We were ready to enjoy the event after 2 years absence due to the pandemic.
We parked up, got our golden retriever out of the car – he always loves coming, a chance to lap up all that adoration!
We queued up to pay our entrance fee, and that was when we saw the sign
NO DOGS
Disaster – all we could do was get back in the car and go home.
The town near our home has hosted a Beer Festival for 15 years. It has more than 80 real ales, 20 continental beers and 30 real ciders, so something for everyone. In addition, it has food stalls featuring a number of cuisines and live music on each of the 3 nights.
You buy a festival glass and then go and make your selection. I have a glass from most of the last 15 years, but this year I was not adding to my collection.
Our dog loved coming and mixing with everyone, both humans and canines, as he is a very friendly hound who will allow someone to adore him. In fact, in past years he has helped people who were anxious around dogs to become more confident around them because he is so gentle despite his size.
I am not sure why this one was changed, as they’d always allowed dogs in before and there had not been any issues that I was aware of. Our hound is a part of our family, so we were not going in without him.
The lesson?
Rules can change for all sorts of reasons, even if you can’t fathom why!
And when it comes to your marketing and advertising, it’s even more important to stay on top of all the changes that apply to your business.
As a responsible business owner, you could decide to invest considerable time in learning how to compliantly promote your business. You may believe that you can do this yourself and your hours of study will replace the need to pay for expert advice.
However, the rules you worked so hard to understand can change at a moment’s notice with little announcement.
And if you don’t know where to look, or you don’t check for updates on a regular basis, these changes can slip by unnoticed.
And when that happens, this can leave you wide open to bad publicity that can trash the reputation of the business you’ve worked so hard to build (and maybe a fine on top as well!).
The bottom line is, to be compliant in your advertising you need to understand the rules and regulations that apply, AND you need to be aware of when they change.