Home Advertising Standards Council of India guidelines Social media vs reality : ASCI’s guidelines for influencers

Social media vs reality : ASCI’s guidelines for influencers

August 26, 2022

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This article is written by Deeksha D.R. This article has been edited by Ojuswi (Associate, Lawsikho).

This article has been published by Sneha Mahawar.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Through innumerable websites and apps, social media has today become a significant part of many people’s lives, allowing them to connect with others and share their ideas, feelings, experiences, etc. It has the potential to be a source of shopping and entertainment, and many companies have even found it useful for marketing and promotion. Social media has now had such a profound effect on society that it looks as though people couldn’t survive without it.

The power of social media to help and support people and businesses in so many ways is the fundamental factor behind why it appears that so many people are under its sway. Social networking has shown to be a huge asset for practically anybody, wherever, whether it’s promoting businesses or connecting with friends and family. Customers will want to purchase the company’s goods if they enjoy what they are seeing and if relationships are developed between them and the employees. Businesses may be able to expand productively much more quickly as a result of this.

Influencer marketing is the fastest approach for companies or businesses to see results. It consists of endorsements and promotions for goods and services by figures, groups, and organisations with a reputedly high level of social consciousness. Influencer marketing is advertising to, with, and via influencers to reach your target audiences as well as theirs. While influencer marketing doesn’t only rely on particular recommendations, it is akin to word-of-mouth advertising.

The purpose of this article is to present the guidelines from The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) for social media influencers.

Who is an influencer

According to The Advertising Standards Council of India, an influencer is someone who, due to their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience, has access to and the ability to influence their audiences’ purchase decisions or thoughts about a good, service, brand, or experience. Influencers can originate from a variety of sources. Any person, team, organisation, place, or thing can have an influence. These content makers often have engaged audiences who follow them. Businesses can use buyer personas to advertise to them on various social media platforms to broaden their reach, raise brand recognition, and produce new leads for their sales funnel.

In its ruling Marico Limited v. Abhijit Bhansali[(2020(81) PTC 244(Bom)], the Bombay High Court also defined “social media influencers” as a new class of people who have amassed sizable social media followings and a certain level of authority in their industry. In addition, the decision recognised the necessity to hold such influencers accountable given their sway over their audience and the public’s confidence in them.

Influencer marketing and need for regulation

Influencer marketing can be adopted in a variety of ways:

Pay the influencer a specified sum of money to create sponsored content for your company or product.
Offer the influencer free or discounted goods in exchange for a review.
Offer the influencer exclusive goods or vital information in exchange for posts about your company or product.

Every influencer has dedicated time to growing their audience and developing their own brand identity. Their honesty helps them gain the trust of their followers. Customers may be wary of celebrities endorsing goods or companies, but they are more likely to believe influencers who are just like them.

In the interim, marketers might have to put their trust in the influencer to do content management tasks like writing reviews or creating posts that highlight their items. Selecting the appropriate influencer to support your brand is essential for this reason. Instead of overly promotional posts, marketers should make every effort to obtain subtle and genuine content from influencers.

The 2020 global lockdowns were a significant driver of online sales. Podcasts are a part of our daily lives, TikTok has gone mainstream, and Instagram is now more focused on shopping. Customers avoid advertising whenever possible. The world has entered into a new era of democratic media consumption, in which users decide who and what to listen to.

As a result, the online market is crowded. As the attention economy expands, we see a completely new type of exchange where businesses use compelling material to attract and hold consumers’ attention.

Content creation comes from influencers. They produce native commercials that frequently strike a chord with consumers, which can improve the effectiveness of advertising and raise conversion rates all around. Analysts can then identify the influencer material that is working the best and create paid advertisements to run to a certain target demographic. Influencer content typically has higher engagement and conversion rates since it is regarded as being more authentic.

By 2022, more than half of the world’s population will be using social media, making it crucial that laws and regulations protect consumers from watching deceptive or damaging commercials. In the world of influencer marketing, disseminating incorrect information is strictly prohibited. Many firms have been observed taking advantage of this more recent grey area in the marketing dynamics by asking influencers to talk about their products in a way that makes the recommendation genuine.

Regulations must therefore be implemented to safeguard consumers’ interests and enable them to determine if the product being sold to them by their favourite influencer is the result of an organic recommendation or is, in fact, a commercially promoted or sponsored product. Various jurisdictions have established regulatory organisations and passed guidelines and legislation to control the influencer marketing sector and its activities to protect consumer interests and make influencer marketing more visible to all parties involved.

In India, the relevant legislation for Influencer Marketing Regulation is Influencers Advertising on Digital Media Platforms which has been governed by The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), and Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).

Advertising Standards Council of India guidelines

The final “Guidelines For Influencer Advertising In Digital Media” (Guidelines) were published on May 27, 2021, by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), and they must be followed for all articles written by influencers on or after June 14, 2021.

ASCI is a self-regulatory organisation, and the regulations and policies it has published regarding most forms of advertising, including internet and digital advertising, are not legally enforceable. It was established in 1985 and was incorporated under Section 25 of the Companies Act. It considers and resolves complaints in accordance with its Code of Advertising Practice (CAP). The foundational premise around which the Code is built is “To assure the veracity and honesty of statements and claims made by advertisements and to safeguard against misleading advertisements.”

The important question that arises here is: Are these guidelines enforceable? The ASCI’s self-regulatory method for advertising content was acknowledged by the Supreme Court in the case of Common Cause (A Regd. Society) v. Union of India and Ors[WRIT PETITION (C) NO.387 OF 2000].

Members of ASCI are required to adhere to the Guidelines since they have consented to do so. The majority of Indian advertising is ASCI members. The Guidelines act as a standard for both members and non-members.

Consumers should be able to recognise and differentiate paid promotional content from other content produced by influencers. The Guidelines are intended to stop businesses from abusing consumers’ trust or taking advantage of their ignorance or lack of expertise by engaging influencers in promotional posts or campaigns on social media that may be deceptive. The post must carry a disclosure label that expressly states that it is an advertisement if there is a material link between the influencer and the advertiser.

A substantial connection can not only refer to cash benefits or remuneration that the influencer has received. Other incentives like free goods, discounts, presents, excursions, hotel stays, contest entries, or job relationships are also included if they have the potential to influence the influencer’s credibility and weight when making a claim.

The disclosure must be clear and conspicuous; it is insufficient to just include it in one’s profile or to bury it beneath a sea of hashtags or links. The disclosure must be superimposed over any images or videos that are posted without any accompanying text so that it is obvious to the ordinary consumer. The amount of time that the disclosure must be visible varies depending on how long the video is. The disclosure must be made clear at the beginning, the end, and after each intermission in live broadcasts and audio media.

A reimbursement method is not included in the recommendations. Furthermore, the Delhi High Court ruled in Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited v. Hindustan Unilever Ltd. that although the ASCI has a Consumer Complaints Council, its main function is self-regulation. The Court continued by stating that it was incorrect to claim that the ASCI was created to resolve disputes.

When the ASCI receives a complaint, it communicates its concerns to the advertisers and gives them a chance to make amends. If they dispute the claim, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) reviews their argument and weighs the supporting documentation to determine whether the content in question violates the ASCI’s rules. They are informed of this suggestion and given a deadline for putting it into action.

Even yet, the ASCI can only suggest that the advertiser delete the commercial when it believes that a complaint has substance. It must rely on the voluntary behaviour of the advertisers because it lacks a mechanism to award damages, provide interim remedies, or compel the removal of the advertisement. When advertisers do not abide by the rules, your only recourse is to report the situation to the appropriate statutory organisations or government agencies.

Conclusion

Although the parent ASCI Code already covers rules governing “celebrity” advertising, it appears that the Guidelines establish digital media-specific rules for the category of social media influencers who may not typically qualify as “celebrities” under the parent Code due to the high thresholds set forth therein (compensation of INR 20,00,000 or above or a listing in top 100 celebrities under Forbes or Times list etc.).

However, it may be safe to say that in addition to influencers, celebrities using digital media to advertise may also be required to abide by the Guidelines because the bar for becoming an influencer has been kept very low and without specific requirements (such as the number of followers or the amount of payment received), and would typically apply to all celebrities. It is also important to note that ASCI is a self-regulatory and voluntary governing body without legal sanction, hence the Guidelines could not be enforced by statute. However, the ASCI Code has occasionally been given legal sanction by Indian courts and is generally adopted as a best practice across all industries.

References

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