- The ARB agreed with a consumer complaint about DMS Pro’s online business opportunity adverts.
- The ruling found that the adverts did not say that participants had to finish substantial training before they could start earning money.
- DMS Pro now has to update its online adverts to clearly say that training is needed before anyone can earn income.
DMS Pro, an online business coaching and digital marketing programme run by Digital Magnetic System, has been told to change its online business opportunity adverts.
This comes after a ruling found the adverts did not say that people need to finish substantial training before they can start earning money.
The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) agreed with a complaint against Digital Magnetic System, which trades as DMS Pro, finding that its online adverts left out an important detail about when people could start earning money through the programme.
The complaint focused on adverts that said consumers could earn "$30,000 a month online working just two hours a day."
The person who complained said the adverts left out an important fact: people had to finish a long training programme before they could start making any money.
According to the complaint, this training could take at least four weeks to finish, but the adverts made it seem like people could start earning almost right away, which was not true.
DMS Pro says the programme is about education
In response, DMS Pro said it offers a genuine educational and coaching programme meant to help people build online businesses through structured training, coaching, certification and business resources.
The company said its marketing and sales materials clearly explain the educational side of the programme. It argued that mentioning training, masterclasses, certification, coaching and business resources shows that people are informed about what the programme offers before signing up.
DMS Pro also said its earnings examples are based on its own experience, not guaranteed or typical results, and that member testimonials are genuine. It said it has disclaimers in its sales process to make clear that financial results are not typical or guaranteed.
The company also told the ARB it had started reviewing its marketing to make sure its messaging accurately described the educational nature of the programme and that individual results can vary.
ARB rejects general promise
Before looking at the complaint, the ARB reviewed DMS Pro’s promise to look at its advertising. The ARB did not accept this promise because it only addressed earnings claims in general.
It did not deal with the specific issue in the complaint; that consumers were not told they had to finish significant training before they could earn income. So, the ARB went ahead to decide if the advertising followed the rules in the Code of Advertising Practice.
Missing information is important
The ARB agreed that making people do training before running an online business is not unusual or a problem. However, it found that the advertising did not explain how the training related to a person’s ability to make money.
The ARB said the adverts were unclear because they did not make it clear that training was required before anyone could start earning. It noted that one advert mentioned a "30-Day Content Strategy Plan", but said most people would think this was just a business resource, not a sign that mandatory training had to be finished before earning any money.
It also pointed out that another advert called the programme "a shortcut" compared to other options that supposedly take too long. Plus, a testimonial suggested people could start making sales about a week after joining the programme.
The ARB said these messages made it seem like people could start earning quickly, even though DMS Pro did not deny that substantial training was needed before anyone could actually make money.
Even though the exact length of the training was not confirmed, the ARB said DMS Pro seemed to admit the training was significant. The ruling said that if finishing a long training period is needed before earning money, this is an important fact that must be clearly mentioned in the adverts.
The ruling also pointed out that the adverts did not tell people that they could only start earning after finishing the training. This made it unclear how training and earning money were linked.
Advertising must be changed
The ARB found that the advertising broke the rules about honesty and responsibility, and also the rule that says adverts cannot be misleading by leaving out information or being unclear.
DMS Pro has now been told to change its online adverts to clearly say that training is required before participants can earn any money. The changes must be made as soon as possible, following the ARB’s deadlines for online adverts.
Get your news on the go. Click here to follow the Conviction WhatsApp channel.
