Lucas Boudet, EASA: “Responsible advertising is good for business. 30-50% of market capitalization comes from reputation.”

Orsolya Borsos, CNA: “I think that coregulation with the Romanian Council for Advertising is already in place and it would benefit us all if influencers self-regulate too.”

Paul Anghel, ANPC: “We as partners are fair and open to dialogue, thus encouraging a fair and ethical behaviour towards the consumer.”

Alina Eremia, Artist & Influencer: “About what was mentioned before on disclosing that might impact your reach. It is true. Nevertheless, this does not stop me from having standards and respect my community and I honestly do not cut corners on this.”

The Romanian Advertising Council (RAC), an independent professional organization aimed at self-regulation in advertising, organized the conference Ethics in Influencer Marketing – Present and Perspectives on May 15. This event was dedicated to the importance of ethics and the promotion of responsible content as essential principles of marketing communication through influencers. The Conference took place at the Novotel Hotel in Bucharest, providing over 100 participants with essential information on self-regulation, regulation, and BPR codes used in the influencer marketing industry as well as monitoring.

The event aimed to highlight the best European practices in this industry, particularly regarding the marking of advertising content. This conference is thus a first step in the debate on responsible advertising through influencers, analyzing the current framework and the opinions of specialists involved in self-regulation, regulation, and implementation of commercial influencer marketing campaigns.

Therefore, in the context of the increasing importance and impact of influencer-created content, speakers emphasized the importance of authentic, transparent, and credible commercial communication for consumers, considering the perspectives derived from honest public information. The Romanian Advertising Council, the only self-regulatory body associated with the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) in Romania, will continue to provide consultancy, and training in order to promote responsibility throughout online content.

„Influencer marketing tactics are almost indispensable in the marketing and communication strategies launched these days by companies.  Their popularity raises the need to highlight best practices regarding commercial editorial content. RAC conference aimed to bring to the fore the need for honest, legal and decent communication and it proved to be an agora for Romanian expertise as well as a valuable exchange of knowledge between local specialists and reputed international experts in this domain”, stated Oana Cociasu, RAC President. 

RAC is an NGO, independent professional organization representative of the marketing and communication industry. The main remit of the Council is self-regulation in advertising, based on the Code of Best Practice in Commercial Communication. The BPR Code represents a set of best practices in advertising, adopted in order to provide a standard for correct and honest commercial communication towards consumers.

100+ participants, an open-conclusion debate

The event brought together over 100 participants. Topics addressed by national and international speakers included:

• An analysis of the national and European influencer marketing market;
• The commercial benefits of ethical and responsible influencer marketing;
• The importance of properly marking monetized content;
• Examples of best practices implemented internationally.

The National Panel brought together representatives of authorities and the industry, who analyzed the current situation in influencer-created content in Romania. Speakers included: Orsolya Borsos (CNA Member), Paul Anghel (General Director ANPC), Claudiu Ilioiu (Head of Global Talents United), Vlad Parvulescu (founder W Talent Management), Bogdan Tomoioaga (President GRF+), Cristina Butunoi (MD Golin), Gabriel Patru (President IAB Romania), Alina Eremia (Influencer).

During the debate speakers analysed the need for self-regulation and regulation, to share responsibility by all players involved, and measures to protect minors and vulnerable audiences or actively monitor sensitive areas such as gambling or tobacco.

Both CNA and ANPC representatives explained that the market currently has the means to self-regulate, with dialogue being open to all parties involved and RAC a stable partner of the two regulatory bodies.

Paul Anghel, ANPC, remarked that "There will come a time when we will take measures, after the advisory and prevention phase, and even go as far as shutting down accounts," and exemplified that there are currently some influencers who refuse to disclose advertising content, and are willing to face sanctions.

Orsolya Borsos, CNA: "Self-regulation is very important because it is a responsibility and an education for influencers and the public. We are open to working together in this regard." She remarked that "We are not hunting influencers, but we have topics like minor protection, That we take very seriously."

Gabriel Patru, IAB Romania President, emphasized the importance of constructive dialogue in the industry and the creation of working groups in order to update best practice recommendations.

On the other hand, influencers and talent agency representatives noticed that maintaining authenticity is important and agreed that self-regulation is a desirable option for the market, noting, however, the limits of responsibility that can be assumed by content creators and collaborating agencies.

"I promote the idea that you should form an association, establish a common code, and together with CNA and ANPC, we will have a much cleaner market," said Laurentiu Gheorghiu, RAC Vice President and ProTv Traffic Manager.

Alina Eremia, Artist and Influencer, also explained that responsibility does not lie solely with content creators or the players involved but also with the content consumer: "Regarding consumer education, we do not hold the absolute truth, and I believe there should be a filter for everyone to verify information from multiple sources. I think we need to sit down at a table, have a discussion, and present arguments from various sides. Only then can we reach a consensus. I support the initiative to form an association - now I don't know if everyone will align, but it would be nice to have a fair conduct towards everyone involved."

Vlad Pârvulescu, W Talent Management founder, also agreed, pointing out the limits of responsibility: "How do we find the balance between standardizing the industry and the specific creativity of content creators? I think there's a big difference between education and responsibility. We are responsible for what we post, but we cannot place the role of educator on content creators. Where the education system has failed, do we want to educate through an industry we blame? I believe it is the responsibility of all of us, myself included as a talent agency, to ensure I run a good project, of the creator to upload quality content, and of the individual at home to get information from a safe place."

Similarly, Claudiu Ilioiu, Head of Global Talents United, noted the need to extend the discussion to the regulation of non-commercial content, where influencer responsibility is high, but market players and bodies do not intervene. According to him, the issue of responsibility for content exists globally, with dramatic precedents. "I don't know an agency in this life that has the power to force the content creators they sign to take action. Not paid, not unpaid. Even more, I want to emphasize that talent agencies do not have the power and very often do not get involved in their organic content."

Cristina Butunoi, MD Golin, noted that unlike other countries, influencers in Romania enjoy greater credibility. She emphasized that from her position and point of view, marking commercial content in collaborations with influencers is not a challenge, these requirements being already present in all their briefs without any resistance. "We do not believe that disclosed content is not followed. It will be followed if done correctly," said Cristina Butunoi in the same context.

Bogdan Tomoiaga, President GRF+, noted that from his perspective, the current situation is better than expected: "Contrary to expectations,  commercial communications created by major brands, self-regulation works very well. We have rules that work, problems arise only when we go beyond the major brands and major influencers` zone, towards micro-influencers and nano-influencers."

International best practices, inspiration for the local market

During the second pannel of the Conference, international speakers provided examples of how to support influencers in publishing responsible content that directly impacts consumer trust. Examples included: the use of AI tools for monitoring and detecting commercial content, educational resources and training, and creating a "European influencer certificate."

Panel participants included Scott Guthrie (Executive Director of Influencer Marketing Trade Body UK), Mohamad Mansouri (Deputy Director ARPP France), Lucas Boudet (Executive Director EASA), and Taylor Annabell (Post PhD researcher at Utrecht University).

Lucas Boudet, Executive Director EASA, noted that there are many directives at the European level regulating responsible advertising, including digital marketing in collaboration with influencers, highlighting the training and education of influencers on best practices in content creation. He also outlined the goal of developing a sort of responsible marketing certificate for influencers, with implementation at the European level.

"Not only to train influencers but then to use technology to monitor their posts to ensure they are responsible. Therefore, to create a sort of European influencer marketing certificate, which would be a goal for us in 2025," said Lucas Boudet, Executive Director EASA.

Dr. Taylor Annabell, Humanads researcher, showed the results of an analysis of content generated by a sample of 400 influencers over 10 years, explaining that in recent years, the frequency of marked commercial content has increased considerably. Moreover, the frequency of marking is directly proportional to the regulations of the competent authorities, with relevant examples from markets such as Germany, Brazil, the United States, and the Netherlands.

The importance and beneficial effect of a responsible influencer certification were also explained through the example offered by Mohamad Mansouri, Deputy Director ARPP France, following the implementation of certification in the French influencer marketing market.

This was created to provide training and educational resources on the existing legal and ethical framework, thus protecting audiences while also serving to differentiate influencers. This initiative was supported by brands, and the certificate was earned by over 1500 influencers. "An analysis of commercial content marking deviations conducted through an AI tool showed a significant reduction in their frequency among certified influencers, from 22% in the first quarter of 2021 to 0.78% in the first quarter of 2023," said Mohamad Mansouri, Deputy Director ARPP France.

The adoption of the Responsible Influence Certificate in France was supported by information campaigns launched both in the media and through influencers on platforms such as YouTube, Tik Tok, and Instagram.

Scott Guthrie, Executive Director of Influencer Marketing Trade Body UK, provided a perspective on the UK market, highlighting the elements that impact influencer credibility (story, emotion, and originality), as well as the elements that lead to the loss of credibility, where the lack of transparency has a significant negative impact.

He noted that, according to studies, "67% of the public say they trust an influencer more who is honest about collaborating with a brand, and 63% say that if an influencer is honest about a brand-sponsored post, they are more likely to interact with that brand," Scott Guthrie, Executive Director of Influencer Marketing Trade Body UK.

The conclusions of the conference "Ethics in Influencer Marketing - Present and Perspectives" were summarized by Laurentiu Gheorghiu, RAC Vice President and ProTv Traffic Manager, who noted the need to initiate working groups to discuss a code of best practices, as well as the initiative of the Romanian Advertising Council to create a certification project similar to the one in France, alongside providing training and education programs for influencers.

These projects complement other projects already initiated by RAC, such as the Ethical Stamp, a trust mark signalling that advertisers on the Romanian advertising market adhere to ethical principles, while confirming that the respective commercial communication complies with the provisions and spirit of RAC Advertising Code ("RAC Code").

Main event sponsor: Procter&Gamble.

Partners: CocaCola, Danone, Humanads, Magnum, Mondelez, RepublicaBio, Therefour, PepsiCo.

About RAC

The Romanian Advertising Council (RAC) is an independent, non-profit professional organization aimed at self-regulation in advertising.

RAC was founded in 1999 and has 85 members: companies, advertising agencies, media, and professional associations.

The organization's activity is based on the Advertising Code of Practice, a set of standards and ethical rules in advertising for any form of commercial communication. The purpose of the document is to support the development of a decent and honest business environment by providing a guide for correct and fair commercial communication towards consumers. RAC member companies engaged in advertising commit to voluntarily adhere to the Code.

__

*This is a Press release