Third-party content is email that promotes the products or services of another company.
Occasional third-party content is acceptable under the current Certification requirements; however, third-party content as a business model is not. We commonly refer to these businesses as third-party mailers.
Third-party mailers are companies that mail on behalf of brands that they do not fully own. Some third-party mailers offer service platforms for other companies such as ESPs, agencies, and white labels. Other third-party mailers focus primarily on sending mail that promotes the products and services of another company. Common examples include publishers and affiliate marketers.
While third-party content is still technically content promoting brands that are not your own, it is generally allowed if it is a supplement to your first-party mail. Your mailstreams should largely be promoting your own products and services, not those of other companies. An example of acceptable third-party content is a brand that wants to send a quarterly cross-promotion for a sister brand.
All content (including third-party) must be sent from the Certified sender to their own mailing list.