On June 22, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated opinion in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission. In doing so, the Court rejected the Liu petitioners’ argument that the SEC is not entitled to “equitable” disgorgement of profits from unlawful activity in securities litigation, but provided for deduction of legitimate expenses. The opinion was authored … [Read more...]
Court Enforces TCPA Clickwrap Agreement in a Victory for Marketers
One of the key issues in any Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action lawsuit is whether there exists “prior express written consent.” In a noteworthy victory for marketers, consent related mechanisms made all the difference. In Lundbom v. Schwan's Home Service, Inc., the plaintiff filed a TCPA lawsuit, alleging that the defendant violated the TCPA by sending her … [Read more...]
California Redefines Analysis of Independent Contractor Classification
In September 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new measure (AB 5) that essentially redefines businesses classify employees and independent contractors. The legislation, as drafted, will result in a significant number of contractors being reclassified as employees which may, in turn, potentially impact wage-and-hour requirements, legal liability and devastate … [Read more...]
Dietary Supplement Marketing and Earnings Claims Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Unsubstantiated marketing claims that exploit consumer anxiety amid the coronavirus pandemic are a top priority for private class action litigants and federal regulators. In fact, the FTC and FDA have recently issued joint warning letters about express and implied claims on marketing materials that are not supported by competent and reliable scientific … [Read more...]
Affiliate Marketing in a Time of Coronavirus
What Now For Affiliate Marketing? On the down side, consumer spending has gone through the floor. Travel, retail, entertainment and restaurants have all been hit hard. Many merchants have seen big drop-offs over the last couple of weeks. The good news? E-commerce is going to bounce back quickly because nobody is going to be heading to a mall anytime soon. Healthcare and … [Read more...]
No-BS Coronavirus Tips
We read epidemiology reports so you don’t have to… There’s a lot of information on Covid-19 that doesn’t seem to get much play in the news so, in case you are not yet corona-ed out, a few notes on what the experts are talking about between themselves. Stock up on Tylenol (acetominophen, aka paracetamol in Europe). It's the best thing to reduce fever, which might last … [Read more...]
FTC’s Assault on Paid-For Rankings, Ratings and Review Websites Continues
The FTC’s Endorsement Guides provide that if there is a “material connection” between an endorser and an advertiser – in other words, a connection that might affect the weight or credibility that consumers give the endorsement – that connection should be “clearly and conspicuously” disclosed, unless it is already clear from the context of the communication. A material … [Read more...]
Lead Generation Campaign Best Practices
Lead generation campaigns can be incredibly beneficial for brands looking to boost customer acquisition and engagement. With U.S. spending on digital lead generation campaigns estimated at $2.6 billion in 2019 and projected to grow to $3.2 billion by 2023, it’s clear that more and more brands are launching and expanding lead generation campaigns. In order to create a successful … [Read more...]
Black Hat vs White Hat & The Impact Of Compliance
Interview with Matt McEvoy MaxBounty's CEO, Matt McEvoy is one of the smartest people in the affiliate marketing industry. He has been part of the leadership team at MaxBounty throughout as they have maintained their position as one of the top three CPA networks worldwide for a decade and more. As the Blue Book survey for 2019 approaches its close, we spoke to Matt about black … [Read more...]
3 Advertisers: Why Network Transparency Is Everything That Matters
Online lead generation is a tough, complicated business, especially as an advertiser. Media costs have been steadily rising, compliance has become more complex, and the competition for organic traffic is intense. For advertisers that solve those problems, the next big challenge is scalability: how to find long-tail traffic and convert potential into revenue? Affiliate marketing … [Read more...]
What Digital Marketers Need to Know About Contractual Limitation of Liability Clauses
In one form or another, limitation of liability clauses are almost always in digital marketing contracts. They typically attempt to exclude certain risks that a party deems appropriate, and provide that one party’s liability on a campaign may not exceed a stated cap. When negotiating performance marketing agreements, marketers need to understand the legal significance of … [Read more...]
9 Tips About Listicles For Digital Marketers
The internet has thousands, possibly millions, of listicles about cats. In fact, a quick search reveals “17 Cats Who Look Like Madonna” as an option, but listicles can be more than just feline/popstar mash-ups and instead offer valuable opportunities for marketers to reach consumers who are in a shopping mindset. The rise of listicles, which don’t take long to read or require … [Read more...]
4 Publishers Talk Success, Networks & The Importance Of Trust
Making money as a publisher or affiliate isn't easy. Writing, tracking, coding, media buying and so on - it can get really complicated. Yet when you speak to successful affiliates, time and again the same themes emerge: that building a good website or buying the right traffic only goes so far. Other, less tangible factors are often what truly make the difference between success … [Read more...]
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Performance Marketing’s Future
Present in nearly every industry, artificial intelligence (AI) has begun to transform the landscape of performance marketing. As one of the most influential inventions of the 21st century, AI has had a resounding impact on today’s digital world, and online marketing companies are increasingly seeing AI take over campaign optimizations, split testing, and more. While it’s an … [Read more...]
Augmenting your Tech Stack thru Affiliate
Augmenting your Tech Stack thru Affiliate Non traditional publishers are enabling Brands & Retailers to test new types of conversion & optimization tools thru the affiliate channel. Publishers in today’s affiliate marketing ecosystem are using technology in new ways to drive higher conversion rates & user engagement. Savvy advertisers can leverage the … [Read more...]