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The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has processed over 2,700 cases against brands and influencers for not disclosing material connections since early 2021.
The self-regulatory industry body enforced influencer guidelines in May 2021, post which it began processing complaints. Earlier this year, Consumer Affairs Ministry also released guidelines requiring the influencer to disclose endorsing brands in their posts .
Of these, about 1175 were from the April-December 2022 period. Nearly 33 per cent of violations were from the personal care segment ,16 per cent from the food and beverage category and 9 per cent from the fashion segment.
Regarding platforms, 65 per cent of influencer violations were found to be on Instagram, 27 per cent on YouTube, 9 per cent on Facebook, and 3 per cent on Twitter.
Meanwhile, nearly 1,592 complaints were processed in the 2021-22 fiscal year. Total complaints processed for influencer guideline violations till December 2022 stood at 2,767.
The latest survey by ASCI, found that 91 per cent of the respondents said they advertise in general, and 79 per cent of respondents said they trust social media influencers. Nearly 90 per cent of the respondents revealed they made at least one purchase based on influencer endorsement, while 61 per cent claimed to have made three or more purchases.
“Transparency and honesty stood out as the key reasons why consumers trust influencers on social media (63 per cent ), followed by relatable content (57 per cent ), and personal stories at (53 per cent ),” it noted
The report revealed that consumers stayed away from influencers when they sensed a lack of transparency (43 per cent ), repetitive content (42 per cent ), and over-promotion (41 per cent ),” the self-regulatory industry body noted.
Overall, it was found that both brands and influencers gained from meaningful partnerships. “Around 64 per cent of consumers felt the brand became more trustworthy when influencers endorsed it, while 58 per cent of those surveyed thought that the influencers became more trustworthy when they endorsed the brand,” the survey findings stated.
Manisha Kapoor, CEO & Secretary General of ASCI, said non-disclosures are potential law violations. “ The online dipstick reveals that non-transparency was among the prime reasons why influencers lost the trust of their followers. On the other hand, transparency in their communication significantly built trust.”
The survey was conducted across multiple locations, including metros, Tier I and Tier II cities.
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