News from EASA and its Members – April 2019
02 May 2019
EASA News
EASA launches Annual Review in Paris!
On the occasion of its Biannual Meetings in Paris, EASA published its 2018 Annual Review. The report showcases the many achievements and activities of EASA and its network across Europe during 2018.
EASA Chairman, Stephane Martin, commented: “2018 was an exciting and eventful year for EASA! The notable achievements and hard work of its secretariat, network and partners, are showcased in this latest Annual Review.
“By working collectively, we have strengthened and promoted advertising self-regulation in Europe and beyond. EASA is ready for what the coming years will bring as we approach the European elections and a new Commission takes over.
“I believe the network of our Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) and Industry members (Advertisers, Agencies, Media) has the uniqueness, resources and strength necessary to embrace these changes and further our agenda.”
You can read the full report here.
EASA Organised “Advertising: Technology and Responsibility” Forum in Paris!
On 16 April, on the occasion of its Biannual Meetings in Paris, EASA organised a forum on “Advertising: Technology and Responsibility”, bringing together more than 90 high-level representatives of global, European and national organisations from the advertising industry and self-regulatory bodies.
The forum involved key stakeholders who shape the advertising market today, including leading digital platforms and representatives from the advertising industry for them to share their vision of the future of responsible marketing communications.
Digital advertising is evolving, and emerging forms of marketing communications are being enabled by new technologies. A great line-up of speakers and panellists from the European Commission, the International Chamber of Commerce, leading tech companies, advertisers, media industry representatives, and self-regulatory organisations.
The discussion focused on how technological changes can be best addressed to ensure responsible advertising and enhance consumer trust. It explores what is currently being done as well as what more can be done to address these issues and promote collaboration.
EASA Welcomes New Observer Member, New Board & Executive Committee Composition
On the occasion of its Board and General Assembly meetings held in Paris on 16 April, EASA is delighted to welcome its new observer member, the Russian SRO: “Advertising Council” AMI.
It also warmly welcomes its new Board Directors and Executive Committee Members:
- Francesca FABBRI, AER
- Ilias KONTEAS, EMMA
- Joy de LOOZ-CORSWAREM, ENPA
- Kamila ROGOWSKA-ŚWIRCZ, RR, Poland
- Richard SATURLEY, FEPE International
- Otto VAN DER HARST, SRC, the Netherlands
- Ilias KONTEAS, EMMA
- Otto VAN DER HARST, SRC, the Netherlands
SRO NEWS
ARPP (France)
ARPP Event: “Influencer Marketing & Transparency”
On 23 May, ARPP will reveal the results on influencer marketing to the General Factory, Paris. An inventory of influencer marketing will be revealed, along with a presentation of compliance levels and good practices in France.
Do you want to know all the best practices for influencer marketing and interact with industry professionals (advertisers, influencers, specialized agencies and platforms)? Come share your vision of the future for influencer marketing!
Book your evening from 19:00 on 23 May, at the General Factory, Paris 17th. A cocktail party will close the evening.
ASA (UK)
Harnessing new technology to tackle irresponsible gambling ads targeted at children
The ASA has used new technology to establish what ads different age-groups of people see online. We worked with an expert data and analytics firm to create online avatars that were designed to reflect the browsing characteristics of children aged 6-7, 8-12 and 16, an adult, a person of an indeterminate age, and a profile reflecting the browsing behaviour of an adult and a child using the same device.
The work collected data on 10,754 times that ads were served to the child avatars across 24 children’s websites and 20 open-access YouTube channels over a two week monitoring period. Our analysis of the full data is on-going, but we noticed straight away some clear breaches from five gambling operators who served 151 individual gambling ad impressions to the child avatars on 11 children’s websites. The CAP Code clearly states that gambling ads should not be directed at those aged below 18 years old.
ASA’s Compliance team contacted the five operators straight away and they have accepted that their ads broke the rules. We instructed them to take immediate action to review how the ads are served online. This new technology has enabled us to gather a large amount of data and hold advertisers to account swiftly when their ads break the rules.
View here for ASA’s full news release.
UK Government Online Harms consultation
The UK Government has published its Online Harms White Paper and the consultation will close on 1 July 2019.
The Paper briefly touches on advertising regulation by referencing the ASA’s five year strategy, More Impact Online, stating that it “aims to put the protection of consumers online at the heart of its work over the next five years, and makes commitments to explore, for example, the use of machine learning and AI to improve regulation.” It also referenced the Government’s review of online advertising.
The key points in the Paper are: •Government will legislate for a new statutory duty of care, to be policed by an independent regulator. The regulator – likely initially to be Ofcom (the statutory communications regulator), but in the longer term a new body – will have the power to impose substantial fines against companies that breach their duty of care and to hold individual executives personally liable.
- The new independent regulator will likely be funded through a levy on media companies.
- Government will have powers to direct the regulator on specific issues such as terrorist activity or child sexual exploitation.
- There will be annual “transparency reports” from social media companies, disclosing the prevalence of harmful content on their platforms and what they are doing to combat it.
- Co-operation with police and other enforcement agencies on illegal harms, such as incitement of violence and the sale of illegal weapons will be required.
- Companies will be asked to comply with a code of practice, setting out what steps they are taking to ensure that they meet the duty of care – including by designing products and platforms to make them safer, and pointing users who have suffered harm towards support.
- The code of practice is also likely to include the steps companies will be expected to take to combat disinformation, including by using fact-checking services, particularly during election periods, and improving the transparency of political advertising.
- Regulated firms will be expected to comply with the code of practice – or explain what other steps they are taking to meet the duty of care. However, many questions are left to the regulator to determine.
Further information is available here.
IAP (Italy)
Changes to IAP’s Digital Charter
IAP approved a Regulation concerning the requirements of its Digital Charter in order to be prescriptive, with a direct reference to article 7 of the Code (Transparency of commercial communication). The new Regulation and the modified article 7 came into force on 29 April. The Italian version of the code (the English version will be available soon) is available here https://www.iap.it/about/the-code/?lang=en and here https://www.iap.it/regulations/?lang=en.
Back in 2016, IAP started to inform many new operators that the principle of transparency in advertising needed to be taken into consideration, particularly with the new specific forms of digital advertising. In the beginning it was not easy to convince the operators of the importance of having a level playing field of rules of correctness, but the market has now demonstrated more awareness.
A recent report released by Buzzoole shows that an increasing number social media posts use the indicators of IAP’s Digital Charter to show their commercial nature (in 2018 the number of posts on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook in Italy that claim to be sponsored increased by 235%).
Since January 2019, IAP has extended its membership, opening to individual influencers and their agencies. Some important players have been accepted and others are submitting their requests.
JEP (Belgium)
SR/CR rules regarding alcohol advertising reinforced
On 20 April, the Minister of Health announced stricter rules and more prevention measures regarding alcohol advertising.
An agreement was reached with the Belgian Advertising Council, the beer association Belgian Brewers and the wine and spirits association Vinum Et Spiritus, to introduce several new measures in the existing Convention on alcohol advertising and marketing, whose control is entrusted to JEP:
1) Members of the Belgian Brewers and Vinum Et Spiritus will submit their national campaigns for TV, radio and movie theaters for obligatory copy advice to JEP.
2) JEP will be able to impose fines up to 10,000 euro in cases of repeated infractions.
3) A member of the Health Administration will be invited, as an expert on public health, to Jury meetings where complaints cases regarding alcohol advertising are treated.
These new measures will enter into force as of 2 September 2019.
See here for the CP/JEP press release: https://www.jep.be/fr/nouvelles/communique-de-presse-conseil-de-la-publicitejep-19-04-2019-les-regles-et-le-controle-de-la
See here for the Minister of Health’s press release: https://www.maggiedeblock.be/reclame-voor-alcoholische-dranken-strengere-regels-en-aangescherpte-controles/
Research project calls for alcohol advertising ban
In the meantime, a research project on the “Assessment of alternative models for regulation of alcohol marketing in Belgium” involving researchers from Ghent University and representatives of NGO’s working in the field of addiction has called for a total ban on alcohol advertising.
INDUSTRY NEWS
EACA
Call for Entries Opens for Best of the Best Europe and Marketing & Business Solutions
The Effie Awards Europe have announced that two new categories – Marketing & Business Solutions and Best of the Best Europe – are open for entries.
The Effie Awards are known by advertisers and agencies globally as the preeminent award in the industry, and recognise any and all forms of marketing communication that contribute to a brand’s success.
As part of Effie’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Effie Europe has introduced a special competition – Best of the Best Europe – to recognise the most effective marketing efforts in the region. Best of the Best Europe is open to any campaign that has won a Gold Effie in any national Effie Awards program in Europe in 2018.
The final closing date for Best of the Best Europe and Marketing & Business Solutions categories is on 31 July 2019. All deadlines and fees are available here. The judgins sessions will take place in September and the winners will be officially announced at the Awards Gala in Brussels on 15 October 2019.
The Effie Awards Europe are organised by the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) in partnership with Facebook, Google, Procter & Gamble, The European Publishers’ Council, WARC, Adforum.com, Nielsen, creativebrief & Viva Xpress Logistics.
IAB Europe
IAB Europe Launches Public Comment for its GDPR Transparency & Consent Framework Version 2.0
IAB Europe, alongside the IAB Tech Lab, has announced that the Policies and Technical Specifications for version 2.0 of the Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) are being made available for public comment. The opportunity to comment will last for 30 days, up to 25th May 2019. This is the first major new TCF release and the only significant one planned for the year.
For further details, please visit the IAB Europe website
Following the close of the public comment period, once the technical specifications and Policies have been finalised, detailed implementation manuals will be issued for vendors, publishers and Consent Management Platforms (CMPs).
As part of the consultation process, IAB Europe will be holding two webinars to outline the proposed changes on 7th May (Publishers) and 8th May (CMPs and Vendors). To register, and review TCF v.2.0, please visit www.iabeurope.eu/tcf.
ICAS NEWS
International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation elects Lee Peeler as President
On 15 April 2019, during its Annual Meeting in Paris, France, the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) elected Lee Peeler of the US-based advertising self-regulatory council as its new President. Peeler will be supported by a renewed Executive Committee whose priority will be to position ICAS as a key force for promoting self-regulation programs as a way to encourage responsible marketing practices worldwide.
Launched as an independent organization in October 2016, ICAS is a global network promoting self-regulation of advertising standards as an efficient means to protect consumers from irresponsible marketing practices. ICAS’s 30 members include Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs) active in Europe, America, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as other regional and international bodies working to ensure that ads are ethical and socially responsible.
At their Annual General Meeting in Paris, ICAS members elected Peeler as their new President. Peeler is President and CEO of the United States’ advertising self-regulatory council, a body administered by the US-based Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) where he also serves as an Executive Vice President. He succeeds José Domingo Gómez Castallo, first President of ICAS and Managing Director of AUTOCONTROL, the Spanish Self-Regulatory Organization.
Peeler will be supported by four Vice-Presidents and seven members of the Executive Committee, also elected for a two-year mandate.
View the full list of ICAS Executive Committee members here.
ICAS announces winners of Global Awards
On 15 April 2019, during its Annual Meeting in Paris, France, the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) announced the winners of its first ICAS Global Awards. France, Australia, Canada and Spain were honored for effective advertising self-regulation. The objective of the ICAS Awards is to reward initiatives that contribute to responsible marketing practices through self-regulatory standards.
Four categories of Awards were open to the ICAS Self-Regulatory Organization network members. All entries were reviewed, and winners selected by an international independent jury of self-regulatory experts, chaired by Ms Carla Michelotti, member of the Board of the International Advertising Association (IAA) and retired Chief Legal, Government and Corporate Affairs Officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide.
The winners of the first ever ICAS Awards are:
- For Best Awareness-Raising Initiative: ARPP (Autorité de régulation professionnelle de la publicité), France, for its impactful communication campaign on guidelines for social media influencers;
- For Thought-Leadership: Ad Standards Australia, for a study done in partnership with Deloitte, assessing the benefits of a self-regulatory advertising complaints handling system;
- For Best Sectoral Initiative: Ad Standards Canada, for its Influencer Marketing Disclosure Guidelines;
- Special Prize: AUTOCONTROL, Spain, for its services around data protection issues.
The ICAS Awards Jury also gave three entries special recognition due to their valuable and inspirational promotion of effective self-regulatory practices. This special recognition was given to:
- The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of New Zealand for its Code Consolidation project, completed in 2018;
- CONAR Mexico, for its study of consumer perceptions and motivations regarding advertising communications;
- The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), for its Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising released in April 2017.
ICAS applauds all winners and thanks all participants in the ICAS Awards. All the initiatives rewarded contribute to the promotion of effective and meaningful self-regulation, and the encouragement of ethical and responsible marketing and advertising practices. ICAS encourages organizations worldwide to seek inspiration from the winners and to support the development and use of efficient, effective and innovative self-regulatory standards and solutions.
View pictures of the ICAS Awards Ceremony.
