Japan’s Stealth Marketing
Japan’s Stealth Marketing (Guest article)
You don’t often see stealth marketing used.
It would not be stealthy at all if you could. It is a post on Reddit, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Medium, about how customer service went above and beyond. How great everything was, something organic, a real recommendation by some real people. But it is engineered to deceive you.
Isn’t it weird that the brand in the can of Coke always faces the camera? Product placement!
Wendy’s Twitter is sassy and relatable? The writers of the marketing team did a great job with their Viral marketing approach.
Someone somewhere recommends something? PAID! PAID! Influencer marketing!
That brings us to our guest article from Ronin Consultancy about the steps taken in Japan to control Stealth Marketing. (Full disclosure: I was not paid for it, but know the author)
Starting on 2023 October 1, Japan’s New Rule on Social Media Stealth Marketing will be announced, where influencers or others promote products and services without disclosing their financial interest.
The government has included stealth marketing under “improper representation,” which is banned by the law against unjustifiable premiums and misleading representations. Companies engaging in stealth marketing will be warned, publicly identified, and potentially face further consequences for violating the regulation. This change is driven by concerns that undisclosed marketing hinders consumers’ ability to make informed purchasing decisions.
At this time, there is no legal provision that directly addresses stealth marketing in Japan. With this new rule, companies will be warned and named if they try to go against the law.
The regulation focuses on marketing methods that are difficult to recognize as advertising or paid promotion, targeting companies rather than influencers or others who paid for social media promotion. The Consumer Affairs Agency will assess companies' involvement in social media posts to determine if they qualify as advertising or promotion, including instructions given to promoters or confirmation of fulfilment requirements.
In cases where individuals promote products or services without direct company instruction, the agency will investigate previous interactions and relationships to uncover potential violations.
Ronin Consultancy is a marketing firm focused on accompanying people in their marketing journey in the APAC region and across the rest of the world.
