Email Marketing – Are You on the Right Side of the Information Commissioner?
We often get asked by our clients what, where and to whom they can send their direct marketing emails. With the complex rules on e- privacy and data protection ever evolving, we have set out below a checklist of questions you should ask yourself to ensure that your email marketing campaign is a success and within the rules of good practice as set out by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
* Are you sending unsolicited emails?
These can only be carried out if the individual you are sending the email to has given you permission. The exception to this is the so called ’soft opt-in’ exception which applies where:
- You have obtained the individual’s details in the course of a sale or the negotiations for the sale of a product or service to that person;
- the messages are only marketing your similar products or services; and
-the individual is given a simple opportunity to refuse the marketing when the details are collected and, if he does not opt-out, you give him a simple way to do so in every future message.
* Have you stated your identity and contact details?
You must tell the recipient of the email marketing who has sent the message and you must also provide a valid address for the individual to contact if he wants the email marketing to stop. The Information commissioner’s Office suggests that individuals should be able to opt out of messages they have received by using a simple method.
* Are your emails intended for corporate subscribers?
Although the email direct marketing rules do not apply to emails sent to organizations you must still identify yourself and provide an address. It is strongly recommended that if an organization opts out of a message then this request should be respected. Note that employees that have personal corporate email addresses still have individual rights under the Data Protection Act.
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