Other ICC Guides

The ICC Framework for Responsible Marketing Communications of Alcohol

helps to interpret the fundamental global standards of the ICC Code to offer more specific guidance on issues unique to the alcohol sector emphasizing the key principles that marketing communications be honest, legal, decent and truthful and prepared with a due regard for social responsibility.  The Framework is a pragmatic tool to help industry meet its global commitments and assist marketers in applying the ICC Code in the context of alcohol specific marketing communications.  It will also serve as the basis for developing self-regulatory rules for marketing alcohol where these do not exist. Countries seeking to establish or enhance marketing self-regulation codes for alcohol can look to the ICC principles as the baseline global standards and use the interpretation of this Framework to easily adapt them into national codes according to varying cultures and contexts. 

Direct selling is a vital means of marketing and distribution. The ICC Code of Direct Selling, first published in 1978, established ICC policy of promoting high standards of ethics in marketing via self-regulatory codes. It is intended to complement the existing frameworks of national and international law. The document was last revised in 2007, with this new version bringing it up to date with the Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communications Practice. This edition of the Code has been developed in close cooperation with the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations. The WFDSA has also adopted world codes of conduct applicable exclusively to members of direct selling associations. The Direct Selling Code is an instrument for self-discipline, but may also be used by the courts as a reference document within the framework of applicable legislation. The Code is also able to fill in the gap in countries which have not created direct selling laws.

The ICC Commission on Marketing and Advertising has developed the ICC Resource Guide for Self-Regulation of Online Behavioural Advertising(OBA), to help markets seeking to implement the OBA Framework published in the digital chapter of the Code.  This resource guide offers a tool for businesses, self-regulators and regulatory authorities to provide suggestions from current experience on how these principles could be effectively implemented through self-regulation.  The guide presents experience from existing OBA programmes and provides a checklist for effective implementation of the rules into national or regional self-regulatory efforts.

The proliferation of claims in green marketing has brought on renewed interest by various stakeholders in the industry with concern as to the vague or non-specific nature of these claims.  Environmental claims may be made in any medium, including labelling, package inserts, promotional or point-of-sales material, product literature and telephone or digital contact.

As consideration for environmental features plays a more prominent role in consumer purchasing decision-decisions, the need arose for guidance in this area to assist marketers and their agencies evaluate environmental marketing communications.

Under the umbrella of the Commission on Marketing and Advertising, ICC’s Working Group on Sustainability, chaired by Sheila Millar of Keller and Heckman; responded to this call by developing a global Framework for Responsible Environmental Marketing Communications.  This Framework is a companion to the Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communications. The framework offers more detailed interpretation of the environmental claims chapter of the general code. And a checklist to help marketers and their agencies evaluate claims.

The increasing worldwide attention to diet, physical activity and health is of great significance to the international food and beverage community and to the broader business community of which it is a part. The following framework    has been prepared by the Commission on Marketing and Advertising of the International Chamber of Commerce   (ICC) to address some of the issues raised by these concerns. While underscoring the multi-sectoral nature of ICC’s guidelines, ICC sets forth the framework below to illustrate how some important ICC principles contained in the consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice apply in the context of food and beverage marketing communication.

ICC/ESOMAR International Code of Marketing and Social Research Practice is a joint international code of ESOMAR, ICC and national bodies, which is intended to foster public confidence and to demonstrate practitioners’ recognition of their ethical and professional responsibilities in carrying out market research.

The self-regulatory framework responsible for implementing this Code has been successfully in place for many years. The use of codes of this nature and their implementation have been referred to and accepted as best practice worldwide, as a recognized means of providing an additional layer of consumer protection.

ICC, as the world’s business organization, has adopted the principles on responsible deployment and operation of the Electronic Product Code (EPC) System. EPS, enabled by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), is meant to ensure that business practices which impact individuals are responsible and consistent with legal requirements, well-established best practices and business ethics.