How should a licensee document marketing activity for compliance and auditing purposes?

• A. Keep records of ads, platforms, dates, budgets, and performance metrics; retain content copies and disclosures.
• B. Only maintain a yearly summary with general numbers.
• C. Record keeping is optional for online ads.
• D. Documents should include buyer contact details of every inquiry.

Answer: (A)

Document marketing activity to create a complete, verifiable trail that shows you followed advertising rules and provided required disclosures. Keeping thorough records of every advertisement—where it appeared (platform), when it ran (dates), how much was spent (budgets), and how it performed (metrics like impressions, clicks, inquiries or leads)—along with copies of the exact ad content and any disclosures, gives you a clear, auditable history. Retaining the content ensures the actual wording can be reviewed to confirm accuracy and that essential disclosures (such as licensee and brokerage identification) were included. This documentation supports compliance reviews and helps demonstrate that marketing practices met regulatory expectations.

The other options miss this level of detail or impose unnecessary or noncompliant requirements: a yearly summary lacks the granular trail needed for verification; record-keeping isn’t optional for online ads; and collecting buyer contact details for every inquiry goes beyond what’s needed for compliance and can raise privacy concerns.