: andrew@andrewswanlaw.co.uk
I have also created helpful online training on the direct marketing laws, which is only £55 plus VAT per person: The Direct Marketing Laws | Online Training | Andrew Swan Law