News
ASAI’s remit extended to advertisers’ own websites
The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI)1 has announced that it will extend its remit to cover advertising claims on advertisers’ own websites. This is in line with the strategy of the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA)2 in their Best Practice Recommendation on Digital Marketing Communications3. On the adoption by the ASAI Board of this strategy, the Chairman of the ASAI said “the extension of the ASAI’s remit was an important development as it will ensure that consumers can enjoy high standards of advertising in any medium.”
The strategy put forward in the document clarifies the remit of national self-regulatory organisations (SROs) and thereby aims to ensure that the same standards apply for digital marketing communications as for marketing communications that appear in traditional media.
The document was produced by EASA with direct input from Advertising Self-Regulatory Organisations throughout Europe, advertisers, agencies and media companies. Consultation was carried out on an ongoing basis with NGO’s, the European Commission and other interested parties.
In Ireland, the Association of Advertisers in Ireland, the Institute of Advertising Practitioners and the media interests represented on the Board of the ASAI strongly supported this extension of remit.
The EASA document provides a non-exhaustive list of practices which would bring within remit areas such as search marketing and display ads, representing over 81% of ad-spend as indicated by the AdEx 2007 Europe study4, as well as other techniques like sms and email. In addition the Best Practice Recommendation clearly states that any form of editorial content lies outside of an SRO’s remit.
ASAI already deals with complaints concerning a range of digital marketing communications, including those published on third-party websites, search marketing, SMS and email. The fundamental change involved brings advertising on advertisers’ own websites into the remit of the ASAI for the first time. This change has been strongly supported by the World Federation of Advertisers following intensive internal consultation carried out in Europe and the USA.
The Best Practice Recommendation is available on www.asai.ie
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For further information please contact:
Orla Twomey, Assistant Chief Executive, (01) 6608766
Notes to editors
1 About ASAI
The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) is the self-regulatory body set up by the advertising industry, including advertisers, agencies and media companies, to promote the highest standards of commercial advertising and to enforce the ASAI’s Code, full details of which are available on ASAI’s website – www.asai.ie.
2About EASA:
The European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) is a non-profit organisation based in Brussels and is the single voice of the advertising industry in Europe on advertising self-regulation. It acts as the European coordination point for advertising self-regulatory bodies and systems across Europe. EASA brings together 33 SROs (26 from 24 European countries as well as SROs in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, New Zealand and South Africa) and 16 organisations representing the European advertising industry (advertisers, agencies and the media).
3Digital Marketing Communications definition:
A ‘marketing communication’ is an advertisement or other technique, such as a promotion, sponsorship or direct marketing. The term should be interpreted broadly to mean any form of communication produced directly by or on behalf of marketers intended primarily to promote products or to influence consumer behaviour. [Source: The Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice, August 2006.] This includes content under the influence or control of marketers that is intended primarily to promote products or to influence consumer behaviour, irrespective of its creative origin.
4 AdEx 2007 Europe study:
The AdEx 2007 Europe study is delivered yearly by the Interactive and Digital Marketing Trade Association (IAB Europe)