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financial promotions - finprom - specialisms

A new service from Beachcroft - review of financial promotions

Introduction

Any business operating in the financial services sector has to confront a wide range of disparate rules and regulations related to their marketing materials. The FSA has clear regulations on the approval of financial promotions to protect customers from unfair, unclear or misleading marketing both under COBS and ICOBS. But there are a raft of consumer (and industry) regulations and applicable intellectual property laws. The need to observe these as well is often overlooked when considering if a promotion is 'fair, clear and not misleading.'

Without addressing all these as part of any approval of financial promotions, financial organisations could be fined, face the withdrawal of expensive advertising, have a new product deemed 'unfair', or face a greater level of investment in marketing, risk and compliance departments.

Beachcroft's FinProm service brings together agreed-form reviews of financial promotions so your approval of financial promotions gives full clearance across a number of legal areas to your advertising and marketing.

Our review of financial promotions can be tailored to cover:

  • Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
  • The Financial Promotions Order
  • Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS)
  • Insurance Conduct of Business Sourcebook (ICOBS)
  • Ofcom's Broadcasting Code 2008
  • Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) initiative
  • Thematic reviews of financial promotions, conducted by the FSA
  • Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulation
  • The Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations
  • Charitable Institutions (Fund Raising) Regulations 1994
  • Model releases
  • Use of personalities /privacy rights
  • Moral rights and credits
  • The Comparative Advertising Directive
  • Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
  • Use of UK banknotes in advertising under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981.
  • Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2008
  • Copyrights and Rights in Database Regulations 1997
  • The Gambling Act 2005
  • Commission and use of creative work: photography, illustration and copy.

Beachcroft's FinProm service

Beachcroft's FinProm service provides outsourced legal reviews of financial promotions and advertising/marketing materials by insurers and other financial services businesses, both on a volume and ad-hoc basis.

Our  wide experience of acting for major UK and international insurers as well as fund managers, product developers and other promoters of financial products and services support compliance approval of financial promotions.

More widely, we have acted for a number of leading advertising agencies, approving advertising and marketing materials for a range of major companies offering consumer goods and services.

Beachcroft's support has permitted imaginative print and TV advertising, direct mail, ambient media and field marketing. Unusually, we can offer discrete financial services reviews alongside content approval for more ambitious and imaginative marketing by financial services companies.

FinProm: In short, a fast turn-around, to agreed service levels, of reviews and comment to support approvals of  financial promotions

Examples of our work within FinProm include:

  • For a major general insurer, we operate an immediate clearance scheme with specific turnaround times, reviews of  financial promotions on a daily basis by reference to policy documentation.
  • For a major retailer, we approved an online promotion and marketing (via text) for a range of prizes. We advised on data privacy issues as well as incorporation of terms and conditions.
  • For an insurer, we drew up guidance on prize draw terms and conditions and have approved a number of internal promotions to staff and IFAs.
  • For a well-known manufacturer, the advertising copy for deposit payable, APR and security guarantees needed for print, television and radio promotions.

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