All posts by : janinepaterson

… do your homework

Making sure you comply with the rules for your advertising is not always straightforward, especially when it comes to age restricted products.

Take Ladbrokes for example.

I’ve written about their previous brushes with the ASA over their advertising.

You may remember the rules on using sports men and women were updated in October last year to avoid ads for gambling having strong appeal to the under 18s.

Ladbrokes has featured in the ASA’s spotlight again and again this year.

First with football players, then a boxer, then football managers and now tennis players.

So, just before the Australian Open kicked off in January, Ladbrokes sent out four tweets.

They featured 4 top players, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas, asking various questions about who was likely to lift the trophy.

Ladbrokes did some homework, checking the social media following of each player, which showed hardly anyone was under 21, especially on Twitter.

They also reviewed the players’ sponsorships deals (Novak’s include Peugeot, Hublot and ANZ bank) and these indicated an adult audience.

The ASA did their own detective work.

– all 4 players had been in Grand Slam finals last year.

– Novak and Rafael. Tennis legends for over 10 years and considered 2 of the best and most successful players, both have been No. 1 in the world, and they shared the record for most major titles won.

– Nick reached the final of Wimbledon and Stefanos the final of the Australian Open last year, tournaments that received high media coverage and would therefore be of interest to under 18s.

The ASA’s verdict – both players were high risk when it comes to gambling adverts, despite their apparent social media following.

If Ladbrokes could guarantee under 18s couldn’t see the ads, then ok, but as we know, using social media, and especially Twitter, which allow users to self-verify, will always leave a risk that children will see them.

Luckily for Ladbrokes, the ASA can’t fine you, but appearing on their website as an upheld complaint for the 4^th time is not going to help their reputation.

This does show that thinking more widely about who you use in your ads, and not just focusing on figures, could avoid an appearance before the regulator.

… how strange 🤔

“What’s that”, he said.

“What’s what”, I replied.

“That”, he said pointing up.

And there on the kitchen ceiling were 4 cloud shaped patches.

We had a leak!

What has followed has been some trial and error to try and narrow down the cause:

– it’s not the girls not putting the curtain inside the bath when they shower.

– it’s not my removal of the bath drain to clean it (see my previous email on this subject 😉)

And it’s not anything any of us were doing as we went on holiday for 2 weeks and came back to a rectangle patch about 2 feet long added to the clouds!

So, after talking to our handyman guy who can turn his hand to anything, we are going to have to make a mess 😟

Cut a hole in the ceiling and have a look!

I’ll let you know what we find.

Sometimes my clients bring me dilemmas with their marketing which need a little investigating.

But that’s fine, as I’m well versed as a detective 🔍

… some people didn’t

You may remember my email about John a couple of months ago.

A simple error that could’ve had a big impact.

It seems John’s mistake is not uncommon and in two cases, the story of what happened is more widely known.

If you recall, John sent an email internally to his team, but instead of using BCC, he included all email addresses in the To field.

There were some complaints, but luckily for John, nothing more serious. He realised it could have been worse, so reminded himself and his staff on the rules to stop it happening again.  

However for two organisations in Northern Ireland, their “simple” error has led to reprimands from the ICO.

Part of the Executive Office of the NI government, the Interim Advocates’ Office was set up to look at historical abuse in children’s homes over a 70 year period starting in the 1920s.

They sent an email newsletter to 251 people, using the To field, causing the inappropriate disclosure of email addresses to all those on the email list.

A similar error occurred when a member of staff at the Patient and Client Council in NI sent an email to 15 members of a Gender Identity Liaison Panel, using the CC field instead of BCC. This again allowed the disclosure of email addresses which should have remained confidential.

Both these incidents allowed other recipient’s on the email lists to infer health information about others, therefore disclosing potential special category personal data.

These cases show how easy it is for a simple mistake to have consequences for many people – a reminder to make sure everyone is aware and follows the rules around data protection.

… doesn’t it matter anymore!

So, I’ve been catching up with some reading lately, and there’s something that’s bugging me.

Spelling mistakes and even the odd missing word in a sentence!

This really stops me in my tracks.

But what’s worse is that some people seem to think that this is totally okay.

Apparently it’s part of showing your “authentic self” and helps you appear to be a real human being!

I’m not sure I can see where they’re coming from, because I can’t shake off this feeling that in the world of business, this isn’t right. To me, it just gives off a sense that the person doesn’t really care about what they’re putting out there.

I know that some people struggle with this. I couldn’t spell for toffee until I went to uni, but I soon learnt that this attention to detail matters, especially in building professional relationships.

I know only too well that it’s easy to miss these when you’re looking at a piece of writing – you spend so long looking, that sometimes it’s hard to see the wood for the trees!

Which is why there are so many tools out there, many free, that can help. Spell checkers and grammar tools are invaluable, but even something as basic as having someone else read over what you have written can prevent these small errors in your work.

I have a hard time trusting someone if I see mis-spelt words, or incomplete sentences. If they’ve made these mistakes, what else may be wrong with what they’re saying?

Am I being unreasonable?

I don’t think so – I’m all for embracing authenticity, but I’m not sure if this is the right place for it in our business world.

… you often get a clearer picture 🖼

You can make a decision that seems sound and then it backfires on you.

Au Vodka, a drinks brand encourage its fans to upload content featuring its products on social media. It’s a great way to get others to promote your stuff.

Back in May, someone posted a tweet with a picture showing two McDonald’s frozen slushies and two little bottles of Au Vodka sitting on the centre console of a car.

The tweet was then retweeted by Au Vodka’s official Twitter account, including the caption “Drink Responsibly & don’t drink and drive #SummerVibes.”

Although no one complained about this, the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) took issue with it, arguing that it linked alcohol with driving and therefore the ad was irresponsible.

They felt that the image gave the impression that both the driver and the passenger were going to drink the alcohol while driving.

Au Vodka said its main aim was to promote responsible and enjoyable alcohol consumption to legal drinkers. They argued the image was of a social setting, which they felt emphasised friendship and camaraderie, rather than endorsing drinking while driving.

Despite the presence of the disclaimer, “Drink Responsibly & don’t drink and drive,” the ASA upheld their complaint because they believed the overall impression of the ad still linked alcohol with driving.

To be honest, I can see both sides here. While Au Vodka may have had good intentions, it was essential for them to think through all the potential implications of using the tweet.

Having alcohol visible in the front of the car, with people in the driver’s seat, could easily be misinterpreted and send the wrong message. I think if Au Vodka had taken a step back and looked at the tweet from their followers’ point of view, they may have made a different decision.

When advertising on social media, you do have to be careful. It’s not about being afraid to make calls like this, but about being mindful of the situation and remembering we’re dealing with real people and their perceptions.

But there’s some sense to it

I don’t know if you remember that joke about needing your passport if you wanted to go north of Watford Gap Services.

Well, I didn’t realise I needed one to visit my local recycling centre!

We’d taken some old bags of concrete that had got wet and therefore were solid and some old tins of paint.

We drove in and were looking for a space when a man indicated for us to stop.

When I wound down the window he said: Have you got proof of residency?”

I was a little taken aback by this, and as I don’t carry my driving licence on me and having thought I had no need for a passport, I said “No”.

After explaining we would need this the next time we visit, he let us in.

It seems that, as we live close to the borders of two other counties, some of their residents are driving across county borders to bring us their recycling.

As I know from my time on the District Council, recycling and waste services are not a cheap thing to do, so I can see they want to make sure it’s just county residents that visit.

Another example of the difficulty in keeping up with rules changing.

And the consequences of not knowing can be a lot worse than not being able to visit the local recycling centre.

… lessons for us all! 👩‍🏫

“Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I’ll show you someone who has never achieved much.”

This quote from Dame Joan Collins is so true.

If you’re trying something new, you’re bound to make mistakes.

The problem is not making the mistakes in the first place; it’s not learning from them.

And learning from someone else’s is even better!

The ICO knows this and the previously secret reprimands it issues are now public.

An organisation will receive a reprimand when the ICO has found breaches of data protection, but they aren’t serious enough for formal enforcement action.

To help us, the ICO recently reported on reprimands issued between March and June this year, with 3 lessons from the mistakes of others, which makes for interesting reading.

🛡️ Lesson 1: protect data

A combination of a lack of policies and staff training can lead to personal data being disclosed when it shouldn’t.

There was one case that seemed more serious to me and should’ve got, in my view, more than a rap over the knuckles. 14 bags full of confidential waste documents, including medical and security details, were left sitting in an unsecured prison area for 18 days. Some of the prisoners were openly reading the stuff, but the staff did nothing more than just tell them to stop!

⏳ Lesson 2: respond to Subject Access Requests on time.

Two councils, Norfolk County Council and Plymouth City Council received reprimands for failing to respond within the month. Norfolk managed to respond to just over half on time, while Plymouth could only get 45% done, and 18 requests took up to 2 years to complete!

🚀 Lesson 3: think about data protection from day one.

When coming up with new products and services or using new tools that involve personal data, always think about how you’re going to protect it from the start. Two police forces introduced an app that recorded phone calls and captured personal data, completely forgetting the data protection implications.

The report may not be the most engaging reading I’ve done, but they do bring up some interesting, and at times worrying, examples of people’s attitudes to personal data.

It’s so unnecessary 😕

My eldest daughter had both good and bad experiences during her university years. Well, now it’s my younger daughter’s turn to dive into this crazy adventure.

Maddy arranged her 2^nd year accommodation with friends she met in her 1^st year. I had heard there were a few things they had to bring to the attention of the agents, including where they said they’d had to take legal advice (which was true – guess who from 😊) in order for them to listen!

I was looking forward to seeing her new place when I went to help her move in some stuff she didn’t need at home over the summer.

It was in a row of terraced houses. It had a lovely bay window to the front room but this was overshadowed by the pile of rubbish in the small front garden, which should have been cleared weeks ago.

But wait, it got worse. The front door didn’t even open all the way, and the flooring in the hallway was as wobbly as a carnival ride.

And don’t even get me started on the shared spaces. Boxes and random stuff were strewn all over the lounge and kitchen area. It was like walking through a maze of chaos!

But then, I stumbled upon the grand finale— the freezer.

Brace yourself for this one. I opened it, and what did I find?

An arctic wonderland! I’m talking mountains of ice, stalactites, and stalagmites.

I kid you not, you couldn’t even open the only drawer.  It was like a scene straight out of an Ice Age movie! 📽

This was a property that was supposed to have had a deep clean after the previous tenants moved out, or so the lease says.

It’s not difficult to treat people right, whether it is your tenants or your customers, so it baffles me why this happens.

Hopefully, by the time she moves in for the new term, it will be a different story. I’ll let you know.

… it probably is!

You know how it is – we all want to save those hard-earned pennies on our energy bills, especially at the moment.

So when a company promises magical savings with their new product, people were naturally going to take notice.

“Lower your bills. Reduce your energy use. Protect yourself from price increases” they said, claiming you could save up to a whopping 20% on your electricity bills with their Home Voltage Optimiser.

That sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

Well, you’re right!

Fortress Energy found itself in hot water with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for making such bold claims without solid evidence to back them up.

There was an attempt to dazzle with some technical jargon about voltage fluctuations and how their nifty transformer gadget could prevent overloading electrical items, thereby saving you energy, carbon, and money!

But the ASA isn’t interested in magic tricks – they want hard facts, cold numbers, and real evidence!

Fortress provided industry guides, but these talked about voltage optimisation in general, not their specific product. They also cited a case study, but this was the result of just one test on one household.

And although this showed energy savings, there were no details on how the test was carried out, which meant there may have been many other factors, such as other energy-saving devices in the house or changes to the occupants’ energy habits that could have led to the savings.

Perhaps they turned off the lights when they left a room, or they unplugged all devices before going to bed!

You can probably see why this failed to convince the ASA.

When it comes to making big claims, you can’t rely on a single case study and a sprinkle of jargon. The ASA want all the info and data to back those claims up.

Otherwise, you will be on the wrong side of the ASA, and trust me, despite having no powers to fine you, that’s not where you want to be!

There are always lessons to learn!

Did you watch the Wimbledon men’s final? 🎾

I’ve always wanted to go, but I missed out big time this year.

The clash between the old guard, Novak Djokovic, and the young pretender, Carlos Alcaraz, was epic! It was like a masterclass in top-notch tennis, all condensed into five thrilling sets.

I thought it might be game over for him after that first set where Carlos lost 6-1.

But boy did he bounce back! He took the second set to a tiebreak, and suddenly, the momentum shifted.

After saving some set points, he won the 2^nd and then the 3^rd.

But then it was Novak’s turn to fight back, taking the 4^th set and setting up a last set shootout.

And after 4 hours and 42 mins, Carlos triumphed, denying his opponent a record-equalling win.

Now there was a lot of talk before the match about the 2 players.

Novak, the defending champ, was aiming for his fifth consecutive and eighth Wimbledon title.

On the other side, Carlos, the youngest world number 1 at just 20 years old, was hungry for his second title. The stakes were high.

There were some magnificent shots from both players, and as the match went on it was evident that they shared one essential skill.

They learnt from every point played. Whether they won or lost, they took it all in, adapting their strategies and outplaying each other at crucial moments.

That’s one thing that I share with both Novak and Carlos.

While I may not possess their extreme prowess on the tennis court 🤣, I do share their constant drive to learn and adapt.

It’s all about providing the best outcomes for my clients, just like they fought for every point on that court.