ERSP Expands Review of Telemarketing and Live Seminars

New York, NY – April 6, 2015 – The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP) today reported on the last six months of activity, under its program to review telemarketing scripts and calls, as well as recordings of live real estate investing seminars by companies participating in its Review Program.

Since it’s last Activity Report, ERSP has expanded its telemarketing monitoring program with the inclusion of two new participants, National Marketing & Learning and Professional Learning Institute, LLC.

ERSP is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. It is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and funded by the Electronic Retailing Association.

ERSP, founded in 2004, has earned the respect of the direct-response industry through its expeditious, fair and even-handed review of core truth-and-accuracy advertising claims made by electronic retailers.

As part of its self-regulatory undertaking, ERSP evaluates the “primary” or “core” claims made in participants’ advertising materials, scripts, and telemarketing recordings, and presentations, i.e., those representations which are deemed by ERSP to be the most significant and fundamental in the communication of material attributes or characteristics of their coaching or mentoring program. The “primary” or “core” claims in a script, telemarketing call, or a live seminar for a coaching or mentoring program include (but are not limited to) claims relating to the objective benefits of the coaching or mentoring program (especially financial benefits) and the qualifications of coaches or mentors or the nature of the assistance.

As part of its expanded monitoring review of the advertising practices of the lead generation industry, since the inception of the program, ERSP has closed 27 cases regarding the truth and accuracy of core claims communicated in lead generation advertising. In addition, ERSP currently has three lead generation cases pending.

“ERSP is encouraged by the commitments of the participants to self-regulate their advertising practices, and we’re very optimistic that other companies in this industry will follow their example and join us in this self-regulatory initiative,” said Peter Marinello, Director, ERSP.