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Program Profile: Membership Identification Program (MIP)
Once you become a member you have a choice to make. Do you join the MIP program and agree to arbitrate consumer complaints? If you sign the MIP agreement and commit to certain standards, the most significant being binding arbitration for unresolved complaints, you are able to make use this additional member benefit. Only Membership Identification Program or MIP participants may identify themselves in print and broadcast advertising such as newspapers, periodicals, billboards, posters, telephone, TV and radio ads, flyers and direct mail, yellow pages or other directories, on business cards, stationery and invoices.
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Scam Alert: Look Out for Fake $100 Bills
Better Business Bureaus throughout the nation are urging businesses and consumers to take a closer look at the $100 bills they're handed. Several businesses have reported receiving fake $100 bills. The businesses didn't know the bills were counterfeit until their banks told them.
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Check, Protect and Defend
Scam artists aren't looking for items to fence. They seek to steal your personal information (Social Security, bank account and credit card number) and/or your money. Unlike traditional burglars, scam artists are happy to find someone at home, particularly if that person is a senior citizen.
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Yellow Page Advertising Deadlines Approach
As you prepare your Yellow Page ads (MIP members only), please remember to make certain that all employees involved with selling, approving or publishing of your advertising, are aware of the BBB policy pertaining to approved logo and member identification as shown in the accompanying MIP article in this newsletter. Only MIP members may advertise so if you are not sure if you are a MIP member, want to join MIP, or need an ad slick, please give us a call.

Ad Reviews
Advertising Review promotes truth in advertising to enhance consumer confidence in businesses that advertise. Following are cases that represent recent advertising review matters your BBB pursued. Challenges made by the BBB, using the BBB Code of Advertising, result from information given by consumers, competitors and through the BBB's own monitoring efforts. The fact that a particular business responds to a BBB challenge is a compliment to their willingness to cooperate with the BBB's self-regulatory process and not to be taken as an admission of impropriety on any advertiser's part.
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A Warm Welcome to Our New Members
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Happy Anniversary
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President's Column


Chris Coleman
President

Ethical Advertising Still Core to BBB Mission

We are truly proud of the BBB's impact in our service area, helping consumers and businesses promote integrity in the marketplace. But the reach of the BBB – and your membership – goes well beyond the assistance provided right here in our communities. I thought I would share with you the cutting edge work the BBB does nationally with regard to Advertising Review. You may not know that the BBB was founded to address truth in advertising, and we continue to publish the "Code of Advertising" for those in the industry and for our members.

Nationally, the BBB does this work through the umbrella of the National Advertising Division (NAD), Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) and Electronic Retailing Self-Regulatory Program (ERSP). Their cases are interesting and I thought you would enjoy having a chance to see some of these. BBB members can access the full press release for all these issues at www.narcpartners.org By spending time at the web site, you will find interesting ideas on how to improve your own advertising and make it even more clear and straightforward.

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