Advertising in general
|
| Definition of pricing information |
| For an ad hoc transaction, the “pricing information” consists of the cost to the customer for that transaction. Examples of pricing information: “R5 once off”, “R10″. |
| For a subscription service, the “pricing information” consists of the word “subscription” and the cost to the customer and frequency of the billing for the service. The cost and frequency portion of the pricing information must follow the following format, with no abbreviations allowed: |
| “RX/day”, “RX/week”, or “RX/month” (or RX.XX if the price includes cents). For services billed at an interval other than daily, weekly or monthly, the required format is “RX every [time period]“, with no abbreviations permitted when specifying the time period. |
| Examples of pricing information: |
| “Subscription R5/week”, “R1.50/day subscription”, “RX every three days”, “RX every two weeks”. |
| For a notification service, the “pricing information” consists of the cost to the customer for the notification service, including any regular and incremental costs. Examples of pricing information: “R5/notification”, “R10/month plus R1/notification”. |
| For a promotional competition, the “pricing information” consists of the total cost to the customer for an entry into that competition plus the words “per entry”. Examples of pricing information: “R1.50 per entry”, “R1 per entry”. |
| For a contact and/or dating service, the “pricing information” consists of the cost to the customer for using the service. Examples of pricing information: “R1/message”, “R5/month subscription”. |
| For a service not covered above, which is billed on the basis of time or sessions of a particular length of time, the “pricing information” consists of the cost to the customer for using the service plus the time interval at which costs are incurred. |
| Example of pricing information: |
| “R1.80 per 30 seconds or part thereof” |
| Accuracy of pricing information |
| Pricing information must not be misleading. The price must be the full retail price of the service, including VAT. There must not be any hidden costs over and above the price included in the pricing information. |
| Accuracy of content advertised |
| Content that is promoted in advertising, must be the same content that is provided to the customer as part of the advertised service. |
| Definition of call-to-action |
| A “call-to-action” is any link, input box, short-code, or any other component of an advert which triggers the confirmation step for a transaction or a service. |
| Language |
| The language used in all communications with the customer must be the same as the language used for the initial advertising, unless the customer elects to change the language. |
| Television and cinema advertising |
| Display of pricing information |
| For any television or cinema advert, pricing information does not need to be displayed for services which are free, or which are billed at standard rates. For all other services, pricing information for the service must be shown on the screen for the entire duration of the advert. |
| Pricing information must be clearly and prominently displayed immediately adjacent to the call-to-action. |
| There must not be any intervening text or images between the call-to-action and the pricing information. Pricing information must be legible, horizontal and presented in a way that does not require close examination. |
| Pricing information must not be obscured by any other information. |
| Pricing information must not be animated. |
| Display of minimum terms and conditions |
| For any television or cinema advert, the minimum terms and conditions for the use of the service must be shown on the screen for the entire duration of the advert. The minimum terms and conditions must be clearly displayed at the bottom of the screen. |
| They must be legible, horizontal, and not obscured by any other information. They must be static and may not scroll across the screen. |
| The minimum terms and conditions displayed on any television or cinema advert must include at least the following information: |
| a customer support number, and |
| a link to a web page where the full terms and conditions for the service are available, and an indication that that link leads to the terms and conditions. |
| Radio advertising |
| Pricing information |
| For any radio advertising, pricing information does not need to be announced for services which are free, or which are billed at standard rates. For all other services, radio advertising must include a voice over stating the pricing information clearly and unambiguously. |
| Terms and conditions |
| Any radio advertising must include a statement that terms and conditions apply. “Ts&Cs” is an acceptable verbal abbreviation for “terms and conditions”. |
| Print advertising |
| Definition |
| “Print advertising” includes, but is not limited to, advertising appearing in newspapers and magazines, on flyers and leaflets, distributed via email, in store promotional material, billboards and other outdoor advertising. |
| For any print advert, pricing information does not need to be displayed for services which are free, or which are billed at standard rates. For all other services, pricing information for the service must be clearly and prominently displayed immediately adjacent to the call-to-action. |
| There must not be any intervening text or images between the call-to-action and the pricing information. Pricing information must be legible, horizontal and presented in a way that does not require close examination. |
| Pricing information must not be obscured by any other information. |
| For any print advert, the minimum terms and conditions for the use of the service must be included at the bottom of the advert. They must be legible, horizontal, and not obscured by any other information. |
| The minimum terms and conditions displayed on any print advert must include at least the following information: |
| Adverts with a long shelf-life |
| For adverts which are likely to have a shelf-life of more than one month, the date of publication must be stated and an indication provided that the information is correct as at the date of publication. |
| Web advertising |
| For any web page, pricing information does not need to be displayed for services which are free, or which are billed at standard rates. |
| For all other services, where there is a call-to-action, pricing information must be clearly and prominently displayed immediately adjacent to the call-to-action. |
| There must not be any intervening text or images between the call-to-action and the pricing information. Pricing information must be legible, horizontal and presented in a way that does not require close examination. |
| Pricing information must not be obscured by any other information. |
| Pricing information must not be animated. It must not be a requirement that the viewer of an advert has additional software installed in order to see pricing information in the advert. |
| Verification of a customer’s number |
| A member must confirm that any MSISDN entered into a web page by a customer is, in fact, an MSISDN belonging to that customer. This must be done in one of the following ways, or in a functionally equivalent manner: |
| The customer’s mobile carrier can provide the member with confirmation. |
| The member can send an SMS to the customer’s MSISDN containing a unique password or PIN which, when entered on a web page, validates the handset number. |
| The member can send an SMS to the customer’s MSISDN containing a unique link, which, when clicked, validates the handset number. |
| For any web page advertising a service for which there is not a subsequent confirmation step containing a link to the terms and conditions, the minimum terms and conditions for the use of the service must be clearly displayed at the bottom of the web page. |
| The minimum terms and conditions displayed on any web page must include at least the following information: |
| a link to a web page where the full terms and conditions for the service are available. |
