About 10,000 people calling the FTC & FCC at the same time.
For Release: November 12, 2004
FTC Seeks Comments on Proposed TSR Amendment On Call Abandonment
The FTC today announced that it will publish a notice in the Federal Register next week seeking comment on a proposal to modify the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to allow telemarketers to use prerecorded messages when they call consumers with whom they have an established business relationship. The Commission also determined to include in the Federal Register notice a policy statement indicating that, pending completion of the amendment proceeding, the Commission will not initiate an enforcement action against a seller or telemarketer for using recorded messages in calls to established customers if it does so in conformity with the proposed amendment to the TSR.
Currently, the TSR's "call abandonment" provisions provide that a telemarketer may use a prerecorded message - rather than a live sales representative - in no more than three percent of the calls answered by a live consumer, not an answering machine. There is currently no exception for calls delivering prerecorded messages to consumers with whom the seller has an established business relationship, although the Federal Communications Commission's similar regulations have such an exception. A telemarketing firm, Voice Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC), petitioned the FTC to modify the TSR,arguing that such a change would make the rules of the two agencies more consistent, yet would not expose consumers to the abusive practices the TSR's call abandonment provisions are designed to prevent - "hang-up" calls and "dead air."
====================================================
For Immediate Release
FTC Proposal is Regulatory “Milestone” for Voice Broadcasting
Commissioners Vote 5-0 in Favor of VMBC’s Voice Broadcast Petition
Costa Mesa, CA – (November 17, 2004) Responding to a Voice Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC) request, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a regulatory notice that specifically authorizes the use of voice mail messaging with established customers.
To assist providers and enterprises utilizing Voice Broadcasting, VMBC will be hosting a series of conference calls the first week of December addressing this important regulatory milestone for direct marketers who benefit from or desire to benefit from utilizing Voice Broadcasting to communicate with their existing customers.
Business enterprises who have studied Voice Broadcasting have concluded that this channel is an important part of an effective Customer Relationship Communication (CRC) program that results in increased customer loyalty, brand image enhancement and increased marketing return on investment.
The ability of enterprises to achieve these consumer-centric benefits was put into some doubt last year when the FTC modified the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) resulting in a conflict between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the FTC on whether these type calls would be allowed. The modification to the TSR classified calls with pre-recorded messages as abandoned calls and included a provision prohibiting abandoned calls. The modification was designed to reduce annoying calls in which when answered no person was on the other line and the consumer experienced “dead air.”
VMBC recognized that the results of extensive case studies on the consumer-centric capabilities of Voice Broadcasting could provide valuable information enabling the FTC to reach a different determination as to how they could best regulate pre-recorded messages.
“We often run into prospective clients who are not familiar with how some of the most consumer-centric organizations are utilizing this channel to build customer loyalty, enhance their brand image and generate incremental sales,” said Jesse Crowe, founder and president, VMBC. “Having studied campaigns covering millions of messages, we were very aware that our clients’ campaigns generate very positive responses and virtually no complaints.”
“As a result, we believed that it was very likely that the FTC had no complaints or data about any blue-chip companies utilizing pre-recorded messages. Thus, we felt it important to present comprehensive quantitative and qualitative feedback from over 5 million messages for the FTC to evaluate the consumer-centric nature of the channel,” Crowe continued.
“We appreciate the extensive and lengthy thought and consideration given to this issue by the FTC and are very pleased as to how they have proposed to amend the TSR. The unwavering support of the Direct Marketing Association and John Kamp and Bill Baker of Wiley, Rein & Fielding were instrumental in this process,” added Crowe.
Allen Hile, assistant director of the FTC's Division of Marketing Practices told DM News that VMBC "made a very persuasive point" when it noted that voice mail messages should not be precluded by the abandoned call rules adopted last year when the FTC established the National Do Not Call Registry. "We decided they were right," said Hile.
In their press release the FTC stated, “The Commission has proposed to amend the TSR along the lines requested by VMBC because the harms that the call abandonment provisions were intended to remedy seem unlikely to arise from the telemarketing campaigns that VMBC describes.”
The release goes on further to say, “The Commission also determined to include in the Federal Register notice a policy statement indicating that, pending completion of the amendment proceeding, the Commission will not initiate an enforcement action against a seller or telemarketer for using recorded messages in calls to established customers if it does so in conformity with the proposed amendment to the TSR.”
The full text of the FTC press release and the notice to the Federal Register can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/11/tsramend.htm.
VMBC is planning a series of conference calls for enterprises utilizing or considering utilizing the channel and for Voice Broadcast providers. The conference calls will provide additional background on the petition process with the FTC, how the proposed modification can benefit enterprises, and how to voice opinion to the FTC. The conference calls will occur the first week of December and will be open only to registered participants.Click Here to register.
About VMBC
Voice Mail Broadcast Corporation is a privately held company that pioneered Voice Broadcast technology and has delivered brand-building personal invitations and reminders for Fortune 500 companies, high-profile non-profit organizations and political groups since its inception in 1997. In addition to Voice Broadcast services, VMBC provides additional customer-centric communications solutions including interactive outbound services, customer surveys, polling, inbound services, custom voice-driven applications and media performance tracking tools.
VMBC employs some of the most respected branding and marketing professionals who have lead direct marketing and branding efforts for Fortune 500 companies. In addition, VMBC employs a world-class development team that has continually perfected VMBC technologies.
MEDIA CONTACT
Debra Curran, Marketing Manager
877-840-8622
dcurran@vmbc.com
www.vmbc.com