Sponsorship and Product Placement — what you give and what you get

• Cash sponsorship — money toward the budget, usually repaid with a credit or sponsor acknowledgment.
• In-kind sponsorship — goods such as wardrobe, props, vehicles or food, lent or given for use on screen or on set.
• Location sponsorship — a store, office or hotel offered as a filming location.
• Service sponsorship — equipment, lodging, transport or catering provided as a service.
• Product placement — a product or brand is used or seen within a scene, in return for a fee.

One sponsor often mixes several types. A café might lend its space, supply drinks in kind and ask for its sign to be visible in one scene. The more it’s mixed, the more important it is to itemize what you receive and what you deliver, so there’s no dispute later. Sponsorship is usually handled by the production office or a producer, and how it appears on screen is decided together with the director’s team and the art department.

Product placement and sponsor credits are regulated differently from country to country. Broadcasters often have their own standards on which genres allow placement, how prominent a product can be and how it must be disclosed, and they review placements before air. So for broadcast projects, placement is usually agreed with the broadcaster or commissioning team first.

Theatrical films commonly thank sponsors in the end credits. For online content, many places expect a clear disclosure when you show a product in return for payment. Each outlet has its own standards, so as soon as you know where the project will be released, check that outlet’s rules first.

1. 01Write the pitchInclude a project overview, the expected audience, where and when it will be released, and examples of how the product would appear. Picking scenes in the script where the product fits naturally makes the pitch far more convincing.
2. 02Negotiate termsAgree on the scenes and style of exposure, credit wording, promotional use, exclusivity and any off-limits scenes that could hurt the brand. Make sure with the director that the placement doesn’t break the story.
3. 03Sign the agreementWrite down what’s provided and what’s given in return, the exposure terms, return of and damage to in-kind items, and what happens if release is delayed or the scene is cut.
4. 04Shoot and logMark the scenes and shots with sponsor exposure on the call sheet and in the script supervisor’s notes. Photograph in-kind items with the date and condition when they arrive.
5. 05Report and settleAfter release, compile screenshots and timecodes of every exposure into a report, return the in-kind items and sort out invoices and other paperwork.

If sponsor terms damage the story, both the film and the sponsor lose. Demands for long product close-ups or dialogue praising the product tend to put viewers off, and for broadcast they can run into regulatory trouble. Settle what level of exposure the director and writer can accept at the pitch stage, and the negotiation gets easier.

• What’s provided — amount, type and quantity of goods, location dates and times
• Exposure terms — scenes, style, credit and sponsor acknowledgment wording
• Restrictions — scenes that could hurt the brand, competitor exposure
• Promotional use — how and for how long the sponsor may use stills and the title
• Changes — what happens if the scene is cut or release is delayed

In-kind sponsorship may also need to be recorded in your accounts. How you value the goods and whether invoices need to change hands depends on the country and the deal structure, so check with your accountant.