Deal types and terms
Product seeding
Product seeding is sending creators free product with no guaranteed post and no fee, in the hope that some of them choose to feature it.
Also called gifting, gifted collaboration, PR package.
It is the cheapest way into creator marketing and the least predictable. Conversion from gift to post varies enormously with how well the product matches the creator, and a creator who does post owes the brand nothing in terms of timing, framing, or approval.
Seeding works best as a discovery mechanism. Brands use it to find which creators genuinely like the product, then pay the ones who posted well. Sent indiscriminately it mostly generates cost and resentment.
Common questions
- Does gifted content need to be disclosed?
- Yes. Free product is a material connection between the brand and the creator, so a post about it has to be disclosed even though no money changed hands. Regulators treat gifted and paid the same way on this point.
Related terms
- FTC disclosure
- FTC disclosure is the requirement in the United States that a creator clearly reveals any material connection to a brand, such as payment, free product, or commission, when endorsing it. Disclosure must be clear, prominent, and hard to miss.
- Brand deal
- A brand deal is a paid agreement in which a creator produces and publishes agreed content for a brand in exchange for a fee, product, or commission.
- Creator discovery
- Creator discovery is the process of finding creators who fit a brand: searching by niche, audience, location, and performance, then shortlisting the ones worth approaching.
Distinct is the workspace where brands and creators run the work behind these terms. For brands, for creators, or back to the full glossary.