MxMIndia

Tag: White Paper

  • The CII's white paper on 'Self-Regulation in Advertising in India – A critical Evaluation' upholds the ASCI's cause and says that more government legislations or authorities will not help

    Make ASCI membership compulsory: CII white paper

    By A Correspondent

     

    The CII National Committee on Marketing has released a white paper on “Self-Regulation in Advertising in India – A critical Evaluation”. The paper identifies key concerns regarding misleading advertisements and analyses the issues. It also critically evaluates the role and responsibilities of all stakeholders – regulators, industry, activists and consumers. The paper further suggests that the solution to the problems posed by misleading advertisements is not to add one more legislation in the form of an Administrative Authority as proposed by Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), and only in cases of non-compliance of Consumer Complaints Council’s (CCC) decisions should the matter be referred to any other regulatory body.

     

    Adi Godrej, President, CII, said, “This white paper reinforces that self regulation in advertising works, as seen in over 70 countries already. In India too, we believe in the efficacy of ASCI to regulate misleading advertising and more importantly its ability for speedy redressal. We urge the Department of Consumer Affairs to reconsider its recent proposal to set up a parallel administrative authority, which we strongly feel will delay the process of consumer redressal and be counter-productive to its intent. Instead, we request them to consider partnering with and strengthening the current mechanism of self regulation through ASCI further, a win-win for consumers, industry and the government.”

     

    The CII advocated that given the Advertising Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) track record in self-regulation of ad content, co-regulation between ASCI and regulators like DCA, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting etc. as an effective solution. Co-regulation will ensure that ASCI and the government work together with all stakeholders to enforce compliance currently vested with ASCI but without any punitive powers. However, the paper suggested following areas of improvements of ASCI:

     

    • Mandatory membership of ASCI. Membership of ASCI be made compulsory for all industry players with exposure to advertising industry in India – the media vehicles, the advertisers and advertising agencies. For instance, rules in Holland require all organizations releasing ads on TV and Radio to be member of its SRO.
    • Integrate ASCI Code into statutory provisions: Sub rule (9) of rule 7 having Advertising Code of the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 prohibits TV channels from carrying any advertisement that is in violation of the ASCI Code. Similar provisions may be introduced in other statutes like Press Council of India’s Advertising Code to ensure that advertisements while in conformity with the statutory provisions also adheres to the ASCI Code.
    • Expand coverage of ASCI code to digital and social media: A strong digital outreach programme is required to monitor digital and home shopping networks including outdoor advertising and mobile advertising. Large digital companies like Google, YouTube, and Twitter must join as members and compulsorily sign on to ASCI code.
    • Suspension pending investigation: This is one of the major concerns, and therefore control is required on account of advertising with sexual overtones, religious underpinning, and delivery of magical remedies/promotions in the mushrooming Indian advertising industry. To stop airing such advertisements a special fast track process which involves temporary suspension of an advertisement, which prima facie causes harm to the society, pending final decision by CCC can be implemented.
    • Co-regulation between ASCI and DCA as an effective solution instead of a new legislation. The committee has drawn a parallel with the successful model of Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in UK, which does not possess any punitive powers but co-regulates with the government bodies to ensure smooth control over the misleading advertisements in that market.

     

    Thomas Varghese, Chairman, CII National Committee on Marketing 2012-13 and CEO, Textile Business, Aditya Birla Group advocated self-regulation in advertising. While he maintained that awareness about ASCI is low, Nandini Chopra, Partner and Head – FDCG, KPMG India, said, “ASCI is moving from reactive phase to proactive phase. Of course, lack of punitive powers and insufficient awareness needs to be tackled but with a lean budget that ASCI has, the proposed road would make for conducive eco-system.” She also pointed out that 60% of complaints come from competition, which helps in keeping the industry honest and self-regulated.

     

    Sam Balsara, past Chairman, ASCI and MD, Madison World said, “Everyone knows and understands that advertising is an engine of growth and economy. It is up to the industry to increase the confidence of consumers in advertising. Even as the white paper mildly criticises ASCI, we welcome it. We at ASCI will be looking at all these suggestions. We are also setting up machinery to screen the ads ourselves, before we get complaints,” he added.

     

     

  • MSLGroup's white paper on the Indian PR industry underlines potentially growth-limiting challenges the trade faces

    Why the PR industry needs some PR

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The PR industry in India today is facing potential growth-limiting challenges such as a dearth of home-grown talent, the fallout from recent PR scandals and a move away from traditional PR towards strategic communications.

     

    This is the thrust of the most recent executive report on the public relations industry in India from MSLGroup India’s Hanmer MSL and 20:20 MSL, both part of MSLGroup, Publicis Groupe’s flagship public relations, speciality communications and engagement group. The report, Understanding the Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook, takes an in-depth view of the PR industry in India, drawing on quantitative and qualitative research to bring together a hard-hitting and frank appraisal.

     

    The report touches on these issues, as well as the widely reported misconceptions about size of the Indian PR industry, and the ramifications of this over-inflated figure on the market. A recent Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India study pegged the size of the industry at a “wildly inflated” $6 billion whilst MSLGroup’s research points to $140 million being a more true representation.

     

    Jaideep Shergill, CEO for Hanmer MSL and Member of MSLGroup India Management Board commented, “The challenges before the Indian PR industry are not that different from what other service industries have had to face in the past – a serious talent shortage, disconnections between fees and value, and measuring performance accurately. Furthermore, we must look ahead and ask ourselves how the industry should react to a worsening global economic situation. These are questions this report tackles and by bringing these tough issues to the fore, we hope that it puts the industry into perspective and kicks off a discussion on the roadmap that PR in India so desperately requires.”

     

    “The industry is at an important crossroads, and we have taken the first step in not only asking difficult questions of ourselves and the industry, but also providing potential solutions to foster a stronger and sustainable India PR market,” added Sunil Agarwal, founder of 20:20 MSL and Member of MSLGroup India Management Board.

     

    In addition to highlighting a variety of trouble spots, Understanding the Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook report also identifies opportunities for PR agencies such as offering integrated strategic and speciality communications, bridging the compensation gap, ensuring performance measurement and understanding client expectations.

     

    Throughout the report, critical questions are posed to agencies and their staff, clients and their organizations, media and the industry at large which are aimed to spark debate, ideas and potential solutions that can strengthen the industry’s future. Some of these include:

     

    • A misunderstanding of the size of India’s PR industry, hiding the on the ground realities and core issues.
    • A serious Indian talent crunch, stunted by a more lucrative in-house corporate communications sector, increasing the demand-supply.
    • A lack of understanding of how PR can play a strategic role, resulting in low PR retainers – in the Rs 20-lakh ($40,000) range compared to the average advertising retainer of Rs 2 crore ($400,000).
    • A vital need for PR firms to offer integrated communications as the line between PR, advertising and digital begins to blur.
    • Speciality communications such as niche PR, engagement through social media and employer branding to be recognized as growth focus areas for PR agencies.
    • Despite the global economic turmoil, India continues to grown at 7%, presenting a unique opportunity for PR firms in terms of global and Indian MNCs.

     

    MSLGroup India has developed this report to further its and the industry’s goals for sustainable and professional development. PR professionals, clients, organisations and the industry recognise that PR in India is at a critical juncture and Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook offers a transparent and robust précis to move the industry forward.

     

    (To learn more about the Public Relations Industry in India: Challenges, Opportunities and 2012 Outlook, or to read the report by MSLGroup India in full, visit asia.mslgroup.com.)