Theres no doubt that the right advertising program can make you plenty of money. But as they say, its not how much money you make but how much you get to keep that counts. Auto dealers are a favorite target of regulators hunting for advertising violations and are often blindsided by expensive fines, lawsuits and bad publicity.
While the various laws and regulations covering automotive advertising can be confusing, it can be helpful to understand how lawmakers view advertising in general and what triggers their wrath.
Its all about the big picture. An advertisement as a whole may be misleading although every sentence separately considered is literally true. The key is to make sure your message is clear, truthful, easy to understand, and not subject to multiple interpretations.
Even though the meaning of statements in an ad seems obvious to you, it may still be considered deceptive. Statements susceptible to both a misleading and a truthful interpretation are typically considered to be misleading by regulators. A good example is when the FTC recently cited a number of dealers for ads stating well pay off your trade no matter how much you owe.
Keep reading for more guidelines from Jim Radogna, President at Dealer Compliance Consultants.The Article 10 Advertising Guidelines That Every Dealer Should Be Familiar With appeared first on Automotive Digest.