YouTube sponsorship disclosure rules for brands

Three layers apply to a sponsored YouTube video: YouTube's own policies, the advertising and consumer law of the countries involved, and whatever you and the creator agree in writing. The main sources:

YouTube

Its branded content policies cover content "influenced by a brand partner in exchange for something of value", including payment and free products. Creators must declare it with the paid promotion setting in YouTube Studio. YouTube adds that creators "and the partners you work with" are responsible for following the law.

United States

The Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides, revised in 2023. The FTC's answers to common questions cover what brands must do, and its disclosure guide for social media creators covers the creator's side.

United Kingdom

The ASA enforces the advertising code, which says marketing "must be obviously identifiable as such" (CAP Code rule 2.1). The CMA enforces consumer law and has guidance for creators and for brands. The ASA's guide to making clear that ads are ads shows the labels both regulators expect.

European Union

The network of national consumer authorities has published five principles for disclosing marketing on social media. Each country's own rules and guidance apply alongside them.

Money is the obvious case, but the guidance is much wider. Under the ASA's guide, any of these means the video needs a disclosure:

• Payment for the video, a segment or a mention.
• Free or discounted products, even when you didn't ask for a video. The ASA says it doesn't matter if there was no obligation to post. The FTC's answers make the same point: what matters is whether the free product might affect how the audience sees the review.
• Affiliate commission on links or discount codes that pay the creator for clicks or sales.
• Loans, trips and perks, such as a product on loan, an event invitation or a hotel stay.
• Ongoing ties, such as being a brand ambassador, owning shares, or promoting a business the creator's family or friends own.

YouTube's policy applies "whether you receive the benefit now or later on", and covers descriptions, comments, live streams and Shorts as well as long-form videos. Sending product with no fee is covered in product seeding; it still needs disclosure.

It's tempting to treat disclosure as the creator's job. None of the sources do:

• Say it at the start. The FTC says a disclosure has the best chance of being clear if it's in the video itself, and that one at the beginning is better than one at the end. The ASA says disclosing part-way through a YouTube video isn't good enough. For an integration, disclose at the start of the sponsored segment.
• Show it on screen as well. The FTC's rule: if the endorsement is spoken, disclose at least out loud; if it's visual, at least on screen. A video is both, so do both.
• Tick the paid promotion box. In YouTube Studio it reads "My video contains paid promotion like a product placement, sponsorship, or endorsement". Viewers then see a label such as "Includes paid promotion". Don't rely on it alone: the CMA says to add a clear "Ad" label if a platform's tool doesn't make the advertising obvious.
• Put it in the first lines of the description. It helps, but it doesn't replace the spoken line. The EU principles say a disclosure that needs a click on "read more" isn't adequate.
• Name the affiliate links. The ASA says a general line that "some" links "might" earn a commission isn't enough. Say which links or products are paid.
• In live streams, repeat it. The FTC says to repeat it periodically, so people who join late still hear it.

The word every source accepts is "advertisement", said in the language of the video. "Sponsored" passes in the US guidance but not in the UK or EU guidance, so avoid it if the audience is international.

• The disclosure itself: spoken at the start, shown on screen, in the first lines of the description, and the paid promotion box ticked. Agree the wording.
• Honest opinions: the creator uses the product before talking about it and says what they actually think. Don't ask for praise.
• Product claims: you supply the facts, and the creator doesn't make claims you can't back up.
• A check before and after: you review the draft for disclosure, check the live video, and the creator fixes a missing label promptly.
• How long it lasts: the ASA expects disclosure throughout an ongoing relationship, and in relevant content for 12 months after it ends.
• Gifts: if you send product without a fee, a written note asking for any resulting video to be labelled as an ad.

The same points belong in your creator brief, so the person making the video sees them before filming.

Nakodo finds creators who fit your brand, emails them on your behalf and introduces you to the ones who say yes. It doesn't write agreements or check disclosures. While a first email waits for your approval you can edit it, so you can add a line such as "We ask every partner to label videos as ads", or raise it when you agree the details after the introduction. Setting that expectation early saves an awkward conversation later. The full method is on how Nakodo works.