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“My Consumer ABC” campaign, initiated by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, is designed to equip the weaker market participants with the information on how to effectively deal with prevalent consumer problems, i.e. how to file a complaint about a defective product, how to spot abusive clauses in a contract with a service provider, how to return an unwanted mail-order purchase or how to avoid spam.
“My consumer ABC” aims at developing consumer awareness in Polish citizens: children, teenagers and adults. The topics addressed during the campaign were selected on the basis of public surveys and analysis of complaints reaching the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and consumer ombudsmen. The campaign focuses on the following:
1. Safety and quality of goods and services,
2. On-line shopping,
3. Signing contracts,
4. Proper marking of products,
5. Filing complaints about defective goods and services,
6. Managing your budget,
7. Fostering sensibility towards promotional and marketing activities of producers
The campaign was devised to help consumers to strengthen their assertive approach towards market offers, marketing tools and sales techniques. One of its priority objectives is to teach children the practical skills needed to discern advertisement from other messages they encounter in the electronic media and in the press, and also to utilize other sources of information on products available on the market.
The campaign is addressed at all consumers, starting from children in kindergartens, through pupils of primary schools, junior high schools and high schools, up to adults. For each of these groups, different information channels had been selected. There was even a section specially designed for students of economic universities (future entrepreneurs) on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), accentuating the economic and social aspect of entrepreneurial activity.
The campaign comprised:
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Publications and educational material: brochures, handbooks, audiovisual productions, leaflets, comic books and coloring books for the youngest children (5-15 years of age);
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An advisory Internet site for young consumers (with sections designed for users between 5 and 15 years of age) www.konsumenckieabc.pl;
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A TV advert (30 seconds);
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Workshops for parents and teachers;
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Regional conferences in different parts of Poland;
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Happenings on business ethics for students of economic universities;
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The “Consumer” TV series – twenty episodes of an educational broadcast targeted at a wide group of viewers, shown on TVP2 from January 2006 on every other Monday at 7.30 p.m.;
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The “Consumer in the World of Competition” TV series indicating the importance of market competition for the economic interests of consumers.
“My Consumer ABC” constitutes one of the tools of implementing the government “Strategy of Consumer Protection Policy 2004–2006”. The project is co-financed by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and the European Union.