What is an Advertising Agreement Template?
An advertising agreement template is a pre-prepared form or layout document, usually existing as a computer file or web-based project, for use in drafting an advertising agreement. The template will contain blank spaces, or designated fields, for setting out the content of the advertising agreement in question, and so as to enable it to be filled in with details of a specific advertising agreement between an advertiser and a publisher or an advertising agency, for example.
In particular, an advertising agreement template may be in the form of a specific type of advertising agreement, such as an advertising services agreement, a marketing agreement or a commission agreement, for example . It is essential to have an advertising agreement template in place (for example, to enable the same treatment of advertisements across the board for multiple advertisers), but it is equally essential not to place reliance on one advertising agreement template for every type of advertising agreement.
Taking action in line with the latter point, a company will often have more than one advertising agreement template to cover its advertising contract requirements. A large publisher, for example, might have a commission agreement template for commission-based advertising agreements, where certain advertisers share the profits of any advertisements that are posted or distributed. Other publishers will need a sales agreement template for instance, for advertising that operates via a system of set fees for every advertisement that is placed in their publication or platform.
Essential Elements of an Advertising Agreement
While each advertising agreement template may differ somewhat, there are certain components that are almost always included. First and foremost, you’ll want to clearly identify the advertiser, which could be an individual or a company, and the ad agency or owner/operator of the media outlet. A contract template must always have a start date and an end date.
The scope of services should be clearly defined. This could include geolocation parameters, the amount of time the ad will run, what type of exposure is provided, any specific instructions for the content or images, and a specific call to action. Compensation can be shown as a lump sum for the entire project, or it might be based on CPM (cost per thousand impressions) or CPA (cost per action). Most contract templates also include terms and conditions, including provisions for early termination, revision requests, party responsibilities, non-disclosure agreement clauses, and intellectual property rights.
Advantages of an Advertising Agreement Template
Utilizing an advertising agreement template offers several key advantages for advertisers and businesses alike. Firstly, it saves time and resources for both parties. By using a template, advertisers don’t have to draft a customized contract from scratch each time they engage new channels for advertising campaigns or create connections with other companies. It allows for a quick way to sign off on the necessary terms and conditions of an advertising partnership or agreement.
Secondly, an advertising agreement template serves as legal protection for advertisers and businesses. In the absence of a contract, confusion in the business transaction may arise as to the rights and responsibilities of both parties involved. An advertising agreement template helps avoid disputes by laying out specifically how both parties intend to negotiate their transaction and how each party will treat one another according to the terms.
Finally, an advertising agreement template offers clarity in business relationships. These templates are typically uniform and follow a prescribed format in order to provide consistency and transparency in business deals. This eliminates any expected surprises that could otherwise damage a working relationship.
Customizing Your Advertising Agreement Template
When using a pre-built advertising agreement template, the key to success is customization. The template will contain general and standardised clauses that apply to most advertising or sponsorship arrangements but you need to add clauses that are specific to your circumstances and modify the standard clauses so they are appropriate to your relationship with the other party.
- Identify relevant clauses. If the template you choose is comprehensive, it is likely to contain clauses related to multiple advertising arrangements. You don’t need to use all of the clauses in the template. It can be helpful before revising the template to cross off any clauses that are irrelevant to your advertising arrangement. If you are not sure whether you need a particular clause, place the clause into the relevant section of the agreement and revise it later if required.
- Update clause definitions and references . Sloppy use of templates is a hallmark of the inexperienced but even more experienced advertisers make the mistake of not updating clauses to reflect the parties to the agreement and their respective responsibilities. For example, if you are advertising on behalf of a third party, you will likely need to revise references to ‘Advertiser’ and ‘Publisher’ to reflect the names of the parties involved. In any case, the term ‘Advertiser’ should be defined at the beginning of the agreement and a distinction should be made between the ‘Advertiser’ and the ‘Advertiser’ itself to ensure the party placing the advertising has the right to request the advertising to be placed. Cross-reference auditing is particularly essential when adding or removing clauses because missing one reference could result in a vague definition or an incomplete statement. Doing this the first time through can be tedious but the beauty of having a template is that you only have to mark it up once.
- Specific terms. Some of the terms here will depend on the relationship you have with the party you are doing business with but others should be carefully crafted for your specific needs. Consider this list further before finalizing it against your current advertising agreement templates.
There are potentially limitless variations to the wording of each of these clauses so don’t see the above list as anything but a guideline. Formulate a list of terms and conditions that are specific to your business and that you want to try to incorporate into all of your advertising agreements.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Even the best advertising agreement templates can fall victim to certain common mistakes. For example, some businesses don’t keep track of their changes to the template. When the need happens again, the amended template is lost. Always use the edited template for all related agreements once you make changes. Otherwise, you may find yourself using different templates for the same type of work, which doesn’t make sense in the long run.
Another common error is using the template without ensuring it aligns with your state or local laws. State and local advertising laws vary, which means your template has to reflect those differences. Regarding payment terms, many businesses simply copy them from previous agreements. However, copying and pasting can result in ineffective contract language. For example, if the previous campaign was not based on performance metrics and the new one is, the old payment terms may not work.
Some businesses send out advertising agreement templates for signature without properly detailing the deliverables. You absolutely need to describe exactly what you want. Failing to do so can be disastrous. For example, this section must detail how clicks or views are measured if the campaign is running on a pay-per-click basis . Otherwise, the parties may have an entirely different idea about how the ad campaign works with respect to those metrics. In such a case, there could be a serious dispute due to miscommunication.
Some businesses fail to tag electronic files as such. This is a simple mistake that can slow things down in negotiations. If the parties are negotiating certain terms, it’s awkward if you’re having to send back-and-forth email attachments for redline/revisions as well as the original document when you’re ready to sign.
The last big mistake is changing the template’s payment terms prior to sending it to the other party for review. No one wants to do a lot of work on something and then have the contract language changed after the fact and their time put on the back burner. The best thing to do is to take all of your time getting the template set up the way you want and then using it. If you’re changing certain terms each time, you may want to reconsider using a template. Instead, write custom advertising agreements until you have a better idea of the best terms for your business. It’s usually more efficient to keep the template and modify it than create a brand new agreement.
Comparing Free and Paid Advertising Agreement Templates
Regarding free and paid advertising agreement templates, the difference between the two is fairly straightforward. Free templates are available for download on the internet, or they may even come as part of software that you buy for other reasons, such as an internet browser. These templates typically have a very small selection of fields to fill in, which may give you less control than you want over the terms of your agreement with the ad platform.
Paid templates range from relatively cheap ($10, for example) to several hundred dollars. Because these documents are sold for a profit, the number and types of fields and text almost always afford you the chance to get more specific with the terms of your contract with the ad platform.
The choice here is a matter of preference. The biggest drawback of using the free templates is none of them will have terms specific to the ad platform you are looking to work with. The downside of a paid template is that you have to spend money on these forms.
As a general rule, if you are new to the game and just wanting to run a few test ads to see how they do, the free option is probably the way to go. On the other hand, if you expect that the ad platform you’re working with will be doing a lot of business with you, it’s better to consider the paid option. In some cases, a paid template will result in a significantly longer contract, which may not be all that practical if you don’t have the budget to run ads on a regular basis. If you are brand-new and trying to start a website as a part-time gig, or if your company is fairly small, you may also want to go the free route. However, if you can afford the expense and trust that you will use the form enough to justify the cost, a paid template is an option you can feel comfortable with.
Legal Aspects of Advertising Agreements
An advertising agreement template must be checked carefully for compliance with advertising and other federal and state laws. The Federal Trade Commission enforces federal laws on advertising to prevent unfair competition and deception. Section 5(a) of the FTC Act is the statute that covers essentially all advertising and broadly defines unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce. Additional federal advertising laws focus on specific products and services, including telemarking sales rules, mortgage advertising, truth in lending, truth in savings, and credit card solicitation.
Most states also have laws covering food and drug advertising and performance guarantees. The prohibitions against unfair and deceptive commercial activities are similar in some important ways, but differ in others. Companies that will be using the agreement should have attorneys who practice advertising law to testify that the template complies with federal and state laws.
Advertising law is not the only legal consideration when drafting an advertising agreement template. While the agreement template can usually be used without changes, some advertisers customize their advertising agreement templates with information specific to the product being advertised. When customizing an advertising agreement template, the advertiser must make sure that the template complies with advertising laws. For example, it may be unlawful in a particular state to convey a right to the public to make claims that require substantiation based on expert opinions. To replace the general language in the advertising agreement template a customized version could begin, "[Insert advertiser name] acknowledges that [insert product name] has not been approved by a medical doctor for diagnosing or treating any medical condition and that no professional medical opinion substantiates any claim, expressed or implied, concerning the efficacy of [insert product name] for any purpose." This language complies with the law and reinforces the fact that the product has not been approved.
The use of advertising agreements also must comply with intellectual property law. If the advertising agreement template contains language covering trademark registration, the advertiser needs to make sure that the mark has been registered or that the advertiser has a right to the mark. Some companies selling franchises have been charged with failing to register their trademark while advertising franchises.
Sources for Authentic Advertising Agreement Templates
A vital aspect of successful advertising agreements is starting from a solid, bespoke foundation. Professional legal service providers who offer reliable advertising agreement templates usually work with freelance advertisers and their employers and can also help new businesses develop effective employment contracts that meet their industry needs. The following key sources provide good quality advertising agreement templates:
Companies such as Rocket Lawyer and Law Depot offer large libraries of free advertising agreement templates that can be used by individual creatives or larger businesses. Both platforms ask users to fill in a short questionnaire that asks them to describe their planned project and their named representatives. The templates generated under these schemes can be amended to match the client’s requirements. Some templates can even be created online and filled out via an easily-navigable web portal . Templates can then be shared digitally or printed. Users do not have to sign up to use these services, but although they’re free, they often contain a small amount of advertising. Users ought to be aware that although templates offered free of charge are sometimes termed ‘free legal forms’, these documents are not legally binding unless signed in front of a witness who is not a party to the contract.
Lawyers and other legal services professionals also provide bespoke advertising agreement templates, which are tailored to the needs of a specific business. Some subscription based services operate by placing clients in contact with experienced professionals and allow clients to speculate on costs, with renewals among the most common subscription services. These types of services are most suitable for longer term business projects and the cost advantages of them become apparent once clients study the price of long-term, ongoing contracts over time.