Consumer Alert Essays

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was created in 1914 primarily as a way for the government to “trust bust” or apply regulations ensuring a free marketplace for U.S. consumers and business enterprises. In this regard, the FTC enforces antitrust viola- tions that could hamper consumer interests, as well as federal consumer protection laws against fraud, deception, and unfair business practices. The commission’s primary enforcement mechanism is the Bureau of Consumer Protection, which is divided into seven divisions: (1) enforcement, (2) advertising practices, (3) financial practices, (4) marketing practices, (5) planning and information, (6) consumer and business educa- tion programs, and (7) privacy and identity protection.21 As the federal

Consumer protection is arguably important and needed in today’s modern world. With technology advancing every day, social issues are becoming more and more relevant. When primitive forms of advertising were being developed at the turn of the century, many did not think in terms of social responsibilities and preventing deceptive business practices, but in today’s changing world, the concern of ethics in advertising is becoming increasingly imperative. Advertising ethics encompasses a variety of areas, including product safety, protecting vulnerable parts of the population, corporate social responsibility and exercising truth in advertising practices. In addition, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were established to administer pursuing violations and implement consumer protection laws to ensure that businesses have a code of ethics to safeguard consumers. We have witnessed many scenarios when companies have chosen not to employ ethical advertising practices and the aftermath that surrounds that decision, whether it is questionable marketing to children or exaggerating the effects of a product. Advertising ethics, or the lack of it, arguably walks a thin line between being ethical and being questionable. Establishing a set of self-regulating moral principles has demonstrated the need for corporate social responsibility in advertising. Without ethical codes in place, many parts of the population are vulnerable. With the

Established in 1914, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is responsible for ensuring customer protection and preventing monopolistic activities by businesses. As an independent government agency, “The FTC protects consumers by stopping unfair, deceptive and fraudulent practices in the marketplace” (“What We Do,” 2013). This is done by inspecting individuals or corporations that violate laws, promoting new regulations for companies to follow and informing consumers of their rights and responsibilities. Another aspect that the FTC controls is promotion of competition, as “it benefits consumers by keeping the prices low and the quality and choice of goods and services high” (“What We Do,” 2013). Monopolies have not been a part of the US economic

In the late 1960’s, the FTC was a paper tiger. Ralph Nader, who began the consumer protection movement in this country with the publication of Unsafe At Any Speed, was a sharp critic of the Federal Trade Commission for its lack of consumer protection. Specifically, the FTC was criticized because it relied too heavily on consumer complaints and brought enforcement actions only on a case-by-case basis. The consumer protection movement wanted the FTC to proceed against entire industries rather than individual businesses.

Many citizens in the United States work hard every day to achieve their idea of the American dream. For some, the American dream is a great paying job, and for others it means a nice car or home ownership. Roughly 64.0% of Americans are homeowners (U.S. Census, 2015). Numerous homeowners struggle with making monthly payments and funding regular maintenance. Rising costs of replacing or repairing items in a home are driving many to turn to do-it-yourself home improvement projects. One company ready to empower the new do-it-yourself handyman, do-it-for me consumers and professional repairmen is Home Depot. Home Depot is one of the largest home improvement retailers in the country. Keeping their status as an industry giant, Home Depot’s marketers developed a robust integrated marketing communications plan that fully aligned with the strategic objectives. There is no cookie cutter integrated marketing plan that guarantees improved sales and increased profits. Companies must find ways to separate themselves from their competition. Analyzing Home Depot’s integrated marketing communications tactics, both traditional and digital, will demonstrate how effective use of marketing can propel an organization’s revenue numbers.

2. Why is it important that you allow customers the opportunity to voice concerns and to question any quotes or estimates that are provided?

Turning on the television or radio or computer we get hit with advertisement from amazon having the deal of the day to Mc Donald’s having there two for two-dollar deal. Since the government decided to let Americans decided commercials for themselves. Commercials exploded on TV and Radio stations. Food Corporation used this to reach every citizen in every corner of the country. In “Claim Crazy: Which Can You believe” quotes, “The law says that structure /function claims can’t be misleading, but the FDA has never said how much evidence a company needs to substantiate a claim.” (Liebman 589) The government has given the liberty to the Food Corporations to advertise and say anything it wants to convince you to buy their food as long as they don’t

Chapter 18) shows that entering and dominating the Family Consumer Market will be key for Anchor Alert’s success. In order to do this, we will create aggressive Public Relations (PR) (Building good relations with the company’s various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories and events. Chapter 14) campaigns to seek partnerships with associations such as Rhode Island Department of Health Special Needs Emergency Registry, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Amber Alert Network, etc. An alliance with these types of associations will add significant credibility, branding and positioning, thus generating sales for Anchor Alert. These partnering will also allow Anchor Alert to build competitive marketing strategies (Strategies that strongly position the company against competitors and give it the greatest possible competitive advantage. Chapter 18) targeting families and students who use these services or attend these

I keep on getting these notices in the mail from the New York State Thruway. Stating that I have violations and I would need to pay them inorder to get an EZ-Pass. So I decided to call them to ask what are these violations about. Now when you're driving on I287 heading over to westchester there is no longer any toll booths. The state of New York decided that if they would have cashless tolls that the morning commute wouldn't be so backed up. Which for most commuters it maid very good sense. I would be stuck in traffic for about an hour everyday going into work. So to me this was an excellent idea. So it went into affect in late April and I continued my commute. It has been a pretty smooth commute minus your occasional traffic accidents. But the one

It is no surprise that given a market monopoly, an industry will not hesitate to exploit their captive market to maximize profit. One of the most infamous industries in this vein are internet service providers—companies like Comcast and Time Warner Cable. These companies consistently lie at the bottom of consumer ratings polls, and essentially everyone paying them hates them. With such a large base of disdain from consumers, it seems logical to assume there would be one, if not several, advocacy groups fighting over the issue, yet none seem to register within the public eye. One of the most reputable advocacy organizations, Teletruth, has worked on the issue for decades. The group’s leader, Bruce Kushnick, published a now free version of his

Over the last one hundred and eighty years, The United States has had numerous kinds of, chemist, doctors, politicians and concerns citizens that came together to form different types of groups and agencies to oversee consumer products and meet minimal guidelines. Over the decades the guidelines have become stricter with emphasis on intense processing and regulations on consumer products. During these early years, there were no federal agencies to protect the citizens from bad consumer products. Safety issues became such a major concerns for the American people that, the federal government proposed a bill to congress to make an office to oversees these consumer products. This bill came into

This is done by using their mascot Flo to keep their commercials entertain while distributing relevant information. Along with Flo a blog is a great way for information to be delivered as well. The bogs that should be used would be a shared blog or one that is not owned by an individual, so many people can share their experiences. All though customer opinions and experiences are important, Progressive must relay some of their own information as well. This can be done most efferently through social media accounts like Facebook. Since Facebook is such a great medium there is many ways that links can be established that can bring additional information or quotes for potential customers.

As transparency becomes the norm (and it will be more and more so), the usual 'marketing' gloss will stop working. So brands, and the the people who run them and corporations that own them, will need to stand for something more. Many already do, through lobbying, etc. So they are indeed involved in the civic issues at hand – even if they claim their 'brand' is not.

As a result of heavy profiteering by commercial organizations at the expense of the uninformed consuming public, governmental and independent consumer protection agencies, organizations and forums are being formed to address the apparent negligence of consumer rights, protection and customer care in service delivery.

Throughout history, United States courts have remained hesitant to protect commercial advertising under the First Amendment, mainly due to the number of false claims and exaggeration (Tedford & Herbeck, 2013). Prior to the government controlling false advertising, consumers had to rely solely on common-law remedies such as civil suits and various state laws; a method that proved ineffective (Tedford & Herbeck, 2013). However, since the creation of the Federal Trade Commission in 1914, consumers have gained the deserved protection against deceptive and unfair business practices (FDA, 2015).