I was talking with one of my team last week about what rules and regulations apply to marketing and public relations.
What struck me during the conversation was that, while marketing and public relations aren’t regulated in the sense that financial services is regulated, there are a fair few laws, codes and standards that we have to keep the right side of.
So I’ve created a list of the ones that apply to me in my current roles – bear in mind I’m a marketing and public relations practitioner based in the UK, so I’ve tried to identify those relevant to me:
Professional bodies
These codes are binding if you choose to be a member of these organisations, which I do. Other professional organisations such as IABC, DMA or IDM have similar codes for members.

• Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) professional standards (p53-59)
• Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) code of conduct

Industry codes
The most important ones for me here are run by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), which is the advertising industry’s self-regulation body.
While ASA has several different codes, the three that I have to pay most attention to are:

• The CAP Code for non-broadcast advertising
• The radio advertising code
• The TV advertising code

Laws
I’m sure there are many laws of the land that I comply with daily without realising it. However the two pieces of legislation that I most often have to refer to and advise on are:

• Data Protection Act 1998
• The EU Directive on privacy and electronic communications 2002

My main employer, Medway Council, also has a strict code for communicators to adhere to. It’s pretty typical of the restrictions that many public sector communicators work under,
On reflection there are more regulations and standards that I’m meant to stick to than I’d realised. I’m sure that nothing I do contravenes any of these standards, but can I honestly say I know the content of all the above rules inside out?
The answer is a very definite no. However ignorance is no defence so I’m going to take some time to read through all these rules again.
Thankfully marketing and public relations aren’t professions that are tightly controlled by rules. If they were I don’t think working in this area would be half as much fun.
Good professional training, career experience and a bit of common sense are usually all that is needed to keep things legal.