Markets Wired

A one-day “back-to-basics” workshop on complying with truth-in-advertising laws is being presented in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Thursday, April 24, 2008, by the Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota. Green Lights & Red Flags: Rules of the Road for Advertisers and Businesses features a roster of national experts discussing the latest developments in advertising law for business owners, marketing executives, and attorneys. The workshop will feature opening remarks by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.

Panel topics include:

• Advertising Law: Understanding the Rules of the Road – The FTC’s approach to ad claims, disclosures, endorsements, and substantiation;
• Avoiding a Promotion Commotion – Complying with new standards for rebates, commercial e-mail, gift cards, and other promotional practices;
• The Secure Entrepreneur: Data Security & Consumer Privacy – Best practices to avoid, assess, and address a data security breach;
• If the Government Comes to Call – An inside look at state and federal consumer protection investigations; and
• When Your Competitor Crosses the Line – Self-regulation or litigation? Weighing the options when a competitor’s ads are deceptive.

Green Lights & Red Flags is presented in partnership with the Advertising Federation of Minnesota, the Association of American Advertising Agencies, the Department of Ethics and Business Law of the University of St. Thomas’ Opus School of Business, the Greater Metropolitan Auto Dealers Association, the Metropolitan Independent Business Alliance, the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association, the Minnesota Broadcasters Association, the Minnesota Journalism Center of the University of Minnesota, and the Sales and Marketing Executives Association of Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Green Lights & Red Flags will be held at the Metropolitan Ballroom & Clubroom, 5418 Wayzata Boulevard, in Golden Valley, Minnesota. The admission fee of $130 ($100 for BBB members) includes lunch and a CD of all workshop materials. Green Lights & Red Flags has
been approved for 4.5 hours of Minnesota CLE credit. To register, visit www.ftc.gov/greenlights or www.thefirstbbb.org or call 651-695-2491.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,600 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.