The final ‘Guidelines For Influencer Advertising In Digital Media’ were announced by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) in May 2021. The guidelines must be followed for any posts made by influencers on or after June 14, 2021.
What is the goal of the new ASCI guidelines?
The goal of the new ASCI guidelines is for customers to be able to tell the difference between sponsored promotional material and other content provided by influencers. The Guidelines are intended to prohibit manufacturers and marketers from employing influencers for potentially deceptive promotional posts or campaigns on social media. It also aims to prevent abuse of customers’ trust or exploit their lack of experience or understanding.
Table of content
- What is ASCI?
- Why has ASCI released guidelines for influencer marketing?
- What are the guidelines of the ASCI?
- What is the objective of ASCI?
- FAQ
- What is the role of ASCI?
- What is the importance of ASCI codes?
- Are ASCI recommendations enforceable?
- Rise in influencer marketing
What is ASCI?
ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) was founded in 1985 and is dedicated to the goal of self-regulation in advertising and consumer protection. Advertisers, advertising agencies, the media, and others such as public relations firms and market research firms all played a role in the formation of ASCI.
ASCI’s heart and soul is the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC). The committed effort of this group has given ASCI’s activities and self-regulation in advertising considerable energy.
Why has ASCI released guidelines for influencer marketing?
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has recently begun working on rules for influencer advertising. The influencer marketing business in India has been expanding.
On June 24, 2021, the council formally established standards for influencer advertising in India. However, it has since decided to accept the paid partnership tag on Instagram as an appropriate disclosure for influencer advertising.
According to ASCI, the paid partnership tag that influencers use in their Instagram advertorial postings complies with the ASCI criteria for influencer advertising on digital media. The company thinks that the change would make things easier for businesses and influencers, but also make them more likely to follow the rules.
Commercial communications or advertising issued on or after June 14, 2021 are subject to the rules that were announced in June. After receiving considerable input from all stakeholders, ASCI crafted the rules.
According to the criteria, influencers must mark promotional material they publish as sponsored and make sure it is clearly labeled as a sponsored promotion. ASCI has reviewed about 5,000 postings since announcing the rules, and will continue to do so until December 2021. It received 729 complaints over the course of six months, all of which were deemed to be prima facie breaches of the rules.
According to ASCI, 86 percent of the overall complaints resulted in influencers changing the posts that were complained about, according to a statement.
What are the guidelines of the ASCI?
According to the guidelines, all posts published on digital media by social media influencers must have a disclosure label. It should identify the postings as ads and follow the guidelines’ standards. The Guidelines also provide criteria for determining whether such disclosure is required.
Situations when the marketer and the influencer have a tangible link are examples of this. In addition to the usual benefits and incentives such as monetary or other compensation, the term “material connection” has been defined in the Guidelines. This has been done to include the issuance of free products, discounts, contest entries, trips or hotel stays, coverage, awards, or any family or employment relationship between the advertiser and the influencer.
The Guidelines also include a wide definition of ‘digital media.’ This encompasses all feasible kinds of digital material and platforms for delivering such information. The Influencer Guidelines further state that if the influencer is just writing about a product or service that they have bought and enjoyed without any substantial relationship with the advertiser, no disclosure is required.
Even if the substance of the post is an impartial appraisal or originated independently from the influencer, a declaration is necessary if there is any material link at all.
The Guidelines also provide specifics on the disclosure’s location, length, visibility, and style. This is to ensure that the disclosures are conspicuous, easy to miss, easily visible/audible to customers, and not buried in hashtags or links. The Guidelines identify labels such as “Advertisement,” “Ad“, “Sponsored,” and “Collaboration” as allowed disclosure labels.
Content in the form of live streaming and audio media is likewise subject to the Guidelines. They have particular restrictions in this regard. The Guidelines require superimposing the disclosure label on the photo/video in a way that is readily apparent to the typical consumer for material that is not accompanied by any text. An example of this is Instagram or Snapchat stories.
A virtual influencer has also been instructed to inform customers that they are not interacting with a real person.
The recommendations place the responsibility for disclosure and substance of postings on both advertisers and influencers. It states that all materials must follow the ASCI Code for Self-Regulation of Advertising Content in India (ASCI Code) and its guidelines. Influencers have also been asked to do due diligence before participating in promotional ads and ensure that the advertiser is able to validate the claims stated in the commercial, according to the guidelines.
What is the objective of ASCI?
ASCI’s objectives include monitoring, managing, and promoting advertising standards in India in order to:
- maintaining the authenticity and honesty of advertising statements and claims
- defending audiences from deceptive advertising
- ensuring that advertising does not offend universally recognized public decency norms and standards
- preventing the indiscriminate use of advertising to promote items or services that are commonly seen as harmful or unacceptable to society as a whole.
- ensuring that advertising follows the canons of commonly recognized competitive conduct and is competitively fair
ASCI also aims to implement, manage, promote, and disseminate a code of advertising practices in India.
Other objectives of ASCI are:
- To promote, preserve, and enforce advertising principles and practices that are fair, sound, ethical, and healthy.
- To increase awareness of the advantages of fair, sound, and ethical advertising among advertising professionals and the general public.
- In terms of advertising, to represent, defend, educate, and advise members of the firm.
- To encourage and develop collaboration among those who work in the advertising industry.
FAQ on ASCI Guidelines
What is the role of ASCI?
ASCI’s mission is to preserve and improve the public’s trust in advertising. All promotional content must be genuine, lawful, honest, decent, and safe for customers. The advertisement must also be fair to their rivals.
What is the importance of ASCI codes?
ASCI strives to guarantee that commercials adhere to its Code of Self-Regulation. The ASCI code mandates that advertisements be lawful, decent, honest, and true. It must not be dangerous or destructive and must maintain competitive fairness.
Are ASCI recommendations enforceable?
The Advertising Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) judgements are enforceable. It is binding on both ASCI members and non-members.
Rise in influencer marketing
In 2021, GroupM INCA released its India Influencer Marketing Report. According to it, the Indian influencer marketing sector will be worth Rs 900 crore by the end of 2021. The market is predicted to develop at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% until 2025. It would be worth Rs 2,200 crore at that time. Furthermore, the majority of businesses plan to boost their influencer marketing budgets.
