All posts by : janinepaterson

Could it have been any clearer?

Door opens –

“Please Miss can I get my PE kit?”

“No, this is an exam” I say as I shut the door on him!

This happened, not once, not twice, but 3 times!

I was invigilating a 1:1 with a student taking an English Language GCSE in one of the classrooms.

Despite the signs on the door, 3 students opened the door and asked if they could come in to get their PE kits, with the last one actually coming into the room.

I couldn’t believe it – it was quite clear – definitely no ambiguity there.

I think the first 2 probably didn’t think – they had PE and needed their kit, but the last one gave me the impression that he felt the rules didn’t apply to him. He had been outside when the other 2 tried, but that didn’t stop him giving it a go.

Hopefully these students won’t enter adulthood thinking the rules don’t apply to them.  If they do, they won’t have an easy life, as I’ve seen with some people I’ve met in my years as a marketing law expert. Trying to push against the rules is very tiring and never ends well.

Rules are there to ensure fair play, but what I’ve found is that they push against them because they don’t understand them, and more specifically, how they affect their business. They see the rules as a barrier to being successful, something to try and beat.

However, when I explain what the rules say, and how this affects them and their brand, they see them in a different way and I can help them promote their products and services on the right side of the law.

So if there’s something you’re not sure about when it comes to advertising and marketing, you know who to ask. 🤔

For the third time

I’ve told you about the change in my legal career after redundancy struck for the 2nd time.

Well, it needed to pivot again when redundancy happened for the 3rd time.

After 10 ½ years in consumer law, I found myself looking for a new role.

Not wanting to do back to private practice despite the offers I received, I began a search for in-house legal roles.

And that’s how I found the DMA.

The Direct Marketing Association, as it was at that time, now the Data & Marketing Association is the largest marketing and advertising trade association in Europe.

It meant another change of direction in the law, but I’ve never been afraid of a challenge, and the role looked interesting, 6 months cover for a solicitor on maternity leave.

6 months turned into 12 and that turned into 12 ½ years.

The data knowledge was new but the consumer law came in useful as many aspects of advertising law finds its basis in consumer legislation.

Learning these new areas of law is something I’ve enjoyed over the years, as I’ve always had a thirst for knowledge since I was young.

Learning is a necessity for a solicitor, and now I’m out on my own, it’s even more important.

So if you have any question on marketing and advertising law and you want honest, jargon free legal advice, paired with experience of the real world, get in touch and we’ll talk.

What a nightmare!

Grocery shopping time.

As we have puppy school on a Saturday, the supermarket run is now on a Thursday evening.

I use the smart shop facility, to keep an eye on the cost, and make sure all those lovely offers go through 😉.

Having added everything on my list, I headed to the checkout.

The smart shop has 4 checkouts, and this is usually a simple process.

Not last Friday!

Only 1 of the checkouts was working. The reason – they were having trouble replacing the receipt roll in the others!

There was a lady at the checkout, with 2 more waiting.

Then to add to the fun, the lady at the checkout triggered a check on her basket.

As Smart Shop is based on trust and honesty, every now and then the checkout will require a staff member to re scan a certain number of products to make sure all items have been scanned.

So we had to wait while this happened.

The next customer sailed through, but the one in front of me also got a basket check!

I finally made it to the machine and was soon on my way out the door, leaving a growing queue of frustrated people.

When something fails, like the tech here or a process in your business, it can be a pain. they make life so complicated and really throw the cat amongst the pigeons.

The answer in this case is simple, but when something bigger goes wrong, it can be difficult to know where to find the solution.

However,  when it comes to your advertising and marketing legals, you know who to ask, don’t you!

But not grey!

Data is incredibly valuable.

It can tell us a lot, to help us understand what our ideal customer is thinking about – their worries, feelings and what they really want.

However, data can be complicated and often at first glance it might not give you what you were looking for.

Consider the colour of cars for example.

Data has shown that red cars are the most likely to be involved in accidents! 😱

This seems strange at first sight – a red car is hard to miss on the roads, being bright and distinctive, whereas the least likely car to be involved in a crash, grey could easily fade into the background of our roads.

But, by delving deeper into the figures, and applying a little knowledge of human behaviour and psychology, we can understand the data behind this.

The most popular colour for sports cars is red (although I did have a British racing green one in my twenties – however it was an MG and there’s no other colour for them in my opinion 😉).

Add in the fact that people who buy sports cars tend to be younger, or going through a midlife crisis, you start to see a picture the data is painting.

A sports car is often bought for a specific reason. The car’s speed and manoeuvrability may be tested and a few risks may be taken.

Obviously, not every young person who buys a red sports car will be involved in a crash, so it’s important when looking at data, that we understand the picture it’s telling us.

This also applies when it comes to the rules governing our marketing.

They give us a lot of do’s and don’ts, but you need to understand how to apply them to your business so you stay on the right side of the law .

If you need help in your marketing and advertising, you know where I am.

There was nothing I could do.

We only had 5 minutes left.

He continued to tell me what to write

He knew he hadn’t left enough time for this question.

The seconds ticked away as he tried to shape the story.

We were in the middle of a sentence when the clock stopped.

He wanted to finish what he was saying.

I said no – it’s against the rules.

He wasn’t happy with me, grabbing his stuff and leaving.

But the rules are the rules, and they’re there for a reason.

This was an English Language GCSE exam. It was a 1:1 with a student as he needed a reader and a scribe. He also had 25% extra time.

He had already mumbled he’d spent too long on one particular question.

He was never going to get it finished in time.

When the time comes to an end you need to stop – immediately.

You can’t even finish the sentence.

I usually enjoy my invigilating, but sometimes things happen and it makes you feel bad.

I felt sorry for him, but I couldn’t break the rules for him, for anyone.

And that’s how I feel when it comes to marketing and advertising law.

The rules are there for everyone’s benefit – to create a level playing field.

I won’t break them, but I’ll do my best to make sure they work for you – as far as I can!

I need a change of direction!

In my career of nearly 32 years I’ve been made redundant 4 times.

Two of those my former employers might argue it wasn’t “redundancy”, but it’s splitting hairs as far as I’m concerned.

The first time – 3 months after I qualified.

The firm I did my training with decided not to continue with the criminal work that I wanted to do.

After a year freelancing for a criminal sole practitioner, I found a new role doing mainly criminal work but also helping out with some matrimonial.

But then 18 months later – bye bye!

I began to wonder whether private practice really was for me.

So after re assessing where I was in my career, I knew I had to do something different.

I found tenants for the house I’d bought 12 months before and returned home to mum.

And despite many offers of private practice roles, I stood firm.

And then opportunity knocked.

Which?, the magazine of the Consumer’s Association were looking for lawyers to offer advice to its members. Consumer law was a little different to criminal and matrimonial, so there was a steep learning curve, but it was the right move.

I was able to return to my house and begin to enjoy the career I’d worked so hard for.

It was also the beginning of a new phase in my personal like, which has led to 23 years of marriage and 2 wonderful kids.

Sometimes life throws you challenges – you just have to learn how to deal with them. 

I’ve heard this so many times.

I admit it – I’ve been frustrated by the red tape that comes with running a business.

All the rules and regulations that say you have to do this and don’t do that.

Some of these can seem totally unnecessary – and for some of you, it seems privacy policies are a useless drain on time and money.

But written sensibly, they are a vital tool to build trust with your customers – and stay within the law.

The BBC website featured a story about a company updating their privacy policy. Tax Policy Associates (TPA) did this, including a promise to send a bottle of wine to the first person to contact them.

It took 3 months for someone to claim it.

TPA’s Head, Dan Neidle, described this as “my childish protest that all businesses have to have a privacy policy and no-one reads it”.

“Every tiny coffee shop has to have a privacy policy on their website, it’s crazy. It’s money that’s being wasted.”

Privacy policies can be frustrating. Any business that deals with personal data must have a privacy policy, even that small coffee shop down the road.

But a privacy policy is just an explanation of what you do with the personal data you collect.

And when you want to use data for direct marketing, it becomes important you explain what you’re doing.

Using someone’s name and address, an email address or telephone number to promote your business is a privilege, so it’s only right that your customers are aware of this and are happy to hear from you.

And a privacy policy doesn’t have to be War and Peace, nor should it have big words that only makes sense to a lawyer!

If you need help making your privacy policy more human and less gobbledegook, you know where to find me.

Honest!

Just like kids, dogs need training.

So as well as Saturday puppy classes, we are always looking for other opportunities to expand the pup’s learning.

He is very sociable, in fact too sociable, so we’ve been looking for ways to teach him that not everyone wants to be friends!

So the other day, we took him for a long walk and then went to the pub. 🍺

This is a great place for him to experience being ignored, as many people just walk on by.

He was very good, if a little unimpressed with people not even giving him a second glance.

Luckily, there were a few people who did stop and ask if they could say hello, so he had some adoration.

Even one of the waiters who’d been back and forth to the kitchen asked if it was ok to stroke him.

Although he did very well, I think we need to make this a regular lesson!

After all, we need the practice too. 🍷

Talking of which, with 17 years of experience helping businesses with their marketing and advertising legal compliance, I think I’m well-schooled. 🤔

So if you need some help with this, you know where I am.

Luckily it just cost me 10 minutes

We make decisions in our personal and business lives every day, and most work out right.

From what to wear or have for breakfast, to the priority for client work or which supplier to go with.

Many of these decisions don’t have big consequences if you get them wrong, but some can.

I made the wrong decision, but the consequence was only a 10 minute delay.

I had invigilating at school the other morning.

On the journey there, there is a point when I have 2 possible routes – the motorway or a B road.

I would normally take the B road – it’s a lot easier to turn around and find an alternative if there is a problem.

Not so much with the motorway – apparently you’re not allowed to reverse or turn around on them! 😮

But that morning I decided to take the motorway as it’s quicker.

Oops.

As I joined the motorway, the slip road was at a standstill, as was the reast of the carriageways.

I eventually made it onto the motorway and we edged slowly along (but at least it was moving).

I only had 1 junction to do, so I stayed in the inside lane. I eventually made it to the slip road off, but that was queuing all the way down to the traffic lights too.

I eventually passed the lights onto the roundabout, dodged a juggernaut that was in the wrong lane, a Range Rover that wanted my piece of road, and arrived at school only 10 minutes behind schedule.

Not bad.

Many decisions about your marketing and advertising law compliance can be a little more difficult than which road to take, and the consequences of getting it wrong can be far more serious.

I can help make those decisions so much easier. Asking for expert help is nearly always the right decision.

They get so much criticism!

My daughter returned to uni after the Easter break.

She always forgets something, and as this was the last time she would go back, as she finishes her Masters this summer, she really wanted to remember everything.

She forgot 1 thing.

A small thing but an important one.

Her student ID.

It allows her easy access to the library and other buildings on campus, but more importantly for a student…

… it allows her to buy drinks in the student union bar!

So I needed to post it to her.

In the past I would have had to put the ID in an envelope, address it and take it to the post office. This is difficult as I’m never sure whether it’s open despite its advertised hours.

But while I was trying to find out the potential costs, I discovered the Post Office have a service that makes this so much easier.

I can send the envelope 1^st class, the postman will collect it, bringing a printed label to attach to it, and then take it and deliver to my daughter within 1 – 2 days.

And all for £2.10.

So I booked on the website, choosing next day collection.

The postman arrived within the timeframe given, attached the label and off he went with it.

My daughter received the envelope next morning, just as she was putting on her shoes to go the campus.

What timing!

The post office does have its issues, I’m sure it saves up our post and then delivers when it has a few pieces rather than when they receive it, but this service I can’t fault.

I will definitely be using it again.

If you would like great service when it comes to your marketing and advertising legal compliance, you know where to come.

But, I have to warn you,  it will be a little more than £2.10!