Understanding CASL Law in Canada

What is CASL?

CASL stands for Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, and according to the Government’s website, it has become a “significant social and economic burden in Canada and around the world”. Nobody likes being sent unsolicited anything, whether it’s an advertisement, article, opinion, public service announcement, etc., so the Legislation’s goal is to eliminate all unasked for electronic mail.

The Importance of CASL Compliance

CASL compliance is essential in Canada because we are a target market and massive trading partner with the United States. Many American companies, including the ones I’ve dealt with or I am currently dealing with, are unaware that CASL Law exists and have had frustrations with their multinational e-commerce campaigns. Similarly, many Canadian businesses, especially new ones, think buying an email list and sending out messages and advertisements are a-ok. This is where the importance of CASL Compliance comes into play.

CASL Enforcement and Penalties

According to the Canadian Radio and Television Council (CRTC), the largest-ever penalty for violating CASL Law was $75,000 CAD. However, law firm Borden Ladner Gervais states, “CASL violations can result in regulatory penalties of up to $10 million per violation for an organization and $1 million per violation for an individual”.

Since its inception, both individuals and businesses have received less spam. Inboxes have gotten a lot smarter as well, working with governments to sift through the noise and recognize when unsolicited emails pour into your inbox.

CASL Compliance Guide for Businesses

Opt-In Consent Under CASL

Canadian businesses require consumers to opt in to promotional materials for future campaigns. Making sure this is readily accessible and open to viewing is incredibly important in ensuring CASL compliance. If you are unsure about whether your site is CASL compliant, shoot us an inquiry and we’ll be able to help you out!

Providing Unsubscribe Options

Unsubscribe options are an important part of CASL because they give the intended user a choice on whether to continue receiving emails or not. By offering unsubscribe options, businesses not only adhere to the legalities of CASL but showcase trust to the client/interested party that you can choose your preferences.

Record-Keeping Requirements

As with any business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) campaign, maintaining records of compliance is important in case anyone complains, or you are audited for whatever reason. Email Marketing programs like Mailchimp and Klaviyo have built-in record-keeping tools to remain compliant.

Navigating CASL for Marketers

CASL Impact on Digital Marketing Strategies

When planning a digital marketing campaign or an email campaign, it’s important to follow CASL Law for many reasons. The first is getting accounts or campaigns blocked and/or banned from future use.

Usually, a violation of CASL Law, such as sending out 10,000 unsolicited emails across the country, will be met with a warning and a possible suspension from your email marketing or third-party platform.

Creating a strategy for permission-based marketing is the answer to this issue. Sure, you want to get your message out and offer your incredible product or service, but with CASL Law, there are rules and regulations you have to abide by.

Permission-based Marketing in CASL

Permission-based marketing is simple, yet not easy to achieve. When doing lead generation or e-commerce, it’s important to place the option for users to allow for future marketing materials.

Once the user accepts, congratulations; they are now CASL-compliant, and you can add the user to your marketing lists. On the other hand, being CASL compliant also means being able to allow the user to opt out of future marketing materials.

For example, many users go to e-commerce sites for the first time and will see a pop-up asking the user to input their email for 15% off their first purchase. A common tactic is to take advantage of the 15% off offer, purchase the product, and then opt out of future promotions. Sure, you get the sale, but be weary that this can be a common occurrence, and thus, you have to get creative.

Creative Strategies for CASL Compliance

There are a couple of creative strategies when it comes to CASL Compliance and keeping the users as part of your marketing list.

We’ve already seen the example of taking a percentage off for a new user or an existing user when they sign up for an e-commerce email list, but what if you are a lead generation company?

Asking for referrals and getting them to sign up for your services can add to your user list. Offering incentives will encourage users to share your promotional emails and, in turn, allow them to sign up to boost your campaigns.

Another method is to offer some sort of giveaway or contest. Many companies do this as a loss leader to acquire names and emails of users they may or may not have. By offering a sign-up via Social Media, you can become CASL compliant and not have to worry about your account or campaign status.

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