In the influencer trust report by Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) released this February, lack of transparency was the most common reasons to move away from influencers. While many brands and influencers declared their affiliations and material connection, it has been observed that many still do not adhere to the ASCI guidelines. Since implementing the ASCI Guideliness in June 2021, ASCI processed 2767 complaints against brands and influencers for not declaring material connections. Of these, 1592 were from the year 2021-22, and 1175 were from the period April to December 2022. Over 90% of these cases required modification.
“When ASCI regulations came into picture, it gave influencers the kind of validation they required as it made them feel more responsible towards the society”, Prableen Kaur Bhomrah, a lifestyle influencer told Brandwagon Online. Earlier in the days, agencies and brands used to work together in order to make meaningful campaign for brands. However, influencers have now become the third important aspect in building brands. “Through the use of influencers, brands aim to build trust among users”, added Bhomrah.
Experts believe that that it takes time and requires multiple mediums to build a brand. “Ideas can come from anywhere, the only thing that matters is how we make it big. For that to happen, all the collaborators, including influencers and content creators need to have one goal and it should be to make the idea big,” Rajdeepak Das, chief creative officer and CEO, Leo Burnett, south Asia, India & chairman, creative council, Publicis Groupe – south Asia, said.
It is was then emphasised on the need for brands to create and focus on varied channels of communications. “No brand can afford to just focus on only medium of advertising in today’s times of when there is a bombardment of communication channels,” Smruthi Rajagopalan, assistant general manager, Maybelline, L’Oreal, noted.
Not to mention that with content creators too much of noise across social platforms, it becomes imperative to spread the right kind of message. “There is a lot of pressure on content creators as they are influencing them with every content. So, it is important for influencers to know that they are not instigating any mindset,” Shreya Agarwal, head of FilterCopy, Pocket Aces, concluded.
