Retail Thera-IP
Your Weekly Dose of Legal Advertising and Marketing Updates in Australia

Social Media Marketing and Advertising Update: The Rising Star of the ‘Micro Influencer’

Businesses are increasingly questioning the value of “celebrity” social media influencers and appear to be favouring partnerships with “micro influencers” as a more cost effective marketing strategy. A “micro influencer” is a social media user with between 1,000 to 90,000 followers who, like a traditional influencer, makes posts promoting products.  Their key advantages include use of products […]

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Full Federal Court provides further insight into the use of ‘natural’ in product branding and advertising

Natural skin care products, natural beauty products, natural cosmetics…the list goes on.  These so called ‘natural’ products are on-trend and are in high demand in the Australian and Asia Pacific retail market.  The rise of consumer demand for natural products is a result of its association with health and wellness and as the Australian Competition and […]

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Be careful – consumer law penalties are set to increase!

Recently, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 3) Bill 2018 (Cth) passed both houses of parliament, implementing changes to the maximum financial penalties for breaches of the Australian Consumer Law.   This gives effect to the proposals set out in the final report on the Australian Consumer Law Review conducted by Consumer Affairs Australia and New Zealand […]

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Food Standards Code: Claims in Food Advertising and Marketing

A number of recent enforcement actions by the ACCC appear to indicate that claims made about food products, particularly ones targeting children, are being closely monitored by regulators. In addition to general obligations under the Australian Consumer Law, businesses should also be aware of regulations that specifically apply to claims made about the nutritional content […]

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Digital Marketing Update – FAQ using Direct Messages, Outstream Videos and Chatbots

The modern consumer makes purchasing decisions using a multitude of media platforms, and often considering more than one platform at a time.  As businesses embrace new technologies to create a seamless experience across these platforms, they should be aware of the risks involved and how the Australia Consumer Law (ACL) applies in novel contexts. FAQ […]

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Country of Origin Labelling: Complementary Healthcare Products

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a guide earlier this year on country of origin labelling in relation to complementary healthcare products.  However, unlike the labelling requirements for food products (see our post from July on the commencement of the Country of Origin Food Labelling Standard available here), it is not compulsory for the […]

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AANA releases practice note on gender stereotypes in advertising

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), part of Australia’s self-regulation system for advertising, has recently released a revised Code of Ethics Practice Note which provides guidance in relation to the use of gender stereotypes in advertising. Complaints under the AANA are adjudicated by the Ad Standards Community Panel, and the revised practice note can […]

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Excessive Surcharge Provisions enforced by the ACCC

Earlier this week, the ACCC commenced its first proceedings under new provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) that ban excessive payment surcharges.  This clearly signals that the ACCC is actively monitoring and enforcing these restrictions, and comes as a timely reminder for businesses to review their surcharges for accepting payment by credit, […]

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