Complaints about your advertising?
Want to complain about a competitor’s advertising?
Expert help is available
Nigel Keats has had an 18-year involvement with the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) as an industry member of the Complaints and Appeal Boards. He has also adjudicated on competitor complaints, including between major pharmaceutical, energy, gaming, fast food and automotive companies, supermarkets and telcos.
Together with his extensive experience as a senior advertising executive, Nigel understands the ASA processes and codes and how complaints are considered.
This expertise enables him to effectively pre-vet your advertising concepts to mitigate risk, and make compelling arguments on your behalf regarding complaints, appeals and adjudications
Discuss your objectives and how they can best be achieved.
Act competently, in a timely way, and in accordance with instructions received and arrangements made.
Protect and promote your interests and act for you free from any compromising influences or loyalties.
Provide you with information about the work to be done, who will do it, and the way services will be provided.
Give you clear information, advice, and documents in plain English.
Charge you a fee that is fair and reasonable, at the hourly rate advised, and let you know how and when you will be billed.
Protect your privacy and ensure appropriate confidentiality.
Treat you fairly, respectfully, and without discrimination.
Keep you informed about work being done and advise you when it is completed.
New Zealand has a robust process for dealing with complaints about advertisements by the public and competitors.
As an industry-funded, self-regulatory body, the ASA deals with most complaints relating to advertising.
This approach avoids stronger Government involvement in the sector and maintains the public’s trust in advertising.
Nigel can help to defend your advertisements from public complaints.
It’s free for the public to complain about advertisements.
Complaints, if accepted, are considered under the appropriate codes by the ASA Complaints Board, made up of industry and public members.
The process is quick. Usually, decisions are issued within a few weeks of complaints being received.
If a complaint is upheld by the ASA Complaints Board, the advertisement is removed from running under the self-regulatory arrangement in place between media owners, advertisers and advertising agencies.
An upheld advertisement can’t run again unless sufficient amendments have been made to avoid future breaches.
While monetary penalties aren’t imposed on advertisers, upheld complaints can come at a high cost. This include the cost of replacing or amending the advertising, a loss of advertising impact while this is being undertaken and the cost of paid media unable to be cancelled.
There is also potential brand damage, as decisions are made public and often reported in the media.
Nigel can pre-vet your advertising, starting from initial concepts or scripts in order to mitigate the risk of an expensive upheld complaint.
This includes using an AI- assisted process to consider all potential breaches of the ASA codes and how they're likely to be interpreted. Relevant precedent decisions are also considered where required.
Based on the information provided, you will be able to make informed decisions about potential risks and mitigation options.
The ASA has a process to deal with complaints about competitors’ advertising.
An AWAP (Adjudication With the Attendance of Parties) is heard by a panel comprised of the Chair of the Appeal Board, one other public member and an industry member.
These usually take place via video conference with expert representation being allowed by both parties.
The cost of the AWAP process payable to the ASA can be found here.
There is no right to appeal.
Nigel can help with undertaking complaints about competitors’ advertising and defending your advertisements against competitors’ complaints.
The advertiser and the public have the right to appeal an ASA decision on certain grounds.
If accepted, the complaint is considered de novo (anew) by the ASA Appeal Board. If upheld, the advertisement is required to be removed.
Nigel can help with lodging an appeal if a complaint about your advertising has been upheld, or defending the decision if an appeal is made against it.
More information about appeals can be found here.
Contact Nigel today for an initial no-cost discussion about how he can help.
