The rise of influencer marketing over the past few years has been exponential. However, with great influence comes great responsibility—a responsibility that many influencers seem to overlook. 

According to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Complaints Report for 2023-24, a staggering 99% of influencer advertisements were found to be in violation of established guidelines.

But who is to be held accountable for this is a matter of grave concern in this hour. While influencers seem to be using various tactics to add to their views and followers, brands seem to lag in proper background checks. The most common violations include inadequate disclosure of paid partnerships and exaggerated claims about products. 

Moreover, since the digital world is more welcoming to influencers from every nook and corner, the medium is the primary platform for these violations, with 55% of the problematic ads being flagged for influencer disclosure violations.

Where is the gap?

Ayush Guha, Founding Member, HYPP (A creator management and marketing agency) believes that it's not a gap with the agencies, but the number of influencers has grown 6-7x for the last year and a half. 

“It's getting more democratic, you can be just one app or you can be just one influencer, that's where the volume is coming from,” he added.

Many times, even brands are not willing to walk the ethical path, because it looks more authentic if there is no paid sponsorship tag attached to a promotional post, according to Vaibhav Gupta, Founder of KlugKlug (An Influencer Marketing and Analytics agency).

Who is responsible?

It is the government's responsibility to make sure that the things being sold to the local market and citizens are properly co-vetted and should be cleaned, according to Guha. In most of the western countries, you will see that it's regulated that way. 

Whereas in India, that's not possible. Guha shared, “Government and people who are marketing it should do the due diligence. And eventually it can come down to us where we do our own research.”

Gupta suggests a very simple way to implement these guidelines. He said, “Who is spending money on that influencer to speak about them? It is the brands. Instead of trying to control a hundred thousand influencers, it is easier to control a hundred brands.”

It is simple, as per him, it’s the responsibility of the brand, and they should make truthful brand claims that they can defend to the laws of the land. 

He further also highlighted that subjectivity has to be brought into the lens of what can be said and what cannot be, and that should be mandated to the brand. An influencer will only comply. 

Rumi Ambastha, Chief Marketing Officer, Swiss Beauty said, “There is a proverb in Hindi, Taali ek haath se nahi bajti. An influencer can’t just wash your hands off and say ‘Only because the brand/client asked me to say it, so I did’. At the same time the brands can't say ‘Oh, I never said the influencer must have said it’. It goes both ways.”

The ethics have to come from the boardroom and the influencer side too, according to her. 

Which categories lead and why?

According to the same report, the influencer violations have happened majorly in personal care with 35%, followed by Fashion and lifestyle (24%) and F&B (18%).

Guha opines that this is because the barrier to entry into the beauty market is fairly easy since the margins are very high and it's not seasonal. And brands need more influencers in this segment because it's not like Nike launching a collection. Beauty is demanded forever and they use influencers regularly.

“Even from a creative standpoint, becoming a beauty influencer is very easy. You don't need to know great scripting, you just need to get decent products. So, the barrier to entry and creating of content, both are very low in this degree. Although if the volume is high, there's bound to be misrepresentations,” he added.

As per Ambastha, there are so many creators in this segment also because there are so many brands as well. They keep getting work, which is great. The bad point of it all is because there is so much competition and quantity of brands and creators, no one is very diligent with what they are trying to endorse.

Ambastha also is in favour that this is because the quantum has increased. Also, beauty and skincare generally has a very transactional relationship, which is a very short-lived transaction relationship. If a consumer buys a product, either they like it or they don’t. It's not going to do long-term harm to them, unlike the health and finance sectors.

Ultimately, till the time brands and influencers both are not scared of being held responsible in a public domain where the brigade can start the B-word (Boycott), that's when both the parties will become much more conscious about what they endorse, she concluded.

As the influencer marketing industry continues to grow, it is imperative for influencers to adhere to advertising guidelines diligently. Brands must also play a proactive role in ensuring that their marketing campaigns are transparent and truthful.