Milwaukee sent out an FTC guidelines reminder today, and gave me permission to publish the email.
I’ve posted about this before – see Milwaukee Tool’s Guidelines Reminder for Reviewers and Influencers – but it’s good to have a reminder.
In the over 17 years that I’ve been running ToolGuyd, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other tool brand address sample guidelines.
Sponsorship contracts will typically have some boiler plate clauses, but this is different, it’s a reminder Milwaukee sends to all of their media, influencer, and content creator contacts.
Not to mince words, there are a lot of tool brands that do NOT adhere to FTC guidelines and who don’t encourage or enforce adherence by their media partners.
I’m happy with the stance Milwaukee takes on this, and that they expect compliance.
Here’s the email, with some added formatting for easier readability:
Subject: Reminder: FTC Guidelines
Good Morning!
It’s that time of the year again, where we want to proactively share details around the FTC Guidelines to ensure you have a clear understanding of what we expect from you as a partner.
First and foremost, as we have said from the beginning, credibility with your audience is the most important thing to us. For the professional user that we target, it is critical that they can find credible third-party perspectives on the tools that they use because these tools are their livelihood- they can be the difference in how safe and productive they are! We believe you achieve the credibility we seek (and your audience seeks) by being honest, objective, fair, and respectful- so these things are truly what we look for when partnering with media and social influencers.
Honest: We expect that you will clearly disclose your relationship with brands (Updated FTC guidelines linked below); including clearing stating when payment is exchanged, if you have an exclusive contract and/or if you have received free products in exchange for your review of those products. We also expect that you will use language in titles and descriptions of posts/videos that are true and do not mislead viewers. Clickbait or dishonest descriptions harm your credibility and are not acceptable.
Objective: We expect that your posts and videos will reflect your honest, unbiased opinion. We expect that our partners will try to review products from many brands and provide their audiences with a clear, objective understanding of the options.
Fair/Respectful: We want your audience to understand your objective unbiased opinion (even if that means it is critical or unfavorable). With that being said, out of respect and fairness, we would appreciate you bringing any issue to us first before disclosing to your audience so we can discuss. A heads up can go a long way to find a solution quickly, and by having a discussion you may also be able to share the resolution with your audience- this only adds to your credibility.
FTC GUIDELINES
Full FTC Guidelines can be found here and
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/p204500_endorsement_guides_in_2023.pdf
https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/advertising-marketing/endorsements-influencers-reviews
We expect you as our partner to comply with all FTC rules and guidelines.
Here are a few specific expectations that we have for our partners that we want to highlight.*
1. You must disclose any “material connection” to a brand (includes a personal, family, or employment relationship or a financial relationship)
2. Financial relationships aren’t limited to money – you must disclose if brand is paying you and/or if they are giving you free or discounted products or services.
3. You must place disclosure where it is very difficult to miss (e.g., within the message itself)
- It is not acceptable to only place a disclosure in the about me section of your profile.
- Don’t mix your disclosure into a group of hashtags or links.
- Superimpose the disclosure over the picture on platforms like Snapchat or Instagram.
- Disclosure should be both through audio and visual on a video.
- If making an endorsement in a live stream, the disclosure should be repeated periodically so viewers who only see part of the stream will get the disclosure.
4. Use Simple and Clear Language describing relationship. Examples below.
- “Thanks to Milwaukee Tool for the free product sample to review”
- “This review is sponsored by _______, an Advertiser of this channel”
- “I have an exclusivity agreement with _______, and only cover products by this brand”
If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out! Following these guidelines helps protect both your credibility and ours. We appreciate the partnership
Thanks –
Milwaukee Tool Team
*Failure to follow FTC rules and guidelines or any other of Milwaukee’s expectations for its partners may result in termination of relationship with Milwaukee, discontinuing access privileges, end of free products, etc., in Milwaukee’s sole discretion.
