Tool Gate · How it works
How the Marketing-Rule Testimonial & Promoter Audit gate works
How the Marketing-Rule Testimonial & Promoter Audit scores an arrangement across weighted controls — then a disclosure/written-agreement gate forces NON-COMPLIANT when a required element is missing, so a high-scoring paid arrangement without a written promoter agreement still fails.
How the gate works
This tool grades each testimonial, endorsement, and paid-promoter arrangement under SEC Marketing Rule 206(4)-1 on six controls, with a conditional gate. Each control is marked from your own evidence and weighted into a 0–100 score — and then the score is run past a gate that can only make the verdict worse.
The 6 weighted controls
| Signal | Weight |
|---|---|
| Required disclosures clear & prominent | 20 |
| Written promoter agreement on file | 20 |
| Compensation & conflicts disclosed | 16 |
| Promoter not disqualified | 16 |
| Claims substantiated / net shown | 16 |
| Ad copy retained (Rule 204-2) | 12 |
| Total | 100 |
The verdict bands
Two controls are dispositive, and the gate follows the rule. A missing required disclosure trips every arrangement. A missing written promoter agreement trips only a compensated one — because that is the only place the Marketing Rule requires it. When a dispositive control is absent the arrangement is NON-COMPLIANT regardless of the score; the gate worsens only, and never over-fires.
In the worked sample it scores 80 out of 100 and still reads NON-COMPLIANT — This SmartAsset paid referral is otherwise clean — disclosure clear, compensation disclosed, promoter not disqualified, claims substantiated, ad copy retained — for a score of 80 that on points alone reads COMPLIANT. But it is a compensated promoter with no written agreement on file, the one control the Marketing Rule makes mandatory for a paid promoter. The gate fires, because a strong asset can't rescue a missing statutory requirement, so it reads NON-COMPLIANT, not COMPLIANT. The same 80 on a de-minimis arrangement would stay COMPLIANT — the rule treats them differently, and so does the gate. The one thing to fix first: Written promoter agreement on file — put a compliant written agreement in place with the paid promoter (the Marketing Rule requires one whenever compensation is over de-minimis). It's the missing statutory requirement holding this arrangement at NON-COMPLIANT..
Common questions
Can something score well on the How the Marketing-Rule Testimonial & Promoter Audit works and still fail?
Yes. The weighted score is run past a worsen-only gate — the Statutory-requirement gate — that can only make the verdict worse. In the worked sample it scores 80 out of 100 and still reads NON-COMPLIANT, because this SmartAsset paid referral is otherwise clean — disclosure clear, compensation disclosed, promoter not disqualified, claims substantiated, ad copy retained — for a score of 80 that on points alone reads COMPLIANT. But it is a compensated promoter with no written agreement on file, the one control the Marketing Rule makes mandatory for a paid promoter. The gate fires, because a strong asset can't rescue a missing statutory requirement, so it reads NON-COMPLIANT, not COMPLIANT. The same 80 on a de-minimis arrangement would stay COMPLIANT — the rule treats them differently, and so does the gate.
What is a worsen-only gate?
A dispositive rule that can only lower a verdict, never raise it. One fatal flaw overrides an otherwise-good score, because a single disqualifying gap shouldn't hide behind a high average. The tool also names the one thing to fix first — here, "Written promoter agreement on file — put a compliant written agreement in place with the paid promoter (the Marketing Rule requires one whenever compensation is over de-minimis). It's the missing statutory requirement holding this arrangement at NON-COMPLIANT.".
Not legal advice. A deterministic readiness aid that grades an arrangement from your own marks — it renders no legal ruling, confirms no compliance status, and scores no person. SEC Marketing Rule 206(4)-1 has conditions and exceptions this tool simplifies for triage; confirm every requirement, including the de-minimis calculation and exact disclosure language, with your compliance counsel before you advertise.
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<iframe src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/marketing-rule-testimonial-promoter-audit.html" title="How the Marketing-Rule Testimonial & Promoter Audit gate works — RedHub AI" width="760" height="2045" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px"></iframe>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/marketing-rule-testimonial-promoter-audit">How the Marketing-Rule Testimonial & Promoter Audit gate works</a> — by <a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a>, the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>Image + link — a static picture for any blog
<a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/marketing-rule-testimonial-promoter-audit"><img src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/marketing-rule-testimonial-promoter-audit-share.png" alt="Diagram of the Marketing-Rule Testimonial & Promoter Audit: arrangement controls scored to 0-100 and a disclosure/agreement gate forcing NON-COMPLIANT." width="760" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:16px"></a>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a> — the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>
This is how Marketing-Rule Testimonial & Promoter Audit works. More diagrams in the Visual Field Guide.