9 Important Brand Deal Clauses for Wellness Creators
I want to talk about brand deals today because this landscape has changed majorly in the last two years or so. So in this video, we're going to talk through nine important brand deal clauses in wellness brand deal agreements.
By the way, I'm Maria Spear Ollis, aka The Lunar Lawyer, and my vibe is helping holistic healers, spiritual business owners, and wellness professionals protect themselves and do business legally online.
All right, nine things. Here we go.
As always, you can watch the video here or scroll down to read!
Now, a lot of this is going to be in the brief. The brief is basically usually the first part of a contract. where the brand has put out all the details of this campaign.
Deliverables
The first thing on the list is deliverables. Now, deliverables are the type of content. Is it a video? Is it a photo? Is it a static post? Is it going on the feed? Is it going in the stories? And the types of platforms, whether it's TikTok. Pinterest, Instagram, you get the picture.
2. Required (Or Prohibited) Messaging
Next on the list of important brand deal clauses is required or prohibited messaging. What's the messaging supposed to focus on? Is there a phrase that they want you to use? Do they want you to use their tagline? Do they want you to not use their tagline? Is there a particular message that they really want you to pinpoint.
And of course, we all know by now that you must use disclaimers. That's not usually in the brief. That's usually in the terms and conditions. But I could see a scenario where a brand says, yeah, we don't want your hashtag here, we want it here. Or, maybe they don’t want you using a particular hashtag or disclaimer. That's something I definitely like to see in writing because both the influencer and the brand can be on the hook for failing to disclose properly. But I digress.
3. Number of Revisions and Approval Process
Third on the list is revisions and approvals. So how many revision rounds are we talking here? A lot of times the the fee, which we'll get to in a minute, is a flat rate.
So it's really important to know how many rounds of revisions are expected of you because that could really affect your time and the rate. So how many rounds of revisions are included and how does the approval process work? And similarly, who has creative control over the content? Who has the ultimate say on the creative, on the copy, on the things like that?
4. Schedule
Next important brand deal clause is about schedule. So there's usually a schedule of when the campaign is ideally going to start, but before that we need to know when an initial draft is due. We also need to know if you have to submit a draft for approval. And then, what happens if you're off schedule? Maybe you submit a draft and you're not hearing back and the campaign's going to start tomorrow. What happens then? You need to know!
So that takes care of schedule.
5. Your Rate
Next, and I mentioned this earlier, the rate. Obviously, this includes how much you're going to be paid and when you're going to be paid.
I don’t need to tell you that these are very important things to have in a brand deal!
6. Usage Rights
Maybe THE most important brand deal clause: usage rights. This is a really big one. So how long is the campaign? Where do they want to use the content?
Do they want to use it on social media, but also maybe on their blog or their YouTube channel? How long do they want the right to use the content? Watch out for words like in perpetuity, because that means forever. And then can they remake or remix the content that you provide with content from other creators like a compilation of some kind? That's something to look out for too, because you never know which other creators you might be paired with. So that's definitely a big time negotiable term.
7. Indemnification
Next on the list of important brand deal clauses is indemnification. This is such a big legalese-y sounding word, but really it means repayment for damages.
Let me give you an example. Recently, there was a very big water filter brand that came under heavy fire. (Hi, I'm guilty. I had one too.) I bought into the hype and there were all kinds of claims basically that it didn't do what it said it was supposed to do. Then the government got involved and wanted to classify it (some argue kind of unfairly).
TLDR, they went out of business. But I could definitely see a scenario where, not necessarily with this company, but with another company, where they're using influencer marketing and content creators to spread the message about a product. And then lo and behold, a product doesn't do what it says it's supposed to do, or a product hurts somebody, or something defective happens with the product.
And the person says, Hey, I learned about this from so and so. And hey, so and so has thousands of followers. I'm going to ask her to either repay me for the product or repay me for the injury that I suffered somehow. That's kind of a scary scenario for an influencer or a content creator. So that's where indemnification comes in.
And I'll post an example of an indemnification clause that I've been using or trying to use in brand deals just so you can screenshot it.
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Company will defend, indemnify, and hold Influencer harmless from and against all losses, claims, damages, expenses, or liabilities of any kind (including, without limitation, liabilities for personal injury, property damage or commercial loss, attorneys’ fees and related costs) arising out of or resulting from any intentional misconduct, negligent act, or omission on Company’s part -- including, but not limited to, product liability, Food and Drug Administration or government agency-related claims, or other similar claims or conduct -- that results or could result in bodily harm to a third party and arises out of or stems from Influencer’s Services or promotion of Company under this Agreement.
8. Exclusivity and Blackout Windows
Now I want to talk about exclusivity slash blackout. And by that I mean, are you as the creator, prohibited from talking about products similar to this brand's products for a certain amount of time?
A blackout window. That's definitely something you want to keep an eye out for.
9. Morality Clause
Finally, the very last thing on the list, morality clause. This is a big topic too.
Ah, cancel culture, not really my vibe.
But a morality clause basically says, if you, content creator, come under fire for some reason, or come into public ridicule, or basically people start hating on you because you've done something wrong and you're seen as immoral or negative in some way, we have the right to terminate this agreement with you.
Again, it's negotiable. But I would say, Make that morality clause a mutual morality clause because guess what companies can come under fire as well as we've learned just from The internet in general. So try and make that a mutual morality clause meaning if they the brand come into public scorn for some reason then you have the right to terminate.
To sum up…
All nine of these important brand deal clauses are negotiable. I hope that this really gives you an idea of some of the brand deal clauses to look for in your next collab opportunity.