All Marketing knowledge

In the UK you almost always need someone's permission before sending them a marketing email or text - unless you can tick every box of the 'soft opt-in' exemption. Marketing to other businesses is lighter-touch, but not a free-for-all. And since 5 February 2026 the ICO can fine breaches up to £17.5 million, so a permission-based list isn't just good manners - it's the law. What counts as direct marketing (and why it matters) Direct marketing is any advertising or promotional

Audiotainment Südwest is taking the Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein media authority to court for refusing to re-tender FM spectrum freed when a rival station went dark.

The ECJ sided with Ikea against a Belgian far-right party that copied its look, ruling that political speech does not give free rein to exploit a famous brand's reputation.

Radiocentre is urging the government to delay any early Freeview switch-off, warning it could push radio transmission costs up more than 50% and threaten station closures.

Grindr has agreed to pay £26m to settle a UK group action from around 12,000 users over alleged data-sharing with ad partners — a landmark warning on the cost of ad-targeting data leaks.

The ASA has banned ads from Thomas Cook, Loveholidays and DialAFlight for unqualified 'eco' hotel claims — here's why bare green words now fail by default and what marketers should do.

A study by Wortliga and Media 4 Nature reviewing hundreds of company websites found the majority of environmental claims would violate the EU's EmpCo directive, which takes effect at the end of September 2026.

Clearcast, the UK's TV-ad clearance body, is extending into digital for the first time with an AI pre-screening tool, iClear, and a human review service, allClear, to check campaigns against the CAP Code.

A GWA survey finds around two-thirds of German agencies view the EU's new AI-labelling rules positively — and the 'advising clients' gap is where the real business opportunity sits.

A plain-English guide to when UK influencers and brands must label content as advertising — covering ASA rules, acceptable #ad labels, gifted and affiliate posts, and the CMA’s new enforcement powers.

A federal judge ruled Google won't have to sell its AdX exchange, rejecting the DOJ's breakup demand and ordering behavioral remedies instead — the biggest open-web ad question, resolved for now.

The ICO has fined Cardiff firm Elderly Aids Ltd £190,000 for making 758,053 unsolicited marketing calls to TPS-registered people — while selling call-blocking devices.

The ASA banned a Sports Direct 'up to 50% off' Puma ad over an inflated £45 RRP — and Frasers Group is publicly branding the watchdog 'fundamentally flawed'.

The legal battle between WPP and ex-employee-turned-whistleblower Foster has escalated, with the holding company moving to allege misconduct and seek sanctions — putting holdco governance in the spotlight.

Germany's statutory health insurers are among the country's biggest advertisers — but a funding reform and a public 'premiums, not posters' backlash are forcing a reckoning that will ripple through the ad industry.

A landmark suit alleges Amazon quietly tilted its ad auctions with hidden surcharges — overcharging ~1.2 million advertisers by around $20 billion. Trust in retail-media auctions is now the story.

The Deutscher Werberat's half-year report logged 836 complaints — nearly triple a year earlier — with gender discrimination still the leading issue.

France's per-garment penalty on ultra-fast fashion takes effect on 1 September 2026, explicitly targeting Shein, Temu and AliExpress.

The FTC has finalised orders against Cox Media Group and two partners over a deceptively marketed 'Active Listening' AI ad product, totalling about $930,000.

The ASA borrows Compare the Market's meerkat for an industry-funded awareness blitz — and reveals it now vets 60 million ads a year with AI.