January 31, 2025 — Seattle, WA — A group of seasoned consumer marketing executives has announced the formation of the Lead Quality Alliance (LQA). This not-for-profit business league is dedicated to advancing ethical practices in the consumer lead generation industry while supporting federal regulations that empower consumers by protecting them from deceptive marketing tactics, including unwanted robocalls & texts.
Why Now?
The impetus for forming the Lead Quality Alliance arose from discussions between its founding executives during a 2023 marketing conference. They shared concerns about increasing regulatory oversight accompanying new technology adoption and the impact of shady business practices employed by some industry participants.
“Our group of six veteran CEOs were partnering to introduce new consumer protection services in response to the evolving regulatory environment, particularly within the private Medicare insurance sector. We are united in our belief that while new regulations are well-intentioned, they are often over-reaching or ill-conceived. Real change will have to come from within the industry itself,” said Patrick Murphy, CEO of LeadScorz Inc. and Executive Director of the Alliance.
This group has witnessed the evolution of the direct marketing sector from domination by direct mail and manual cold-calling through the transformation that began with the introduction of high-speed internet and search engines to the current ubiquity of mobile devices and the use of call automation and human-like avatar agents.
“With the recent broad application of AI enabling further automation and micro-targeting of consumer campaigns, the tactics of a minority of ‘bad actors’ are undercutting consumer confidence in the integrity of honest marketers,” stated Farzin Espahani, GM of the healthcare division of QuinStreet Inc, which operates consumer lead-generation sites such as insure.com and insurance.com. “Our group feels strongly that as an industry, we needed to get ahead of government in meeting the coming challenges in ways that meet the needs of consumers and publicize the efforts of marketers operating in good faith to serve them.”
Membership and Standards
The Lead Quality Alliance seeks to raise consumer confidence in marketing programs within the lead generation industry by certifying members’ attestations to rigorous qualifications for membership and communicating members’ commitments to those standards through a public education program and members’ displaying the LQA Seal of Certification in their marketing materials.
The LQA Seal of Certification: A Mark of Consumer Trust
The LQA Seal of Certification will serve as a visible indicator to consumers of a member organization’s commitment to:
- Transparency: Providing clear and truthful product messaging.
- Compliance: Adhering to FCC, CMS, and FTC guidelines & regulations, including the spirit of the recently-vacated FCC 1:1 Consent & Topical Content rules – which remain best practice for organizations focused on lead quality and consumer value.
- Integrity: Protecting consumer data and employing ethical marketing practices.
Membership is referral-based and subject to vetting by a diverse committee of members
Through the application process, prospective members pledge to uphold the highest transparency, integrity, and compliance standards. Once a member, by sharing best practices and collaborating on compliance tracking, technology integration, and data security standards, the Alliance aims to rebuild consumer trust in the industry’s lead-generation programs across online and offline channels.
Through advocacy and collaboration, the LQA is working to promote more trustworthy and consumer-friendly marketing experiences. The Alliance will work to achieve this goal by encouraging and supporting marketers who adhere to ethical marketing practices, helping member businesses adapt to the evolving regulatory landscape, and advocating for practical and effective consumer protection regulations within the marketing industry.
To learn more about the Lead Quality Alliance and its mission, visit https://leadqualityalliance.org.