Need help with regulations?
Keith Norris, Consultant to the Marketing Association, has over 30 years’ experience working with lawmakers and regulators. This experience, combined with his marketing knowledge, means if you get stuck with marketing law or regulation we are here to help. We can often suggest marketing alternatives which you could not expect from a corporate lawyer or an in-house legal advisor. We don’t give legal advice; we give specialist marketing advice which enables you to achieve your goal without straying outside regulatory boundaries. And it’s free to corporate members of the Marketing Association!
Promotions
Perhaps you are looking to run a promotion where a lucky customer will win a trip to an exotic holiday location. All they must do is buy your product and go in a random draw to decide the winner. Simple and effective marketing, or is it? If they buy a product to go into a random draw to win a prize, then it’s gambling, and it’s covered by Gambling Act 2003.
So, is this a raffle or a lottery? Can you run it online? Do you need a license? Have you studied the DIA gambling fact sheet #9? What are prohibited prizes under the Act? There are dozens of questions to be answered when you want to run a simple promotion like this.
Other laws
And you still face other legislation like the Fair Trading Act, the Commerce Act, the Consumer Guarantees Act etc. etc. Not to mention keeping within the guidelines of the Advertising Standards Authority! But you don’t need to wade through all these regulations, that’s our job.
Privacy
Privacy has become such a hot potato globally that it’s difficult to keep up with the constant changes. Many marketers have a basic understanding of the Privacy Act 2020 and how it affects marketing comm’s, but very few have the time (or inclination) to study the 13 Privacy Principles which are at the heart of the Act. Our compliance expert has been involved in the very drafting of this legislation. In the early 1990s he was part of a small group advising the first Privacy Commissioner Sir Bruce Slain before the Act was even in place. This year we already have more privacy regulations covering the use of biometrics, 3rd party data collection and the Customer and Product Data Act. Don’t be embarrassed to admit you’re confused by the finer points of privacy legislation…. most people are…. and it’s easy to get it wrong.
Save yourself hours of painstaking reading and simply email keith@marketing.org.nz to get the advice you need.
Source: Keith Norris, 30 September 2025