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'All credibility is lost.'
With the influencer industry expanding rapidly, the India Influencer Governing Council (IIGC) was launched on Saturday, February 15, 2025.
Led by industry leaders, it aims to set standards, protect influencer rights, and promote responsible content creation.
Launch of the IIGC also coincides with escalation of the Ranveer Allahbadia controversy.
The council has over 65 board advisors across influencers and brand leaders.
IIGC said that Sahil Chopra, founder and CEO, iCubesWire, will be its first chairman.
The founding leadership team includes Rajeev Makhni, India's Gadget Guru & tech influencer, Anurita Chopra, chief marketing officer, Haleon, Deepali Naair, Group CMO, CK Birla Group, Nitin Sethi, chief digital officer, Adani, and Hari Krishnan, managing director, content & groupe marcomm, Publicis Groupe.
'As the industry reaches this colossal scale, challenges around transparency, promotions, and regulatory uncertainty have taken centre stage. This is where IIGC aims to come into play by setting up clear industry guidelines, advocating influencer rights, and promoting responsible content creation,' IIGC noted.
'IIGC will take a consumer-first approach in content moderation to curb the spread of misinformation and ensure credibility,' IIGC added.
According to the council, the influencer marketing industry is expected to surpass Rs 3,375 crore (Rs 33.75 billion) by 2026.
Chopra, when asked on Monday if the council had been formed due to the ongoing controversy, he said, "There are no trigger points. The formation of the council was being planned from last year.
"It is merely a coincidence that the Ranveer Allahabadia controversy happened at the time of the council's launch."
The need for a governing structure and guidelines around the "madness is a must", he added.
IIGC has been structured into seven different pods, including agencies, banking & finance, consumer durables, consumer packaged goods, creators, fashion and lifestyle and mobile and technology.
This will ensure that industry-led insights shape its guidelines.
They also have marketeers on the board, like Swiggy, Maruti Suzuki, Campus, Perfetti, Nestlé, Bata, Parle, LT Foods, Taco Bell, Hero, MRF, Disney+ Hotstar, PepsiCo, Philips, Reckitt, Spotify and Samsung, among others. Many of them are actively involved.
The council's next meeting is scheduled for April 12 in Mumbai, where the leaders will set industry benchmarks.
"Influencer marketing is a big market, but it must be governed. When an influencer promotes everything, all credibility is lost," Makhni said.
"Everyone seems to love everything. But the audience isn't foolish, which is why some influencers have lost numbers. IIGC aims to reinstate credibility in this space," Makhni added.
RJ Ashish, a radio jockey, said, "Social media is a vast space and streamlining pools of content is a huge task. The guidelines to be set are very, very important.
"In this vast sea of content and content creation, there will now be someone to show the way."
At present, there is no government rule or body that regulates the influencer segment.
In 2021, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) had introduced a self regulatory framework for influencers.
The guidelines, however, were more to do with disclaimers and disclosures with regard to products being showcased by the influencers.
After ASCI, the Department of Consumer Affairs, too, came out with 'Endorsement knowhows', a set of guidelines for influencers and advertisers.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has also come out with regulations for finfluencers.
"When you look at the influencer economy, the advertiser is just one of the many pillars of the whole ecosystem. It includes the consumer, the creator himself, and the platforms," Chopra said.
"ASCI guidelines are induced towards the advertiser only. At IIGC, we want to take care of the entire ecosystem, which has many pillars, not just the advertisers," Chopra added.
The first attempt will be to set up guidelines for the entire ecosystem, he added.
"We have creators, consumers, platforms, and advertisers who have certain requests or challenges. So far, no one has come out with a level-playing field to get them all together."
WATCHFUL EYE
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
