Marketing Consultant Agreement

What is a marketing consultant agreement?

A marketing consultant agreement, also known as a marketing services agreement, is a legally binding services agreement for the provision of professional offline or digital marketing services for Australian businesses, startups and individuals. The document has a simple structure that outlines key responsibilities of both parties, main milestones and descriptions of services, payment terms, termination and non-compete clauses, etc.

A solid marketing consultancy agreement ensures clarity of cooperation between the client and the marketer or service provider. The marketer is engaged in the provision of services as an independent contractor, which excludes any employment relations. If you are looking to hire a marketer as an employee for your business, an employment contract should be used instead.

Who should use this marketing consultant agreement?

This document is a special type of services agreement specifically tailored for the provision of professional marketing research and consulting services. A template can be suitable for:

• marketing freelancers and independent marketing consultants looking for a professional marketing agreement contract for a daily usage;
• clients searching for a solid contract template to formalise ongoing relations with marketing consultants;
• professional marketing agencies looking for a solid marketing service agreement template to use with ongoing and potential clients;
• influencers and bloggers looking for a professional agreement to engage digital marketing or creative agencies.

What should be included in this marketing agreement contract template?

In Australia there are no specific requirements businesses and individuals must follow to create a standard document for the provision of marketing services. In general, parties must comply with the general principles of Australian contract law, as well as specific clauses of Australian Consumer Laws, the Independent Contractors Act 2006, etc.

A standard marketing agreement contract template must include the following:

Description of Services

All marketing services agreements shall clearly outline the scope and type of marketing services to be provided, including:

• brief description of services;
• final deliverables (for example, ads, PDF files with reports);
• target audience;
• territorial scope (for example, across Melbourne, or throughout Tasmania);
• timeline (for example, by the 31st of December, 3 months);
• key milestones (this is only suitable for complex marketing service level agreements).

Parties should also separately discuss if the marketer can engage subcontractors for the provision of all or part of the services.

Payment Terms

There are various payment models the parties can choose to implement for the marketing agreement template, including:

• a fixed fee for the whole project;
• an hourly rate;
• a daily rate;
• a weekly rate;
• a fee per completed milestone, etc.

All fees should be outlined in Australian dollars, excluding all applicable taxes. If the client is subject to additional goods and services tax in Australia, in that case GST should be paid on top of the prices listed in the contract.

Competition Clause

Some Australian businesses that order services under business development and marketing consultant agreements may request the service provider to include a competition clause. Under this clause the marketer is restricted for the whole duration of the agreement to provide similar services to the client’s direct competitors.

Protection of IP Rights

In the course of provision of services under the marketing agreement contract, the service provider may create certain intellectual property rights, such as reports, research, drawings, summaries, plans, analytical reports, etc. By default all these rights shall automatically belong to the service provider. However, the parties to this agreement may change this by defining the ownership rights for IP directly in the text of the contract.

Independent Contractor Status

The agreement should also confirm the independent status of the client and the service provider. This allows for preventing relations being characterised as employment relations. The Australian Taxation Office may treat a marketing agreement contract as employment if several criteria listed below are present:

• the marketer is an individual or freelancer;
• the marketer is paid regularly for the provided services in the same amount for a significant period of time;
• the marketer performs the work according to a specific schedule stipulated by the client;
• the marketer performs the work in a specific place stipulated by the client.

What are the benefits of using this marketing service agreement template?

Having a professionally drafted and solid marketing agreement entails lots of benefits for both parties:

• clarifies the scope of work and each party’s expectations;
• defines who, when and how should do;
• protects both parties’ rights in case of a dispute;
• ensures compliance with Australian laws, including the Independent Contractors Act 2006;
• protects intellectual property rights created in the course of the provision of marketing services;
• offers balanced legal protection of the client and the marketer;
• includes core elements to ensure the legal validity of the final marketing services agreement template.

How to customise this marketing consulting agreement template?

To get a fully customisable document, follow a few easy steps below:

1. Click the “Create Document” button.
2. Answer simple questions in the form.
3. Select a template’s format – marketing agreement template PDF or ord.
4. E-sign the document online.
5. Make a payment.
6. Download the ready document.