Sam’s Club Influencer Guidelines (“Guidelines”)
This document outlines your (“Your”) responsibilities, or those of third parties acting under Your direction, when creating, providing and posting any type of content (photos, videos, posts, etc.) (“Content”) on social media about Sam’s Club, our products or services (“Sam’s Club”). In addition to complying with these Guidelines, remember You must also comply with all social media policies posted on the social media platforms (e.g. TikTok, Instagram, Snap, Facebook, YouTube, etc.).
1. DISCLOSE YOUR CONNECTION WITH SAM’S CLUB
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The Federal Trade Commission’s Guidelines on Endorsements requires You to clearly and conspicuously disclose your connection to Sam’s Club in Your Content. This means you must disclose the fact that You received a benefit from Sam’s Club, whether money, promo discounts, or anything else.
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Examples of acceptable disclosures include:
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#SamsPartner
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#ThanksSamsClub for giving me a free [insert free item]; or
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"That’s why I am pleased to be working with Sam’s Club to support…”
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Disclosures need to appear prominently within the post (don’t make someone press “see more” to see the disclosure).
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#SamsPartner must be the first hashtag in any list of hashtags in a post and must be displayed clearly and/or above the fold (if applicable).
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For video Content (e.g. TikTok), the disclosure needs to be made both audibly and visually by super-imposing the disclosure (#SamsPartner) on the screen long enough so that a viewer can read and understand it.
For additional information, see: Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers (ftc.gov) and the FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking
2. GIVE YOUR HONEST AND TRUTHFUL OPINIONS
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What You say about our products and services needs to reflect Your honest and truthful opinion and actual experiences. Never represent Your opinions are those of Sam’s Club.
3. ONLY MAKE FACTUAL STATEMENTS THAT ARE TRUTHFUL AND CAN BE VERIFIED
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Only make factual statements about our products or services, which you know to be true and can be proven. Don’t comment on a product that you haven’t tried.
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Your Content must reflect your actual experience and honest opinions.
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Remember, even if you don’t expressly state a fact, it may be implied. These Guidelines apply to both express and implied claims.
4. RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES
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When you post or share Content, do not include third party material in Your Content, unless You have express permission. Third party content refers to photographs, images, logos, trademarks, copyrights, music or any other material owned by someone else (like a Nike logo on a hoodie). This also includes showing another person in Your Content (e.g. Your best friend or a picture of a celebrity) or using their name without that person's express written permission. If Your Content contains any third party content that we didn’t provide you with or wasn’t found directly on the Sam’s Club Creator Platform, it is Your responsibility to ensure You have the necessary rights to use those materials.
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Don’t cite or reference Sam’s Club employees, partners, suppliers or retailers that offer Sam’s Club branded products without Sam’s Club’s prior written approval.
5. BE RESPECTFUL
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Hopefully this speaks for itself, but in case it doesn't: Don’t post comments that are illegal, harassing, disparaging, defamatory, insulting, obscene, overtly sexual, gratuitous profanity, political commentary, discriminatory, offensive, or would otherwise be interpreted as an invasion of privacy (e.g. sharing someone's cell phone # and home address). Don't post anything that a reasonable person would understand to embarrass Sam’s Club and Sam’s Club suppliers, partners or retailers that offer Sam’s Club branded products or damage their reputation or business interests.
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Sam’s Club is a family friendly brand. Your Content must be appropriate for a family audience and You will not advertise or otherwise promote adult products (e.g., guns, alcohol, tobacco, pornography) or other mature viewer products/services.
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Your Content may not include any negative comments used to offend or mock based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation), national origin, occupation, disability, weight, or age.
6. BE TRANSPARENT
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Don’t imply that you are any other person or entity, including an employee of Sam’s Club. Clearly state that Your views and comments are solely Your own and do not represent those of Sam’s Club.
7. TALKING AND WRITING ABOUT SAM’S CLUB
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When you post or talk about Sam’s Club, do not post or write about:
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Use of narcotics;
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Disparaging or negative commentary about Sam’s Club or its competitors;
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Any copy/reference that degrades the quality of the Sam’s Club brand or products sold through Sam’s Club;
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Superiority of Sam’s Club in relation to a competitor; or
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Use "dupe" language to directly compare Sam’s Club merchandise to products of other brands;
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Any calls-to-action for giveaways and contests, or other non-brand related engagements; or
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Political views or endorsements
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You may only use Sam’s Club brands, trademarks, logos or other materials with our permission. You may only use Sam’s Club materials that we expressly provide to you in connection with Your Services. You must have prior written approval from us before you can post, or otherwise use Sam’s Club brands, logo, trademarks, graphics, videos, artwork, and other content or Sam’s Club owned or controlled by Sam’s Club. If we give you permission to use certain Sam’s Club content (which permission must be in writing), you must use it only as specifically permitted and subject to the terms and conditions we provide, including, without limitation, posting copyright, trademark and other notices.
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Follow Instructions. Sam’s Club may give you additional instructions from time to time which you must follow in connection with Your activities in connection with Your Services.
8. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO ASK YOU TO TAKE DOWN CONTENT AND TERMINATE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH SAM’S CLUB:
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We reserve the right to request that You take down any Content and You will promptly comply with those requests. In addition, if we request approval rights over any Content, you must provide it to us to review before posting.
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We may monitor Your activities with regard to compliance with these Guidelines and we may take corrective action, including terminating Your relationship with Sam’s Club, if you do not follow these Guidelines.