Influencer marketing has become a cornerstone of on-trend advertising, and for a long-time these relationships were largely unregulated.
Attention has recently fallen on influencer marketing, both internationally and locally, after some high-profile disputes have arisen.
In America, Huda Beauty found themselves in hot water when they sent a free product to an influencer to review. The influencer said it was the “strongest setting spray ever”, and that it was better than Charlotte Tilbury’s. Huda Beauty then shared this review to its own social media pages. Charlotte Tilbury believed that these statements equated to comparative advertising and lodged a complaint with the National Advertising Division (“NAD”). The NAD held that even if there is no formal contract between an advertiser and an influencer, where they have a long-standing relationship and have provided free goods for the purposes of the review, the advertiser is still liable to take corrective action against an influencer should the influencers comments breach any regulatory rules. Huda Beauty removed the post from its platforms, but NAD also instructed Huda Beauty to request that the influencer remove it from theirs. This highlights the importance of agencies having sight of the content that influencers will be posting, and ensuring that proper influencer agreements are in place detailing morality clauses and legal requirements.
Locally, a matter involving Africa Bank highlighted the importance of keeping any industry regulations or laws in mind when utilising an influencer. The Influencer misrepresented loans from the Bank as “investments”, which was in strict contrast to the FSCA guidelines on marketing financial products, and led to a hefty fine for the Bank of R700 000. The Bank was also criticised for allowing the influencer to post in contravention of the Advertising Regulatory Boards rules by failing to have identifiable markers such as hashtags displaying that it was a sponsored or paid for post.
Agencies and their clients are required to ensure that all proper laws and regulations are adhered to when utilising influencer marketing. Agencies should also bear in mind that their clients are relying on their expertise in the industry to ensure that all formalities are met.
*Contact us should you have any queries on how to ensure that any influencer marketing you embark on does not fall foul of required rules and regulations.