Earlier this month the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) released a new set of guidelines for advertisers and influencers, dictating that paid posts must be “clearly distinguishable” from other content.
While most of the influencer industry has openly welcomed the changes, which also state brands cannot “camouflage the fact that it is advertising”, there are some who believe that the new rules could be detrimental to the growth of the industry.
We are Social managing director Suzie Shaw expressed her concerns over the changes to Ad News, admitting that, “In a world where the media industry is severely suffering because of the disruption caused by changing business models, I think we need to be careful not to overly inhibit innovation that could stimulate growth in the future of our media business. Social influencers are effectively our future media owners,
“If we stem this revenue stream through overly restrictive regulation, it could impede the growth of this industry, which would be a shame, and feel retrograde.”
Shaw’s concerns have been voiced by many, but on the other end of the spectrum are those like Tribe CEO Anthony Svirskis, who believes, “Greater transparency is a positive change,
“Every element is evolving; from more sophisticated ways to measure ROI, to creating campaigns with hundreds of micro-influencers instead of a handful of top tier influences. So naturally it’s time for clearer guidelines to step up.”
The new guidelines are yet to roll out, so the impact of the new rules remains to be seen.
Image: @chloemorello
