Publishers, Consumers, and the new regulatory environment
From Wiki
What is a publisher ? As new publishers embrace pay-on-performance marketing and abandon their traditional confinement to the CPM or CPC models, it is increasingly apparent that a publisher is simply any kind of online actor willing to promote a brand on a CPA-based remuneration.
Publishers, then, can be drawn from anywhere and everywhere. This in turn means that the way in which they address users and communicate to them about the advertisers they promote is unlikely any longer to be wedded to a single promotional method, but to utilise a mixed bag of ways to engage potential customers and bring them to transact.
This is in large part because users demand information from multiple sources to help them to decide what to buy. They expect to find incentives, vouchers, content, reviews and full social media integration all in one place. Contrary to popular opinion within the publisher community, users pass through only one publisher touch-point in around 80% of cases before making a purchase: this demonstrates the extent to which publisher s have blended these different promotional elements.
But is this diversity coming under threat? On 1st March, the ASA extended its digital remit to monitor not just marketing output in paid for space, but also in non-paid for space. This move should be welcomed. It is good for consumers and good for the publisher industry insofar as publisher s can demonstrate their professionalism and maturity to encourage greater investment in the channel.
But will this restrict publisher s in some of the ways they use to promote advertiser’s offers?
Whilst the full ramifications have not yet become clear, the wording of the ASA’s extension seems to signal a focus on social aspects. Could publisher s fall victim to the same perils of social media that have made brands extremely cautious of the medium?
In light of these changes, there is no doubt that many advertisers will put their publisher s under greater scrutiny. But where a publisher communicates offers, deals and promotions from an advertiser both parties need to share responsibility to ensure what goes on site is compliant with ASA guidelines.
Advertisers’ ultimate worry is that they will be held responsible for incorrect or misleading content that a publisher has put on their site. But looking over previous ASA adjudications, it is clear that this is actually more likely to be the fault of the advertiser than the publisher . One of the most important roles of publisher s therefore is to be the advertiser’s eyes and ears, anticipating potential issues that might be unfamiliar to the advertiser not as well-versed as the publisher in areas such as social media.
Not all compliance issues will be the responsibility of the publisher , but everyone in the industry bemoans the fact that too often one rotten publisher damages the integrity of the whole performance channel.
But advertisers should recognise that publisher s serve themselves by serving the right message. The great strength of publisher s - and precisely what makes them valuable to brands - is the fact that the best of them command respect, loyalty and authority amongst potential customers that makes them trusted sources of information prior to purchase. An publisher that wants to build trust and authority amongst their users cannot do so if they are seen to be misleading the consumer. Compliance and trust therefore go hand in hand: trust that both advertisers and consumers have in publisher s’ sites.
For the best publisher s, this ASA extension is not to be feared; indeed, it can be an opportunity. The strongest publisher s have built themselves into brands in their own right thanks to the ability to speak to the consumer in a voice that they believe and trust. This is something that big brands so often fall down on, as the incidence of social media fails amongst brands testifies. This is why brands covet affinity partnerships with publisher sites that get tone of voice right. The ASA’s recent changes will make it more apparent that the hallmark of a good publisher is the way they are able to communicate with a potential customer.