Introduction
On the 13th of December 2023, the FCC approved new regulations, setting a new paradigm for communications to consumers from online inquiries.
Most notably, brands that auto-dial or text need explicit consent from the consumer: The consumer needs to provide this consent explicitly for each brand/advertiser they would like to be contacted and TCPA's DNC provisions now apply to text messages. Furthermore, the typical use of hyperlinks in TCPA disclosure statements referencing a long list of marketing partners will no longer be acceptable.
These new regulations are planned to be implemented in 12 months, in January 2025 and will require changes in many workflows in the lead generation industry.
We at PX are in favor of these new regulations as they will improve the overall consumer experience, with potentially better conversions and ROI for the advertisers, and we believe all this will create new opportunities.
However, as with all changes, these new regulations will come with challenges, and PX is determined to take a proactive and leading role in the industry in the roll-out and implementation of these.
Below, we have broken down how we believe this rule will impact the industry and what PX will do to support our partners in this transition.
Please find the final ruling and approved regulations here.
1. A better consumer experience will continue to make the market future-proof
Among others, regulatory requirements around texting and pre-recorded messages put in place in 2023 were made to remove noise and improve communications between brands and consumers.
This new ruling by the FCC continues on the same path and aims to further reduce noise and improve the overall experience of the consumer.
2. Current market solutions and processes, and the industry as a whole, will require potential changes to meet the new FCC regulations
| Before |
After |
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Brands or advertisers can only autodial or text consumers when express written consent has been obtained. Alternatively, if the company uses a manual dialer, scrubs against the DNC list, and follows all state laws, dialing can still be permitted.
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Brands or advertisers can only autodial or text consumers when express written consent has been obtained on a one-to-one basis. Alternatively, if the company uses a manual dialer, scrubs against the DNC list, and follows all state laws, dialing can still be permitted. |
| Consumer consents to being contacted to a hyperlinked form consisting of sometimes thousands of marketing partners |
To auto-dial consumers, brands require explicit one-to-one consent from each consumer.
Additionally, consumers can only be contacted for products or services that are topically and logically related to the initial inquiry.
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| Consumers don’t know who exactly will contact them |
Consumers can see more clearly who will contact them, increasing intent. |
The PX Solution: Brand Explicit Consent
Brand Explicit Consent is the proposed solution that can solve the issues mentioned before. A new standard and service to match consumers to advertisers & publishers in real-time by allowing consumers to explicitly opt for a limited number of partners before submitting a form.
1. PX returns a single or list of brands willing to buy the lead, as well as information about the brands and the bid.
2. PX can also return the customized TCPA explicit consent language of each brand so brands can maintain control of what is displayed.
3. The consumer selects one or multiple companies, and the lead can be sold specifically to those companies.
4. This consent can be verified by third-party companies like Jornaya by Verisk, with which PX is integrated.
PX has already been shifting to more branded consumer experiences with custom-branded campaigns. PX has several other products that offer great alternatives and solutions to these new regulations
Closing words
The FCC’s proposed regulatory changes can potentially have a major impact on how the customer acquisition industry operates; there is ample time to adjust, and it will give way to novel methods of matching consumers with brands in meaningful ways.
PX provides several solutions to this, and as always, these will be easy and straightforward to integrate, with personalized support where needed.
If you’d like to further explore how your business can thrive during this transition and after these changes, reach out to brandconsent@px.com
We will also be hosting a webinar series with Jornaya by Verisk to dive deeper into the rule, hear firsthand from brands about how they plan to tackle this, and explore the many solutions.