May 3, 2024
In recent years, there has been a phenomenon of creating new ways of advertising and promoting products by persons who influence the choice of the consumer audience, the influencers.
In recent years, there has been a phenomenon of creating new ways of advertising and promoting products by persons who influence the choice of the consumer audience, the influencers.
But what is considered an influencer? The term refers to someone who is able to create awareness or shift the perception of something that can lead to consideration, but especially in social media, the degree of influence is assessed according to indicators such as followers or subscribers, views and likes.
Therefore, we conclude that the profession of influencer proves to be profitable both for companies as thanks to the advertising of their products by influencers they gain profit from sales and for influencers, as the number and "like" of followers increases, thus attracting and desiring other companies to resort to this model of advertising their products and services.
But how are the rights of influencers and brands guaranteed when there is such an agreement between them? With influencer agreements, which is a contract between influencers and brands for the purpose of advertising products on social media platforms, which must include the following important conditions:
Scope of work: When a brand wants to work with an influencer it is important to detail the services that the latter will provide, such as:
How many posts, stories and articles you want the influencer to create
On which social media platforms (TikTok, Instagram, etc.) will he/she publish the content (video or image)
What dates and times the brand asks the influencer to publish the content, e.g. 2 posts or 3 posts per week
Specific hashtags the brand would like the influencer to use in each post e.g. #advertising.
The control or not of the content the influencer will post by the brand
Disclosure of paid collaboration: Law 2251/1994 in conjunction with European Directive 2005/29/EC and Directive (EE) 2019/2161, which amends Directive 2005/29/EC with regard to better enforcement and modernization of EU consumer protection rules on new market developments, in particular with regard to online marketing, require the disclosure to consumers of the existence of a paid relationship between influencer brand . For this reason, there should be a clear condition whereby influencers should prominently disclose in their posts the existence of a paid partnership with the brand via a hashtag with the words #advertising, #sponsored #paidpartnership.
Fee clause and payment terms: it is essential to describe in the contract how and when the payment will be made (e.g. Via bank deposit or Pay pal 15 or 30 days after the first publication) and the shipping costs, which are borne by the brand. The brand may also provide for discounts to the influencers and travel expenses in case the brand organizes an event.
Confidentiality clause: an important condition for any kind of contract, which prohibits any transmission of information to third parties concerning the contract
Intellectual Property Rights: it is important to specify the copyright holder of the video or image posted by the influencers on Instagram. Usually, the copyright of the image and video belongs to the influencers. However, the influencers can transfer the copyright of their posts to the brand with a written clause in the contract. In case the influencer does not wish to transfer the copyright of their publications, but the brand wishes to use their content, there should be a copyright licensing clause specifying the exclusive or non-exclusive use of the content, the duration and manner of use and the permission to revoke or sub-license to third parties.
Exclusivity or competition clause: whether or not the influencer has the right to work with competitors of the brand for the duration of the brand agreement.
Termination clause: in the event that one of the parties to the contract takes actions that are controversial and offensive according to the lessons of common experience, the other party is entitled, in order to protect its reputation, to withdraw from the contract without prior written notice. If we exclude the above reasons, written notice of withdrawal from the contract is generally required one or three months before the expiry of the contract.
Jurisdiction and Governing Law: which court is competent to adjudicate disputes, which will arise from the inter-contractual relationship of the parties e.g. the courts of Athens as well as the applicable law e.g. the Greek law.
In conclusion, influencer marketing is a profitable way of promoting a brand's products in order to increase its profits. However, always based on good faith and commercial morals, it is necessary for these parties to proceed to reach a written agreement in compliance with the provisions of Greek Law and European Directives.
