Marketers poor grasp of UK law

Thursday 29th of November 2007

The majority of the UK's marketers and PR professionals fail to adequately understand the laws that govern their profession, a new study states.

A report from The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) reveals that just 23 per cent of marketers have a good understanding of Unfair Commercial Practice law, while only seven per cent have a satisfactory comprehension of the London Olympic and Paralympics Games Act.

"It's worrying that so many marketers don't really know about laws that have a direct impact on what they do, particularly as marketing activities are so often in the media spotlight," David Thorp, director of research and information at The Chartered Institute of Marketing, said.

"It's important they get up-to-date on these, particularly as we are likely to see an increase in laws that affect the profession as concerns increase over the environment and health, especially children's."

Young marketers had the worst grasp of how the law affected their work. Under 26s and 26- to 35-year-olds were the worst performing groups when it came to comprehension of Unfair Commercial Practice law.