CMOpinion: consumer reform turns 10 – a story about “long johns”
In her regular Mumbrella column, 8-Star Energy CMO Diana Di Cecco reminisces about interesting cases, marketing learnings, and how it traces back to itchy undergarments.
Earlier this year, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) turned ten. Traditionally, a ten-year anniversary is marked with tin to represent durability and flexibility; features the CCA’s reform provided via significant transformation.
Back in 2011, the CCA was renamed from the Trade Practices Act 1974 and introduced the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). At a recent webinar held by the Monash University National Commercial Law Seminar, Australian Competition and Consumer (ACCC) Chair, Rod Sims, described the ACL’s establishment as a “game changer” that enabled regulators to unite on consumer issues in ways not previously embraced. In particular, Sims highlighted the introduction of “civil pecuniary penalties for consumer law contraventions” as the mechanism enabling compliance to be effective nationally.
While every marketing department has had to find ways to comply with change and regulation, the significance of its origins and the consumer movement, is worthy of pause. So, I’m taking a moment to reflect on leading cases, how they changed marketing behaviour and what might lie ahead in regulatory land. But first, underpants.
