UK watchdog group issues warning to bloggers and brands
A blogger that is being paid to write favorably about a brand’s products or services has to disclose the relationship, period, says the Advertising Standards Authority.
Put simply, a blogger who is given money to promote a product or service has to ensure readers are aware they’re being advertised to.
It’s especially important for PR pros to understand that they can’t pay bloggers to tout their products while posing as your average consumer. The ASA says they’ve been seeing reports of PR pros and advertisers encouraging bloggers to not identify their content as an advertisement. Rich Leigh, co-founder of Bloggabase, agreed with the ASA’s admonishment in a Marketing magazine article:
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