Ethics Alert Series
Ethical Practices Advance Growth — 2023 ANA Compliance Report Published
The ANA Center for Ethical Marketing seeks to help advance ethics and accountability for our members and protect advertising and marketing freedoms. Through our comprehensive self-regulatory enforcement program, we provide education, tools and compliance services for ethical marketers and consumers — DMAchoice, ANA DPF Dispute Resolution and Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) are core offerings. As part of our self-regulatory efforts, we publicly report the findings and work of staff and our Ethics Committees to ensure transparency and accountability.
ANA Releases Latest Ethics Compliance Report. Check out our latest report to review the types of consumer marketing ethical inquiries involving direct and digital advertising, including privacy, that were processed by our ethics team and Committees in 2023. The report details the top consumer complaints from the over 4,300 inquiries received and lists the companies found to be out-of-compliance with industry standard practices.
Key Findings
- Main consumer concerns — honoring consumers' marketing preferences in direct mail and online advertising. Consumers continue to seek more control in the amount and types of promotional mail and online display ads they receive.
- 4,309 consumer inquiries processed by the ANA Center for Ethical Marketing in 2023. 2,676 general ethical marketing inquiries and 1,633 digital and Interest-based advertising inquiries.
- The top consumer inquiry involved consumers seeking additional information about ANA's signature data hygiene tool DMAchoice with 1,824 inquiries. DMAchoice, a mail suppression service, is used nationally by top brands and data providers to assist marketers, nonprofits, and data providers in cleaning prospect lists, saving money and resources and honoring consumer choice. The list is comprised of:
- The deceased as submitted by family members or caretakers.
- Those needing extra care with their mailings (individuals with memory issues or other health-related challenges) as submitted by caretakers and family members.
- Individuals who seek to be opted out of mail due to their concerns with environmental impact or another valid reason.
- The ANA, as one of the founding members and compliance arms for the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), assists 1) companies in complying with DAA's notice and choice requirements and 2) consumers in managing the online ads served based on their browsing history.
- 56% of the inquiries received were from cellphone users and 21% from users who use multiple devices.
- Most of the inquiries were from self-reported Android users comprising 985 inquiries. Android holds more than 70% of the global market share.
- We receive inquiries from around the world with 849 inquiries from the United States and 764 inquiries from other countries. Top inquiries originate from:
- California, in the United States
- India, from outside the United States.
- Three main areas of concern cited by consumers:
- data security issues
- ads are blocking online content — news, email, games, etc. and
- how to better manage or opt-out of interest-based ads.
If you believe that a marketing promotion or practice is questionable and may warrant a formal review by staff or the ANA Ethics Review Committee, consumers or companies may file a complaint. Questions or want to get more involved in the ANA Center for Ethical Marketing? Contact our team: ethics@ana.net or join our ANA Center for Ethical Marketing LinkedIn Group and the ANA Ethics Policy Committee.
Source
"Ethical Practices Advance Growth — 2023 ANA Compliance Report Published." ANA, 1/24/24.