Terms for working with Illumin8 Marketing

1. About Illumin8 Marketing

Illumin8 Marketing is an owner-led South African marketing consultancy that supports growing businesses with brand clarity, messaging, website development, SEO, content strategy, Google Ads and ongoing marketing support.

Illumin8 Marketing provides strategic and practical marketing support to help businesses bring more clarity, structure and direction to their marketing.

2. Use of this website

This website is provided for general information, business enquiry and communication purposes.

You agree not to use this website in a way that is unlawful, harmful, misleading, disruptive or damaging to Illumin8 Marketing, its website, its systems or other users.

The information on this website is provided in good faith. While reasonable care is taken to keep information accurate and updated, Illumin8 Marketing does not guarantee that all website content will always be complete, current or error-free.

3. Website content is not professional legal or financial advice

The content on this website may include general marketing guidance, business insights, strategic observations and practical recommendations.

This content is provided for general information only and should not be treated as legal, financial, accounting, tax or regulatory advice.

Clients remain responsible for seeking appropriate professional advice where their business, industry, legal obligations or compliance requirements require it.

4. Enquiries and consultations

Submitting an enquiry through this website does not automatically create a client relationship.

An enquiry allows Illumin8 Marketing to understand your business, your current marketing needs and whether the requested support may be a suitable fit.

Illumin8 Marketing may accept or decline enquiries at its discretion, depending on the nature of the work, availability, capacity, budget fit, timelines and whether the business appears aligned with the services offered.

A Clarity Call or initial discussion is intended to understand the enquiry and recommend a suitable next step. It is not a full strategy session, audit, consultation or diagnostic unless specifically agreed in writing.

5. Quotes, proposals and acceptance

All services are quoted or proposed based on the information available at the time.

A quote or proposal may include:

• The scope of work.
• Deliverables.
• Pricing.
• Payment terms.
• Estimated timelines.
• Client responsibilities.
• Revision rounds.
• Exclusions.
• Any project-specific terms.

A quote or proposal is only accepted once the client confirms acceptance in writing and pays the required deposit or upfront fee, unless otherwise agreed.

Illumin8 Marketing may revise a quote if the scope, requirements, timeline, deliverables or available information changes.

6. Scope of services

Illumin8 Marketing may provide services including, but not limited to:

• Brand clarity and messaging.
• Positioning and service communication.
• WordPress website development.
• Website structure and content planning.
• SEO foundations and on-page optimisation.
• Content strategy and communication planning.
• Google Ads strategy and management.
• Social media direction and content support.
• Marketing audits, reviews and recommendations.
• Ongoing marketing support.

The exact scope of work will be confirmed in the relevant quote, proposal or written agreement.

Anything not specifically included in the agreed scope will be treated as additional work and may be quoted separately or billed at an agreed hourly or project rate.

7. Fees, deposits and payment terms

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the following standard payment terms apply.

Website projects

Website projects require a 60% deposit before work begins, with the remaining 40% payable before final delivery, launch, handover or publication.

Marketing Clarity Review

A Marketing Clarity Review is payable 100% upfront before the review begins.

Monthly marketing support

Monthly marketing support, retainers or ongoing service arrangements are payable monthly in advance, unless otherwise agreed.

Google Ads management

Google Ads management fees are payable monthly in advance.

Google Ads spend is separate from Illumin8 Marketing’s management fee and is paid directly by the client to Google, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Once-off projects

Once-off projects, including design, content, strategy or communication projects, generally require a 60% deposit before work begins, with the remaining 40% payable before final delivery.

8. Late payment and paused work

Invoices must be paid by the due date stated on the invoice or agreed in writing.

If payment is overdue, Illumin8 Marketing reserves the right to:

• Pause work.
• Delay delivery.
• Withhold final files, access, reports, publication, launch or handover.
• Pause ongoing support.
• Decline further work until outstanding amounts are settled.

Illumin8 Marketing is not responsible for missed deadlines, delayed launches, campaign interruptions or project delays caused by late payment.

Where payment remains overdue, Illumin8 Marketing may take reasonable steps to recover the outstanding amount.

9. Cancellations, postponements and refunds

Deposits are generally non-refundable once work has been scheduled, planned or started.

If a client cancels a project after work has begun, the client remains responsible for payment for all work completed, time reserved, costs incurred and third-party expenses committed up to the cancellation date.

Where a project is postponed by the client, timelines may need to be revised. Illumin8 Marketing cannot guarantee immediate availability if a postponed project is later resumed.

For ongoing monthly support, cancellation requires one full calendar month’s written notice.

Any cancellation terms may be subject to applicable South African consumer protection laws where those laws apply.

10. Revisions and changes

Unless otherwise stated in a quote or proposal, website design and copy projects include two revision rounds.

A revision round means a reasonable set of changes based on the agreed scope and direction of the project.

Revisions do not include:

• A change in strategy or direction after approval.
• New pages, services, sections or deliverables.
• Rewriting content because the client’s information has changed.
• Replacing approved concepts with new concepts.
• Changes caused by incomplete or inaccurate client information.
• Work outside the original agreed scope.

Additional changes beyond the agreed scope or revision rounds may be quoted separately or billed at an agreed hourly or project rate.

Delays caused by late client feedback, late approvals, missing information or changes in direction may affect timelines.

11. Client responsibilities

To deliver work properly, Illumin8 Marketing relies on the client to provide accurate information, timely feedback and required access.

Clients are responsible for:

• Providing accurate business, service, product and pricing information.
• Supplying logos, brand assets, images, documents and access details where required.
• Confirming the accuracy of all factual claims, technical information and industry-specific content.
• Reviewing and approving content before it is published.
• Ensuring they have permission to use supplied images, videos, testimonials, case studies, logos and other materials.
• Providing website, hosting, domain, Google, email, analytics, advertising or social media access where needed.
• Responding within reasonable timeframes.
• Making payments on time.
• Complying with any legal, regulatory or industry-specific obligations relevant to their business.

Illumin8 Marketing is not responsible for delays, errors or compliance issues caused by incomplete, inaccurate or late client information.

12. Website projects and handover

For website projects, ownership of the final approved website content and design transfers to the client once full payment has been received, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Illumin8 Marketing retains ownership of:

• Internal processes.
• Strategic frameworks.
• Working files.
• Templates.
• Systems.
• Methods.
• Know-how.
• Unpublished concepts.
• Drafts not selected or paid for.

Third-party assets, plugins, themes, fonts, tools, stock images and software remain subject to their own licence terms.

Website launch, migration, handover or transfer may be withheld until all outstanding amounts have been paid.

13. Hosting, domains, plugins and third-party tools

Third-party tools and platforms are outside Illumin8 Marketing’s control.

These may include, but are not limited to:

• WordPress.
• Divi.
• Google services.
• Hosting providers.
• Domain registrars.
• Plugins.
• Email platforms.
• Analytics tools.
• CRM systems.
• Social media platforms.
• Advertising platforms.
• Payment gateways.
• Security and backup tools.

The client is responsible for third-party subscription fees, licence renewals, hosting fees, domain renewals, ad spend and platform costs unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Illumin8 Marketing is not liable for third-party downtime, hosting failures, plugin conflicts, software bugs, platform changes, account suspensions, algorithm changes, loss of access to third-party accounts or interruptions caused by third-party providers.

14. Google Ads, SEO and digital marketing services

Illumin8 Marketing provides marketing services professionally and strategically, but results cannot be guaranteed.

For Google Ads, SEO, website visibility, content performance, social media and other marketing activity, results may be affected by many factors outside Illumin8 Marketing’s control, including:

• Market demand.
• Competition.
• Client budget.
• Website quality.
• Offer strength.
• Pricing.
• Landing page performance.
• Sales follow-up.
• Client reputation.
• Tracking limitations.
• Platform changes.
• Search engine or advertising algorithm changes.
• Economic and industry conditions.

Illumin8 Marketing does not guarantee specific rankings, traffic levels, leads, enquiries, conversion rates, sales, ad approvals, campaign performance or fixed cost-per-click or cost-per-lead results.

The client is responsible for providing accurate business, product, pricing, service and compliance information for campaigns and content.

15. Content, approvals and legal accuracy

Illumin8 Marketing may assist with content strategy, website copy, marketing copy, social content, advertising content, campaign messaging and brand communication.

The client remains responsible for approving final content before publication.

Clients must ensure that all claims, product descriptions, service descriptions, qualifications, pricing, testimonials, technical information, regulatory statements and legal disclaimers are accurate and lawful for their industry.

Illumin8 Marketing can help communicate information clearly, but the client must approve factual, technical and regulatory accuracy.

16. Intellectual property

Unless otherwise agreed, Illumin8 Marketing retains intellectual property rights in its methods, strategy frameworks, processes, templates, concepts, working files and know-how.

Once full payment has been received, the client receives the right to use the final approved deliverables for the purpose for which they were created.

Drafts, rejected concepts, unused options, working files and internal documents remain the property of Illumin8 Marketing unless specifically included in the agreed scope.

The client confirms that any material supplied to Illumin8 Marketing does not infringe the rights of any third party.

17. Confidentiality

Illumin8 Marketing will treat confidential client information with reasonable care.

Confidential information may include:

• Business information.
• Login details.
• Unpublished content.
• Strategies.
• Pricing.
• Client data.
• Internal documents.
• Commercial information.
• Marketing plans.

The client also agrees not to disclose Illumin8 Marketing’s confidential methods, proposals, strategy documents, pricing structures, internal processes or unpublished materials without permission.

Confidentiality does not apply to information that is already public, independently developed, lawfully obtained from another source or required to be disclosed by law.

18. POPIA and personal information

Illumin8 Marketing is committed to handling personal information responsibly and in line with applicable South African privacy requirements, including POPIA.

Where Illumin8 Marketing processes personal information, it will take reasonable steps to process it lawfully, securely and only for appropriate business purposes.

Where a client provides personal information, customer lists, enquiry data, email data, website form data or other personal information to Illumin8 Marketing, the client confirms that it has the necessary rights, permissions or lawful basis to share that information.

Where required, the parties may need to agree additional data processing terms depending on the nature of the project.

Further information about how Illumin8 Marketing handles personal information is available in the website Privacy Policy.

19. AI-assisted tools

Illumin8 Marketing may use professional tools, including AI-assisted tools, to support research, planning, drafting, structuring, content development, design concepts, image concepts or workflow efficiency.

AI-assisted tools do not replace Illumin8 Marketing’s strategic judgment, review or refinement process.

Illumin8 Marketing will take reasonable care not to knowingly submit confidential client information into tools in a way that exposes sensitive data unnecessarily.

Where AI-assisted outputs are used, they are reviewed, edited and refined before delivery.

The client remains responsible for reviewing and approving final content before publication, especially where factual, technical, legal, regulatory or industry-specific accuracy is required.

20. No guarantees of results

Illumin8 Marketing aims to provide thoughtful, professional and practical marketing support. However, marketing outcomes cannot be guaranteed.

Illumin8 Marketing does not guarantee specific business results, revenue, rankings, leads, sales, traffic, engagement, enquiries, advertising performance or platform outcomes.

Any examples, case studies, projections, estimates or recommendations are provided for guidance and should not be interpreted as guaranteed results.

21. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Illumin8 Marketing will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential or special damages, including loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of data, reputational damage, business interruption or loss resulting from third-party platforms.

Illumin8 Marketing’s liability for any claim relating to services provided will, where legally permitted, be limited to the amount paid by the client for the specific service giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability where it cannot lawfully be excluded under applicable South African law.

22. Delays and circumstances beyond reasonable control

Illumin8 Marketing will not be responsible for delays or failure to perform where this is caused by circumstances beyond reasonable control.

This may include:

• Third-party platform failures.
• Hosting or domain issues.
• Power outages.
• Internet interruptions.
• Illness or emergencies.
• Delayed client feedback or approvals.
• Missing client information.
• Supplier delays.
• Security incidents.
• Changes by third-party platforms.
• Events outside reasonable control.

Where possible, Illumin8 Marketing will communicate delays and adjust timelines reasonably.

23. Changes to services or terms

Illumin8 Marketing may update its services, pricing, processes and these Terms and Conditions from time to time.

The latest version of these Terms and Conditions will be published on this website.

For active projects, the terms agreed in the accepted quote or proposal will apply unless both parties agree otherwise in writing.

24. Governing law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

Any disputes will be handled in accordance with South African law and, where necessary, through the appropriate South African courts or dispute resolution processes.

25. Contact

For questions about these Terms and Conditions, please contact Illumin8 Marketing through the contact details provided on this website.