30+ Sample Marketing Contracts

What Is a Marketing Contract?

To put it simply, a marketing contract is an agreement between a business and an agency. The exact purpose is to promote the selling of goods and services by the former. It can also serve as an agreement between cooperatives and the members, where said members all agree to sell through said cooperative, which agrees to an agreed-upon price.

“20,000 – 40,000 – Average number of contracts per organization.” (Source: Springcm.com)

“3.4 Weeks – Average amount of time it takes to create and approve a contract. (Source: Springcm.com)

Types of Marketing Contracts

Now we have arrived at the different types of marketing contracts that a business is most likely to encounter. Although the marketing context is plainly there, let it first be known that there are some contract types listed that can also be used for purposes beyond that of marketing. Be sure to take a close look at each one below and see for yourself just how they can be used for marketing and why they are considered useful.

Client or agency service agreements: This is a contract that defines the relationship between marketing consultants and agencies, among others, with their clients or customers. It will explicitly state what is expected between the two parties, including all the specific responsibilities that are involved in this particular transaction. Like the other marketing contract types, this will be set over a specified time period.Brand sponsorships: This is the type of contract or agreement that will govern what legal relationship exists between the sponsor and those who are entitled to enforce a sponsorship obligation. Generally, it comes with certain terms and conditions that detail services for a certain fee. Issues that tend to arise from this type of contract would include how the benefits are defined to the sponsor, the amount of the payments due, the circumstances in which the logos or trademarks of the sponsor is to be displayed or used, and whatever rights each party has, including the termination clauses.Intellectual property: Although this is not necessarily exclusive to marketing, an intellectual property contract may be involved when it comes to the creation and subsequent marketing of a business’ original concepts. By definition, this would be the category of proper which includes intangible creations of human intellect. Specific examples here would be any trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets. Having this on hand is crucial to differentiate your many products and services from the competition whilst simultaneously make them much easier to recognize.Celebrity endorsement: For those of you who are on the lookout for a well-established method regarding brand promotion, then it does not get any bigger than celebrity endorsement. This is known to bolster a brand’s bottom line significantly when successfully used. However, it is worth looking into the litany of legal and commercial issues which any brand owner needs to navigate, therefore necessitating the use of a celebrity endorsement contract. To that effect, here are some specifics that one can expect from such a contract: exclusivity obligations to prevent the association of celebrities with competing products, specific termination rights, brand damage mitigation measures in the event of severely misbehaving celebrities, and any trademark or intellectual property rights that are involved.Influencer agreement: Similar to celebrity endorsers, collaborating with influencers can be a strong marketing tactic that can see the rise of brands from the pit of obscurity. An influencer agreement can ensure that any attempts at this kind of marketing will be protected by the law and any risks involved can be minimized greatly. In this document, you would do well to define the specific influencer content, create an implementable social media policy, establish particular guidelines, and ensure the right for the marketer to review any content put out by the influencer.Supplier agreement: This would be the contract that seals an agreement between vendors and a specific business. In this case, the vendor is the one agreeing to supply certain services or products. A contract like this is likely going to be closely involved in any business’ marketing efforts because of the services and products to be marketed by the business. With this in place, said products can be expected to be continuously supplied by the vendor over a specified time period, with the failure or neglect to do so being punishable by law.Data privacy policy: A data privacy policy is the legal document that is used to disclose either some or all the ways a specific party gathers, utilizes, discloses, and manages the data of their client or customers. In the context of marketing, this refers to the sensitive data that is shared between the marketing firm and their client. For those who are looking for specific examples, you need not look further than the names of the people involved, their addresses, their date of births, contact information, marital status, financial records, and more. In addition to all of that, it can also extend to their intellectual property, trade secrets, and any other sensitive information that can be shared with business partners or even sold to any other firm or competitive enterprise.

How to Create a Marketing Contract

By creating a marketing contract, you can cover the entire scope of the work that needs to be done along with the estimated time it is going to cover as well. The typical contract needs to be structured in such a way that all the expected duties of the participants will be included.

Step 1: Express Exclusivity

It is necessary for your marketing contract to specifically state all of the parties involved. After all, the purpose of this document is to grant exclusive rights to a certain marketing agency for the servicing of specific products for a specific time period and within a defined territory. Let it state that during said time period no other marketing company is going to be used or brought into the job.

Step 2: Specify All of the Details

Other important things to include in every marketing contract would be the start date and its expiration date. It is typical for these documents to run up to two years; a clause is also often included to provide the right to extend its run time for yet another year or to terminate the working relationship whenever necessary. Another detail would be the exact amount owed along with the designated date when this payment is to be made. Take note that it is not unusual for a lump sum to be paid when it comes to annual contracts.

Step 3: Structure it According to What You Need

If a contract is only needed for a specific project, then proceed to structure it around that fact. For example, those who only need it to hire outside consultants for your company’s marketing and advertising plans, then create it for that need only. Be aware that project-specific contracts need to contain all the same elements as the more general marketing contracts, such as the agreed-upon price, the completion timeline, and the various details.

Step 4: Include Guarantees

It should be noted that marketing success can be difficult to measure due to the uncertainty involving who has responded to your ads. For that reason, you must include the baseline against which the productivity of the appointed marketing consultant will be measured once the contract has come to an end. There is also the option of including periodic audits in order to take a look at the sales numbers accrued over the agreement’s timeline. Using that scenario, you can base the decision to extend your agreement on either predetermined sales figures or from the industry averages. Should your sales be higher than before the marketing contract was created or if they are above even that of the industry norm, then you can then safely conclude that your marketing campaign was highly effective.

The Do’s and Don’ts of a Marketing Contract

As common as contracts are, especially in the world of business, there will always be ways to improve upon the ones that you create. Besides that, there are also numerous pitfalls to watch out for. Take a look at the following do’s and don’ts so that you can make the best out of any situation that involves marketing contracts.

The Do’s

Do entitle your document appropriately

The point of being as detailed and specific as possible is to ensure that nothing is misinterpreted or misunderstood. Writing down that this document is, in fact, a marketing contract will help ensure that there are no mistakes whatsoever when it comes to what its intent is.

Do make sure that all parties are properly identified

Just like with the title, there can be no mistakes when it comes to singling out all the parties that are involved in this contract. The identities must be explicitly stated as early as the first paragraph and must be spelled correctly. You also need to make sure that the addresses are as accurate as they can possibly be. All of this is for the benefit of making the contract as effective as possible.

Do utilize plain language as much as possible

Again, this has something to do with making sure that everything is completely understood. It pays to use plain language that will not mislead anyone. The easier your document is to comprehend, the fewer problems you will have down the line. Although the use of certain jargons or uncommon terminologies can be inevitable, those should just be the exception rather than the rule itself.

Do define the more technical terms as much as possible

This directly relates to the terminologies written about above that will pop up from time to time. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with them, be sure that you explain and define it using plainer and much more understandable words.

Do number your document’s paragraphs

If you are working with collaborators, then you may want to make things easier and less messy for them by numbering the paragraphs on your marketing contract. Doing this is also useful if you need to cite important details from the document without having to search for it amidst the wall of texts that your contract will display.

Do have a lawyer review it

If this is a document that you have decided to draft yourself then you still need to consult a lawyer or attorney. That way, they can spot whatever errors or revisions that your document may need. Be sure to pay close attention to whatever suggestions they may have so that your efforts regarding the drafting of the marketing contract won’t be wasted.

Do retain your own copy of the contract

Even after everything has been more or less completed, it is wise to have your own copy of the contract in mind. This is to ensure that anytime there is a problem related to the agreement, you can always refer to your copy and not rely on faulty human memory. Not to mention that you may need a reminder of your own expected duties from time to time if you happen to be among the parties involved.

The Don’ts

Don’t make use of any archaic phrases

Keep the language used in the contract as modern as possible, which means archaic phrases should not be utilized. It may seem ‘traditional’ for some people and it may even look good but if it only contributes confusion among the parties involved, then there is no room for it. They add very little in terms of overall clarity.

Don’t include sentences that are overly long and difficult to understand

Easily digestible thoughts are always going to be preferable over longer sentences. Break down whatever you write and make sure that anyone who reads the contract will have an easier time in doing so. This works not just for contracts or agreements, but for various types of documents and writing in general.

Don’t be repetitive unless there are necessary reasons for it

Avoid redundancy by not repeating something unless you have a good reason to do so. As an alternative, you can always refer back to a provision according to the paragraph number assigned to it or through its heading. There is generally no need to repeat something verbatim since it also adds unnecessary length and text to what is normally an already crowded document.

Don’t neglect necessary definitions

You and the other party may not have the same definitions of a particular term or your respective understandings of it may differ. To avoid conflicts, always state how you define something for the benefit of all parties involved. Keep it as clear and to the point as possible and make sure that they do the same on their own end.

Don’t forget to include every necessary detail in writing

To make the most out of your marketing contract or agreement, you need to leave absolutely nothing out of the document. Every little detail, be it something major or something that is relatively minor, must be explicitly stated, defined as needed, and written as simply as you can manage. Collaborate with your lawyers to determine how this is best done.

Don’t agree to any contract modifications without having it memorialized in writing

Regardless of whether the agreement is not yet in effect, there may be times when you or the other party wants to modify the contract for whatever reason. This is acceptable but what isn’t acceptable is for all parties to agree to it without the changes being memorialized in writing. Doing so ensures that the changes are legally binding and enforceable.

The more you learn of a marketing contract’s nuances, the more you see for yourself just how useful this type of document is for businesses and marketing firms around the world. Benefits come in a myriad of forms, from the greater financial gain of all parties involved to the prevention of any type of fraud that may befall either party. Learning how to write a marketing contract with some help from a reliably capable attorney is not only going to hasten the whole process but it will also reduce the overall risk posed by litigation. For those of you who are in the market for top-notch resources that can prevent you from starting all the way from the bottom, know that what you want is totally within reach. Just make the necessary edits to the marketing contract template before you get it signed and notarized.