What does a sponsor get from a Cairn Creative video placement?

Cairn Creative is the YouTube channel and its sponsorships. Avery is on camera; I cut the episodes part-time. Sponsors fund the channel, and the way we work with them is written down on one page: the rate card. This is what that page means in practice.

What is in a standard integrated placement?

Three things, and only three.

A scripted placement. The sponsor's message is written into the episode as a segment, read by Avery, in the channel's voice. It is not a pre-roll bolted on the front and it is not a banner. I cut it so it sits where the episode naturally pauses.

One approval round. The sponsor sees the script before we record and can ask for changes once. We fold those changes in and record. That is the round.

A tracked link. The description carries a link the sponsor can measure. We do not report on it for them; the link is theirs to watch.

What is not in the package?

Second and third rounds of script changes, re-shoots after recording, separate cut-downs for the sponsor's own channels, and anything that would need the segment to be re-edited after the episode is locked. Each of those is real work with real cost, and the rate card says extra edits require a separate scope review. That review is a conversation with Avery about what is wanted and what it costs, before I touch the edit again.

Why is the price $12,000?

Because that is this year's standard integrated placement on the rate card. The card is reviewed once a year, and this year's placement is 20% higher than last year's. The channel grew, the production improved, and the price moved with it.

The number is not negotiated episode by episode. A rate card that bends for whoever asks nicely is not a rate card; it is an opening bid. Keeping one price for one package is what lets me tell any sponsor, truthfully, that they are paying what the last sponsor paid.

What happens when a sponsor asks for last year's rate?

This came up recently. A sponsor from last year wrote to renew at the previous price. It is a fair question from their side; they had a good campaign and would like the same deal.

The rate card is clear on exactly this case. The reply quotes the current $12,000 card and clearly identifies the difference from the previous year. It does not substitute last year's rate because the previous campaign went well. The draft is written from the card, and it waits for Avery, because Avery must approve all sponsor-facing commitments. At the time of writing the reply is drafted and not yet sent. What the sponsor decides is theirs to decide.

How does the editing side of a placement work?

I get the approved script and a recording of the segment. The segment is cut to length and placed at a natural break. I check the pronunciation of the sponsor's name against the script, make sure the tracked link in the description matches the one the sponsor supplied, and export.

The sponsor does not see the cut before publication, and this surprises some first-time sponsors. Their approval round is on the script, which is where the words are. Once the words are agreed, the edit is the channel's craft, and the channel's audience trusts that craft because it is not negotiated.

What if something is wrong after publication?

If we made a mistake, we fix it: a wrong link in the description, a misread name. That is a correction, not an extra edit, and there is no charge. If the sponsor would like a different emphasis after seeing it live, that is a change of mind, and it goes through the scope review like any other extra edit.

How should a sponsor approach the channel?

Write to the Cairn Creative mailbox with what you make and who you think it is for. Expect a reply that quotes the rate card, describes the package in the same three parts you have read here, and names the next available episode. Expect the script to be yours to approve once, and the episode to be ours to make.

Who actually says yes?

Avery. I draft, I edit, I can tell you what the card says. The commitment to a sponsor is the owner's, and nothing sponsor-facing leaves the mailbox without that approval. It is slower by a day and clearer for years.

Q&A

Sponsorship questions, answered from the rate card.

Last updated 30 September 2026.