NEW CHANGES AT CMA DESIGNED FOR CHILDREN
By Adnews Staff
Toronto-based Canadian Marketing Association has announced new directives for its members who engage in marketing to children. The CMA has amended its mandatory Code of Ethics to better guide its members and protect the interest of children who are beginning to enter information-based markets through the Internet and other interactive technologies. A list of guidelines and tips is also available to parents and the media as part of a media relations campaign CMA is beginning. Shandwick Canada of Toronto created the campaign. The new amendments define the age of a child, raise the level of privacy protection for children and provide marketers with direction in the areas of marketing language and commercial transactions. CMA defines a child as someone under the age of 13. The amendments define communication with a child as those which address a child individually, use a child's personal information or provide an opportunity for a child to respond to a marketing offer with personal information. All members of the CMA will now be required to obtain positive consent from a child's parent or guardian before collecting, retaining or transferring a child's personal information. The amended Code also indicates that language used in marketing directed to children must be clear and simple and must take into account a child's inexperience and credulity. The amendments will come into effect April 1, 1999.