Campaign Strategy
Product gifting and seeding programmes
Product seeding sends a relevant item to a creator so they can experience it; it does not purchase a guaranteed positive post.
Product seeding sends a relevant item to a creator so they can experience it; it does not purchase a guaranteed positive post. A workable programme chooses products and recipients carefully, states whether anything is expected in return, records the full cost and gives creators room to respond honestly.
Decide what the programme should achieve
Product gifting can support different goals, including awareness, product trial and repeat behaviour. Choose the intended outcome before judging whether a programme is worthwhile; a post count alone will not show whether the activity served its purpose.
A programme can also be designed to generate practical feedback about product use, buying behaviour and the purchase journey. That learning may help refine an audience profile or inform product improvements, so decide whether insight is part of the value you expect alongside coverage.
Consider whether the intended audience can find out where to buy the product and what to expect from using it.
Separate a gift from a commissioned review
Write the purpose before contacting anyone. Is the product offered without a posting obligation, or is the creator being asked to produce specified content?
If there is a deliverable, agree it clearly, including timing, usage rights and how the commercial relationship will be disclosed. Do not call a commissioned review “organic” because the payment is a product rather than cash.
The ACCC's 2026 PhotobookShop action concerned commissioned reviews paid for with free products, where disclosure was discouraged. It also addressed editing that removed negative remarks. That example does not mean every unsolicited gift produces an ad, but it shows why the actual exchange and the resulting impression matter.
Product Gifting vs Commissioned Review: Key Differences
- Expectation of content
- No obligation to post
- Disclosure requirement
- Must disclose if product was gifted
- Payment form
- Free product or service
- Post authenticity
- Should reflect genuine experience
Make transparency part of the decision
In an ACCC sweep reported on 7 December 2023, 81 per cent of 118 influencers reviewed had posts that raised concerns under the Australian Consumer Law about potentially misleading advertising; inadequate disclosure of brand relationships was a common issue.
The ACCC also identified vague terms such as “sp” and “spon”, and disclosures formatted so they were difficult to notice.
The sweep covered seven sectors. Concerns ranged from 96 per cent of fashion influencers reviewed to 73 per cent of gaming and technology influencer posts; these figures describe the ACCC’s reviewed posts, not every creator or gifting programme. The ACCC says businesses must not mislead or deceive consumers, including through influencer advertising online.
ACCC Influencer Disclosure Compliance Findings (2023 Sweep)
Choose a product worth experiencing
Match the item to a creator's established subject and audience. Make sure the creator can use the exact retail version and has enough time to assess it. Include essential setup, compatibility and safety information without prescribing a favourable reaction. An obscure accessory that cannot be used without another purchase is unlikely to support a fair evaluation unless that dependency is explicit.
Track product, packaging, shipping, staff time and replacement costs. Record what was sent, when, to whom and under what terms. A gift that receives no post is still a programme cost, not a failed contractual deliverable unless a post was expressly agreed. Review the programme by useful relationships and learning as well as published coverage.
Handle outcomes without changing the truth
If a creator reports a defect or negative experience, ask for enough detail to investigate and offer a remedy where appropriate. You can correct a factual misunderstanding with evidence. Do not pressure them to hide an authentic limitation or edit a review so its meaning changes.
The ACCC says businesses must not mislead consumers by posting misleading reviews or failing to disclose when an influencer has been paid to create social media content, whether that payment is free gifted products or services, or money.
Before reusing any creator material, check the separate rights agreement. Permission to send a product or receive a post is not automatically permission to run that post as a paid ad.
In this guide
- Choosing products worth sending to creatorsChoose a seeding product because a creator can use it credibly and show something their audience wants to understand.
- What to do when a gifted product receives no postFirst check what was agreed.
- Tracking seeding costs without treating gifts as guaranteed coverageBudget for product seeding as an experiment in relevant creator relationships, not as a fixed number of posts purchased for the price of goods.
- Handling an honest negative reaction to a gifted productAn honest negative reaction is information about the creator's experience, not a failure to be edited away.
