A campaign paid in product appears in the budget as a zero. It is the only figure in the plan we can be certain is wrong.
What the zero hides
Three costs the budget line does not record.
The tag does not become cheaper
The product leaves your stock at its cost price, not at zero. Add the packaging, the preparation, the shipping and, for a sending outside the country, the customs charges and formalities somebody will have to pay.
A campaign of fifty parcels therefore represents a real sum, simply accounted for somewhere other than the marketing budget.
You paid in selection
The real cost is there. A fee lets you choose the person; a gifted product lets the person choose you. You get the creators available at that price, meaning those starting out or those who already like the brand.
Add a cost in time: the publication rate is never a hundred per cent, deadlines are not guaranteed, and nothing compels a second version if the first does not suit.
One consequence for steering: measure the cost per video actually delivered and usable, not the cost per parcel. The first figure is often three times the second.
What the gifted product pays for, and what it does not
| What is asked | The product is enough | It must be paid |
|---|---|---|
| A video posted on the creator's account | Often yes | No |
| Raw files handed to the brand | No | Yes |
| Use in paid advertising | No | Yes, separately |
What must appear on the video
The partnership disclosure, legible and from the start. A product received for free makes the video commercial, even with no transfer.
What makes the exchange fair
A product whose value matches the work asked, a reasonable deadline, and no usage right hidden in the terms.
When the gifted product is the right instrument
Four situations where it really works.
The product is desirable and its selling price is high compared with its cost price. The exchange then becomes interesting for both parties.
The objective is social proof in volume, not advertising production. Twenty genuine opinions are worth more than one perfect video.
The brand is looking for people who are already customers, who will speak about the product with an accuracy no brief can buy.
And the product lends itself to repeated use, which gives the creator a reason to mention it again with no new consideration.
Four situations where it fails.
When you want advertising usage rights: those are paid for, always.
When you impose a script, dates and revisions: you are then buying a service without paying for it.
When the product costs less than the time requested, which is immediately visible from the creator's side.
And when the campaign has to be delivered on a precise date, a condition a sending without consideration cannot meet.
One last marker for deciding: ask yourself a single question before sending a parcel. Am I asking for an opinion, or am I commissioning a production? An opinion is asked for, a production is bought, and confusing the two is what makes the budget's zero wrong.
Sources
Checked on 27 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
