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Hafan

Direct marketing advice generator

Has the person or organisation specifically asked you to give them some particular marketing information?

For example, has a customer asked for your pricelist or a brochure, or information about an upcoming event.

The person or organisation must have asked for that specific marketing message, rather than giving a general agreement to receive marketing. This means you can send them the information they have requested, but you cannot send future marketing messages. If you’ve received a general agreement for marketing instead, click “No”. 

Do you want to send a service message?

A service message tells people important information they need to know - for example, service interruptions, delivery arrangements, product safety and changes to terms and conditions. If you also include information that promotes your aims, products, services or campaigns, or encourages a person to do something; that is likely to be considered marketing information and this would mean that your message was no longer ‘a service message’. 

Are you contacting people or organisations for market research purposes only?

If your market research messages include promotional material, including where you’re incentivising people to take part by offering discounts or vouchers for your products and services, this will be direct marketing and you should click “No”. You must follow the rules to send the marketing. 

If you’re completing market research with the aim of sending marketing later to the people involved, then this is also direct marketing and you should click “No”. It’s unfair and unlawful to give people the impression you’re gathering their information for one reason and then later changing it to another. 

Are you a public authority?

For example, a local authority school or a parish council. To check whether your organisation may be classed as a public authority, check the list in Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, or for Scotland, Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Is your promotional message necessary for your public task or function?

Where sending promotional messages is necessary for your task or function and proportionate to your aim, it won’t count as direct marketing. But you must consider whether you could reasonably achieve the same objective without sending the communication to people.

Examples of promotional messages that may be necessary for delivering your task or function could include those that promote:

  • New public services
  • Online portals
  • Helplines
  • Guidance resources

Promotional messages that are not likely to be for your public task, and so would be direct marketing could include:

  • fundraising; or
  • messages promoting services paid for by the user, eg leisure facilities (unless these are service messages).
What method do you want to use to send your unsolicited direct marketing? The rules you must follow might be different depending on which method you use. Please select all that apply.
Who do you want to send postal direct marketing to?
Who do you want to make live marketing calls to?
Who do you want to send electronic mail marketing to?

Electronic mail marketing includes emails, texts, picture messages, video messages, voicemails, direct messages via social media, and any other similar message that is sent, stored and collected in the same way. 

Are you a charity?
What type of marketing do you wish to send?
Did you receive the person’s contact details directly from them?
Thinking about your electronic mail marketing to individuals, are you contacting people who expressed an interest in, offered, or provided support for your charitable purposes?

The individual may have signed up to your newsletter or requested information about your charity’s activities. Or they may have donated or volunteered.

Is the sole purpose for sending electronic mail marketing to further one, or more of your charity’s purposes?

This could include asking for help from volunteers or telling people about the services your charity provides.

Did you, or will you, give the person an opportunity to refuse or opt out of marketing when collecting their details?

You could give a prominent opt-out box on the data collection form, or have staff specifically ask someone if they want to opt out when noting their details down.

Do you, or will you, give the person the opportunity to refuse or opt out of marketing in every communication you send to them?

You could do this by including an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of each email you send or end each text message with “text STOP to opt out of future marketing".

Thinking about your electronic mail marketing to individuals, are you contacting existing customers about your charity's similar products or services?
Thinking about your electronic mail marketing to individuals, are you contacting existing customers about your own similar products or services?
Did you, or will you, collect their contact details yourself as part of a sale or negotiation for a sale of a product or service?

You must have collected the contact details yourself, rather than from a bought-in marketing list, a partner organisation (even if they’re part of the same group) or publicly available sources, eg social media or websites.

A negotiation for a sale includes where a customer has asked for a quote, added something to their online shopping basket, or signed up for a free trial of a service.

Did you, or will you, give the customer an opportunity to refuse or opt out of marketing when collecting their details?

You could give a prominent opt-out box on the data collection form, or have staff specifically ask someone if they want to opt-out when noting their details down.

Do you, or will you, give the customer the opportunity to refuse or opt out of marketing in every communication you send them?

You could do this by including an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of each email you send, or end each text message with “text STOP to opt out of future marketing".

Thinking about your electronic mail marketing to organisations, do you want to send electronic mail marketing to an identifiable employee or the organisation generally?