Federal Secretary of State for Budget and Consumer Protection
Keynote – 09:00
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alexia Bertrand is Federal Secretary of State for Budget and Consumer Protection. She obtained her law degree at the Université Catholique de Louvain (U.C.L.), followed by a master’s degree in law at Harvard Law School.
After a career as a lawyer in commercial and corporate law, she then used her expertise in the political arena. First as an advisor, and then as the Chief of Staff to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders, a position she held until June 2019.
After that, she was a member of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region until she was appointed Secretary of State. She is also a city councilor in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.
ABOUT THE PRESENTATION
The importance of BE.COCO for influencer marketing
Secretary of State for Consumer Protection Alexia Bertrand will present the initiatives on influencer marketing in the field of consumer policy. The focus would be on the explicit and clear information of the presence of a commercial relationship between the influencer and company (e.g., through hashtags). In addition, the responsibility of influencers, agencies and clients would also be discussed. Companies have an obligation to make the right information available, while consumers must take that information into account. Based on the social media barometer, it appears that transparency over a collaboration between influencers and the companies is very important to consumers. Technological changes, changing trends, the needs of consumers and brands will further define and change influencer marketing. Therefore, this will undoubtedly bring new challenges.