EASA's Digital Marketing Communications Best Practice, which was released in October 2008, provides initial best practice guidance to national self-regulatory bodies and advertising industry representatives by defining what a digital marketing communication is and what kind of digital marketing communications would fall within the remit of self-regulatory organisations.

EASA has agreed this initial best practice based on discussions with self-regulatory organisations, advertising industry representatives and external stakeholders at European level. Since its release it has been sent to self-regulatory organisations and advertising industry representatives around Europe as a basis for national discussions on the issue. Feedback from these national discussions and practice may lead to further adjustment of and communication on the existing best practice during 2009.

So far, the Advertising Standards Authority Ireland (ASAI) and the Reklam Özdenetim Kurulu (ROK) have presented the best practice to their boards where it has been adopted.

The Irish self-regulatory organisation intends to start investigating complaints on an informal basis without submitting them to the Complaints Committee in February 2009. This is to ensure that any procedural issues are ironed out in advance of formal adjudications. It is anticipated that three months will suffice and that by mid-2009 the ASAI will be investigating any digital marketing communication complaints as identified in the best practice on the same basis as all other complaints.

The Turkish self-regulatory body has announced its decision to extend its remit to include digital marketing communication to both the sector and the general public on 20 November. Since then it has already received two complaints about marketer-owned websites.

The Digital Marketing Communications Best Practice can be downloaded here.