Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to regulate UK Websites & Social Media. Will it make or break your online reputation?

Who are the ASA?

The ASA is the UK's independent regulator of advertising across all media
By applying their Advertising Codes, they make sure your marketing comms to your target audience are:
Legal
Decent
Honest
Truthful
From the 1st March this will include marketing on websites and social media

What do they do?

A recent example would be Homebase claimed on their TV ad that customers would get “extra 15 per cent off” in store
B&Q complained to the ASA and challenged whether the claim of "extra 15 per cent" misleadingly implied that other discounts had already been applied
The ASA found that Homebase’s claim breached TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1.1, 5.1.3 (Misleading advertising) and that the ad must not be broadcast again in its current form

What this means for your website?

From the 1st March you could be under fire from customers and competitorsreporting to the ASA any statements on your website they deem not legal, decent, honest and truthful regarding your products and services.
This includes:
ALL website copy
ALL website meta titles and descriptions

What this means for your Social Media Strategy?

From the 1st March you could be under fire from customers and competitors reporting to the ASA any statements on social media platforms used by your company they deem not legal, decent, honest and truthful regarding your products and services. This includes:
ANY OTHER ‘non-paid for’ space online including Facebook and Twitter
User generated content if it is adopted and incorporated within your website copy or in other ‘non-paid for’ space online

What this means for your competitor’s website(s) & Social Media Strategy?

Bad news for competitors, good news for you!
If you are losing business to competitors who are making statements on their website or social media presence which are NOT legal, decent, honest and truthful, from the 1st March the ASA will be there to investigate for you.
Good news because it levels out the playing field for businesses who practice ethical marketing comms and those who don’t!

What if you don’t comply?

Name and shame policy – The ASA website will publish details of you and your non-compliant marketing comms
Removal of paid-for search advertising – Your ads linking to your non-compliant marketing comms may be removed with the agreement of the search engines
ASA name and shame paid-for search advertisements - The ASA could place advertisements online highlighting your continued non-compliance

What can you do to ensure your marketing comms comply?

Sign up for info
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) can provide advice on your campaigns and offer a range of training tools in specific sectors to help you comply.
Sign up for CAP Services to receive news, advice and practical guidance on the new Advertising Codes: www.cap.org.uk/CAPServices.aspx.

Then ask yourself this question…

What is my Digital Marketing/SEO/PR/Social Media/Web Agency doing about this?

If this has slipped between the cracks, ask us about our ASA Compliance Audit for your website and social media strategy.

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Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to regulate UK Websites & Social Media. Will it make or break your online reputation?

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