The Netherlands becomes second European country to launch Responsible Influence certificate program for content creators

‍Germany: Moving fast generate greater awareness amongst influencers about responsibility in advertising

While the EASA expects most countries to have influencer training courses implemented by early 2025, the German Advertising Council (Werberat) plans to launch its influencer training and certificate program this Summer. 

“[A certificate] course is something to offer the creators to also show that they are able to understand the issues and to self-regulate. We thought it was a good idea,” German Advertising Council head of European Affairs Stefanie Lefeldt told Kolsquare in a recent interview. 

Lefeldt says although influencer marketing in Germany is highly regulated under a series of advertising laws that pertain to advertising generally, raising awareness amongst influencers and content creators of their obligations remains difficult. 

“A lot of rules are already in place and influencers are already regulated pretty well. Advertising cosmetic surgery or gambling, for example, is totally regulated in Germany. The law may not specify ‘influencer’ but it covers all advertising, whether it's on TV or by an influencer,” Lefeldt said. 

One of the clear advantages of creating an online training course is that it can be appended in line with changing issues in the marketplace, such as the impact of ‘finfluencers’ or the ethical issues arising from promotion of fast-fashion brands, said Lefeldt.

Supported by major brands, movement to ensure an ethical influencer marketing industry appears unstoppable

In addition to supporting and favouring certified creators for collaborations, many brands like L’Oréal, and industry associations, have introduced ethical charters and best practice guides to govern influencer partnerships. 

In France, for example, industry trade association UMICC (Union des Métiers d’Influence et des Créateurs de Contenu), last week released a series of Ethical Charters for brands, creators and agents, which will be binding for all members. 

“These Ethical Charters represent a major step forward in ensuring a responsible and sustainable future for our industry. We have tried to be exhaustive, yet pragmatic, in covering the full range of issues that our promising industry is facing, and to provide guidance in how best to respond,” said Kolsquare Founder and CEO, and UMICC Ethics Committee Vice President Quentin Bordage. 

In France, some 1,400 content creators have completed the ARPP Responsible Influence Certificate, while some 340 Dutch creators have already been ‘Certified by influencerregels.com. 

“I'm convinced that this movement, as it did in France, will promote a more transparent and professional influencer marketing sector, that not only flourishes but that is also more responsible,” said Bordage.    

The Dutch influencerregels.com website invites influencers and content creators to enrol in an e-learning session, and receive a certificate upon successful completion of the course to share with brands and advertisers. 

The ‘Certified by influencerregels.com’ training course will be free of charge until August 31, 2024, after which it will cost €50. The course must be completed by content creators; talent managers and agencies are excluded from playing a role. 

Successful completion of the certificate ensures Dutch influencers are aware of advertising rules for transparency and ethical content. Certified influencers are included in a registry on the influencerregels.com website. 

According to Kolsquare data, there are 25K Dutch influencers on Instagram, and 19K on TikTok, with >20% of their audience in the Netherlands.