In the UK, these promotions are tightly regulated. Data protection laws, consumer protection laws, CMA guidance and the ASA’s Codes of Advertising Practice are all relevant, and are often poorly understood. Even by advertising professionals.

Breaches of advertising rules can have serious consequences. If you’re a brand, you need to make sure that your campaigns comply with the law, and that your partners and media channels will do their jobs properly. An influencer posting antisemitic rants on Twitter, or a publisher fiddling the numbers on impression counting, can cost you large sums of money and do significant damage to your reputation.

If you’re a publisher or an influencer, you need to make sure that what you have to do to get paid is clear. The responsibilities for ensuring the campaign is carried out lawfully need to be fairly allocated. You also need to meet your own responsibilities around things like making clear what is editorial and what is advertising or paid promotion.

We can help. Whether you’re a brand embarking on a campaign and need help with the contracts, you need advice on what you can and cannot do in a campaign, or you’re a publisher or influencer entering into a brand partnership or new form of promotion, we offer practical advice on this tricky area.