# Building a pre-launch compliance sign-off checklist
A UK energy supplier once launched a "guaranteed savings" campaign three days before the regulator ruled the savings claim couldn't be substantiated for a third of the target customers. The ads were pulled, the fine followed, and the marketing team spent the next quarter rebuilding trust with Ofgem (the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, Great Britain's energy regulator). The gap wasn't creative talent. It was the absence of a stage-gate between "creative looks great" and "media goes live."
This lesson builds that gate.
Energy is a "priority sector" for consumer protection regulators because it's a near-universal essential service with historically low switching rates and customers who often can't easily verify technical claims (like "100% renewable" or "reduces your carbon footprint by X%"). That combination invites scrutiny that consumer goods marketing rarely faces.
Three regulatory layers typically apply to a supplier campaign, whether in the US or Europe:
A campaign can pass creative and brand review and still fail all three.
Think of this as a relay race. Each checkpoint has an owner, a pass/fail standard, and a paper trail. No campaign moves to media buy without a signed (or logged) approval at every gate.
Owner: Legal/Regulatory Affairs, with input from the technical or sustainability team.
Every factual claim in the campaign needs a documented, contemporaneous evidence file *before* launch, not after a challenge. This includes:
The UK CMA's Green Claims Code sets a useful universal test even outside the UK: claims must be truthful, accurate, substantiated, and not omit or hide important information. If a claim relies on a carbon offset scheme, the offset methodology needs to be named and defensible, not just asserted.
Fail condition: any claim without a dated substantiation document attached in the compliance file.
Owner: Compliance, with Customer ExperienceCustomer ExperienceThe overall perception a customer forms of your brand across every interaction, from first touch to post-purchase support.View full definition → sign-off.
Energy regulators enforce specific fair-treatment duties because energy is essential and disconnection has safety implications. In the UK, Ofgem's Standards of Conduct require suppliers to treat customers fairly, including in marketing. In the US, state commissions often mandate protections against slamming (switching a customer's supplier without consent) and cramming (adding unauthorized charges).
Checklist items:
Fail condition: any campaign mechanic that pressures immediate sign-up without clear disclosure of cancellation rights.
Owner: Regulatory Affairs.
Energy supply licences often carry specific marketing conditions. For example, Ofgem's licence conditions require certain information (like the supplier's name, the tariff's actual cost) to be presented clearly and prominently, not buried in footnotes. In the US, some states require advance filing or approval of retail energy marketing materials, particularly in deregulated markets like Texas (regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas) or the competitive retail markets in the Northeast.
Checklist items:
Useful reference: the FTC's guidance on energy marketing and the Telemarketing Sales Rule for US-facing campaigns.
Owner: Data Protection Officer / Privacy Counsel.
Smart meter data, usage patterns, and customer segmentationcustomer segmentationDividing a market into distinct groups of customers who share similar needs, characteristics or behaviours, so each group can be served with a tailored approach.View full definition → used for targeted energy offers are personal data under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, EU/UK) and subject to the FTC Act and state privacy laws (e.g., California Consumer Privacy Act) in the US.
Checklist items:
Knowledge check
1. What was the fundamental gap that led to the energy supplier's 'guaranteed savings' campaign failure, according to the lesson?
2. Why is energy marketing subject to more regulatory scrutiny than typical consumer goods marketing?
3. A campaign has passed brand and creative review. What does the lesson imply about its readiness to launch?
4. Select ALL correct answers regarding the three regulatory layers that typically apply to an energy supplier campaign.
Select all the correct answers.
5. Select ALL correct answers about why claims like '100% renewable' or 'reduces your carbon footprint by X%' invite regulatory scrutiny.
Select all the correct answers.
Owner: Brand/Media team, with Legal co-sign.
The last gate before go-live catches format-specific issues that earlier gates might miss:
Fail condition: media booking confirmed before this gate's sign-off is logged.
A minimal but auditable format, one row per claim or asset:
Campaign: Winter Fixed-Rate Promo 2026
Asset ID: WFR26-Digital-04
Claim: "Save up to £180/year vs. standard variable tariff"
Substantiation doc: WFR26-calc-v3.xlsx (dated 2026-01-14)
Gate 1 sign-off: J. Alavi, Legal — approved 2026-01-15
Gate 2 sign-off: R. Osei, Compliance — approved 2026-01-16
Gate 3 sign-off: N/A (no pre-filing required, state: TX)
Gate 4 sign-off: M. Chen, DPO — approved 2026-01-16
Gate 5 sign-off: Pending media bookingThis isn't bureaucracy for its own sake. If a regulator later asks "what did you know, and when," this log is the answer.
🎬 [VIDEO: "How the FTC Regulates Advertising Claims" - youtube.com - search for FTC or Federal Trade Commission explainer videos on advertising substantiation requirements, a clear primer on the legal standard behind Gate 1]