THE NEW AND
IMPROVED INFLUENCER
If you’re worried about how your marketing strategies are affected by the new TGA laws — you’re not the only one, writes Shania O'Brien.
PEOPLE OFTEN look to celebrities and influencers for guidance on what to wear, what trends are in, and most importantly: what products to use. It is almost second nature to look up your favourite internet personality on TikTok or Instagram, to scroll through their content until you find a video titled ‘Get Ready With Me’ or ‘This Is My Nighttime Routine.’ Expressed in numbers, 48% of the world is on some form of social media, and 54% of those people use online platforms to follow their favourite celebrities, browse websites, and make purchasing decisions. And companies have been taking significant advantage of these statistics, focus on influencer marketing. Research has found that at least 30% of people are influenced by celebrity endorsements and are more likely to consume brands they recognise if a celebrity they look up to personally champions a product. This happens because elements of the celebrity and the brand reflect onto each other and combine; many would recognise Kendall Jenner as the face
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of Estée Lauder and Naomi Campbell as the brand ambassador for Pat McGrath. The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) recently released a new code designed to regulate the promotion and advertising of therapeutic products. The code came into effect on 1 January 2022, but there is a six-month transition period so the deadline for ensuring compliance with the code is 30 June 2022 — which is when it officially comes into effect all over Australia. Essentially, the code sets out requirements for the promotion of therapeutic goods such as cosmeceuticals, sunscreen medical devices, vitamins, to ensure that such advertising will promote quality use of the products, is socially responsible, and will not mislead or deceive customers. Hence, the new code is a positive step from the TGA taken to protect consumers — not to ban influencers from promoting products. Testimonials are not permitted by those involved in the production, sale, supply, or marketing of the goods, so no one who directly stands to profit from the
product’s success is allowed to provide positive attestation to the quality of the product. Businesses make an average of $5.20 for every dollar they spend on influencer marketing, a rate that is only projected to go up with the emphasis on people being increasingly online due to various factors such as lockdowns, isolation, scrolling on social media while waiting for an email to come in, and whatnot. When the code was first announced in December 2021, there was a severe degree of misinformation being spread regarding what changes were actually being made. In clear terms, the code governs paid and gifted testimonials and bans influencers from providing paid testimonials in return for cash or samples — it does not ban them from endorsing or promoting a product in exchange for money or gifts. It simply limits the health advice they can give as they are (usually) unqualified to give health advice. It is presently required for influencers to declare when their content is paid, such as by using hashtags like #ad or #paidpartnership, the only extra thing they will need to follow from now is refrain from
