Promotional Marketing Law: A Practical Guide does exactly what it sets out to do, providing practical guidance across a broad spectrum of legal issues in the areas of promotional marketing law. It is therefore one of those rare law books which are equally useful to lawyers and non-lawyers alike.
An indication of the book’s enduring usefulness is the fact that it has now run into six editions. The book’s author is Director of Legal Affairs of the Institute of Promotional Marketing and its new title (previously Sales Promotion Law: A Practical Guide) reflects the Institute’s recent change of name from Institute of Sales Promotion. Promotional marketing is to be found in all media channels, including digital, and is about far more than just sales. In the general scheme of marketing communications promotional marketing has sometimes (mistakenly) been seen as the poor relation of advertising, but its role has grown in recent years and this has been accompanied by significant developments in the legal and regulatory field.
Circus’ book sets out to make readers aware of potential legal pitfalls when devising and executing promotional marketing campaigns. It does this in a simple and effective manner by means of a practical question-and-answer format. It is, in essence, an extended FAQ treatment of a highly disparate set of laws ad regulatory controls as they apply to different techniques of promotional marketing. It explains the general legal and regulatory controls, with chapters on contractual issues and distance selling, prize promotions, data protection, intellectual property, price claims, free offers and extra value incentives. It also covers the Bribery Act 2010 and miscellaneous legal issues such as charity promotions, consumer credit advertising and the use of products in promotions.
Promotional marketing is an increasingly international activity and, like advertising, is now regulated across Europe to a significant degree under legislation implementing the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. Promotions have to be judged against the requirements of the Directive and a chapter on European issues covers the wider European dimension including important cases such as the recent Bekampfung unlauteren Wettbewerbs e V. The author explains why national restrictions against promotional techniques may be largely invalid, as well as administrative requirements such as those in some European countries for notifications or licenses when running prize promotions.
The chapter on prize promotions is particularly helpful with detailed analysis of particular types of promotion such as ‘spot the ball’ competitions. The old cases in these areas remain relevant despite the arrival of the Gambling Act 2008. The author’s detailed practical knowledge of the regulators enables him to provide robust advice at times, such as his confident assertion that a promotion in Northern Ireland which complied with the law in the rest of the Unites Kingdom would be unlikely to be challenged. A lawyer studying the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 might conclude that any number of promotions now permitted in the rest of the United Kingdom, particularly on-pack prize promotions, would be unlawful in Northern Ireland. However, as the author points out, a legal challenge based on Northern Irish law would be politically difficult,
Will this book be useful to marketing practitioners? Yes. It won’t remove the need for legal advice, but will help practitioners understand the legal context better and be quicker to spot when legal advice is necessary.
Will this book be useful to lawyers? Yes. It won’t remove the need for weightier books on specific legal areas such as intellectual property and gambling law, but does provide practical answers to a host of common questions and important signposts for more detailed research in areas beyond the scope of a practical guide.
Business Law Review