casl one year later

CASL One Year Later The Impact on Email in Canada and How to Ensure Your List Thrives

Stephanie Colleton Director, Professional Services

Today’s Speaker

Stephanie Colleton • Director, Professional Services • With Return Path for 9 years • In consulting, technology, and

marketing for 19 years

Disclaimer • The information provided today

cannot be considered legal advice, and is not legally binding.

• Please consult with legal counsel trained on CASL compliance before making changes to your program.

Today’s Agenda • CASL: Basics of the law • CASL: Legal actions to date • CASL: Impact on email in Canada • Obtaining express consent from

current subscribers • Reconnecting with suppressed

subscribers • Q&A

CASL: Basics of the law

Key Components

• Have clear consent before sending a CEM o Express consent: clearly identify purposes; must be opt-in! o Implied consent: business relationship

• Have an easy-to-find, functional unsubscribe mechanism o Unsubscribing must be free o Processed without delay; max of 10 days

• Include contact information o Make sure it’s clear who is sending the message

Express Consent • Obtained by

o Clearly identifying your purpose in asking for consent o Including a description of the messages that will be sent o Identifying the person seeking consent (mailing address + email, phone, or

website) o Including a statement that they may unsubscribe o Positive agreement from the individual—no pre-checked box!

• Sender must prove that they obtained valid express consent (e.g. time/date stamp)

Express Consent (cont’d)

• No time limit on express consent • Express consent prior to CASL is valid under PIPEDA

o Onus is on sender to prove they have consent to send CEMs o Pre-checked box is OK for names acquired before CASL

Implied Consent • Where consent may reasonably be inferred from the

action or inaction of the individual o Business relationship established by a transaction, contract, subscription, or

membership. Good for 24 months. o Non-business relationship for non-profits, amateur athletics orgs, religious

orgs and community associations established by a donation, volunteer action, or meeting attendance. Good for 24 months.

o Sent an inquiry to your organization. Good for 6 months. o Conspicuously published addresses (e.g. on a website). No expiration. o Address was disclosed to sender (e.g. business card at a conference). No

expiration.

Implied Consent (cont’d) • Implied consent acquired before July 1, 2014 is

grandfathered for 3 years o You must have sent at least one email to that address before

July 1, 2014 o Implied consent for these addresses expires on July 1, 2017

CASL: Legal actions to date

CASL Violations • Compu-Finder: Quebec-based management training company

o Sent CEMs without the recipients’ consent; sent emails in which the unsubscribe mechanism did not function properly

o $1.1 million fine

• Plenty of Fish: Vancouver-based online dating service o Sent emails without an unsubscribe mechanism o $48,000 fine

• Porter Airlines: Toronto-based airline o Sent emails without an unsubscribe link and could not prove consent o $150,000 fine

CASL: Impact on email in Canada

Decline in Email Volume

Source: Cloudmark’s 2015 Q1 Global Threat Report

Reasons for Decline • Opt-in rates may have dropped • Marketers stopped sending messages to subscribers for

whom they had neither implied nor express consent • Marketers stopped sending messages to subscribers for

whom they only had implied consent (just to be safe)

Reasons for Decline

Source: Cloudmark’s 2015 Q1 Global Threat Report

• Marketers sent requests for express consent BUT o Messages ended up in the spam folder o Re-permission requests were poorly executed

Only sent once Poor call-to-action Wrong time of day Wrong day of week Poor subject line Poor rendering or images not on Re-permission request fatigue

Obtaining express consent from currently mailed subscribers

• Two years remain on grandfathering. It expires on July 1, 2017

• Subscribers for whom you have implied consent that do not respond to a direct request for express consent do not need to be suppressed unless: o They unsubscribe, or o The message that requests consent indicates that inaction

implies unsubscribing

• Send dedicated emails requesting express consent o Monitor inbox placement before, during, and after o Send more than once

Switching from Implied Consent to Express Consent

Dedicated Email • Repeated call-to-action

Example: Express Consent Request

Monitor Inbox Placement Spam rate as high as 96%

Dedicated Email • Emphasizes relationship • Includes incentive • Clear call-to-action

Example: Express Consent Request

Monitor Inbox Placement Spam rates as high as 34%

• “Delivered” does not mean it was delivered to the Inbox • A 95% delivered rate means your list had few undeliverable addresses

(bounce backs) • Emails are considered delivered even if they are delivered to the spam,

junk, or bulk folder.

• If 30% of your messages go into the spam folder or go missing, those recipients will likely never see your message and never have the opportunity to give consent

Monitoring Inbox Placement

Dedicated Email • Lists benefits in bulleted format • Includes copy that says recipients will

not be mailed again if they do not click o If you include this, you cannot mail

again

Example: Express Consent Request

Spam rates as high as 23%

Monitor Inbox Placement

2% delivered to spam folder 12% delivered to spam folder 9% delivered to spam folder

Additional Examples: Express Consent Request

• Incorporate a permission request in all messages • Add a re-permission form on the website • Confirmation page must:

o Clearly identify your purpose in asking for consent o Include a description of the messages that will be sent o Identify the person seeking consent (mailing address + email, phone, or

website) o Include a statement that they may unsubscribe o No pre-checked box

Switching from Implied Consent to Express Consent

Reconnecting with suppressed subscribers

Mistakenly Suppressed Subscribers • Grandfathering extends for two more years • A re-permission campaign can be sent to suppressed subscribers

if the subscribers had implied consent, did not unsubscribe and previous consent requests did not have language indicating that inaction meant no further messages would be sent

Re-Permission Risks • Sending an email to suppressed subscribers

poses risks o Recipients may hit the spam button o Sudden increases in volume are a red flag to mailbox providers o It could impact inbox placement for your valuable

active subscribers o Reputation is IP address and domain based. If your brand

name or URL is associated with spam, it could impact email sent from all IP addresses

• Take measures to send campaigns the right way. Work with deliverability experts to ensure the safety of your program

Re-Permission Best Practices 1. Segment your file based on most recent activity 2. Send to one segment at a time (most recent first) 3. Start with small groups 4. Use warmed IP addresses 5. Have an authentication strategy 6. Include an unsubscribe link in the masthead

Re-Permission Best Practices 7. Monitor inbox placement rate very closely. Have visibility into

the data and expertise you need to monitor your campaigns and optimize your strategy. You may need more access than what your provider allows.

Re-Permission Example Subject line: “Here’s a $15 coupon just for being you” Spam rate: 0%

Re-Permission Example Subject line: “ Why the Cold Shoulder?” Spam rate: 3%

Win-Back Example Subject line: “Been too long! Get 30% off” Sent after a period of no campaigns

Re-Permission Subject line: “This is your last chance!” Spam rate: 29%

Re-Permission Example Subject line: “Don't miss out on Macy's emails: confirm now! ” Sent after a period of no campaigns

Monitoring Inbox Placement All Campaign Types

• Subject line: Free shipping THIS WEEKEND!

• Spam rate: 39%

Monitoring Inbox Placement All Campaign Types

• Subject line: Summer Clearance! Suits up to 60% off!

• Spam rate: 23%

Monitoring Inbox Placement All Campaign Types

• Subject line: He’ll do anything for the campaign

• Spam rate: 73% and 66%

To Review • You have two years to gain express consent from subscribers with

implied consent. o For currently mailed subscribers Send dedicated emails Include requests in promotional messages Use a website pop-up

o For subscribers with implied consent that were suppressed unnecessarily Send a re-permission campaign Start mailing again but with an initial win-back message. Light frequency.

o Monitor your spam rates for all message types – to active and inactive subscribers. Subscribers do not click on messages they do not see.

Q&A

Resources

Resources

• To download a CASL compliance checklist, go to: http://returnpath.com/research/casl-compliance-checklist/

This checklist was developed in conjunction with Shaun Brown a partner with nNovation LLP, an Ottawa-based law firm that specializes in regulatory matters.

• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s helpful section on CASL is located at: http://crtc.gc.ca/eng/casl-lcap.htm

• Visit the Return Path blog for posts on CASL, re-engagement and inbox placement:

http://blog.returnpath.com/

Thanks for joining us! David Toushek david.toushek@returnpath.com 416.979.2049 x2443 Mike Sullivan mike.sullivan@returnpath.com 416.979.2049 x2174

www.returnpath.com @returnpath