Advertising, Marketing & Sponsorship

The advertising and marketing sector is diverse and dynamic, with creativity and resourcefulness at its heart. We bring that same spirit to the work we do for our clients in the sector. We assist a range of clients - small to large - across the sector above, below and through the line, including brands, agencies and publishers.

Our brand clients range from leading global brands to disruptive newcomers. Our agency clients range from advertising, media buying and branding agencies, through to PR, outdoor and market research, and digital agencies. On the publisher side, we work for a number of ad-funded global media owners where advertising revenue is critical to the success of their business.

We are used to working with innovative people, with tight deadlines, and where creativity pushes the boundaries. They choose lawyers who are responsive, pragmatic and who understand what they need, the key issues impacting their market and share their passion.

We bring these same qualities to the work we do for brands and media owners. We provide specialist marketing and advertising advice to all sectors, built on our market-leading understanding of the media sector and of the technology which increasingly drives advertising both on and offline.

Leading expertise

We have expertise in all aspects of advertising and marketing, acting for brand owners and agencies, from dealing with complaints and disputes to helping clients to achieve their commercial objectives.

Our advertising team have market-leading experience drafting and negotiating complex global media buying deals. We have extensive experience opposite the majority of the key agency players and have acted on a number of cutting edge matters addressing the hottest topics in the sector, including transparency, effectiveness and brand safety. 

As the world of media buying becomes increasingly programmatic, our adtech lawyers will ensure that your media buying contracts are fit-for-purpose in this new technology-dependent, data-rich world.

Campaigns and promotions benefit from our intellectual property, betting and gaming, food, medicines and other regulatory expertise. Our media lawyers are used to negotiating innovative sponsorship and endorsement deals. 

We clear, protect, enforce and license brands, and focus on the protection of image rights and reputation management. We are experts in regulatory affairs including the CAP and OFCOM codes, and the PAGB, ABPI and ABHI codes. We have extensive experience of advising clients on all aspects of their advertising and marketing campaigns, including handling advertising complaints and disputes, often relating to difficult areas of comparative advertising.

We also have corporate lawyers with an extensive track record advising on acquisitions and disposals of marketing and advertising businesses. Our advice on tax, joint ventures and partnership agreements is pragmatic and perceptive.

Find out more about CMS commercial expertise.

Find out more about CMS expertise in TMT - Technology, Media & Telecommunications.

Adtech

To understand adtech, you need your lawyers to have market-leading understanding of both technology and advertising and we can offer this expertise. We live and breathe technology with a large team of technology lawyers in the top tier of the legal directories. We also have a highly respected advertising practice, advising brands, traditional and digital advertising agencies, networks and publishers. Beyond this, we have a taskforce of experts from across our technology and advertising practices that are fully immersed in the adtech market specifically. They understand the key issues impacting the sector and advise every day on innovative solutions.

To read more about our adtech practice, see our dedicated sector page here.