Terms & Conditions of Application

All applications for Corporate Full Rate or Reduced Rate Membership must be completed on-line.

Corporate Membership of the Institute of Promotional Marketing is available to brand owners, service partners or agencies.

All companies/organizations applying for Full Rate Membership or Reduced Rate Corporate Membership of the Institute of Promotional Marketing must provide two business references from organizations that are either existing members of the Institute of Promotional Marketing or are currently trading with the company applying for corporate membership.

All companies/organizations applying for Corporate Membership must have a record of at least two years satisfactory trading for full members, or at least one year for Reduced Rate.

If no accounts are available, suitable references from existing Institute of Promotional Marketing Members, clients or current business partners will be required.

Details of any principals of the company applying for Corporate Membership who have held a similar position in a company that has gone into insolvent liquidation in the last five years or who has been the subject of a Disqualification Order under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1985 should be clearly stated in your application and may, depending on the circumstances, affect acceptance of your Corporate Membership application.

The Institute of Promotional Marketing Board has sole discretion to determine whether a company application for membership is accepted.

Applicants applying for Reduced Rate Membership must provide financial evidence that, at the time of application, the annual turnover of the company is £1m or less. The Institute of Promotional Marketing will monitor all Reduced Rate applications and reserves the right to reject any applications that do not fulfill the turnover criteria set.

Subject to the above requirements having been met, Membership is effective upon acceptance of the application by the Institute of Promotional Marketing Board and on payment of the Membership fee.

The Institute of Promotional Marketing Board reserves the right to reject a Membership application for any reason it deems appropriate. The applicant will be notified of such a decision in writing and any Membership fee will be refunded within 28 days of the Board's decision.

Corporate Membership of the Institute of Promotional Marketing is not open to individuals (other than Sole Traders).

Applicants must ensure that all information provided is, to the best of their knowledge, complete and accurate at the date of application. Where false or misleading information is provided, the Institute of Promotional Marketing reserves the right to terminate Membership without refund.

Terms & Conditions that apply to Members

A company or organisation which becomes a Member of the Institute of Promotional Marketing is bound by the Institute’s Memorandum and Articles of Association. These are available from the Institute on request or can be viewed on this website.

Members are required, as a condition of Membership, to undertake to:

Conduct their promotional marketing activities at all times in accordance with the UK Non-Broadcast Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing and with the UK Broadcast Code of Advertising Practice, and with any other codes of practice or conduct as laid down by the Institute of Promotional Marketing Board from time to time; and in such a way as not to affect prejudicially the well-being or reputation of the Institute of Promotional Marketing or the promotional marketing industry.

Comply with any adjudication or conclusion reached by the Institute of Promotional Marketing or Advertising Standards Authority and/or the related Appeals Commissioners.

Pay the requisite Institute of Promotional Marketing Membership fee within 30 days of invoice.
The Institute of Promotional Marketing Board may suspend or expel any Institute Member who is found to have ceased to meet the Institute’s Membership criteria, or who after a fair hearing, is found to have prejudiced the well-being or reputation of the Institute of Promotional Marketing or promotional marketing industry.

Members will be registered as either Agency, Brand Owner or Service Partner, depending on which sector is appropriate to their business. Members’ rights regarding the election of representatives to the Institute of Promotional Marketing Board are exercised through these sectors.

The Institute of Promotional Marketing requires six months written notice of the cessation of Membership. Where notice is given less than six months prior to the Member's renewal date, the Member will be invoiced for the balance of the notice period. When notice is given on or after the Membership renewal date, the Member will be invoiced for the full six month notice period which will commence from the actual renewal date of Membership. Membership will cease at the expiration of the notice period.

Where a company/organisation ceases to be a Member, it must remove all references to the Institute of Promotional Marketing from its stationery, promotional material and website within a suitable period. After this date, use of the logo will be deemed an infringement of the I Institute of Promotional Marketing's Intellectual Property Rights.

All Corporate Memberships are calendar based and renewal invoices are sent out automatically 30 days in advance of either the commencement of the new Membership or renewal date of existing Membership.

Rights and benefits of Membership commence or are renewed once payment has been received.

Membership renewals are automatically sent out based on the previous year’s Membership package purchased. Any changes to this package need to be advised to the Institute of Promotional Marketing Team at least two months in advance of the renewal date. Details of these changes should be sent to Magdalena Czekalska, email magdacz@theipm.org.uk

Reduced Rate Membership renewals will be subject to an automatic up-grading to Full Rate Membership in the event that:

• The Institute of Promotional Marketing is notified by the company of the change in status prior to the renewal date of Membership.
• Checks through our independent companies research agency reveal a published turnover figures for the company in excess of £1m at the time of renewal of Membership.

Companies who require or who operate a purchase order system must let our Accounts Department know at least two months in advance of renewal or new Membership date. Details of these requirements should be sent to Magdalena Czekalska, email magdacz@theipm.org.uk

The Institute of Promotional Marketing reserves the right to withdraw, amend or replace any of the Member benefits provided. Any changes or amendments will be posted on the Institute’s website and details will be sent to each registered Member on the Institute’s email database.