How to label commercial partnerships?

Regardless of how many followers you have or which social media you use to share your content, if you are an influencer entering into commercial partnerships, it is your duty to correctly label advertising materials.

These can include posts, stories, and videos alike.

Who counts as an influencer under Polish law?

Polish law does not define who an influencer is.

In this area, it is helpful to turn to legal commentary, in line with the recommendations issued by the President of UOKiK*: “An influencer is a creator who actively runs their social media and communicates with their followers.

Through their publications, they can influence the opinions, decisions, or behavior of their followers.

An influencer is an entrepreneur if they derive material benefits (not only financial ones) from their online activity and, at the same time, conduct organized business activity in their own name and on a continuous basis.

This also applies to situations where the influencer has not registered a business.” ** In other words, an influencer is a person who, by actively running social media, communicates with their followers and can thereby influence their decisions regarding, for example, the purchase of certain goods or services.

What is advertising?

Under Polish law: Advertising is a commercial communication aimed at promoting the sale or paid use of goods or services.

Self-promotion is also advertising, meaning the advertising of one’s own products or services.

Furthermore, a commercial communication aimed at promoting a brand also qualifies as advertising. *** In practice, this means that an Instagram post containing information about a product and encouraging its purchase can be classified as advertising.

This applies both when an influencer promotes someone else’s products or services and when they promote their own (self-promotion).

When are we dealing with a commercial partnership?

We are dealing with a commercial partnership when an influencer receives a material benefit for promoting a product or service.

This benefit can take either a monetary or a non-monetary form.

What is a non-monetary benefit?

We encounter a non-monetary benefit when, instead of conventional payment, an influencer receives another type of benefit.

Such a benefit may include receiving a free invitation that is paid for everyone else, or having travel or accommodation costs covered.

Very often, influencers receive products for free or are given a discount on the purchase of a given product or service, with the result that their benefit is what they saved thanks to the discount.

How should a commercial partnership be labeled?

According to the recommendations of the President of UOKiK, the labeling of advertising materials should be carried out on multiple levels.

In practice, this means that an influencer should: use the features of the given social media platform (for example, by using the “Sponsored Post” function) and additionally indicate, within the content of the post, video, or caption, that the advertising material was created in connection with a commercial partnership.

What should the caption of a post that constitutes advertising look like?

The caption of advertising material should include information stating that it is advertising.

This information must be clear, so it cannot be written in very small print in a color that is difficult to distinguish from the background color.

The caption should also include information about which entity the commercial partnership was concluded with.

As for hashtags, keep in mind that, according to the recommendations of the President of UOKiK, they should not be abbreviated (e.g. #ad, #rek) and should be unambiguous (e.g. #reklama, #płatnawspółpraca #prezent).

If the profile is run in Polish, you should also avoid hashtags in English (e.g. #advertisement, #collaboration).

A recommended approach is also to indicate at the beginning of the caption that the material is advertising, for example by adding a marker such as [REKLAMA] or [PŁATNA WSPÓŁPRACA].

Do you want to know what consequences may result from incorrectly labeling promotional materials?

Get in touch with us, and we will clarify all your doubts.

Summary: An influencer’s benefit from a commercial partnership does not have to be conventional monetary payment.

Self-promotion can also constitute advertising.

Remember to label advertising materials on multiple levels.

The labeling of advertising materials should be clear, distinct, and unambiguous.

If the profile is run in Polish, the labeling should also be in that language. * Recommendations of the President of UOKiK regarding the labeling of advertising content by influencers on social media, dated 29 September 2022. ** ibidem *** Article 4(17) of the Act of 29 December 1992 on Broadcasting. Have a question?

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