RERA-compliant advertising starts with checking whether a project may be marketed, then keeping every claim consistent with its registration and approved documents. Karnataka developers should review the current Karnataka RERA directions as well as the central Act. Registration details, truthful visuals, clear area descriptions and a documented approval process belong in the campaign brief.

The practical purpose of this checklist is to organise the evidence a developer’s reviewer needs before releasing advertising. It does not establish that a particular project is registered, exempt or eligible to collect payments. Those are project-specific questions. Give an authorised legal or compliance owner responsibility for the decision and record the documents they reviewed. Marketing should not infer permission from the fact that another project is running a similar campaign.

Build a claim register before the first creative round. List the proposed claim, its source, the relevant phase, the person who can approve it and the assets using it. Include price, configuration, area, possession, amenities and location statements. A record like this makes it easier to revise the campaign when project facts change. It also gives human responders and AI sales agents a common approved source rather than separate interpretations of a brochure.

Check the central Act and the project’s state authority

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 is the central reference. Section 3 addresses registration before advertising, marketing or inviting purchases, with stated exemptions. Section 11(2) concerns registration information in advertisements and prospectuses. Section 12 addresses the veracity of advertising. A campaign reviewer should read the applicable provisions and current state directions rather than relying on a shortened marketing summary.

For a Bengaluru project, use Karnataka RERA to locate the project record and current circulars. Match the project, promoter, phase and location to the campaign scope. Other states have their own authorities and directions. Do not copy a Maharashtra, Telangana or Haryana creative checklist into a Karnataka campaign without checking which requirements actually apply. A national campaign process still needs a project-location decision at the beginning.

Verify the exact phase and keep a reference copy

An apartment development can have several releases with different registration records. Make the marketed phase explicit in the internal brief and ensure its claims do not borrow details from a different phase. Keep the relevant source documents available to the team that maintains ads, pages and partner assets. If the public record and supplied brochure disagree, pause the disputed claim for review rather than choosing whichever version is more attractive.

Use the registration-number definition to explain what the identifier does and does not establish. It lets a reader find a record; it is not a general guarantee of quality, investment performance or every approval a buyer may ask about. Avoid language that turns registration into a promise of safety. Clear project-specific information is more useful than a broad badge whose meaning is left unexplained.

Review Karnataka’s display directions on the final asset

Karnataka RERA’s circular RERA/ADM/CR-4/2019-20 dated 14 November 2019 concerns advertising in print and electronic media. Retrieve the authority’s document and check for subsequent directions before release. This guide deliberately does not prescribe numerical font ratios, a blanket QR-code rule or one layout for every medium. Those details should come from the verified current direction, not a designer’s memory or an unrelated state’s example.

Review the actual exported asset, not only the editable design file. A readable registration line in a desktop layout may become unusable after a vertical crop, platform compression or a social preview. Check the mobile image, final video frame, print proof and landing page as distinct deliverables. Keep a sign-off record showing the version and reviewer. If a placement has a special format limitation, resolve it before buying the media rather than assuming a hidden caption fixes the asset.

Make prices, areas and exclusions understandable

Give the buyer enough context to understand the quoted price. Identify the relevant configuration and explain where the approved cost sheet provides taxes, charges and exclusions. If a starting price applies only to particular inventory, keep that qualification attached to the claim. Avoid unsupported scarcity messages or a price revision that has not been approved. Ask sales to use the same price explanation in messages and calls as the campaign page uses.

Check the area basis wherever sq ft appears. Do not allow a short ad to present a larger area label as though it meant usable internal space. The reviewer should compare the statement with approved plans, not calculate an assumed loading percentage. In an illustrative 3 BHK campaign in Whitefield, a plan-based explanation can answer a buyer’s question more clearly than several unexplained area figures in a small creative.

Distinguish actual footage from impressions

A render, a filmed show flat and a current construction photograph establish different things. Identify proposed scenes appropriately and explain where a show-flat treatment differs from the delivered specification. Keep the underlying approved plan and scene source available during review. A persuasive visual should help a buyer understand the product, not quietly add landscaping, views or facilities that the project has not committed to provide.

For AI-generated property media, check geometry, amenities and surroundings against approved information. A model can create an attractive but inaccurate scene. Review it before use and retain the necessary impression qualification through short edits. The CGI versus real-shoot comparison explains which questions each medium can answer. Do not use a generated city mood image as evidence of a client project’s actual location or construction progress.

Include sales conversations and partner material

An approved ad can lead to an inaccurate conversation if the sales script or partner brochure has not been updated. Put the same claim register behind the website, WhatsApp replies, callback guidance and partner kit. State who can authorise an exception. Questions about unapproved discounts, uncertain dates or documentation gaps should go to that person rather than receiving a confident improvised answer from a hurried responder.

Set a withdrawal process for older assets. When a claim changes, identify the active ads, downloadable brochures, partner links and saved message templates that need revision. Record the replacement version and confirm that it reached the people using it. This operational step is especially useful during launches, when many copies circulate at once. It supports truthful communication without pretending that an agency can supervise every private conversation automatically.

Use a short release checklist with clear ownership

Before release, the reviewer should be able to answer five questions: which phase is being marketed, which record supports it, which documents support the claims, which final formats were checked and who approved that version. Add the campaign destination and response source to the same review. A buyer should receive consistent information after clicking, rather than a page or agent contradicting the advertisement.

Store source documents and approvals in a controlled location with access appropriate to each role. Marketing needs approved facts, not unrestricted personal buyer records. Schedule a review when inventory, pricing or project status changes, and check authority directions again before a new campaign release. Use the launch readiness checklist for broader operational preparation, while keeping the legal approval decision with the qualified project reviewer.

Frequently asked questions

Can an EOI campaign run before registration?

Do not assume that calling promotion an expression of interest makes it permissible. Ask the project’s legal reviewer to assess the actual activity, registration position and applicable exemptions. A public invitation, interest collection and payment arrangement can raise different questions, so describe the proposal accurately before seeking advice.

Does the same checklist apply across India?

The central Act provides a common foundation, but state and union territory authorities issue their own directions. Check the project’s location, relevant authority and current requirements. Delhi NCR in particular can involve different regulators depending on where the development sits; the campaign’s audience location does not determine the project’s registration authority.

How should a Bengaluru developer organise the next campaign?

Start with the phase record, claim register and final-format review. Link the process to the Bengaluru marketing approach. Shield Media is based in Bengaluru, working with projects across India. The launch campaigns service can coordinate assets and follow-up around approved project information, with legal sign-off retained by the developer’s authorised reviewer.