General Terms and Conditions (GTC)

1. Business Purpose

Advertising, Corporate, Dialogue, Digital, Event, Relations, Spatial/3D, Location Development – these are the core competencies and services of CP9 AG. At the intersection of these eight pillars, we develop goal-oriented, future-proof marketing solutions that always go a step beyond everyday consulting. Our team members see themselves as specialists in idea management who invent, design, and implement.

2. General / Scope

These GTC are an integral part of every contract between CP9 and the client or contractor and are considered accepted upon the issuance of an order confirmation. Supplementary or deviating agreements are only valid if recorded in writing and confirmed by both parties.

Our terms and conditions are deemed accepted through oral or written order arrangements, as well as through the implied behavior of our clients and contractors. By acknowledging these GTC, CP9’s clients and contractors explicitly waive the right to assert their own terms and conditions.

3. Order Modality

We only work on a contract basis or a firm order placement and do not create free designs, Plans or preliminary work. CP9 is committed to the Pitch Codex of the Expo Event Association Switzerland and thus to fair play in the industry. The Pitch Codex stipulates that pitches are only accepted against payment. The goal is to make competition fair and achieve a win-win situation for the agency and the clients.

We handle both entire budgets and partial tasks. In addition to formal order confirmations, meeting minutes are also considered integral parts of the agreements. Consultations and travel are billed based on time spent, and travel distances are calculated according to Google Maps. We do not provide performance guarantees and do not offer services for success-based fees.

We reserve the right to reject orders that do not correspond to our ethical principles or that require the violation of legal provisions. If we reject an order, we will inform the client within a reasonable period.

4. Duty of Loyalty and Cooperation

We act as agents of the client and protect their interests to the best of our knowledge and belief. Clients support us primarily through timely and clear instructions, provide us with all necessary information, and designate one or more persons authorized to make decisions regarding the subject of the contract. All costs arising from these points are borne solely by the client.

If additional effort arises for CP9 during the fulfillment of the order because the client has not fulfilled their duty to cooperate, or has done so only incompletely, this will be charged additionally.

5. Meetings, Preliminary Work, and Tenders

An initial meeting and pertinent negotiations before the order is placed are free of charge and non-binding for both parties. Negotiations and preliminary work that go beyond this are subject to compensation.

The usage rights for the proposals presented by us in this phase, or parts or ideas thereof, remain with CP9 and may only be reused after explicit consent and any applicable compensation.

6. Stages of Execution

In every rough planning phase, external costs are derived from empirical values. Obtaining precise external offers is subject to a fee.

7. Involvement of Third Parties

It is the nature of the agency business that orders can be passed on to third parties. We do not pay invoices from third parties concerning our clients unless they are prepared to make full advance payments. Invoices from third parties are issued to the client, checked by us, and forwarded to the client.

We assume no liability regarding the performance and/or delivery of third parties that goes beyond professional mediation and control. In particular, we are not liable for irregularities that third parties explicitly reserve in their terms. For claims from third parties billed directly to the client, we assume neither obligation nor guarantee.

If the choice of third parties is made under the significant influence of the client, the client alone bears the guarantee for their cost-effectiveness and quality.

We generally do not make advance payments to contractors. In exceptional cases, e.g., for international orders, the following partial payments can be agreed upon:

1. 1st partial payment: 40% of the order sum after receipt of the contractor’s order confirmation.

2. 2nd partial payment: 30% of the order sum after approx. 30 days or after receipt of a sample or proof.

3. 3rd partial payment: 30% of the order sum after receipt and inspection of the delivery.

8. Client’s Own Services

Services provided by the client or ordered directly from third parties must be recorded in writing and brought to our attention immediately. We assume no guarantee or liability for these services.

9. Copyright and Usage Rights

The client explicitly recognizes the agency’s intellectual property, particularly the copyright to all services and works created by us within the scope of the collaboration. We transfer the usage rights for works created by us with short- or medium-term usage purposes for the duration of the mutual collaboration. Any further transfer of usage rights, including subsequent use, requires an additional agreement and compensation. We reserve the right to be named as the author.

If the client explicitly requests a full acquisition of usage rights, they must communicate this in advance so it can be considered in the quote. If full acquisition is not possible or economically sensible, we will inform the client in good time before order fulfillment. In such cases, we only provide the client with the usage rights necessary for order fulfillment. The type, scope, duration, and remuneration for the transferred usage rights are agreed upon individually for the respective orders.

In the case of illegal use, the client owes us a penalty of 200% of the invoice amount, provided no additional damages arise. Further use remains prohibited despite payment of this penalty. Claims by third parties remain reserved.

10. Liability

Any defects in our work must be asserted immediately. We reserve the right to rectify defects in the event of a complaint. We are only liable in the event of culpable poor performance of the contract.

Our contractual liability is limited to the amount of the order fee. Any further contractual liability is excluded. Mandatory legal provisions remain reserved. We also assume no liability for additional costs caused by additional services at the request of the client, price changes in the market, industry-standard over-deliveries, color and measurement deviations, or concept changes by the client.

In the event of loss of documents and data, we are only liable in cases of gross negligence. Liability is limited to the replacement of the material value at the time of loss.

11. Remuneration

Unless otherwise agreed, the invoice amount is payable net within 20 days of the invoice date. For unpaid invoices, default interest of 8% per year will be charged from the due date. Reminder fees are charged at CHF 25.00 per reminder. If the client is in a financial bottleneck, we are prepared to set up a payment agreement. If installment payments were agreed upon, we reserve the right to withdraw from the contract in the event of non-payment. Any claims for damages remain unaffected.

All costs and fees calculated by us are exclusive of statutory VAT and any other taxes or fees. A tolerance range of +/- 10% is assumed for budget preparation. In the event of possible budget overruns, we undertake to inform our clients immediately to discuss the further procedure.

12. Cancellation

If a consulting mandate is canceled for compelling reasons, the external costs already incurred will be charged in any case, and our services will be billed according to the status of the work.

13. Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

The contractual relationships between us and the client are subject to Swiss law. The place of jurisdiction is the court at our registered office. We reserve the right to sue the client at the competent court at their registered office or another competent court. Unless explicitly agreed otherwise, Swiss law also applies to contractual relationships with foreign clients or contractors.

14. Additional Expenses

Additional effort that we have not offered is charged at CHF 100.00 to 240.00 per hour, depending on the task. Our hourly rates in detail:

Creative Direction (CD): CHF 240.00
Art Direction (AD): CHF 220.00
Consulting Lead: CHF 220.00
Consulting: CHF 200.00
Strategic Copywriting: CHF 200.00
Content Writing: CHF 180.00
Graphics: CHF 160.00
Junior Consulting: CHF 160.00
Technical Project Management: CHF 120.00
Technical Assistance: CHF 100.00
Travel Time: CHF 100.00

All expenses are billed according to actual expenditure; travel expenses at CHF 0.80 per kilometer. Transport and truck trips are quoted separately. Not included are other travel expenses, photo shoots, image capture (scanning), translations, proofreading, color laser prints, proofs, photo and image fees, data conversions, data deliveries, and shipping costs. A small expense flat rate of 4% of the invoice amount is charged, covering costs for telephone, email, copies and B/W printing, presentation material, and standard mail. All prices are exclusive of VAT.

15. Severability Clause

If a competent authority deems one or more provisions of these GTC to be void or ineffective, the binding nature of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. In this case, the void or ineffective provision will be replaced by an economically equivalent, lawful provision. Furthermore, particularly for gaps for which these GTC do not provide a regulation, the provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations on simple mandates and the Federal Act on Copyright and Related Rights apply.

Status: January 2026