CMA Guides

The CMA Guide to Truthful Marketing contains essential information about understanding and avoiding misleading representations and deceptive marketing practices. This knowledge will help marketers create compliant strategies and campaigns from the onset, facilitate effective communication with legal and compliance teams, contribute to a strong brand reputation, and help foster consumer trust.

The Guide includes use cases to help demonstrate how the Competition Act applies to marketing activities such as:

• Influencer marketing;
• Promotional contests;
• Drop pricing
• Testimonials on social media;
• Online reviews; and
• Environmental and green claims.

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The CMA Quebec French Language guide provides essential insights about the Charter of the French language and Bill 96. Its aim is to assist marketers in creating compliant strategies and campaigns while facilitating effective communication with legal and compliance teams.

The Guide provides answers to frequently asked questions about marketing and communications, talent management and more. Specific topics include:

• Networking and tradeshows;
• Websites and social media;
• Trademarks;
• Warranty and product descriptions;
• Contracts; and
• Impact on businesses that do not operate inside Quebec.

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Developed by our iGaming Committee, this guide provides marketers with information and insights to enable compliance with the marketing and advertising rules that apply to iGaming for a variety of marketing activities.

This resource covers:

• Registrar’s Standards for iGaming
• iGaming Ontario’s marketing, advertising and branding policy
• Considerations for digital platforms

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For more information, contact the CMA Public Affairs team

Digital materials must comply with federal and provincial laws. These laws are based on the principle that consumers with disabilities, whether temporary or permanent, should have the opportunity to engage in the online marketplace and be a part of the online environment.

Developed by our Ethics and Standards Committee, this guide brings together essential information for marketers about rules and best practices to ensure your digital materials meet accessibility standards.

The guide covers:

• Page titles
• Navigation
• Audio and video
• Imagery
• Webform accessibility
• Accessible PDFs and more

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For more information, contact the CMA Public Affairs team

Developed by our Cannabis Marketing Standards Committee, this resource answers frequently asked questions to familiarize marketers with cannabis marketing rules in Canada. This resource brings together essential information for marketers about rules and best practices.

Topics covered:

• Social media
• Claims
• Out of home
• Influencers and celebrities
• Provincial and territorial regulations
• Email marketing and more

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(CMA members-only)

CMA members can also access the Cannabis Marketing Guide for a deeper dive into the rules.

For more information, contact the CMA Public Affairs team

This guide contains information on implementing Canada's federal privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the seven compulsory privacy requirements that are detailed in the Canadian Marketing Association's Canadian Marketing Code of Ethics & Standards. PIPEDA came into effect across Canada on January 1, 2004, setting the rules for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by Canadian organizations in the course of commercial activities.

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The CMA Guide on Cannabis Marketing provides information and insights to help marketers in this newly legalized sector to comply with the legislation and follow best practices. Developed by our Working Group on Cannabis Marketing, which is comprised of senior marketers from the cannabis industry, as well as agencies and suppliers to the agency, the Guide is relevant not only for front-line marketers in the cannabis sector, but also for their suppliers. It covers activities such as packaging, and the sale of non-cannabis items such as promotional items.

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This guide sets out a Transparency Framework to help organizations provide clear, user-friendly information about how consumers’ personal information is collected, used and shared. CMA members and the marketing industry can use this information to tailor their privacy policy and practices to suit their sector, business model, consumers' preferences and products.

The Guide will help companies comply with new Guidelines for Meaningful Consent, issued by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which came into effect on January 1, 2019. It is the latest in a series of tools created by the CMA to help Canadian marketers maintain high standards of professional conduct.

The Guide reflects consumers' perspectives on transparency, gleaned from two research studies commissioned by the CMA and released in 2018. 

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Compiled by industry experts, the Digital Marketing Rules in Canada guide brings together the rules and regulations that organizations must follow in their digital marketing activities in Canada.

Part 1 identifies the laws and standards that marketers must or should adhere to when engaging in the following types of digital activities:

• Email and text,
• Influencer, referral and affiliate marketing,
• Online marketing, and
• Websites and mobile apps.
  

Part 2 summarizes key elements of the following relevant legislation:

• Accessibility,
• Advertising to children,
• California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA),
• Canada Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL),
• Competition Act,
• Promotional Contests,
• General Data Protection Regulation, and
• Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

The laws referenced in this guide apply to all channels, even those that are not specifically referred to in this guide. For example, the Competition Act applies to content on mobile apps.

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For more information, contact the CMA Public Affairs team.

This guide contains essential information for marketers about Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) by providing answers to a series of frequently asked questions. Developed by our Ethics and Standards Committee and reviewed by industry experts, readers can identify the questions most relevant to their initiatives and easily obtain the information and guidance they need to comply with the law and best practices.
 
Topics covered:

• Sending commercial electronic messages
  
• Consent
  
• Transactional emails
  
• B2B and charities
  
• Referrals
  
• Contests and consent collection
  
• List sharing
  
• Mobile
  
• Unsubscribe mechanisms
  
• Record keeping and more

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(CMA members-only)

For more information, contact the CMA Public Affairs team.

Contests in Canada have a loyal following and high consumer engagement. They generate marketing buzz and interest, so it’s no wonder that companies across all industries use them to attract consumer attention. Before launching a contest, marketers must be aware of contest laws in Canada, in order to preserve your organization’s reputation. The main laws governing promotional contests are: Section 206 of the Criminal Code, section 74.06 as well as the misleading advertising provisions of the Competition Act, Quebec’s Act respecting lotteries, alcohol, publicity contests and amusement machines and the common law of contracts.

This guide aims to a) provide useful background information about the relevant laws, b) provide regulatory guidance for marketers, and c) ensure that members are responsible and ethical in their marketing practices when administering a contest. This guide discusses relevant clauses from various laws, and an appendix found at the end of this document presents the actual legal wording. This guide is not meant to replace legal counsel and all contest sponsors should obtain legal advice before launching any kind of contest to help ensure full compliance with the law

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For more information, contact the CMA Public Affairs team.

This guide provides CMA members with (a) an overview of the European Union (EU)’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), (b) information on the GDPR’s requirements, and (c) a collection of important government and CMA resources that will help to support GDPR compliance.

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This guide provides organizations with essential information relevant to marketing their goods and services by telephone in Canada. It includes information about various laws, government regulations, industry Code and best practices for this channel.

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CMA Members believe that special attention needs to be given to the sensitive issues surrounding marketing to children and to teenagers. Sections K and L of the CMA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice provide marketers with clear guidance on appropriate business practices when marketing to these demographics.

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While CASL has been a strong focus for many marketers, much of this has revolved around new rules regarding the sending of commercial electronic messages (CEMs), obtaining consent from recipients, and a host of other issues falling within the domain of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The coming into force of Canada's anti-spam law (CASL) has, however, also brought forth changes to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), around electronic address harvesting.

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Native advertising has become increasingly popular over the past few years. In fact, it has been said that people view native ads 53% more often than banner ads, and that purchase intent is 53% higher with native ads.

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Through its Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, the Canadian Marketing Association holds its members responsible for the use or misuse of their marketing lists and data. When you decide to make your list or data available in the marketplace, you are accepting the responsibility for the use of that information including any promotional or advertising material your customer may see. Accordingly, these guidelines are designed to help protect and preserve the value and integrity of your lists and data.

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This document is intended to contribute to your organization’s understanding of the evolving regulatory environment surrounding consent for non-digital marketing communications as it relates to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. It is also intended to ensure that your business meets the requirements of the Canadian Marketing Association’s Canadian Marketing Code of Ethics & Standards related to opt-out consent. Detailing the CMA Code requirements and CMA members’ best practice, it is recommended that this document is read in conjunction with CMA’s Privacy Compliance Guide. If dealing with electronic marketing communication, members should consult CMA’s Guide to Canada’s Anti-Spam Law and CMA’s Digital Marketing Guide.

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This document is intended to contribute to your organization's understanding of its obligations should it choose to use materials resembling currency as part of its marketing mix.

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