Whether you’re an agency leader or a corporate marketer, you’ve probably not been able to avoid the conversations about, the timelines, and the ever changing environment of marketing compliance and regulation.

By choice or need, you may have already taken clear action and are prepared for what’s ahead.

Unfortunately your efforts won’t go far if not institutionalized within the brand. It’s more than policy; it’s a people, behavior and culture conversation.

Your job in 2020 will be to continue influence, advise, and direct the stakeholders that surround your client(s) or organization on the urgency of these matters, and before the deadlines that directly affect you come knocking at your door (and it is inevitable). People like:

• C-Suite Members
• Chief Information Officers and Technology Leadership
• Human Resources
• General Counsel and Outside Counsel
• Sales Leadership
• Board of Directors
• Your Clients
• Your Partners, Freelancers, Contractors
• Your Employees

What do you say when the questions come?

To help, here are common questions you might receive from stakeholders in your marketing activities, with some answers to help you keep track of these strategic priorities for 2020 and beyond.

Data and Privacy: GDPR, CCPA and What’s Next

I covered this topic in detail from the agency perspective in my post Data, Privacy, and Marketing: What Should Agencies Do Now To Comply and Prepare? The same rules apply for all in charge of marketing strategy for their organizations.

Some may question: We don’t have customers in [enter location where regulation has been passed here, Europe, California]. Do we need to take action? Don’t we already have opt-out mechanisms in our email programs?

As shared by author Greg Sterling in his Nov. 27 Marketing Land article, “Think CCPA doesn’t apply to you? You should probably think again”:

“…whether or not CCPA technically applies to your brand or agency, comprehensive federal privacy legislation is probably coming. As the perspectives above indicate, companies should be “privacy forward” in their thinking and recognize this will be critical for any company dealing with customer data, as well as potentially integral to their marketing, in the future…”

Any organization with any sort of digital presence or data collection mechanisms should take heed, and specific to CCPA as of Jan. 1, 2020, this includes doing business in California or with California residents.

The time to act is now as we turn the corner on the new year. Working with the right partners, and in collaboration with your key stakeholders, choose to review your brand and agency’s master services agreement. Review your website(s) terms and conditions (and privacy policies). Ensure opt-in status of your email marketing databases through a strategic and proactive engagement (or re-permission) campaign to ensure compliance and database hygiene.

In short, it’s time to move.

ADA Website and Digital Compliance

This year has brought much deeper attention to the digital world aspects of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), specifically The Domino’s Pizza case.

As published in the recent Harvard Business Review article, “Companies Need to Do More for Employees and Customers with Disabilities,”

“Earlier this year, a federal court agreed, explaining in a unanimous ruling that the ADA applied to Domino’s websites and apps. Rather than accept the decision and update its website, the company petitioned the Supreme Court, which declined the case and let the lower court ruling stand. Now companies face a mandate to build ADA-compliant websites or risk litigation.”

Maybe a company thinks they are too small, or doesn’t conduct ecommerce activities, or any other number of angles that disqualify them from the concern. Or even more common, “what are the chances we’ll get targeted for this?”

Cases on this exact topic have skyrocketed in the last two years, and via Seyfarth, ADA Website lawsuits are projected to total 2,408 by year end.

While it may seem a time consuming and costly endeavor, there are ways to start the process. Consider getting an audit from an outside source or trusted website provider who will assist with implementation. You can then apply the activation of these tactics throughout marketing and communications strategies.

And as the Harvard Business Review article reinforces, the changes are not just to avoid issues or litigation, but can also bring a great value to an organization by offering full inclusion to clients and employees alike. More to come for sure on this in 2020.

Influencer Marketing:  Compliance in Plain English

Enforcement of influencer marketing compliance requirements like disclosure, transparency, and old-fashioned truth-in-advertising laws hasn’t gone away.

The Federal Trade Commission is just as focused on influencer marketing compliance now as it was last year at this time. In fact, to make compliance easier to understand, it released “Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers,” a toolkit including written and video resources to help influencers (and the marketers who engage them) stay on the right side of the law.

Don’t Forget: Copyright, Trademark, Disclosures, Fair Use, Etc.

While these topics aren’t new or trendy, complacency in these areas, or too much focus diverted to other concerns, can be a real source of risk and pain.

For a deep but nowhere near exhaustive list of these concerns, check out my post, “Where to Spend Your Agency’s Legal Focus and Dollars in 2019.” Now as we near end, how did you do and what do you need to push into 2020?

Make sure that your agency or business is keeping up with your policies and guidelines, and seek out future talent that possess the mindset, and eyes, for upholding the highest standards to protect yourself and your company, whatever comes next.

Be the model for your organization by arming yourself with the knowledge and resources that will influence the ‘powers that be” to put the necessary time, talent, and resources behind it.

Lead (demand) a steering committee or working group responsible for the decisions and enforcement of any/all new policies needed coming into this new year.

And for my agency friends, position yourselves as LEADERS by considering and discussing these issues before your client does. It’s a tremendous way to add value to the relationship.

I covered many of these key topics in my post, Agency Marketing Strategies that Help Clients Win and Keep Lawyers Happy and throughout the year in my blog articles, event keynotes and presentations, my podcast The Innovative Agency, and my e-newsletter (accepting new opt-ins every day – just drop me a line). Look forward to continuing this journey with you in 2020!