Zenith Digital Unplugged: New rules for Influencer engagement – Know Hows

Authored by Rashmi Sehgal, SVP, Zenith India.

At the end of 2022, the influencer marketing industry in India was valued at over 12 billion Indian rupees. According to Statista.com, it was projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25% over the next five years. Our creator economy has grown on the back of social and short video platforms wherein people binge on snackable forms of content. A lot of these influencers have become so big that on certain platforms their following is bigger than A-listers of the Indian Film Industry. Some of them are even making their large screen debut with big production houses.

The Department of Consumer Affairs under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution released a guide for celebrities, influencers and virtual influencers on social media platforms in January this year. The norms apply to all individuals who have access to an audience and the power to affect their purchasing decisions or opinions: Celebrities, Influencers/ Creators and Virtual Influencers/ Creators.

The guidance will help ensure that individuals are aware when products are endorsed and promoted and not be misled. The Influencers/ Creators/ Celebrities are expected to disclose their collaborationwith brands every time there is a material connection between an advertiser and celebrity/ influencer that may affect the weight or credibility of the representation made by the celebrity/ influencer. These include, not are not limited to free products, contest, travel, monetary benefit and more.

For brands looking to engage influencers on their marketing efforts, it’s important that they follow these eight steps to adhere to these new guidelines:

Hard to miss - Disclosures should be placed in the endorsement message in such a manner that they are clear, prominent and extremely hard to miss. Disclosures should not be mixed with a group of hashtags or links.

Endorsement in a picture - Disclosures should be superimposed over the image enough for viewers to notice.

Endorsement in a video - Disclosures should be placed in the video and not just in the description. Disclosures should be made in both audio and video format.

Endorsement in a live stream - Disclosures should be displayed continuously and prominently during the entire stream.

Simple & clear - Simple and clear language should be used. On limited space platforms like Twitter, terms such as 'XYZAmbassador' (where XYZ is a brand) are also acceptable.

Terms allowed - ‘Advertisement’ or ‘ad’ ‘sponsored’ or ‘paid promotion’ or ‘paid’.

Language - Disclosures and endorsements should be in the same language.

Platform tool - Separate disclosures shall be made apart from platform disclosure tools.

With the guidelines, brands will be able to have an authentic and more open connection with consumers.