Put the sponsorship deal in writing before content goes live

Because sponsorship deals often become unclear once content starts being created or published. A brief might mention payment and deliverables, but leave out who owns the content, whether the sponsor can repost it, how many approval rounds apply, what happens if deadlines move, or whether the creator can work with competing brands. A written agreement puts those points into enforceable terms. That matters whether you are a creator, agency, event organiser or sponsor, especially when campaign value depends on timing, brand alignment and content rights.

It usually covers the sponsored activity, deliverables, timing, fees, payment triggers, approval process, use of names and trade marks, ownership of newly created content, licence rights, exclusivity, cancellation, termination and liability settings. Some deals also need morality clauses, content standards, disclosure obligations, event attendance terms or rules about boosting and reposting content after the original campaign ends. The right drafting depends on the platform, the campaign structure and whether the sponsor wants broad reuse rights or a more limited licence.

We usually need to know who the parties are, what is being sponsored, what content or appearances are required, where the material will be published, who controls approvals, how payment works, and what each side expects to happen with the content after the campaign. For example, a one-off Instagram post, a long-term ambassador arrangement and an event sponsorship all raise different issues. If there are existing briefs, emails or draft terms, those are useful because they often reveal commercial points that should be written into the contract.

Sometimes a template is a starting point, but it often misses the points that matter most in live campaigns. Generic forms may not deal properly with content reuse, whitelisting, exclusivity by category, approval timing, cancellation after content is created, or what happens if a sponsor wants edits that go beyond the original brief. They can also be too one-sided for the role you are playing. A tailored agreement is usually more useful where brand reputation, audience expectations or valuable IP are part of the deal.

Timing depends on the complexity of the arrangement and how complete the instructions are. A straightforward one-off sponsorship is usually quicker than a multi-deliverable campaign with layered approval rights, exclusivity restrictions and detailed usage terms. Once engaged, we review the deal points and any existing materials, prepare the draft or mark-up within the agreed scope, and explain the main issues to watch for before signing. If negotiations expand significantly or the other side introduces major new terms, further work may need separate scoping.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Sponsorship Agreement service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.