MxMIndia

Tag: Influencer

  • Sanjeev Kotnala stresses on the need for effective implementation as key to the success of the recently formalised code

    ASCI Influencer Guidelines: A Good Start But Must Evolve With Time

    Picture edited from a post on the ASCI social media handle

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaI 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

     

  • With ASCI’s guidelines falling in place by April 15, the onus is now on the ecosystem to make it a success, writes ASCI, both brands and influencers now have a reference to ensure that they are responsible in their messaging

    Influencing the Influencers, finally

     

    By Bhuvi Gupta

     

    Bhuvi GuptaI 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
    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 study indicates that top marketeers are of the opinion that consumers are more likely to make a purchase decision based on influencers because of the authenticity and affinity elements

    Influencer marketing campaigns the way ahead for marketeers in 2018

    By A Correspondent

     

    In 2018, 92 percent marketers are expected to launch at least one influencer campaign. The popularity of the influencer marketing to drive brand awareness and reputation can be gauged by the insight that 89 percent of marketeers have found the medium to be effective and 62 percent are planning to increase their budgetary allocation towards engaging social influencers, according to the latest India Influence Report2018.

     

    The survey results indicate that more than ever, brands are recognizing that influencers help in leveraging the exposure of the company’s product and can increase brand recognition as a result of consumers leaning on these reviews to make their purchasing decisions. The continued widespread adoption of influencer marketing shows that the channel is becoming an integral part of the marketing mix. In fact, one of the major revelations of the India Influence Report2018 points towards the gradual maturing of influencer marketing in India with 14 percent of the marketeers suggesting an always on-mode and 16 percent planning to integrate influencer marketing within their marketing strategy.

     

    The findings of an exhaustive survey conducted by Zefmo, a leading influencer marketing platform, have indicated that top marketeres are of the opinion that consumers are more likely to make a purchase decision based on influencers because of the authenticity and affinity elements. In addition, an overwhelming number of marketeers feel that increasingly consumers are influenced by their peers when it comes to making a purchase decision.

     

    “Influencers have high gravity of credibility and their medium is fundamentally social. Besides providing exposure to a brand, influencers lend their credibility to it,” said Irfan Khan, CEO, Zefmo. “Today’s consumer can tell the difference between an advert and a personal recommendation. Therefore, influencer marketing is fast changing to become more of an intrinsic part of the marketing strategy. In 2018, we can expect brands to become more sophisticated with the data around influencer marketing strategies.”