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As campaigns to reach and interact with consumers increase and become more personal at light speed, marketers must be cognizant of areas where the law is keeping up with technology. One instance of this arises in connection with sweepstakes that can be entered via text message. In addition to specific laws and best practice guidelines that apply to text messaging (e.g., the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Mobile Marketing Association guidelines), legal theories developed in the offline world are being applied to text message sweepstakes and other new media promotions. A key example is the lawsuit recently filed in Georgia against NBC, Donald Trump and others in connection with the "Get Rich With Trump" text message sweepstakes. "Any campaign involving text messages can raise real risks," says Justine Young Gottshall, a partner with Wildman Harrold LLP (Chicago). "For text message sweepstakes, the first question should be whether you are selling a product or service or is your sweepstakes itself the product or service. A sweepstakes must offer a way to enter for free (i.e. No Purchase Necessary). In the Trump complaint, the plaintiff alleges that the "Get Rich With Trump" sweepstakes is an illegal lottery because entrants pay a premium text message fee for no value other than entrance into the sweepstakes, explains Gottshall. "There are likely ways of structuring your proposed promotion that address this legal issue, but still meet your marketing objectives," she says. A bylined article by Ms. Gottshall and Jamie Rubin, an associate with Wildman Harrold, will explore the issues involved with text messaging sweepstakes, using the Trump text message sweepstakes case as an example.
Channel: Jaffe Legal News Service - Articles for Publication
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