Brand-to-Brand Barter Deals via a Shared Influencer

What is a brand-to-brand barter deal via a shared influencer?

A brand-to-brand barter deal via a shared influencer is when two companies trade product or services directly with each other — instead of paying each other cash — while sharing the same creator for one piece of content or one campaign. A typical example: a hotel gives a travel-gear brand free nights in exchange for gear of equivalent value, and the two brands split the cost of the shared influencer who documents the stay using both products. This is a third, distinct structure alongside two models already covered on the Academy: brand-to-brand co-marketing through a shared influencer, where both brands pay in cash, and gifting, where a brand gives something to the creator — not to another brand.

How a barter deal differs from co-marketing and gifting

The central difference from the other two models: here it isn't the creator's fee being split or agreed in currency — it's two brands trading their own product or services with each other, who separately, individually or jointly, still have to work out how the creator is compensated.

How to value a barter deal

Because neither party pays cash for what it receives, there's no invoice that automatically sets a price — the two brands have to agree between themselves what each side of the trade is worth. Three methods, in order of reliability:

• Normal sales price. If either party sells the goods or services being traded to ordinary customers for money, use that price. It's the most robust valuation because it's already documented.
• Cost or production price. If neither party has a normal sales price (for example, a service that's never sold separately), use what it actually cost to produce or deliver.
• A mutually agreed estimate. Used only if neither a sales price nor a cost price can be established — and should always be stated explicitly in the agreement as a jointly accepted estimate, not a fixed, objective fact.

The valuation serves two purposes at once: it decides whether the trade is genuinely equal in value (or whether one side needs to add a top-up), and it's simultaneously the basis for VAT — see the next section.

Danish VAT on a barter deal: "no money changed hands" is not the same as "no VAT"

The most common misunderstanding about a barter deal: because neither brand sends a cash payment to the other, many assume there's no VAT to account for either. That's wrong. Under the Danish VAT Act (momsloven) § 27 and Den juridiske vejledning's own section on barter transactions (byttehandel, D.A.8.1.1.10 and D.A.8.1.1.10.2), a barter deal is, for VAT purposes, two separate supplies — one from each party — and both must be accounted for with VAT, regardless of the fact that neither involves a cash payment.

The VAT basis for each supply is set using the same order of priority as the valuation above:

In other words: each party invoices or books its own supply to the other at its normal sales price (or cost price, if it isn't sold), applies VAT to that value, and accounts for the VAT exactly as it would for an ordinary sale — just without any actual transfer of currency. See the rule itself at Den juridiske vejledning D.A.8.1.1.10 on barter transactions and the more detailed D.A.8.1.1.10.2 on the VAT basis (Danish tax authority guidance, in Danish).

Worked example (hypothetical)

The figures below are a made-up worked example to illustrate the principle — not a real deal or customer case.

A hotel (Brand A) and a travel-gear brand (Brand B) trade. The hotel gives three free nights, which it normally sells for DKK 1,500/night = DKK 4,500 total. The travel-gear brand gives a suitcase and accessories, which it normally sells for DKK 3,600 total.

• The hotel must account for 25% VAT on DKK 4,500 = DKK 1,125 in output VAT on its own supply, even though it receives no cash for it.
• The travel-gear brand must likewise account for 25% VAT on DKK 3,600 = DKK 900.
• The two supplies aren't equal in value (DKK 4,500 vs. DKK 3,600) — if the parties want a genuinely even trade, the travel-gear brand needs to add either DKK 900 in cash or additional product; otherwise the hotel has effectively given away more than it received.

Both businesses also need to be able to document the valuation — typically with a credit note or an internal record showing the normal sales price used as the basis for the VAT calculation.

Who pays the influencer — and how?

The trade between the two brands is separate from the question of how the creator itself is compensated. Three common models:

Whichever model is chosen, disclosure rules apply in full — a barter deal between two brands changes nothing about the fact that the creator is receiving a commercial benefit and has to label the content as advertising. See the full breakdown in influencer marketing disclosure rules in Denmark and the EU, plus the specific guidance on labelling when two brands appear in the same post in the co-marketing article above.

Contract structure: two layers, not one

A barter deal needs two separate agreements, not one:

• A trade agreement between the two brands. Sets out precisely what each party delivers, the agreed valuation (normal sales price or cost price), delivery timing, and what happens if one side's supply turns out to be worth less than agreed.
• The creator's own contract (or contracts). Follows the same 12 baseline terms as any other influencer deal — see what to put in an influencer contract — regardless of whether the creator is compensated in product, cash, or both.

Don't merge the two agreements into one document — a trade agreement between two businesses and an influencer contract have different parties, different content and different VAT consequences, and should be readable and stored separately.

Decision framework: does a barter deal make sense for you?

IF both brands have something of real value to the other, but neither has spare cash budget right now → a barter deal can fund the collaboration without requiring cash from either side.

IF one party's contribution is significantly harder to value than the other's (e.g. a service with no fixed price list) → settle the valuation in writing before the trade is agreed — not afterward.

IF you can't agree on a shared valuation → consider ordinary cash-split co-marketing instead, where the price is already in currency and doesn't require an estimate.

IF the creator expects a cash fee → combine the trade between the brands with a separate cash payment to the creator, rather than forcing the creator into a full product-for-product deal.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a barter deal is VAT-free. It isn't — both sides must account for VAT on what they give away, as covered above.
• No written valuation. Without a documented price, neither the fairness of the trade nor the VAT basis can be verified.
• The trade and the influencer contract merged into one document. Keep them separate — see the section above.
• An unequal trade with no top-up. If one party's supply is worth significantly more than the other's, the difference should be settled in cash or extra product — otherwise it's effectively a gift, not a trade, with different tax consequences.
• No brand safety check on the trade partner. Exactly as with co-marketing, you're indirectly tying your brand to the other brand too — see one creator, multiple sister brands for a related conflict assessment when several brands are involved in the same creator relationship.

Make Influence's operational perspective

In our experience, a barter deal between two brands rarely starts as a planned strategy — it more often happens because two businesses already know each other and discover they each have something the other can use: a hotel and a travel brand, a restaurant and a food supplier. Our recommendation is to treat the valuation just as seriously as if the money actually changed hands, because the Danish tax authority does exactly that.

This is our own operational experience, not a general industry standard.

FAQ

Does a barter deal between two brands need to be invoiced?

Yes — both parties should issue an invoice or an internal record showing the agreed value and the VAT, even though no cash is transferred. That's the documentation behind the VAT return.

Is a barter deal the same as sponsoring an influencer's wedding or a similar personal event?

No — here, two businesses trade product or services with each other. A sponsored personal event is a brand giving something directly to a creator, the same underlying structure as gifting, just stretched over time.

Can a barter deal be combined with a cash top-up?

Yes, and it's often necessary if the two sides aren't worth exactly the same — see the worked example above.

Do the same rules apply if one brand is based outside Denmark?

The underlying Danish VAT principles for barter apply to Danish businesses under the Danish VAT Act. If the other party is based abroad, cross-border VAT and invoicing rules come on top — seek independent advice for that situation, it isn't covered here.

Is this the same as MDF or co-op advertising?

No. Here, the two brands are equal partners trading directly with each other. With Market Development Funds (MDF) and co-op advertising, a vendor instead funds a retail partner's marketing in a hierarchical relationship, not an equal trade.

Is this the same as a co-branded product?

No. A co-branded product collaboration is one creator whose name goes on one brand's product in exchange for royalty — not two brands trading their own products with each other.