Credit: Towfiqu barbhuiya via Unsplash
ASIC, Australia's corporate, markets and financial services regulator, has revised its guidance on advertising financial products and services to help industry meet legal obligations and avoid misleading consumers.
The updates follow consultation with stakeholders from November 27 last year to January 22 this year.
The previous guide had been in place since 2012, long before short-form video, algorithm-driven feeds and influencer marketing became standard industry tools.
Regulatory Guide 234 outlines good advertising practice for financial products and services, providing guidance to help relevant entities comply with their legal obligations not to make false or misleading representations or engage in misleading or deceptive conduct.
The update matters to advertisers, agencies and publishers because RG 234 underpins how ASIC judges whether financial advertising crosses the line into misleading or deceptive conduct.
The updates to RG 234 include new guidance reflecting enforcement and regulatory action relevant to advertising conduct, and consolidated guidance from Regulatory Guide 53, The Use of Past Performance in Promotional Material, so that all ASIC advertising guidance is in one place.
Influencers were also included in the updated document, "Where a publisher contributes to the content of an advertisement (e.g. in writing advertorials) or otherwise has an active involvement in the promotion of a product or service (e.g. through co-branding, or where a social media influencer uses their platform to promote a product or service), we regard the publisher as being in the same position as the promoter in terms of its responsibility."
RG 234 also now explicitly covers short-form content, "The guidance provided in Section B applies to all advertising mediums, regardless of format, physical limitations (short form or long form."
As a result, the previous regulatory guide RG53 has now been withdrawn.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.