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FDUK Policy on Advertising and sponsorship

The Government/NHS view is that sponsorship and advertising (within guidelines) is to be encouraged provided it is appropriate.

Sponsorship
Sponsors fund parts of an organisation’s projects, or support it by providing services or equipment. They do this in exchange for visible acknowledgement.
This can be misunderstood as implying a closer relationship than advertising. Therefore particular care is taken to make it clear that Foot in Diabetes UK (FDUK) and its website retain their independence in every way.

FDUK is an independent voluntary body however, because the ethical issues are similar,
FDUK takes particular notice of the guidance given in the Cabinet Office Guidance for Departments on Sponsorship of Government Activities.
The guidance can apply easily to voluntary bodies, such as FDUK, with close connections to public services such as the NHS. This document can be found online at:
http://archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/e-government/resources/handbook/html...
or published in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance. These guidelines have been consulted in full. Like all government guidelines they are subject to amendment and update and FDUK may change its policy in line with changes made to the guidelines.

In general sponsors need to be clear that sponsorship:

  • must avoid any suggestion that the sponsors will be sympathetically regarded for other purposes
  • must be seen to add significant benefit
  • should be sought in an open and even handed manner between organisations in a particular field
  • must not be an endorsement by the organisation of the sponsor or its products or services
  • must not dilute the effectiveness of the FDUK website or the message that lies behind it. Sponsors cannot influence, the messages of FDUK’s communication in its business area
  • must not bring adverse publicity to FDUK
  • must be of FDUK as an organisation and not of individual members or executive members of FDUK
  • does not place FDUK or any of its members under an obligation to a sponsor

    • Sponsorship of individual amounts, including value-in-kind, will be disclosed in FDUK’s accounts and Annual Reports.
    Returns to the sponsor will be specified in writing as part of the sponsorship agreement and terms & conditions as published on the FDUK website. The agreement will cover, for example, the display of the name of the sponsor or whether there is to be a link to the sponsor’s website.
    Credit to a sponsor will be communicated in a way that does not create confusion about branding or the FDUK website’s identity.
    Credit to a sponsor will only occur on those parts of FDUK web space where the sponsor is directly contributing to its provision. This will be specified in the sponsorship agreement.
    Acknowledgement will be concise. A company logo, if used, must not distract from clear branding of the FDUK website’s own identity or branding.
    A sponsor’s logo will comply with universal accessibility and graphics requirements.
    A company logo must be seen as appropriate and must not be of a size that is visually or perceived to be visually larger or more important than any of the FDUK official or campaign logos.
    A link to the sponsor’s own web page will be provided and it will open in a new window.

    Advertising

    It is the responsibility of companies advertising with FDUK to ensure that their advertisements are ‘true’ and not misleading.

    Adverts must be clearly seen to be Adverts

    Whilst FDUK make every attempt to ensure that adverts are ethical and legal we cannot be held responsible for their content.

    ‹ FDUK Advertising terms and conditionsup