Practical examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations

Real-world examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations

Most marketers don’t need a law-school treatise; they need real examples they can adapt today. Below are realistic examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations that map to situations you probably deal with already.

Example 1: Brand–influencer product launch campaign

A consumer electronics brand shares:

• High-res product images before launch
• Embargoed launch date and pricing
• Internal talking points and positioning
• Performance benchmarks from past campaigns

The influencer and their management sign an NDA that:

• Defines Confidential Information as any non-public product specs, pricing, launch timelines, and brand strategy
• Allows disclosure only to the influencer’s team members who need to know (editor, photographer, manager)
• Sets a confidentiality period of 2 years after public launch
• Clarifies that once the brand publicly announces the product, only the non-public data (like margin and conversion rates) stays protected

This example of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations keeps the hype machine moving while protecting the brand from leaks that could tip off competitors or retailers.

Example 2: Agency pitch with speculative creative

A mid-sized SaaS company invites three agencies to pitch a new brand platform. The agencies will see:

• Unreleased product roadmap
• Churn and LTV data
• Customer research findings
• Early creative concepts from an in-house team

The company issues a mutual NDA that:

• Protects both the client’s data and the agency’s pitch concepts
• Clarifies that the client cannot reuse rejected creative ideas without paying for them
• Limits use of confidential information only for the purpose of evaluating the pitch
• Requires agencies to delete or return materials if they are not selected

This is one of the best examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations where both sides have valuable IP on the table.

Example 3: Co-marketing webinar between two SaaS brands

Two software companies co-host a webinar targeting overlapping audiences. They plan to share:

• Joint landing pages and UTM structures
• Email lists or hashed customer data for lookalike audiences
• Webinar attendance and engagement data

Their NDA:

• Defines which customer data each party can access and in what form (for example, hashed emails only)
• States that each party remains the owner of its own lists and may not add the partner’s list to its CRM without express written consent
• Sets specific retention rules: data must be deleted after 90 days unless otherwise agreed
• Limits use of shared data to this specific webinar campaign and reasonable reporting

In 2024–2025, with privacy regulations tightening and privacy-focused marketing on the rise, this example of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations is standard practice for any serious B2B co-marketing.

For reference on privacy obligations that often intersect with NDAs, see the FTC’s guidance on data security and privacy practices: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance.

Example 4: Retail brand and celebrity ambassador

A national retail chain negotiates with a celebrity ambassador. The brand shares:

• Long-term merchandising and expansion plans
• Budget ranges for multi-year campaigns
• Early drafts of TV and streaming scripts

The NDA:

• Includes a non-disparagement rider around leaked materials (for example, early rough cuts)
• Allows the brand to seek injunctive relief if leaks occur before a major seasonal campaign
• Restricts the celebrity’s team from using the brand’s confidential information to negotiate competing deals

This is one of the more sensitive examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations because one leak can tank a campaign or force an expensive reshoot.

Example 5: Startup sharing growth data with a potential PR firm

A seed-stage startup wants to hire a PR firm and needs to show:

• Current MRR and growth trajectory
• Pending funding round details
• Investor deck and press strategy

The NDA:

• Protects non-public financials and investor details
• Allows the PR firm to reference general, non-specific success metrics in case studies (for example, “double-digit month-over-month growth”) once information becomes public
• Clarifies that public information (like a funding announcement) is no longer confidential, but any underlying internal strategy docs stay protected

This is one of the most common examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations in the startup ecosystem.

Example 6: Licensing deal for a character or IP in a campaign

A toy brand licenses a well-known character from a major entertainment studio. The studio shares:

• Style guides and usage restrictions
• Future storyline and character-arc hints
• Internal brand safety rules and content filters

The NDA:

• Tightly defines confidential IP-related materials
• Limits how campaign assets can be stored and who can access them (for example, approved agencies only)
• Requires immediate notice to the studio if any suspected leak occurs

Here, the NDA works alongside the licensing agreement. As an example of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations, it shows how NDAs often sit next to more detailed commercial contracts.

Example 7: Data-sharing partnership for advanced analytics

Two brands and a marketing analytics provider team up to run cross-channel attribution. They share:

• Pseudonymized customer IDs
• Conversion and engagement data from multiple platforms
• Experiment frameworks and internal KPIs

Their NDA:

• Explicitly references compliance with privacy laws like the GDPR and CCPA
• Requires data to be stored and processed under strict security standards
• Limits use of data to agreed measurement projects only
• Prohibits reverse engineering of anonymized data back to identifiable individuals

While an NDA doesn’t replace a full data processing agreement, this example of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations shows how confidentiality, privacy, and security obligations overlap.

For up-to-date privacy and marketing guidance, many teams look at resources like the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP): https://iapp.org.

Key clauses you’ll see in the best examples of NDAs for marketing

When you review different examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations, a familiar pattern emerges. The language changes, but the moving parts are similar.

Scope of confidential information

Marketing NDAs usually cover:

• Non-public product details (features, launch dates, pricing tests)
• Campaign plans, briefs, and media strategies
• Performance data (ROAS, CAC, LTV, attribution models)
• Customer or prospect lists and segmentation logic
• Creative concepts and brand guidelines not yet public

Good examples include carve-outs for:

• Information that is or becomes public through no fault of the receiving party
• Information independently developed without use of the confidential information
• Information received from another source on a non-confidential basis

Purpose limitation

Most examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations explicitly say that confidential information may only be used for the specific project: a campaign, pitch, or evaluation of a potential relationship. This keeps a partner from quietly using your data to improve their work for a competitor.

Term and survival period

Marketing data gets stale fast, so many NDAs:

• Run for a fixed term (for example, 2–5 years)
• Allow perpetual protection for true trade secrets (like proprietary algorithms or unique segmentation models)

Look for survival clauses that say confidentiality obligations continue after the agreement ends, which is standard in better examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations.

Data security and privacy alignment

Since NDAs often sit next to privacy rules, some agreements:

• Require reasonable security measures to protect shared data
• Reference applicable laws (for example, CCPA, GDPR) without trying to restate them
• Require notification if there’s a suspected breach of systems holding confidential marketing data

For a sense of how regulators think about data security and disclosure, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) offers accessible guidance: https://www.cisa.gov.

Sample NDA language tailored to marketing collaborations

Below is a simplified, plain-English style example you can discuss with your attorney. It’s not legal advice, but it reflects patterns seen in many real examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations.

1. Parties and Purpose
This Non-Disclosure Agreement (the “Agreement”) is between [Brand/Company Name] (“Company”) and [Agency/Partner/Influencer Name] (“Recipient”). The parties are exploring or conducting a marketing collaboration, including but not limited to campaign planning, creative development, media buying, content creation, and performance analysis (the “Purpose”).

2. Confidential Information
“Confidential Information” means all non-public information disclosed by one party (“Disclosing Party”) to the other (“Receiving Party”) in connection with the Purpose, whether oral, written, or electronic, including product information, launch plans, marketing strategies, media plans, pricing, customer or prospect data, performance metrics, creative concepts, and any materials marked or reasonably understood to be confidential.

Confidential Information does not include information that: (a) is or becomes publicly available through no fault of the Receiving Party; (b) was already lawfully known to the Receiving Party before disclosure; (c) is independently developed by the Receiving Party without use of or reference to the Confidential Information; or (d) is rightfully received from a third party without a duty of confidentiality.

3. Use and Disclosure
The Receiving Party may use Confidential Information solely for the Purpose and may disclose it only to its employees, contractors, or professional advisors who need to know it for that Purpose and who are bound by confidentiality obligations at least as protective as those in this Agreement.

The Receiving Party will not disclose Confidential Information to any competitor of the Disclosing Party without prior written consent.

4. Protection and Security
The Receiving Party will protect Confidential Information using at least the same degree of care it uses to protect its own confidential information, and in no event less than reasonable care. If Confidential Information includes personal data, the parties will comply with applicable privacy and data protection laws.

5. Term and Survival
This Agreement begins on the Effective Date and continues for [X] years, unless terminated earlier by either party upon written notice. The Receiving Party’s duty to protect Confidential Information disclosed during the term will continue for [Y] years after termination, or for so long as such information qualifies as a trade secret under applicable law, whichever is longer.

6. Return or Destruction
Upon request of the Disclosing Party, the Receiving Party will promptly return or destroy all Confidential Information, subject to any legal or regulatory retention requirements. The Receiving Party may keep one archival copy solely for legal, compliance, or record-keeping purposes.

7. Remedies
The parties agree that unauthorized disclosure or use of Confidential Information may cause irreparable harm for which monetary damages may be inadequate, and that the Disclosing Party may seek injunctive relief in addition to any other remedies available at law.

8. No License; No Obligation to Proceed
This Agreement does not grant any license or other rights to the Receiving Party in or to the Disclosing Party’s intellectual property, except as expressly stated. Neither party is obligated to proceed with any transaction or relationship.

9. Miscellaneous
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of [State], without regard to its conflict of laws rules. Any disputes will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in [County, State], and the parties consent to such jurisdiction.

Again, this is just an illustrative example of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations. Actual agreements should be tailored to your jurisdiction, risk profile, and the kind of data you’re sharing.

Trends shaping marketing NDAs in 2024–2025

Several shifts in marketing practice are changing how these agreements look:

• Creator and influencer economy: Brands now sign NDAs not just with agencies, but with independent creators, studios, and even newsletter writers. Real examples include NDAs that cover early access to brand style guides, UGC briefs, and performance dashboards.
• Privacy-first marketing: With ongoing enforcement activity around privacy and tracking, more NDAs explicitly reference privacy obligations and limit how long partners can keep campaign data.
• AI and content generation: When agencies or SaaS tools use AI on client data, NDAs increasingly clarify whether the provider can train models on that data and how outputs can be reused.
• Global campaigns: International collaborations mean NDAs often need conflict-of-law and jurisdiction clauses that make sense for cross-border work.

Looking at these trends while studying examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations can help you avoid outdated templates that ignore today’s realities.

FAQ about NDAs in marketing collaborations

Do I really need an NDA for a simple influencer campaign?
If you’re sharing only public information, maybe not. But if you’re giving early access to unreleased products, pricing, or detailed performance dashboards, most brands use at least a short-form NDA. Many of the best examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations are actually very short, but they still cover confidentiality, use limits, and term.

Can I use one NDA template for all marketing partners?
You can start from one master template, but real examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations usually come in a few flavors: one for agencies, one for creators/influencers, one for data and analytics partners, and one for co-marketing or channel partners. The risk profile and data types are different in each scenario.

Is there a simple example of NDA language I can send to a small creator?
Yes, many brands use a 1–2 page short form. It defines confidential information in plain English, limits use to the campaign, and sets a reasonable term (often 1–2 years). You can adapt the sample language above as a starting point. This is one of the more practical examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations in day-to-day use.

What happens if my partner breaches the NDA?
You may be able to seek damages and, in many agreements, injunctive relief to stop further disclosure. In practice, many marketing teams first try to contain the leak, notify stakeholders, and then work with legal. Well-drafted NDAs give you leverage and a clear path for enforcement, even if you choose not to litigate.

Does an NDA replace a data processing agreement or privacy addendum?
No. An NDA focuses on confidentiality and use of information. If you’re sharing personal data at scale, you may also need a data processing agreement or similar addendum that addresses legal requirements in more detail.

Are NDAs enforceable if we only signed electronically?
In the U.S. and many other jurisdictions, electronic signatures are generally enforceable when they meet legal standards (for example, under the U.S. ESIGN Act). Most real examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations today are signed via e-sign tools rather than ink on paper.

Bottom line: Study real examples of non-disclosure agreement for marketing collaborations, then adapt them to your specific campaign, data flows, and partners. NDAs don’t have to be scary or long-winded, but they should be clear, specific, and aligned with how your marketing team actually works in 2024–2025.