Your Marketing under Close Scrutiny

[Emma]

Marketers and brands using social networks will soon find their activities in those spaces regulated by the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority, following recommendations submitted by the Advertising Association this week.

The proposed amendment to the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code - expected to be in force by September - will extend the regulatory framework currently in place for paid online ads to all other online marketing communications. As a result, claims from marketers on their own Web sites and third-party sites like social networks will now be subject to ASA scrutiny, as they are in TV, print, and other forms of online advertising.

More at: U.K. to Regulate Social Network Marketing - ClickZ

Is this a good thing? Will it create more work for you? Will it weed out your competitors? Will you survive scrutiny? How will the ASA even find your marketing? Will they just be responding to 'reports' and people who complain?

[NikkiPilkington]

I can't decide whether I think this is a good idea or not...

On the one hand if it stops the charlatans claiming things that blatantly aren't true (one look at the marketplace of anothersocial networking site had me running for the hills!) then it has to be good.

But on the other hand one of the attractions of SM is its 'anything goes' and 'everyone learning together' persona...

[skeeter]

Nikki,

I share your views.

Having seen some rather under hand tac tics I feel it is a wise move. People have encouraged me to register for things that are false where there is little intention to follow through on delivery. Although you "believe" people. I find these practices annoying and big waste of time. I also think it might encourage people to clean-up things that are just not true.

It will be a shame to lose some of the creative thinking...although ASA are pretty good.

And I think the threat of ASA will act as a big deterant.

There are a whole list of false claims I've seen and I wish someone would just clear them up. It will be interesting to hear where they draw the line on opinion, sales promotions, referrals. It is a can of worms.

What's clear is that they have had many complaints - from what I've seen from the few who spoil it - I'm not suprised there has been complaints.

[Prime Investigations]

Has to be the right move I think, no business should be able to make false claims anywhere in my opinion and there should be some come back for customers or victims of those claims, where I think there may be issues is when employees use social media and say something not necessarily with authorisation and that's where HR will have to come into play. As long as action is taken to rectify inaccuracies then that will hopefully suffice.
Denise

[skeeter]

They seem to fit in to two camps:

(1) Companies & Organisations that have planned a campaign that fails ASA and just making a mockery, there are a few social media campaigns that fail so badly.

(2) SmallBiz who have never seen or read ASA and think it is okay to make false claims and then do sales promotion on a false claim.

I've started reaching to Chartered Institute of Marketing for guidance. They have a code-of-conduct for members.

[BlueSky]

I think this is probably a positive step, although I do wonder whether the ASA will have the necessary resources to deal with a (presumably) increased number of complaints.

[billu-printer]

It definitely remove all the illegal ways of marketing.... Its a good step.

[Mark]

I'll bet the 'less-scrupulous' MLM'ers are sh*tting themselves.

[fabulous_photo_gifts]

If you're doing things right and you're a transparent business which naturally inspires customer confidence, then I don't think you have anything to worry about. in fact, if it weeds out the rogues, we may do rather better out of it.

Good thread.

Jonathan.

[Mick Johnson]

I'm curious as to whether they'll have the ability to police this but more to the point, will they ever be able to find the people responsible - unless they have the ability to close down the advertising with the host (which I doubt) then they could be chasing a paper trail for months to find the advertising owner - shady people tend to be exactly that, in hiding!!

[dreadman]

I think its a positive step no one should be able to just say anything - some claims i come across are shocking .

Mick Johnson is right they might have a hard time implementing it as shady people hide in more relaxed teritories away from the reach of such bodies.

[Mark]

Could it encourage a 'snitch culture'?...

[simonr]

Curious - what about those online ads and so on which are read by people in this country but on websites from/about/intended for other countries? The ASA can't touch companies from the States, for example...

S