Compliance Bootcamp Lesson #1

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you should review your promotional material.

If any part of your marketing content creates a false or misleading general impression, it could be deceptive marketing.

Even if you don't have a contract to pay an influencer, other benefits like free products or services in exchange for promoting a business, product or service is important and relevant information that must be clearly disclosed to the public.

Deceptive marketing laws still apply. If the influencer receives any benefit from or has a connection to your business, it is important to disclose that to the public.

If you use any of these channels to promote your products, services or business, make sure that they are in compliance with the deceptive marketing practices provisions of the Competition Act. Any representation made to the public for the purpose of promoting a product or business interest is covered under these provisions.

If you use any of these channels to promote your products, services or business, make sure that they are in compliance with the deceptive marketing practices provisions of the Competition Act. While this kind of marketing must not create a false or misleading general impression, any representation made to the public to promote a product or business interest is covered under these provisions.

None of the above are exempt from the law. The deceptive marketing provisions of the law can still apply if deceptive claims were made in a place to which the public did not have access.

The deceptive marketing provisions of the law can still apply if deceptive claims were made in a place to which the public did not have access.

All of these practices could be considered deceptive.

• Could be considered hidden fees.
• Fine print disclaimers may not alter an otherwise false or misleading general impression.
• Online reviews and testimonials should be authentic experiences and opinions of impartial consumers.
• A legitimate sale must be based on a true regular price.

"A" could be considered hidden fees.

Fine print disclaimers are insufficient to change the general impression conveyed in your marketing content. If you use disclaimers, make sure that they are intended only to expand on the main message, not to change the general impression.

Online reviews and testimonials should be authentic experiences and opinions of impartial consumers.

A legitimate sale must be based on a true regular price.

The Competition Bureau is responsible for addressing deceptive marketing practices under civil provisions, which prohibit all materially false or misleading representations. It also has responsibility for addressing different kinds of criminal misleading advertising that are similar to fraud.

The Competition Bureau is responsible for addressing deceptive marketing practices under both criminal and civil provisions.

Don't forget that no one actually needs to be deceived or misled for your marketing to be deceptive. If your marketing content is literally untrue or creates a false or misleading general impression, it’s against the law!

Don't forget that no one actually needs to be deceived or misled for your marketing to be deceptive. If your marketing content is literally untrue or creates a false or misleading general impression, it’s against the law!

A key element to keep in mind when promoting a product or service at a certain price is that its advertised price should be attainable. In other words, the price you attach to your product or service in your marketing should be the same as the price that your buyer pays. Don’t add mandatory fees later in the sale process when you are more confident that your customer is ready to pay.

The price consumers see should be the price they pay.

In order to make sure that the content in your promotional material is not deceptive, your claims must be backed up by adequate and proper testing.

Performance claims must be based on testing, not just your personal experience. The results of testing should be significant and meaningful.

Performance claims must be based on testing, not just positive feedback from consumers.

Don’t make broad claims based on testing that is only relevant to one portion of the claim.

When setting a bargain price, your "sale" must be legitimate. To pass the volume test, you must know that your business sold a substantial volume of your product or service at the regular price or more compared to your bargain price within a reasonable period of time. To pass the time test, you must know that your business tried selling your product or service, in good faith, for a substantial period of time at the regular price or higher than your new bargain price.

To comply with the law, the "sale" price must based on the true regular price. A company must be able to validate the regular price by applying the "volume test" or the "time test".

Businesses share a responsibility with influencers.

Businesses share a responsibility with influencers.