Stephanie Colleton gave a presentation on CASL, a Canadian anti-spam law, one year after it took effect. She discussed the law's key components, legal actions taken against violators, its impact on email volume in Canada, and best practices for obtaining express consent from current and past subscribers to ensure email lists thrive within the legal requirements. The presentation covered express vs implied consent, re-engaging suppressed subscribers, and closely monitoring inbox placement of different email types and subject lines.

1. CASL One Year Later
The Impact on Email in Canada and
How to Ensure Your List Thrives
Stephanie Colleton
Director, Professional Services

2. Today’s Speaker
Stephanie Colleton
• Director, Professional Services
• With Return Path for 9 years
• In consulting, technology, and
marketing for 19 years

3. Disclaimer
• The information provided today
cannot be considered legal
advice, and is not legally binding.
• Please consult with legal counsel
trained on CASL compliance
before making changes to your
program.

4. Today’s Agenda
• CASL: Basics of the law
• CASL: Legal actions to date
• CASL: Impact on email in Canada
• Obtaining express consent from
current subscribers
• Reconnecting with suppressed
subscribers
• Q&A

5. CASL: Basics of the law

6. Key Components
• Have clear consent before sending a CEM
o Express consent: clearly identify purposes; must be opt-in!
o Implied consent: business relationship
• Have an easy-to-find, functional unsubscribe mechanism
o Unsubscribing must be free
o Processed without delay; max of 10 days
• Include contact information
o Make sure it’s clear who is sending the message

7. Express Consent
• Obtained by
o Clearly identifying your purpose in asking for consent
o Including a description of the messages that will be sent
o Identifying the person seeking consent (mailing address + email, phone, or
website)
o Including a statement that they may unsubscribe
o Positive agreement from the individual—no pre-checked box!
• Sender must prove that they obtained valid express consent (e.g.
time/date stamp)

8. Express Consent (cont’d)
• No time limit on express consent
• Express consent prior to CASL is valid under PIPEDA
o Onus is on sender to prove they have consent to send CEMs
o Pre-checked box is OK for names acquired before CASL

9. Implied Consent
• Where consent may reasonably be inferred from the
action or inaction of the individual
o Business relationship established by a transaction, contract, subscription, or
membership. Good for 24 months.
o Non-business relationship for non-profits, amateur athletics orgs, religious
orgs and community associations established by a donation, volunteer action,
or meeting attendance. Good for 24 months.
o Sent an inquiry to your organization. Good for 6 months.
o Conspicuously published addresses (e.g. on a website). No expiration.
o Address was disclosed to sender (e.g. business card at a conference). No
expiration.

10. Implied Consent (cont’d)
• Implied consent acquired before July 1, 2014 is
grandfathered for 3 years
o You must have sent at least one email to that address before
July 1, 2014
o Implied consent for these addresses expires on July 1, 2017

11. CASL: Legal actions to date

12. CASL Violations
• Compu-Finder: Quebec-based management training company
o Sent CEMs without the recipients’ consent; sent emails in which the
unsubscribe mechanism did not function properly
o $1.1 million fine
• Plenty of Fish: Vancouver-based online dating service
o Sent emails without an unsubscribe mechanism
o $48,000 fine
• Porter Airlines: Toronto-based airline
o Sent emails without an unsubscribe link and could not prove consent
o $150,000 fine

13. CASL: Impact on email in
Canada

14. Decline in Email Volume
Source: Cloudmark’s 2015 Q1 Global Threat Report

15. Reasons for Decline
• Opt-in rates may have dropped
• Marketers stopped sending messages to subscribers for
whom they had neither implied nor express consent
• Marketers stopped sending messages to subscribers for
whom they only had implied consent (just to be safe)

16. Reasons for Decline
Source: Cloudmark’s 2015 Q1 Global Threat Report
• Marketers sent requests for express consent BUT
o Messages ended up in the spam folder
o Re-permission requests were poorly executed
 Only sent once
 Poor call-to-action
 Wrong time of day
 Wrong day of week
 Poor subject line
 Poor rendering or images not on
 Re-permission request fatigue

17. Obtaining express consent
from currently mailed
subscribers

18. • Two years remain on grandfathering. It expires on
July 1, 2017
• Subscribers for whom you have implied consent that
do not respond to a direct request for express consent
do not need to be suppressed unless:
o They unsubscribe, or
o The message that requests consent indicates that inaction
implies unsubscribing
• Send dedicated emails requesting express consent
o Monitor inbox placement before, during, and after
o Send more than once
Switching from Implied Consent to Express Consent

19. Dedicated Email
• Repeated call-to-action
Example: Express Consent Request

20. Monitor Inbox Placement
Spam rate as high as 96%

21. Dedicated Email
• Emphasizes relationship
• Includes incentive
• Clear call-to-action
Example: Express Consent Request

22. Monitor Inbox Placement
Spam rates as high as 34%

23. • “Delivered” does not mean it was delivered to the Inbox
• A 95% delivered rate means your list had few undeliverable addresses
(bounce backs)
• Emails are considered delivered even if they are delivered to the spam,
junk, or bulk folder.
• If 30% of your messages go into the spam folder or go missing,
those recipients will likely never see your message and never
have the opportunity to give consent
Monitoring Inbox Placement

24. Dedicated Email
• Lists benefits in bulleted format
• Includes copy that says recipients will
not be mailed again if they do not
click
o If you include this, you cannot mail
again
Example: Express Consent Request

25. Spam rates as high as 23%
Monitor Inbox Placement

26. 2% delivered to spam folder12% delivered to spam folder 9% delivered to spam folder
Additional Examples: Express Consent Request

27. • Incorporate a permission request in all messages
• Add a re-permission form on the website
• Confirmation page must:
o Clearly identify your purpose in asking for consent
o Include a description of the messages that will be sent
o Identify the person seeking consent (mailing address + email, phone, or
website)
o Include a statement that they may unsubscribe
o No pre-checked box
Switching from Implied Consent to Express Consent

28. Reconnecting with
suppressed subscribers

29. Mistakenly Suppressed Subscribers
• Grandfathering extends for two more years
• A re-permission campaign can be sent to suppressed subscribers
if the subscribers had implied consent, did not unsubscribe and
previous consent requests did not have language indicating that
inaction meant no further messages would be sent

30. Re-Permission Risks
• Sending an email to suppressed subscribers
poses risks
o Recipients may hit the spam button
o Sudden increases in volume are a red flag to mailbox providers
o It could impact inbox placement for your valuable
active subscribers
o Reputation is IP address and domain based. If your brand
name or URL is associated with spam, it could impact email
sent from all IP addresses
• Take measures to send campaigns the right way.
Work with deliverability experts to ensure the safety of
your program

31. Re-Permission Best Practices
1. Segment your file based on most recent activity
2. Send to one segment at a time (most recent first)
3. Start with small groups
4. Use warmed IP addresses
5. Have an authentication strategy
6. Include an unsubscribe link in the masthead

32. Re-Permission Best Practices
7. Monitor inbox placement rate very closely. Have visibility into
the data and expertise you need to monitor your campaigns
and optimize your strategy. You may need more access than
what your provider allows.

33. Re-Permission Example
Subject line: “Here’s a $15
coupon just for being you”
Spam rate: 0%

34. Re-Permission Example
Subject line: “Why the Cold
Shoulder?”
Spam rate: 3%

35. Win-Back Example
Subject line: “Been too long! Get 30% off”
Sent after a period of no campaigns

36. Re-Permission
Subject line: “This is your last chance!”
Spam rate: 29%

37. Re-Permission Example
Subject line: “Don't miss out on
Macy's emails: confirm now!”
Sent after a period of no
campaigns

38. Monitoring Inbox Placement
All Campaign Types
• Subject line: Free shipping THIS
WEEKEND!
• Spam rate: 39%

39. Monitoring Inbox Placement
All Campaign Types
• Subject line: Summer Clearance! Suits
up to 60% off!
• Spam rate: 23%

40. Monitoring Inbox Placement
All Campaign Types
• Subject line: He’ll do anything for the
campaign
• Spam rate: 73% and 66%

41. To Review
• You have two years to gain express consent from subscribers with
implied consent.
o For currently mailed subscribers
 Send dedicated emails
 Include requests in promotional messages
 Use a website pop-up
o For subscribers with implied consent that were suppressed unnecessarily
 Send a re-permission campaign
 Start mailing again but with an initial win-back message. Light frequency.
o Monitor your spam rates for all message types – to active and inactive
subscribers. Subscribers do not click on messages they do not see.

42. Q&A

43. Resources

44. Resources
• To download a CASL compliance checklist, go to:
http://returnpath.com/research/casl-compliance-checklist/
This checklist was developed in conjunction with Shaun Brown a partner
with nNovation LLP, an Ottawa-based law firm that specializes in
regulatory matters.
• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s
helpful section on CASL is located at: http://crtc.gc.ca/eng/casl-lcap.htm
• Visit the Return Path blog for posts on CASL, re-engagement and inbox
placement:
http://blog.returnpath.com/

45. Thanks for joining us!
David Toushek
 david.toushek@returnpath.com
416.979.2049 x2443
Mike Sullivan
 mike.sullivan@returnpath.com
416.979.2049 x2174
www.returnpath.com
@returnpath