Solar System Panels Marketing Program’s Legal Implications

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Key marketing law issues
Conclusion
List of References

Introduction

When developing marketing programs, it is important to understand the legal implications they may have in order to avoid litigations for contravening the law. According to Clarke and Sweeney (2006, p. 46), the government has become very strict with cases of misleading adverts. The stiff market competition has made advertisements one of the best ways of reaching out to new customers and retaining the existing ones. However, there have been concerns that some companies are offering what they do not deliver. The Australian Consumer Law was developed to help regulate such cases, and ensure that companies only offer what they can deliver to the market.

This means that the price promised by the firm when advertising should be genuinely offered in the market. The quality and quantity stated in the adverts should be what is offered in the market. Contravening these provisions may lead to legal processes. The country has stiff penalties for those who contravene these legal requirements. For this reason, it is important to understand all the legal issues before taking a marketing program to the market. In this report, the focus is to identify the key marketing law issues in the case that the management should address before rolling out the program to the market.

Key marketing law issues

The Australian Consumer Laws clearly define what is expected of a firm before rolling out a marketing program. In this case, there are some fundamental issues that come out and needs to be addressed in order to avoid any negative consequences they may have on the consumers. Under Section 35 of Australian Consumer Laws, bait advertising is prohibited. Gillies and Selvadurai (2008, p. 57) define bait advertising as “Informing the market that a product is available when it isn’t or to advertise that it is available at a low price when there are only limited numbers available at that price, in order to lure the consumer into the shop to try to sell other goods to them.” This is a breach of the law and the marketing unit should be aware of this.

The program that is about to be rolled out to the market appears very attractive. It means that consumers will not only be buying power, but also a product that will earn them continuous income through the sale of excess electricity. In the scenario given above, it is not clear the amount of products which are available for sale. In case the products are substantial enough to warrant the marketing program, then this may not be considered a marketing law issue. However, if the products are just but a few, with the overall intention of the firm being to advertise its brand and other products to the consumers, then there is a serious legal issue that should be addressed in order to ensure that the firm is safe.

Under Section 134 and 135 of the Australian Consumer Law, there is a clear specification about the product information standards. As Richter (2001, p. 34) notes, the Section 134 Part 4 says, “Regulations may be made in respect of product information standards for particular goods where a standard is reasonably necessary to give persons using the goods information as to the quantity, quality, nature or value of the goods in question.” This is a fundamental principle that a firm must put into consideration when developing a marketing program. In the scenario provided, the information is very scanty about various primary features of the solar panels that are to be commercialized in the Australian market. There is no specification about the amount of energy that will be produced by the solar panel. Assuming that the output will be more than a consumer’s energy needs is a very misleading statement.

There must be a clear specification about the quantity of the output so that the consumer may know how much will be available for sale to the national grid. The case does not specifically state the quality of the product that is to be sold to the market. Stating that the panel will produce enough for the consumer to use domestically and even sell excess electricity to the national grid is not enough. Ries and Trout (2014, p. 56) say that, the company needs to specify the quality of the product based on its durability, ability to withstand various environmental forces, and the components it will require in order to function properly. The marketing team needs to ensure that these pieces of information are available when developing the program. It is required by the law, and there may be serious legal consequences if they are not clearly stipulated (Hunt 2010, p. 34).

Under Section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law, business fraternity within this country is prohibited from giving misleading information. According to ADBC Marketing Law 2014 (16), “The law prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct when using promotional campaigns.” This law is general and applies under various contexts when communicating to the public about a given product or brand. Firms within this country are expected to give accurate information about their products that the consumers clearly understand. In this case, it has been stated that the consumers will be able to sell their excess electricity to the national grid. However, it is not known whether or not the firm has made necessary arrangements with the relevant government departments that manage the national grid.

The consumer as an individual may not negotiate the deal because the amount he or she will be selling to the national grid will be negligible. If this information is not provided, the firm may be found culpable of misleading the public under the law mentioned above. The marketing unit will need to conduct its research and clearly communicate issues such as the process of selling the excess electricity, any costs such as tax that the consumer will need to pay, and the average income that a consumer will earn based on the amount of power he or she will be selling to the national grid. Under this law, this firm will be expected to clarify its role in this transaction because their product is no longer marketed as a consumer product, but also as a commercial asset (Clarke & Sweeney 2006, p. 78). These are issues that need to be addressed in order to make the program compliant with the law.

Conclusion

The solar system panels marketing program that is being developed by this company is an ambitious product that is expected to attract market attention, especially given the fact that the country is seeking alternative energy sources. However, there are a number of key marketing law issues that should be addressed during this development stage. The Australian Consumer Law clearly stipulates the kind of information that a firm should release to the market in its promotional campaigns. This program should abide by the law.

List of References

ADBC Marketing Law 2014, Topic 2 Laws affecting marketing and advertising, vol. 402. no. 2, pp. 2-23.

Clarke, B & Sweeney, B 2006, Marketing and the law, LexisNexis, Sydney.

Gillies, P & Selvadurai, N 2008, Marketing law, Federation Press, Sydney.

Hunt, S 2010, Marketing theory: Foundations, controversy, strategy, resource-advantage theory, Sharpe, Armonk.

Richter, J 2001, Holding corporations accountable: Corporate conduct, international codes and citizen action, Zed Books, London.

Ries, A & Trout, J 2014, The 22 immutable laws of marketing: Exposed and explained by the world’s two, HarperCollins, New York.

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Solar System Panels Marketing Program’s Legal Implications

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