Plan clear advertising disclosures for influencer collaborations involving payment, gifted products or invitations with this practical checklist.
A coffee brand sends a product to a creator, who features it in a story. It is easy to assume that the commercial relationship does not need to be disclosed because no money changed hands. But the assessment is not limited to cash: a product, discount, invitation or other benefit may matter too.
According to the Ministry of Trade's announcement of 28 July 2026, the rules effective from 1 August 2026 require the advertising nature of these commercial posts to be made clear to consumers. The Ministry gives “reklam”, “iş birliği”, “sponsorlu içerik” and “tanıtım” as examples of appropriate Turkish wording. The actual format and current rules should be assessed for each piece of content.
Record the relationship before publication
The brand and creator should document the benefit in the brief: a fee, free product, discount, event invitation or sales commission, for example. Specify whether a post is requested, which accounts will publish it and where the disclosure will appear. Keep a record both parties can access rather than relying on an oral agreement reconstructed later.
A disclosure written only in a contract is invisible to the audience. Plan it in the published material where viewers can readily notice it, not buried among many tags. Videos, stories and live streams are consumed differently, so review the draft in the actual format. The Ministry's explanation of its influencer guidance highlights visibility.
Check platform disclosure too
YouTube asks creators to declare paid product placements, sponsorships and similar commercial relationships in video details. Platform notification and local legal obligations need separate consideration; using one does not automatically satisfy the other in every case. See YouTube's paid promotion guidance.
Joint pre-publication checklist
- Record the benefit and nature of the relationship in the brief.
- Compare claims with the product's actual features and available evidence; do not present an unexperienced result as personal experience.
- Preview the disclosure in every format to check that it is easy to notice.
- Review the platform's commercial-content notification and product-category policies.
- Keep the approved draft, disclosure and publication link, and share later changes with both parties.
Does a gifted product always mean an independent opinion? A free product does not itself determine the opinion, but the benefit and the conditions of the relationship matter when assessing disclosure. Documenting the relationship and checking current rules is a sound starting point.
This is general information. Campaigns in areas such as health, finance or content directed at children may need specialist review.