Decide what kind of help you need before you call anyone. National brands looking for big creative should talk to TRG or Firehouse, franchise and multi-location brands to Moroch Partners or Imaginuity, brands targeting Hispanic and multicultural audiences to LERMA/, and companies that want SEO and ads on a smaller budget to Thrive. Enterprise advertisers with large media budgets fit PMG or Brainlabs, B2B companies Idea Grove, and organizations that live on earned media TruePoint Communications. Before signing, check how the agency handles email and influencer programs, because federal disclosure and anti-spam rules apply to its work on your behalf as much as to your own.
What do influencers have to disclose under the FTC’s Endorsement Guides?
The FTC’s revised Endorsement Guides, announced in June 2023, say any connection the audience would not expect, such as payment, free products or a business or family relationship, must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, meaning the disclosure is difficult to miss and, on social media, unavoidable rather than hidden behind a “more” link. The FTC has said that tagging a brand is an endorsement, not a disclosure, that the guides cover virtual influencers, and that advertisers can be liable for misleading endorsements even when the influencer is not, so your agency should build disclosure checks into every creator campaign.
What does CAN-SPAM require of marketing emails?
Commercial emails must have accurate header information and non-deceptive subject lines, identify themselves as advertising, list the sender’s physical mailing address and give recipients an easy unsubscribe option that keeps working for at least 30 days after sending; opt-outs must be honored within 10 business days. A business stays responsible even when an agency or vendor sends the email for it, and penalties reach $53,088 for each violating message.
What changed for bulk email senders at Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook?
Since February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo have required bulk senders, which Google defines as those sending close to 5,000 or more messages a day to personal Gmail accounts, to authenticate mail with SPF and DKIM, publish a DMARC policy, offer one-click unsubscribe, process unsubscribes within about two days and keep spam complaints below 0.3%. Microsoft added SPF, DKIM and DMARC requirements for domains sending more than 5,000 messages a day to Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live addresses on May 5, 2025, and now rejects mail that fails them. If an agency runs your email marketing, ask it to confirm all three before your next campaign.
