The New Zealand fly fishing industry is a very, very small network. As such it’s inevitable that we will occasionally post about industry colleagues or businesses that we receive discounts or other benefits from.
Whilst we maintain that, despite such relationships, we do not post anything we do not believe is true, we acknowledge that we need to address the regulatory changes introduced by the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority on 14 September 2020. These require influencers to clearly identify advertising published.
Broadly, influencer advertising means mentions, reviews & product shots paid for in cash and/or kind by product discounts, free gifts, or by cross-promotion on the brand platforms.
Our statements below are intended to demonstrate our efforts to ensure ongoing compliance with the regulations of the Advertising Standards Authority. We do not wish to judge others’ actions, but only to ensure our own compliance with the New Zealand Fair Trading Act.
We will update these disclosures from time to time and note the latest date of review and republication at the base of this article. We will also place a link to this disclosures page on the posts and pages we publish where advertising is present.
NOTE: Please feel free to copy and edit the content of this page for your own use to positively support the efforts of the fly fishing industry to meet their legal obligations and demonstrate leadership in our small community. We would appreciate you acknowledging Southflyfisher (https://www.southflyfisher.com/) as the original author of these ASA Disclosure & Protocols, and noting that you have edited the content to meet your own purposes when you publish on your own site. Cheers and tight lines.
Advertising Standards Authority Disclosure for Southflyfisher
Southflyfisher (we) intend to ensure any advertising on this website, or on the social media platforms operated by Southflyfisher (us) is clearly identified as advertising to our audiences, as required by the Advertising Standards Code.
To do this we operate the following protocols:
- Products or services procured on normal trading terms: If we purchase a one-off product or service at or near Recommended Retail Price (RRP), or by using discount codes that are publicly available to any consumer in a similar situation, and we subsequently publish a review, product demonstration, or publish product brand names or close-up branded imagery of the products in use on our website or on our social media platforms, we regard this as fair commentary and it is not an advertisement except where we have an existing formal Influencer or advertising partnership with the brand/s being featured.
- Products or services received on normal trading terms in lieu of cash: If we provide specialist advisory services to a company and are paid at arms length in products or services at retail value in lieu of a cash payment for our charges and fees and are paid based on our expertise and experience, we will capture this transaction in our accounting records. Our use of these products in our general business activities which may be captured in images on this website or on our social media platforms will be deemed to be as if we purchased the products or services at retail price using cash. Any subsequent reviews will be regarded as fair commentary, except where we have an existing formal Influencer or Advertising Partnership with the brand/s being featured.
- Products or services received on preferential trading terms with discount of less than 50%: If we purchase a one-off product of service using a discount that is not normally available to the general public of LESS THAN 50% off the Recommended Retail Price (RRP), and publish a review, product demonstration, or publish product brand names or close-up branded imagery of the products in use on our website or on our social media platforms, we will clearly acknowledge this discount with a #promotionalpartnership or #discountedproduct or similar hashtag to demonstrate we received some preferential pricing.
- Products or services received on trading terms not available to the general public: If we purchase a one-off product or service at a substantial discount of 50% OR MORE off the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) not normally available to the general public, and publish a review, product demonstration, or publish product brand names or close-up branded imagery of the products in use on our website or on our social media platforms, we will acknowledge this discount by clearly inscribing our content using terms such as ADVERTISEMENT or ADVERT (if characters and space is limited) or SPONSORED CONTENT depending on the appropriate circumstances. We will also use relevant hashtags such as #workingwith<brandname> as well as #gifted or #collab or similar hashtags where these are appropriate and according to the platform and advertising situation.
- Products or services received free for review, trial or gifted: If we receive a one-off product or service at no charge, and publish a review, product demonstration, or publish product brand names or close-up branded imagery of the products in use on our website or on our social media platforms, we will acknowledge this gifted product or service by clearly inscribing our content using terms such as ADVERTISEMENT or ADVERT (if characters and space is limited) or SPONSORED CONTENT depending on the appropriate circumstances. We will also use relevant hashtags such as #workingwith<brandname> as well as #gifted or #freesample or #ambassador or #prostaff hashtags or similar where these are appropriate and according to the platform and situation.
- Products or services received free as part of an Ambassador or Influencer Agreement: If we execute a formal agreement, or agree an informal arrangement, to receive ongoing products or services at no charge over a set period or an undefined period of time, and publish reviews, product demonstrations, or publish product brand names or close-up branded imagery of the products in use on our website or on our social media platforms, we will acknowledge the gifted products or services by clearly inscribing our content using terms such as ADVERTISEMENT or ADVERT (if characters and space is limited) or SPONSORED CONTENT depending on the appropriate circumstances. We will also use relevant hashtags such as #workingwith<brandname> as well as #gifted or #freesample or #ambassador or #prostaff hashtags or similar where these are appropriate and according to the platform and situation.
As stated earlier, the purpose of this structured series of protocols and the disclosures used in our Southflyfisher website content and on our Southflyfisher social media platforms are to ensure we maintain compliance with the regulations as laid out in the Advertising Standards Code.
If we work with any third party Ambassadors or Influencers, we will seek an undertaking from them to maintain a similar level of compliance and disclosures. However, we do stress that these undertakings are for our own use and are not a judgement on any other individuals, parties or companies operating in the New Zealand fly fishing industry. We operate independently and understand that others will choose to operate within their own standards.
If you would like to file a formal complaint against any website or social media content you believe we have erred in clearly labelling as advertising, please use this breach form at the Advertising Standards Authority website.
We would appreciate the prior opportunity to explain to you our own decision to use a particular level of advertisement identification protocol if you feel comfortable contacting us directly. This might save time for you, us and the busy Advertising Standards Authority staff. We also welcome the opportunity to update any historical content published after 14 September 2020 that might have been overlooked.
FTC Disclosure for Southflyfisher
When Southflyfisher (we) operates in the United States of America (USA) or together with brands, companies or agencies domiciled in the USA and on platforms and websites accessible in the USA, we offer the following statements to satisfy the regulations of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). We also acknowledge their requirements for Influencer Advertising Disclosures to protect US consumers.
- Southflyfisher does not post anything we do not believe to be true.
- Southflyfisher chooses to either (a) post product or service reviews and not positively review any product or service we do not find worthy of the positive review, or (b) alternatively, Southflyfisher is clear in the review that we do not recommend the product or service and why. In the majority of cases, and to avoid damaged relationships within the global fly fishing industry, Southflyfisher chooses not to post reviews for products or services that we dislike. Regardless of the review content, sometimes we are able to keep products we review. Receiving material goods or services does not influence the reviews.
- Southflyfisher often posts favourable statements about fly fishing guides, angling lodges, fly shops and tackle designers. Often, these guides, lodges, shops and designers have business relationships with Southflyfisher. In some cases, these groups or individuals may be working with partners or sponsors that we work with, or we have benefited from a relationship with these groups or individuals in some way. We maintain that despite such relationships, we do not post anything we do not believe is true.
- The fly fishing industry is a small and often close network of professionals. As such, it is inevitable that Southflyfisher will post or has posted about industry friends or businesses that we receive discounts or other benefits from. We maintain that despite such relationships, we do not post anything we do not believe is true.
We will endeavour to keep this Disclosures page up to date. The latest content provided was reviewed and re-published on Friday, September 24, 2021.