Keller and Heckman Pleased to Support the Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communications

New protection for Internet users and detailed standards for marketers selling to them are highlighted in a newly revised code of global marketing practice. The Consolidated International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Code of Advertising and Marketing Communications serves as the foundation for national self-regulatory systems that monitor marketing practices and provide consumers with easy access to make complaints and redress problems. The revised Code was unveiled September 15, 2011 at an international conference on responsible advertising, hosted by CONARED, the Latin American Association of Advertising Self-Regulatory Organizations.

"Keller and Heckman is pleased to support the ICC Code and an important new resource for global marketers, the ICC Code Centre," said Sheila Millar, Keller and Heckman Partner and Chair of the ICC Marketing and Advertising Commission Working Group on Sustainability.

The Code sets out the do's and don'ts on many topical and difficult marketing issues, including:

• Setting conditions and limits for online behavioral targeting of advertising (OBA), based on interest profiles created by tracking web browsing habits of consumers;
• Establishing restrictions on products that may be marketed to children and information gathered from them;
• Specifying guidelines for making responsible environmental marketing claims and creating sound food and beverage ads;
• Setting standards for ethical behavior and transparency on digital communications for the new technology players, including mobile operators, search engines, application developers, information aggregators and data gatherers; and
• Protecting consumer privacy with clear guidance on consumers' rights, including the right to know what information is acquired by a marketer and the standards for the collection, use and safeguarding of personal data when it is collected.

Millar noted that Code Centre resources, such as the Framework Guides on Environmental Marketing Claims, are intended to provide practical guidance for marketers.

The code can be accessed through the website, www.codescentre.com. The website is dedicated to self-regulation at all levels – global, national and regional, and will serve business people, regulators, self-regulators and academics, as well as consumers.