The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has won two International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) awards, one each for the ‘Best Awareness Raising Initiative’ and in the ‘Special Category’. It also got a special mention in the ‘Best Sectoral Initiative’ category.
Said Subhash Kamath, Chairman, ASCI: “We are delighted to receive the recognitions; it’s a proud moment for ASCI. This is a validation of self-regulation for the advertising industry in India and global recognition of the role ASCI has played over the past 35 years. We are excited to be part of the worldwide conversation around advertising and we hope to change the narrative of the Indian industry. Our vision for this year is to lead ASCI’s journey to becoming a future facing organization . We successfully launched the Guidelines For Influencer Advertising In Digital Media recently and coming up soon is GenderNext, a deep-dive study to understand the portrayal of women in advertising and to ensure its positive evolution.”
Former Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) secretary general Shweta Purandare has launched ‘Tap-a-Gain’, a boutique consultancy service based in Mumbai. Tap-a-Gain will engage with advertisers, agencies, and small business owners to help them get their advertising communication “First time right” and compliant with advertising regulations.
As was reported by MxMIndia last month, Purandare quit Diageo India where she was heading Corporate Brand and Communications.
As Secretary General of ASCI, Purandare led its transformation over a period of eight years wherein MOUs were established with key regulators such as Department of Consumer Affairs, FSSAI, Ministry of AYUSH and interactions with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Over her 28+ years career, has experience in product evaluation, product endorsements, advertising claim support, regulatory compliance, Government affairs, Social Media strategy, Grievance redressal and consumer advisory services. She has experience across multiple sectors such as FMCG, Beautycare, Personal Hygiene, Home care, OTC/ Healthcare, Food and Beverages. She was also the Scientific Director at L’Oreal India heading their product evaluation Centre and Consumer Complaint department. She was a Regulatory Affairs expert at Procter & Gamble India.
Picture edited from a post on the ASCI social media handle
By Sanjeev Kotnala
I enjoy such epic moments and milestones in the evolution of our marketing and advertising fraternity. It is heartening to see that ASCI, the Advertising Standards Council of India, finally launch the much-awaited and much-debated guidelines on influencer marketing. To be operational from June 14, 2021, simply put, it asks an influencer to clearly flag a sponsored/ paid-for content. Because, with great influence comes greater responsibility.
I love watching polarised views emerge and new debates taking birth. Points and counter-points are traded, and a few of the masks come down. Good, Bad and Ugly punches are exchanged without the famous tune. Everyone is like – if you want to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk!
Everyone agrees that it is the need of the hour. A few with the experience with past guidelines and their impact – wait with bated breath to see – how successful the implementation will be.
And that is where I too had many questions.
I was in a positive mood as recently ASCI had upheld my complaint on a product’s Covid immunity claim. Also, it upheld the complaint against an actor for violating celebrity guidelines.
So, over the weekend, I had a Zoom meeting with my dear friend and consultant Vermajee. Here is the summary of what we discussed over a cup of ID filter coffee.
Vermajee said that brands and marketers are finding new ways to communicate and influence consumer choices with technology. It is the right of the audience to know if the message is sponsored or paid for. Honestly, if it not self-regulated, someone will step in to regulate, and none of us wants it.
So, ASCI had to start somewhere someday. Influencer advertising was rising and was being misused. He questioned as to why do I expect the guidelines to be perfect. He reminded me that perfection is a myth and that guidelines and rules lag behind abuse and exploitations. So, there is no point in waiting for perfection and trying to close every loophole before implementation. According to him, full marks to ASCI for taking action in a time-bound fashion. I never knew he was that pro-ASCI.
PAST EXPERIENCE CREATES DOUBTS.
But, he also had doubts. He questioned if ASCI can really stop anyone from posting on social media without following the guidelines. ASCI expects peer pressure and influencers to set examples as a way to change behaviour. That is one of the most foolish things to expect.
Vermajee believes, and I too sincerely endorse, that ‘Nothing will happen unless the erring brand is held responsible for the actions of the influencers and celebrities. Unless infringement in one media cannot be penalised by debarring the brand from every other media. Pointing out that the life of a social media campaign post is shorter than the time taken to file a complaint, ASCI must act in hours and not weeks. Technology and AI usage to catch the erroring Influencer is a good step. Hopefully, these guidelines will not be another toothless tiger. But, frankly, he doubts if anything will happen.
DOUBTS PERSIST.
So, it is not surprising that I had a sinking feeling about the whole thing.
It reminded me of the powerful sequence from Hindi cinema. Deewar, where Shashi Kapoor, the policemen aka ASCI, asks Amitabh Bachchan, the erroring fraternity member aka Influencer, to write that the content is paid or sponsored.
The influencer AB answers, which so cheese off with non-inclusive polarised guidelines that impact media differently, is full of anger and frustration in being single out for its success. The Influencer says, ‘Jao Pehle akhbaar se Sahi tareekhe se likwakar aao ki content sponsored advertorial hai editorial Nahi.’ ‘Go first make the newspapers write prominently that the content an advertisement, paid and sponsored and not an edit material.’
DIFFERENT TAKE.
Maybe it will manage to push every Influencer to transparently declare their association and or conflict of interest while posting about the brand. It is going to be a tough one. As the moment such a declaration is made, the possible impact of the message drops. Who will pay for this decreased efficiency and lowered revenues of the influencers? The truth is, it is in the interests of the brand that such associations are not publicly acknowledged. So, in case of guidelines violations, it is brands that should be penalised.
There is another point of view and a possibility, that the market will self correct itself. And in some time the impact of labelling a content as paid/sponsored etc on its reach and effectiveness will get neutralised. When that happens and the audience will no longer have to guess the association, it will have a net positive impact.
MORE ISSUES.
How is ASCI going to control foreign influencers and celebrities from not following the guidelines? Social media is, after all, global with no boundaries. I am not sure how it can control and object to a tweet that did not originate on Indian soil or an Indian Influencer. So, will it shift the focus from Indian influencers? Vermajee reiterated, unless you do not hold the brand primarily responsible for it, the problem will remain.
THE INFLUENCER AND CELEBRITY DEBATE.
Is the influencer guidelines different from the celebrity guidelines? Should they be different? How are we sure that the audience can differentiate and advertisement and content when it comes from a celebrity but fails to do so when it comes to the influencers? And, when does an influencer become a celebrity? Does the number of followers, frequency of the post, or the quantum of the monetary transaction define the status?
ACT EARLY.
The error and mistake need to be curbed at the start.
ASCI processes are long-drawn. The change-modification demand is in reality a request. Unless ASCI is willing to haul some brand all the way – across the legal challenges- and make an example of it- trust me, the violations will remain.
Vermajee, taking another sip of coffee, clarified his position. “I am all for the influencers and celebrities doing due diligence and getting the paperwork right. Misinformation should be avoided at any cost. So, I would welcome, if the onus of guideline implementation is firmly on the brand.”
TURBULENT PAST.
ASCI has failed to demonstrate the intent and implementation of such guidelines in the case of newspapers. The inclusive educational approach to shape the narrative across media, creative developers and celebrities have failed. We continue to see the best of the brands and marketers flouting the guidelines. And ASCI still thinks such an education outreach initiative in influencer advertising will show any different results.
Why can’t all member bodies ensure that everyone associated with the creative development and media functions has taken the ASCI course on guidelines?
HOPE IS EVERYTHING.
But life must continue. One must believe in the intent and the ASCI promise to ensure that the guidelines evolve with time. It is in the interests of consumer, influencers, agencies, platforms and advertisers.
WHAT ABOUT THE SOCIAL MEDIA.
While licking the last bit of coffee, Vermajee shared what he was thinking. We have seen the arrogance of these social media giants. They arrogantly address parliaments and committees. They challenge the rules of the nations and even suggest what rules the country should have. They believe in creating and expecting their own rules and guidelines to supersede everything else. Everything under policies, privacy and freedom of expression- how will ASCI work with them?
What will be the role of the social media platform?
Will the social media platform on ASCI request or complaint closing the account of an errant influencer not following the guidelines? Don’t we know the answer!
STILL, EACH ONE OF US CAN CONTRIBUTE.
So, enjoy the feel-good moment and clap for the ASCI milestone of influencer guidelines. Wish ASCI all the best. And let us contribute by taking the pledge to religiously follow the guidelines. At least we can individually do so.
Sanjeev Kotnala is a senior business strategist and educator. He writes on MxMIndia every Wednesday. His views here are personal
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has unveiled the final guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media. The draft guidelines initially were issued in February and feedback from all stakeholders – advertisers, agencies, influencers and consumers – was sought. To ensure a collaborative process and expert inputs, ASCI tied up with Big Bang Social, a leading marketplace for social storytelling, to get India’s leading digital influencers’ views on board. The guidelines will be applicable to commercial messages or advertisements published on or after June 14, 2021. The guidelines make it mandatory for influencers to label the promotional content they post. These guidelines, an ASCI communique underscores, safeguard the interests of consumers, influencers, marketeers, and the advertising industry.
Subhash Kamath
Said Subhash Kamath, Chairman, ASCI: “We received an overwhelming positive engagement and feedback from influencers and others for the draft guidelines, as well as suggestions to finetune and clarify some points. After extensive discussions, we are now launching the final guidelines that balance the interests of consumer, influencers, agencies, advertisers and all other stakeholders. I urge everyone to follow the ASCI Code and the guidelines and be part of this change promising transparency and responsibility.”
Manisha Kapoor
Added Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General, ASCI: “The Reech Influence Cloud platform uses Artificial Intelligence to identify lack of disclosure on posts of a commercial nature on social media. Machine learning algorithms and pattern searching Regex (Regular Expression) maximize accuracy. As part of ASCI’s increasing focus on digital content, we will continue to deploy advanced technology solutions to keep track of advertisements that violate the ASCI code.
Along with the guidelines, ASCI is aiming to develop an inclusive educational approach to shape the narrative of influencer advertising. To achieve this, ASCI is launching the ASCI.Social platform for all information related to the guidelines themselves. The digital platform will be interactive with dos and don’ts, FAQs, information related to the guidelines etc. Over time, ASCI.Social hopes to create a community of social media influencers, consumers, advertisers, and talent management agencies.
Dhruv Chitgopekar
Said Dhruv Chitgopekar, Founding Partner, Collective Artists Network and CEO of BigBang.Social: “The guidelines were the need of the hour considering the rapid growth in branded communications to consumers via social media. We have guidelines for traditional media advertising but, with the boom in influencer marketing, these are essential. We got on board on ASCI’s behest, lending our learnings from extensively working with social media influencers and understanding of brands to the effort. I’m pleased with how comprehensive and practical the final guidelines are.
Dolly Singh
Added Dolly Singh, a leading digital influencer: “The digital marketing space is growing rapidly and so are its participants. This is the right time to have a codified system of disclosure. I fully support this move by ASCI because it will result in viewers having even greater trust in influencers like me.”
Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media
DEFINITIONS
Influencer
An Influencer is someone who has access to an audience and the power to affect their audiences’ purchasing decisions or opinions about a product, service, brand or experience, because of the influencer’s authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience
Virtual Influencer
Virtual influencers, are fictional computer generated ‘people’ or avatars who have the realistic characteristics, features and personalities of humans, and behave in a similar manner as influencers.
Material connection
A material connection is any connection between an advertiser and influencer that may affect the weight or credibility of the representation made by the influencer. Material connection could include but is not limited to benefits and incentives, such as monetary or other compensation, free products with or without any conditions attached including those received unsolicited, discounts, gifts, contest and sweepstakes entries, trips or hotel stays, media barters, coverage, awards or any family or employment relationship, etc.
Digital media
“Digital Media is defined as a means of communication that can be transmitted over the internet or digital networks and includes communication received, stored, transmitted, edited or processed by a digital media platform. Digital Media includes but not limited to
2) On-demand across platforms including near video on demand, subscription video on demand, near movie on demand, free video. On-demand, transactional video on demand, advertising video on demand, Video on demand, pay per view etc.
3) Mobile broadcast, mobile, communications content, websites, blogs, apps, etc. / Digital TV (including digital video broadcasting handheld and terrestrial) etc.
4) NSTV (non-standard television)
5) DDHE (digital delivery home entertainment)
6) DTT (digital terrestrial television)
GUIDELINES:
1. Disclosure
All advertisements published by social media influencers or their representatives, on such influencers’ accounts must carry a disclosure label that clearly identifies it as an advertisement.
1.1 The following criteria must be used to determine if disclosure is required:
a. Disclosure is required if there is any material connection between the advertiser and the influencer.
b. Material connection isn’t limited to monetary compensation. Disclosure is required if there is anything of value given to mention or talk about the Advertiser’s product or service. For example: If the Advertiser or its Agents gives free or discounted products or service or other perks and then the influencer mentions one of its products or services, a disclosure is needed even if they weren’t specifically asked to talk about that product or service.
c. Disclosures are required even if the evaluations are unbiased or fully originated by Influencer, so long as there is a material connection between Advertiser and Influencer.
d. If there is no material connection and the influencer is telling people about a product or service they bought and happen to like, that is not considered to be an advertisement and no disclosure is required on such posts.
1.2 Disclosure must be upfront and prominent so that it is not missed by an average consumer
a. It should be placed in a manner that is hard to miss.
b. Disclosures are likely to be missed if they appear only on an ABOUT ME or profile page, or bios, at the end of posts or videos, or anywhere that requires a person to click MORE.
c. Disclosure should not be buried in a group of hashtags or links.
d. Using a platform’s disclosure tool should be considered in addition to an influencer’s own disclosure.
e. If the advertisement is only a picture or video post without accompanying text (such as Instagram stories or Snapchat), the discloser label needs to be superimposed over the picture/video and it should be ensured that the average consumer is able to see it clearly.
I. For videos that last 15 seconds or lesser, the disclosure label must stay for a minimum of 3 seconds.
II. For videos longer than 15 seconds, but less than 2 minutes, the disclosure label should stay for 1/3rd the length of the video.
III. For videos which are 2 minutes or longer, the disclosure label must stay for the entire duration of the section in which the promoted brand or its features, benefits etc are mentioned.
f. In live streams, the disclosure label should be announced at the beginning and the end of the broadcast. If the post continues to be visible after the live stream is over, appropriate disclosure must be added to the text/ caption.
g. In the case of audio media, the disclosure must be clearly announced at the beginning and at the end of the audio, and before and after every break that is taken in between.
1.3 The disclosure must be made in a manner that is well understood by an average consumer.
a. Following is the list of disclosure labels permitted. Any one or more can be used:
:: Advertisement
:: Ad
:: Sponsored
:: Collaboration
:: Partnership
:: Employee
:: Free gift
b. The disclosure should be in English OR in the language as the advertisement itself in a way that is easy for an average consumer to understand.
1.4 A virtual influencer must additionally disclose to consumers that they are not interacting with a real human being. This disclosure must be upfront and prominent.
1.5 Responsibility of disclosure of material connection and also of the content of Advertisement is upon the Advertiser for whose product or service the advertisement is, and also upon the Influencer. For clarity, where Advertiser has a material connection with the Influencer, Advertiser’s responsibility will be to ensure that the posted Influencer advertisement is in line with the ASCI code and its Guidelines. While the Influencer shall be responsible for making disclosures required under the Guidelines. The Advertiser, shall, where needed, call upon the Influencer to delete or edit an advertisement or the disclosure label to adhere to the ASCI Code and Guidelines.
2. Due Diligence
The influencers are advised to review and satisfy themselves that the advertiser is in a position to substantiate the claims made in the advertisement.
Shweta Purandare, who was until last year Secretary General of the Advertising Standards Council of India, has decided to leave Diageo, which she had joined as Head of Corporate Communications in September 2020. Although there is no official word from Diageo or Purandare, according to our sources, Purandare is serving notice will exit by the month-end.
After a pharma masters and an MBA, Purandare worked for several years at P&G, L’Oreal and her own consulting practice before an eight-year stint at ASCI.
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) General Secretary Manisha Kapoor has been appointed to the executive committee of the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS). She will be one of the four vice-presidents on the executive committee. Set up by the European Advertising Standards Alliance in 2008, ICAS is a global platform of self-regulatory organisations (SROs).
In her role as part of the ICAS leadership team, Kapoor will take forward the agenda of self-regulation globally. Some priority areas of ICAS for the next couple of years are:
:: To promote advertising self-regulation as an optimal mechanism for consumer protection
:: To strengthen ICAS as a global alliance
:: To facilitate knowledge sharing among SROs to establish best practices
:: To support emerging SROs across the globe
:: To monitor global trends in the advertising ecosystem that impact self-regulation
:: Work closely with established and emerging digital platforms to make the online space more transparent and fairer for consumers
Said Kapoor in a statement: “This appointment is a recognition of ASCI’s growing global standing and influence in the narrative of responsible advertising, as well as the importance of Indian advertising industry itself at a global level. This offers us a chance to exchange learnings and best practices. With the Indian advertising industry evolving fast and digitalisation boosting growth, ASCI’s leadership of the ICAS executive committee will add new perspectives to the agenda of responsible advertising.”
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), in association with Futurebrands, is launching the first ever gender depiction study in Indian advertising. GenderNext aims to provide actionable insights that can shape the gender narratives in advertising positively. The study is the first of several initiatives ASCI will undertake in 2021 as part of a year-long focus on gender.
The GenderNext study, notes a communique, has attracted much interest amongst advertisers, who are backing it with their own insights as well as funding. The landmark study has received support from the likes of Nobel Hygiene, ITC-Vivel, Kellogg, Colgate, Diageo, Eureka Forbes and Mondelez, and ASCI hopes more of its members will become a part of it.
The report, to release in September 2021, is expected to help in understanding the depictions of women in advertising. It uses several starting points of inquiry. To begin with, there will be a semiotics and cultural decode of Indian advertising over time, across categories and regions. In addition, advertisers, creative voices, policymakers, gender experts will be met for their inputs. Ad clinics will be conducted across 10 centres with consumers for their views and feedback on gender depiction in advertising. The study will draw an understanding of the larger cultural shifts in India through Bharat Darshan, a proprietary study done by Futurebrands over a decade, and across more than 200 towns. GenderNext is a first-of-its-kind study and expected to be of significant value to advertisers and creative agencies, as well as academia, policymakers and advocacy bodies.
Subhash Kamath
Said Subhash Kamath, Chairman, ASCI: “As a self-regulatory body, ASCI wants advertisers to embrace more responsible advertising. The idea is to not just limit ourselves to being a complaints management body but also to help advertisers navigate through complex issues and contribute to the creation of positive advertising. ASCI will support brands and advertisers to “get it right” in various ways, and this is one such initiative”.
Manisha Kapoor
Added Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General of ASCI: “The portrayal of women in advertising has been the subject of much debate. The gender narrative has been evolving and changing but it is not a simple, linear change. GenderNext will help advertisers navigate these narratives, which can sometimes even be seemingly in conflict with each other. The idea is to provoke conversations, and generate actionable insights that advertisers can tap into for progressive, culturally relevant and aspirational gender portrayals. Besides GenderNext, we will also be partnering with like-minded organisations with similar objectives to make a difference to the gender narrative.”
Santosh Desai
Said Santosh Desai, MD & CEO, Futurebrands: “We are excited to be part of a study that will track the changing gender narrative in advertising and help advertisers with insights to craft their strategies better. The study – a synthesis of primary consumer feedback, opinions of a wide range of stakeholders and commentators, and a wider reading of cultural changes – will build on the extensive cultural tracking work Futurebrands has been engaged in over the past decade.”
Added Kartik Johari, VP – Marketing and Commerce, Nobel Hygiene, the principal sponsor of the study: “As a company where our brands resolutely speak the consumer truth, through this unique partnership with ASCI, we are keen to understand how popular culture has, and will continue to shape, our perception of gender. We hope this research forms not only a map of their minds, but a casting net on the minds that will shape tomorrow.”
My Twitter timeline tells me that newspapers are cheating their readers with what is necessarily advertisements masquerading as news. Maybe it is their necessity with dropping advertising revenue. Unfortunately, it is weaning away discerning readers.
The Truth Remains Unchanged
Readers buy newspapers for news/ infotainment and not for advertisements. Many readers depend on news and other content in the newspaper to take decisions in their lives. I may be exaggerating the last bit, but even in the digital age, it holds true at least in the Tier-2 and 3 towns. Print still has a role to play.
Native advertising was earlier considered a digital news problem. Today, it finds itself in newspapers, what they claim to be advertisers-influenced behaviour.
A reader expects their newspaper to highlight the sponsored content, disguised advertisement, advertorial, or native advertising. Not doing so is breaching the reader-newspaper trust.
The lack of clear and well-regulated norms/rules/guidelines for such disclosure is in many ways responsible for readers’ failure in identifying native ads.
Is the Bold Editorial Dead?
WNP;-What’s new in publishing laments the fact that the old editorial guards are dead and buried. The kind that believed in preserving the objectivity in newspapers. They would never think of collaborating with brands to help them mask their advertisements as editorial content. From their perspective, native advertising is unethical and deceptive. It only shows disrespect for media consumers. They fear it might push journalism over the edge, to the point of no return.
The Ugly Side
The same article points out. Some editors don’t have anything against native advertising. On the contrary, they believe, if appropriately incorporated, sponsored content could bring significant financial benefits and help publishers protect their businesses while also bringing value to readers.
A two-year-old estimate says that native advertising generates 18% of overall advertising revenues, and publishers expect it will reach 32% by 2020.
Now is that not alarming as a reader.
The Breach of Trust
I further quote from the above report. ‘Journalists are expected to unbiasedly report, with their end goal of accurately informing the public. When sponsored content comes into the picture, the motives change as their goal becomes profit-oriented. Journalists then agree to tell stories that fit a brand’s marketing objective. They do so in exchange for money, which automatically undermines their professional role’.
If that not a breach of trust, then nothing is.
Secular Guidelines Should Apply to All Media
There is a high decibel demand on social media influencers to specify if the content is sponsored and paid. Ironically, the coverage of ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) guidelines for such acts in digital content on platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram is in the newspapers known not to follow the guidelines. The industry is applauding ASCI for the welcome step.
It is beyond my understanding why should similar guidelines not apply to all news media. Why newspaper as a respectful infotainment provider not be hauled for this breach.
ASCI is trying to control digital when it has failed to control it in newspapers.
I found an advisory for TV advertising but failed to see one for print.
I am sure the guidelines exist. But, how often have they been used to bring errant newspapers to the task? My tweet request to ASCI on the subject went unanswered.
Native Advertising/Sponsore Content – Not New
Native advertising is not a new format, as many newspapers would want us to believe. Wojdynski and Evans (2016) define native advertising as “any paid advertising that takes the specific form and appearance of editorial content from the publisher itself”. It is considered effective if the media can mimic the content produced by journalists and, through such advertising, gain the same credibility as news.
A study across five European counties observes that news outlets do not follow a consistent way in disclosing native ads visually, negotiating the balance between transparency and deception. In this balance, news organisations do not boldly push for transparency and instead remain ambiguous. Their analyses showed that both national and organisational characteristics matter when shaping the visual boundaries of journalism.
The Root Cause
The problem is newspapers over-dependence on advertising revenue. And advertisers desire to see enhanced efficiency/ROI for newspaper advertising. Everyone getting on the bandwagon cannot be an excuse for other newspapers to follow it.
Really what defines such unethical behaviour is the organisational ethos and an understanding that they can get away with it. Each newspaper is trying new means to avoid flagging such content.
No One Will Bite The Bullet
The newspapers must bite the bullet of upping their cover price even at the cost of losing the fringe readers. It may seem a dangerous strategy, and maybe it is when done in isolation. But, collectively executed, it is what the doctors prescribe. The business model needs an overhaul.
Alarm Bells
No surprise that a 2017 report by International News Media Association (INMA) and The Native Advertising Institute (NAI) found something alarming.
• Slightly more news media companies are offering native advertising as an option, 51% this year compared to 48% last year.
• Last year, 35% of publishers surveyed described native advertising as “very important” to their companies. This year, 50% did.
• Last year, 26% of publishers were working with an external agency to deliver native advertising. This year, that number is half at 13%.
• 27% of news media companies surveyed have a dedicated native advertising team, up a bit from last year’s 20%.
You realise how alarming the issue.
The End
There is no denying that it is becoming more difficult for readers and regulators to identify the advertising content masquerading as news and, therefore, misleading and deceptive. It is challenging to regulate, as there is no standard format. Newspapers find new ways and captions to sidestep the issue and need to flag such content.
It is time for ASCI to focus on it. It will help the readers and the industry.
Why pinpoint social media influencers and expect them to flag the sponsored- paid-for content and allow newspapers to continue having a ball. Some visible practical steps will help.
………….
One may further read this report; native Advertising in India: How one company set the benchmark.
Sanjeev Kotnala is a senior business and marketing strategist and educator. He writes on MxmIndia every Wendesday. His views here are personal
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has extended the deadline for feedback on the Draft Guidelines for Influencer Advertising on Digital Media to March 21, 2021. The earlier deadline for consumers, various stakeholders and influencers was March 8. The extension followed requests from various stakeholders.
According to a communique, since the announcement of the draft guidelines, ASCI has received useful feedback that would be considered in finalising the guidelines. ASCI is delighted with the overwhelming support for the guidelines. With the extended deadline, ASCI is looking forward to more feedback to fine tune the same.
The final guidelines, after considering the feedback, will be issued on April 15 and will be applicable from May 1.
I have long held a strong belief in the power of Influencer marketing (as regular readers of this column would vouch). Digitisation and connectivity has changed marketing forever and Influencer marketing is the sweet love child of this new media – it’s part Celebrity advertising (influencers with large followings become celebrities), word-of-mouth (influencers are relatable, hence their recommendations seem to come from a friend), branded content (product placements and content marketing) and pure play advertising.
Influencer marketing is here to stay and which is why I was enthused to hear that the (Draft) ASCI Guidelines for Influencer marketing, which have been in process since 2019 have been released.
The guidelines are available for all stakeholders, including industry, digital influencers and consumers for feedback till March 8, 2021. Based on the feedback, the final guidelines will be issued by March 31 and will be applicable to all promotional posts published on or after April 15, 2021.
Manisha Kapoor
I joined a freewheeling chat that Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General, Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) had with the MxMIndia editor and it helped me understand the thought process behind drafting the guidelines. Sharing an overview of my thoughts and a few points of feedback which can get incorporated before the guidelines are finalised. The highlights of our conversation and my thoughts ar:
Who will take the fall?
One of our major points of discussion was around the roles of the platform and agencies which form crucial parts of the current ecosystem. In the current draft regulations, the onus of the responsibility lies only on the influencer and the brand. ASCI has already onboarded a few major platforms on their board and hopes to also partner with other major platforms and agencies to disseminate the guidelines.
From a managerial perspective, this is perfect. However, digital platforms unlike traditional platforms like TV and Print run on algorithms with low human intervention. This means that content gets served a multitude of times to people dependent on the influencer’s engagement, followers and other weighted parameters (parameters which are only known by the platform and are tweaked constantly basis multiple feedback loops). Hence, beyond the influencer and the brand, the platforms also ideally should be held responsible because they control the spread of the message.
The Influencer Agency
Influencer agencies are the newest agency type to hit the agency marketplace. As influencers mostly wear multiple hats like scriptwriter, actor, director, editor and costume designer, the influencer agency is part-celebrity management and part-media agency.
The role of these agencies is primarily to be responsible for deals they broker for influencers and to help brands partner with relevant influencers for their campaigns and to ensure speed in execution and content quality. ASCI will be using these agencies as a means to reach and educate influencers. Agencies typically work on commissions and will charge a percentage from the brand and from the influencer as well. However, by putting all the responsibility of the due diligence on the influencer, the role of the influencer agency is severely limited to being only a vanilla middleman. Whether or not it becomes a part of ASCI’s official guidelines, for survival, agencies must provide these services to influencers.
The Question of the Disclosures
One of the best directives of the guidelines was the prohibition of filters in case they emphasise the claim the brand is making. [Filters should not be applied to social media advertisements if they exaggerate the effect of the claim that the brand is making – like makes hair shinier, teeth whiter etc.] It is no secret that using the augmented reality and editing features (available easily on smartphones today) can dramatically alter your features. For influencers whose sphere of influence and impact is contingent on their credibility and trustworthiness, using augmented reality for a before/ after to promote a product to a trusting audience is more unfair than a photoshopped celebrity in an ad, because the audience trusts the influencer is real and just like them. This is hence a step in the right direction to minimise the pressures of fake imagery on consumers. Beyond filters, a declaration about whether images have been edited should also be added to this directive to ensure transparency
Damage control, Punitive Measures & their Efficacy
Manisha Kapoor mentioned that while ASCI is a self-regulatory body and doesn’t have the authority to take punitive action, the compliance rates with ASCI decisions have always been over 90% and they expect the same compliance for these influencer guidelines. In terms of any wrongdoing, or misleading advertising, they expect influencers to carry corrigendum announcing the error while taking down the content.
While mistakes will happen, because influencer content on social media gets reposted and reshared there will have to be some social media platform involvement to ensure takedown of the misleading content and the review cycle may need to be speedier as ASCI’s review of misleading advertisements follows a schedule.
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One of the biggest positive takeaways of our conversation with the ASCI Secretary General was that the entire industry has welcomed this step because the influencer ecosystem has been disorganised and self-regulated till now. With clear guidelines to follow in place, both brands and influencers now have a reference to ensure that they are responsible in their messaging.
ASCI also recognises this is just the first step in creating a regulatory framework for a digital marketplace that is evolving at breakneck speed and the framework will adapt as the ecosystem evolves.
This was a much-needed and long-awaited framework for the industry and I am excited about the creation of a more transparent digital ecosystem.
While stakeholders are very enthusiastic about the self-regulatory mechanism falling in place, a lot rests on them to make a success of the guidelines when they come into force on April 15.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has released draft guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media. The guidelines for influencers advertising on digital media will be available for all stakeholders, including industry, digital influencers as well as consumers for feedback till March 8, 2021. Based on the feedback and inputs, the final guidelines will be issued by ASCI by 31st March, 2021. This guideline will be applicable to all promotional posts published on or after April 15, 2021.
Said Subhash Kamath, Chairman, ASCI: “The digital space is vast. However, promotional content is often indistinguishable from regular posts. Consumers have the right to easily recognise promotional content. The guidelines will help consumers identify promotional content and also guide digital influencers. We look forward
Draft Guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media
1) Advertisements must be obviously distinguishable by the average consumer from editorial and independent user-generated content, to prevent the audience from being confused between the two. Therefore, a disclosure label must be added from the list of approved labels. Only permitted disclosure labels will be considered as adequate as consumers may not be familiar with various creative ways in which advertisers and influencers may wish to convey that the said communication is an advertisement. Examples of such advertisements could be paid music promotion in a video, promoting a store or a brand through a post on the influencers media handle
2) The disclosure label used to highlight advertising content needs to be upfront (within the first two lines of any given platform, such that a consumer need not click on see more or have to scroll under the fold), prominent (so people don’t miss it), appropriate for the channel (what can you see and when) and suitable for all potential devices (it needs to be visible regardless of the device used, or platform such as website or app etc.).
3) The disclosure label must be in English or translated into the language of the advertisement in a way that it is well understood by the average consumer who is viewing the advertisement.
4) Blanket disclosures in a profile/bio/about section will not be considered adequate because people visiting the site might read individual reviews or watch individual videos without seeing the disclosure on another page
5) If the advertisement is only a picture post such as Instagram stories or Snapchat, the label needs to be superimposed over the picture and it should be ensured that the average consumer is able to see it clearly.
6) In the case of video not accompanied by a text post, the disclosure label should be superimposed on the video in a manner that is easily visible to the viewer. For videos that last 15 seconds or lesser, the disclosure label must stay for a minimum of 2 seconds. For videos longer than 15 seconds, but less than 2 minutes, the disclosure label stays for 1/3rd the length of the video. For videos which are 2 minutes or longer, the disclosure label must stay for the entire duration of the section in which the promoted brand or its features, benefits etc are mentioned. In live streams, the disclosure label should be placed periodically, for 5 seconds at the end of every minute so that users who see part of the stream can see the disclosure.
7) In the case of audio media, the disclosure label must be clearly announced at the beginning and at the end of the audio.
8) Filters should not be applied to social media advertisements if they exaggerate the effect of the claim that the brand is making- eg. makes hair shinier, teeth whiter etc.
9) The influencer must do their due diligence about any technical or performance claims made by them such as 2X better, effect lasts for 1 month, fastest speed, best in class etc. Evidence of due diligence would include correspondence with the advertiser or brand owner confirming that the specific claim made in the advertisement is capable of scientific substantiation.
10) It is recommended that the contractual agreement between advertiser and influencer carries clauses pertaining to disclosure, use of filters as well as due diligence
Ready Reckoner for Social Media Platforms
1. Instagram: Disclosure label to be included in the title above the photo/beginning of the text that shows. If only the image is seen, the image itself must include the label
2. Facebook: Include the disclosure label in the title of the entry or post. If only the image/video is seen, the image/video itself must include the label eg FB story
3. Twitter: Include the disclosure label or tag at the beginning of the body of the message as a tag
4. Pinterest: Include the disclosure label at the beginning of the message.
5. YouTube and other video platforms: Include the label in the title / description of the post.
6. Vlog: Overlay the disclosure label while talking about the product or service
7. Snapchat: Include the disclosure label in the body of the message in the beginning as a tag.
8. Blog: Include the disclosure label in the title of the post.
It was 2015, Diwali had just passed and Snapdeal was one of the three big e-commerce players in India with Bollywood icon Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador. A personal comment by Khan at the Ramnath Goenka Awards event launched the first boycott trend online for Khan-endorsed Snapdeal, whose Play Store ratings plummeted, orders got returned. Despite the official statement released disassociating itself from both the brand ambassador and his views, the damage had been done. Aamir Khan was soon fired from his role as brand ambassador.
Khan has since learnt his lesson and kept his personal opinions to himself, a dictum closely followed by the other two Khans as well (controversy’s favourite child, Saif Ali Khan not included!). But it was definitely the first time I thought about the wastefulness of celebrity endorsements, a point of view that has only since strengthened.
Why do brands turn to celebrities?
The simplest reason for using celebrity endorsers is for the awareness they help generate. For most mass market brands in crowded marketplaces and high advertising budgets, a celebrity endorser is an easy and sureshot way of getting recall. The Duff& Phelps Celebrity Brand Valuation report which came out last week, showcases the same – despite the decrease in advertising budgets, the brand valuation of the Top 20 celebrities has remained more or less consistent at USD 1 billion. To get the most bang for your buck, a brand is only limited to signing these top 20 celebrities who are neither cheap nor easily available.
Going any farther down the totem pole, especially when budgets have to be devoted to ensure a purchase decision is made is just not worth it.
Consumers are also well aware that celebrities do not have any brand loyalty and are not really endorsing the product. This is evident when celebs routinely jump to competitor brands and claim innocence when the brand is found not to meet safety standards.
Circling back to my initial thought, in 2021, brands no longer need to be dependent on celebrities to drive awareness. A much better option is effective influencer marketing.
Why Influencer Marketing?
The biggest differential that influencer marketing has with respect to celebrity-focused advertising is that (the right) influencers are believable, trustworthy and authentic. An influencer post will typically have much higher quality with longer captions and explanations, and engagement by them in the comments section.
Hence, when an influencer creates content recommending a product it doesn’t feel like an advertisement but like a close friend sharing a secret about something he or she liked. Hence, a brand endorsement from them really means something and can drive sales conversions.
Secondly, most influencers have a specific niche and loyal audiences. Therefore, even though their audience is a lot narrower, it is more focused than a typical celebrity’s audience.
Thirdly, the influencer marketing industry in India has matured. Influencers are no longer hired purely on the basis of their follower count but also include parameters like average engagement rates and their demographic profile. Hence choosing influencers whether to target a specific geography or a specific interest is easier.
Fourthly, influencer marketing is accessible. Unlike celebrity endorsements which can only be afforded by brands with deep pockets, a successful influencer campaign can cost as low as a few lakh, if one chooses to use nano-influencers (follower counts of less than 20,000) in their campaign.
Fifthly, with the influencer marketing industry maturing, Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), announced plans to roll out new norms for social media influencers to promote products on the Internet. (Link – https://www.news18.com/news/tech/guidelines-for-influencers-are-incoming-a-few-folks-and-brands-must-be-very-worried-2350469.html) While the guidelines are awaited, once in place, either celebrity endorsement campaigns will reduce drastically or become a lot more cost-effective.
In conclusion, testimonials and endorsements have been a mainstay in marketing for many years. Influencers combine the best of the word-of-mouth recommendation with the reach of a celebrity to help brands cover the distance between awareness to action in the marketing life cycle. With the influencer industry maturing, brands must move budgets from celebrities to influencers to get the most bang for their buck.
I enjoy such epic moments and milestones in the evolution of our marketing and advertising fraternity. It is heartening to see that ASCI, the Advertising Standards Council of India, finally launch the much-awaited and much-debated guidelines on influencer marketing. To be operational from June 14, 2021, simply put, it asks an influencer to clearly flag a sponsored/ paid-for content. Because, with great influence comes greater responsibility.
I have long held a strong belief in the power of Influencer marketing (as regular readers of this column would vouch). Digitisation and connectivity has changed marketing forever and Influencer marketing is the sweet love child of this new media – it’s part Celebrity advertising (influencers with large followings become celebrities), word-of-mouth (influencers are relatable, hence their recommendations seem to come from a friend), branded content (product placements and content marketing) and pure play advertising.