COUSINS Publications 2022
Ad Policy/General Guidelines For All Advertising
The general guidelines listed below may not address each and every advertising/product situation. Each advertisement will be judged on a case-by-case basis, on its own merits.
1. Conformity of Government Laws and Regulations. All advertising material presented to members/readers in COUSINS publications must conform to governmental laws and regulations and to the standards and policies of COUSINS.
2. Substantiation of Claims. Any claim made in an ad will have to be substantiated by the advertiser to the satis- faction of COUSINS as will reference to any scientific studies.
3. Company Must Be Financially Sound and Have a Good Record of Customer Service. To ascertain this, COUSINS will conduct an in-depth assessment of the company. The following will be required from advertis- ers: Background information, the proposed ad, possibly a product sample, and customer service contact information. If COUSINS cannot substantiate a potential advertiser’s back- ground, an established background on the parent compa- ny may suffice as long as a connection between the two companies exists and the parent company agrees to take full responsibility for the ad placed by the subordinate company.
4. COUSINS’s Advertising Terms and Conditions. All advertising orders are accepted subject to COUSINS’s Advertising Terms and Conditions which can be found at http://cousinsmagazine.com/terms-and-conditions
5. COUSINS Products and Services. COUSINS allows the use of its brand, through COUSINS Services, Inc., to certain companies. COUSINS makes available, through COUSINS Services Inc., member services to meet specific needs and desires of COUSINS members. The appearance of any other ads in any of COUSINS’s publications/online properties, however, does not constitute nor should be construed as an endorsement of any product or service.
6. COUSINS Reserves The Right To Reject Any Advertisements. COUSINS reserves the right to decline or reject any advertisement for any reason at any time without liability, even though previously acknowledged or accepted.
7. COUSINS Protects The Privacy of Its Members and Non-members. COUSINS is committed to offering the consumer a choice about how personal information is used.
8. The COUSINS Logo and Use of Its Name. General advertisers may not use the COUSINS logo. The use of the COUSINS name, its initials, its URL, or the name of any of its publications may not be used in any advertisement, promotional materials or follow-up mailings without the express prior written permission of COUSINS.
Special Requirements
Some ad categories raise a number of issues for which COUSINS may require additional information as its experience demonstrates a more in-depth investigation is needed.
Some of these categories include:
Auto Insurance, Business Opportunities and Franchise Sales, Debit and Credit Cards, Financial or Investment Information or Offers, Hearing Aids and Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs), Health Insurance, Home Equity Loans, Homeowners and Manufactured Housing Insurance, Life Insurance, Mail Order Offers, OTCs, Supplements, Vitamins, and Herbs, Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), Pharmaceutical and Drug Stores Prescription Drugs, Vanity Publishers
Unacceptable Advertising Products and Messages
COUSINS deems some industry-wide products and messages as unacceptable for its publications.
These include:
Age-related membership organizations recruiting members (there may be exceptions on a case-by-case basis). Planned giving ads and those soliciting bequests or charitable gift annuities, Political and public policy messages, Any specific religious organization recruiting members/participants and donations, personal and classified messages from individuals, reverse mortgages, viaticals and life settlement insurance policies, payday lending, car title lending, pawn shops, employment/work at home opportunities or grant opportunities, debt settlement services (legitimate credit counseling services will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis), Companies that offer title and deed monitoring, notification and related services, Timeshare sales and Timeshare exit companies, Tobacco and related products, including vaporizers, E-Cigarettes, and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). This includes any image ad from a tobacco company or an ad seeking to promote the good works of any tobacco company or group of companies. COUSINS will accept ads for legitimate stop-smoking techniques or products, Investment and loan opportunities that are arranged by businesses or people that are not subject to oversight or licensing by state or federal regulatory and licensing agencies, such as state insurance regulators, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the National Futures Association, or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. COUSINS will consider the level of risk associated with potential investment advertising.
The EVP-Chief Communications and Marketing Officer (CCMO) has the authority to reject any advertising at any time for any reason even though previously acknowledged or ac- cepted. The EVP-CCMO may decide to escalate a decision to the CEO after seeking input from COUSINS business units.