Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all were Upheld.
Ad description
Text on the "About Us" page of a website for a building magazine and website, seen on www.modernbuilder.co.uk stated "We have a print run of 5000 each month going onto the counters on builders and plumbers merchants, in a glossy A5 format, as well as distributed to businesses and homes across NI by direct mail ... Modern Builder is available on the counters of over 55 builders and plumbers merchants across Northern Ireland and direct-mailed to Architects and Builders ... The publication is reproduced as an electronic magazine, and distributed across UK and Ireland to our ever expanding database of over 5000 named individuals that have requested a copy to be sent to them by email, and also available free for any end users to download through Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Linked in".
Issue
Flagship Media Group Ltd challenged whether the following claims could be substantiated:
1. "We have a print run of 5000 each month going onto the counters on builders and plumbers merchants, in a glossy A5 format, as well as distributed to businesses and homes across NI by direct mail";
2. "Modern Builder is available on the counters of over 55 builders and plumbers merchants across Northern Ireland and direct-mailed to Architects and Builders"; and
3. "The publication is reproduced as an electronic magazine, and distributed across UK and Ireland to our ever expanding database of over 5000 named individuals that have requested a copy to be sent to them by email".
Response
1. UB Media submitted a collection note from April 2012, delivery notes from December 2011, February and May 2012, and an invoice from April 2012. They said the December 2011 delivery note related to the January 2012 edition. They believed this substantiated the claim that they had a print run of 5000 for the January, February, March, April and May 2012 editions. They also submitted a list of their distribution outlets, a mailing list for May 2012 and a letter from their distribution company. They said these documents demonstrated that, since February 2012, 3876 copies were made available on the counters of their distribution outlets and over 1000 copies were posted directly to businesses and homes across Northern Ireland each month.
2. They submitted three e-mails which they believed demonstrated that three outlets had requested a copy of the magazine but said the distribution of their magazine was usually only agreed verbally with the store or trade counter manager. They believed this and the mailing list for May 2012 substantiated the claim that Modern Builder was available on the counters of over 55 builders and plumbers merchants across Northern Ireland and direct-mailed to Architects and Builders.
3. They submitted an e-mail from the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) that confirmed that an electronic version of the magazine was sent to all their members. They also submitted a page from the CIAT magazine which stated that the CIAT newsletter was sent weekly to over 8000 CIAT members. They said, because the CIAT indicated that they had over 8000 members, and the magazine was sent to all their members, they were able to claim that the publication was reproduced as an electronic magazine, and distributed across UK and Ireland to over 5000 named individuals that had requested a copy to be sent to them by e-mail.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The documents demonstrated that in December 2011, February, April and May 2012 the advertiser had a print run of 5,000 copies of the magazine, and that in April 2012 they were invoiced for 5,000 copies of the March 2012 edition. The ASA considered that it was reasonable for the advertiser to claim that, for those months, they had a print run of 5,000. The distribution outlet spread sheet listed 80 entries relating to 60 different merchants and the mailing list spread sheet for May 2012 listed various different companies. However, we considered that readers would understand the claim "We have a print run of 5000 each month going onto the counters on builders and plumbers merchants ... as well as distributed to businesses and homes across NI by direct mail" to mean that, each month, 5,000 copies of Modern Builder were distributed to the counters of building and plumbing merchants and to businesses and homes across Northern Ireland by direct mail. The letter from the distribution company demonstrated that in February, April, May, June and July 2012 over 1,000 copies of Modern Builder were posted. However, it did not include information relating to distribution in March 2012, or demonstrate that those copies were posted to businesses and homes across Northern Ireland. Furthermore, we had not received evidence that the remaining copies were available on the counters of building and plumbing merchants. We therefore considered the claim had not been substantiated and concluded that it was misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation).
2. Upheld
The e-mails indicated that one sender had requested a hard copy of the magazine, while another asked if it was possible to download previous editions. However, we had not received documentary evidence that Modern Builder was available on the counters of over 55 builders and plumbers merchants across Northern Ireland and mailed directly to a number of Architects and Builders. Furthermore we considered that claim "Modern Builder is available on the counters of over 55 builders and plumbers merchants across Northern Ireland and direct-mailed to Architects and Builders" should be supported by objective evidence supplied by a third party to ensure that it was accurate and verifiable. Because we had not seen such evidence, we considered that the claim had not been substantiated and concluded that it was misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation).
3. Upheld
The website stated "The publication is reproduced as an electronic magazine, and distributed across UK and Ireland to our ever expanding database of over 5000 named individuals that have requested a copy to be sent to them by email". We considered that readers would understand from the claim that the electronic version of Modern Builder was sent to over 5,000 named individuals and that each of those individuals had directly requested a copy to be sent to them. However, the e-mail correspondence between UB Media and the CIAT indicated that the CIAT had forwarded the June edition to their UK and Ireland members. We considered that having the magazine forwarded to members of the CIAT was not the same as individuals requesting a copy to be sent to them directly. Because we had not seen evidence to demonstrate that over 5,000 named individuals had requested a copy of Modern Builder, the claim had not been substantiated and we concluded that it was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told UB Media not to make distribution claims, unless they could be substantiated.
