Social media stars fall foul of new rules on sponsored posts
Saturday, 31 March 2018
Social media posts by rugby stars and other 'influencers' are skirting close to new advertising rules.
The Advertising Standards Authority has released a new guidance note on 'identification of advertisements', designed in part to help those who are offered payment or free samples to promote products to their followers, understand the obligations on them.
The note says, where it is not obvious or well understood by the audience that content is an advertisement, all parties to it are responsible for ensuring the audience is aware.
A post shared by Beauden Barrett (@beaudenbarrett) on Mar 19, 2018 at 2:01am PDT
'When the brand has control over the content it is an advertisement and it must be identified as such. Failure of an Influencer to disclose this advertiser controlled content may leave a brand at risk of a complaint to the ASA.'
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It comes after two prominent bloggers were discovered to have accepted payment to talk about Kmart in a television news story. Maria Foy and Melissa Jack were paid $500 each, half of which was in vouchers, to appear in the segment but did not disclose that to the journalists interviewing them.
University of Auckland marketing lecturer Rebecca Dolan said even a recent Instagram post by Beauden Barrett, in which he posed with a magnum of Moet & Chandon at his engagement party with fiance Hannah Laity, was close to breaking the rules if he was paid for the promo. There was no indication on the post that it was sponsored except for the comment 'this limited edition gold bottle of Moet & Chandon'.
She said, as well as the ASA note, influencers could hit issues under the Fair Trading Act if it was not made clear that content was paid for.
'This is because consumers might mistakenly believe that the paid-for content they are reading is actually the independently produced or impartial copy of their favourite blogger, they can't give the spot the weight and credence that it actually deserves.'
AUT senior lecturer in marketing Sommer Kapitan agreed it was often not clear. 'It's a wild west… the landscape has changed so much, brands are trying to keep up.'
Social influencers are seen as a more effective marketing channel because they have built up a relationship with their audience and are trusted. Brands can also easily target a market interested in their product.
Impact PR director Fleur Revell-Devlin said there was a risk influencers could lose that edge if they were seen as inauthentic or 'cashing in'.
Brands could suffer if they were associated with a campaign that was not disclosed properly.
'This is the first time there have been guidelines around influencer engagement, it's a relatively new platform for marketers and the regulations are really just catching up now,' she said.
'Across the ditch transparency has been required for some time, so it is great to see that it's been formalised now with the ASA releasing influencer marketing guidelines. In NZ consumers may often see #sp on an Instagram post which shows its 'sponsored content', but for even greater clarity #ad can be used.'
There are good amounts of money to be made - New Zealand influencers get anything from $50 and $50,000 per post. The brand gets to approve the content before it is posted online.
It has been suggested that beauty vlogger ShaanXO earns hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from her social following.
Beauty vlogger Annalee Muggeridge gave up her full-time job as a Clinique counter manager in New Plymouth a year ago to focus on her online work.
She signed with Johnson and Laird talent agency to manage the financial side of the work. 'I didn't understand my worth.'
She said she made more money this year than she had from her two full-time jobs combined last year. She focused on being selective about who she worked with.
Julie Cooper, senior talent agent dealing with social influencers at Johnson and Laird said there was growing demand from brands for social media exposure. The agency's social team was founded four years ago and had seen exponential growth, she said. Many influencers had turned it into a career, she said.
NZ Rugby has been approached for comment.