The case in summary: – Influencer Maren Erdvik has been brought in by the developer group Drangsvann AS to market their residential area in Kristiansand. – The Norwegian Association of Estate Agents is critical of the use of influencers to advertise residential areas, as they believe it can lead to frivolous and misleading marketing.- Erdvik regularly takes over the developer’s Instagram account to show off the area and takes followers on virtual viewings of a display home. – The Estate Agents’ Association is concerned that influencers do not have the legal knowledge required to market homes and residential areas. – Drangsvann AS believes that Erdvik’s post gives an honest and authentic insight into everyday life in the area, and has seen a marginal increase in interest from the public after working with her. – Lauvland in Drangsvann AS says that it is the seller or the development company in question and the estate agent who are responsible if consumers feels misled by the influencer. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It is so enormously beautiful, says influencer Maren Erdvik on an Instagram post. She smiles as she shows off the residential area where she lives. The development group Drangsvann AS in Kristiansand has brought in influencer Maren Erdvik to market the residential area. Influencers who advertise for residential areas are critical of the Norwegian Association of Estate Agents. – The consumer risks being exposed to frivolous and misleading marketing, says managing director Carl O. Geving of the association. – Why is this worse than influencers who advertise other goods? – Property trading is the biggest investment most people make and is associated with both legal and financial risk. Therefore, very strict requirements are placed on those who mediate housing, says Geving. – READ ALSO: Influencers can also influence us when we start a family. You can read about that in this article about Sophie Elise. – An honest insight Influencer Maren Erdvik from Kristiansand has been sharing her life on social media for several years. She has a solid following on Instagram and SnapChat. Recently, she and her family moved into a new house at Drangsvann, near Kristiansand. Along the way, she documented the entire housing process for her combined over 70,000 followers in social media. This gave the developer of the area an idea. They wanted to pay her to advertise the neighborhood. – We believe it is positive that there are authentic voices who actually live in the area, who can share their experiences. This gives an honest and slightly funny insight into everyday life here, says general manager Øyvind Lauvland at Drangsvann AS. Managing director Øyvind Lauvland at Drangsvann AS says that influencer Erdvik’s contribution is intended as a supplement to the marketing strategy, and not a sales channel. Photo: Hans Erik Weiby / news The marketing takes place as follows: Erdvik regularly takes over the developer’s Instagram account and shows off the area. She also takes her followers on virtual viewings of her own home, which she has posted on her Instagram account. Here, the influencer shows off the interior of his new house. The video is on Erdvik’s own Instagram account and the developer’s account. Photo: Screenshot Instagram Erdvik sees no problem with advertising the residential area. – I am very positive about sharing Drangsvann as an area because in my eyes it is an absolutely fantastic place to live. In addition, I live and work here, and then it’s really great to be able to share the area with more people, she says. She is also not afraid to share incorrect information. – No, I’m not worried about that. That is essentially the area I am talking about. I have never said anything technical about housing, says Erdvik. Is it ok for influencers to market residential areas? Yes, this is exciting No, I only want professionals here Show result Also marketed a residential area The influencers Chris and Monica Nyhus from Kristiansand have also promoted residential development. The couple has several accounts on Instagram and over 200,000 followers. A while back they advertised for Hamrevann, a residential area outside the southern village. They have nothing to do with the project today. – We don’t get any salary or cheaper land or housing, Nyhus answers when asked about compensation. Influencers Monica Nyhus and her husband Chris have previously marketed a residential area outside Kristiansand. They no longer do. Photo: Elisabeth Sandve / news Concerned about influencers in the housing market The Realtors’ Association fears that influencers who take on such assignments do not have the legal knowledge that the Marketing Act requires. This list shows what the real estate association is concerned about when influencers are to market residential areas: Excessively positive marketing for a residential area is not good. Personal preferences can produce unbalanced marketing. If the influencer has received a discount on a home in order to market the area, self-interest will easily color the marketing. The danger that one’s own enthusiasm for the area undercommunicates information about negative conditions such as noise, views and zoning plans for the area. – There are very strict requirements for the marketing of homes and residential areas which I strongly doubt that an influencer without legal expertise can fulfill, says managing director Carl O. Geving. Carl O. Geving of the Norwegian Association of Estate Agents is concerned that consumers will be exposed to misleading marketing when an influencer is responsible for the marketing of a residential area. What is misleading trade: It is misleading if the marketing contains incorrect information. The practice is nevertheless only considered misleading if it is capable of influencing consumers to make a financial decision that they would not otherwise have made. When assessing whether marketing is misleading according to section 7 etc., the starting point is the overall impression the recipient is left with. Claims that are factually correct can thus be thought to be misleading based on the context in which they are presented. This condition therefore places demands on both the content and the design of marketing. Source: Parts of the Marketing Act section 7. He says that if the influencer highlights the positive aspects of a display home, the marketing can be misleading if the negative aspects are not highlighted at the same time. The Marketing Act requires balanced marketing. – Therefore, the influencer must be careful about using promotional statements that are difficult to document, such as “fantastic view” and “perfect solar conditions”, he says. – But, do you fear that the consumer will think that the influencer is a real estate agent? – I can’t imagine that anyone is afraid that influencers will be considered to be real estate agents. The question is rather whether this group understands what they are doing, says Geving. Influencer Maren Erdvik clarifies that she is not promoting housing, but the Drangsvann area. – I do not believe that I have any competence whatsoever to promote housing, and therefore do not want to do it either. This is what the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority says: A housing developer who sells his own projects is subject to the Marketing Act and the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority’s guidelines for the marketing of housing. The Norwegian Consumer Protection Agency writes: When consumers are entering the housing market, there is a great deal of information they have to familiarize themselves with and understand. In the housing market, it is therefore extra important that information about the home is communicated in a balanced and clear manner. The Marketing Act is a media- and technology-neutral law that applies to all commercial practices aimed at Norwegian consumers. This means that all marketing of housing is subject to the law (…) also on the trader’s own websites or apps, and in all social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Source: The Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority’s guidance for the marketing of housing. – An authentic voice According to Drangsvann AS, Erdvik’s Instagram posts have good viewing figures. – We see a marginal increase in interest from the public after we started working with Maren. I don’t know whether this is due to the collaboration or to the area becoming more developed and accessible, says general manager Øyvind Lauvland. Several hundred homes are being built in the Drangsvann area in Kristiansand. There are many young families who want to establish themselves here, as influencer Maren Erdvik has also done with her family. Photo: Hans Erik Weiby / news Lauvland does not want to comment on how the company remunerates the influencer. – But there is no form of commission or result-oriented payment for increased activity or sales, he says. Lauland adds that the agreement is a four-month trial scheme that will be evaluated, before the company decides on the way forward. In his posts on Instagram, Erdvik refers to himself as “ambassador”, and marks the posts with “advertising”. – In our opinion, she operates within the marketing regulations, says Lauvland. – Who takes responsibility if the consumer feels misled by the influencer? – Since the influencer is not engaged to sell homes, we do not see that there is a risk. Should questions nevertheless arise, it is the seller Drangsvann AS or the relevant development company and the estate agent who are responsible, he says. Published 02.10.2024, at 04.49
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Warns against influencers who advertise housing projects – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
