"First I want to thank the sponsor for this video"[]
The King of Random advertising a Casper mattress during a video.
Sponsorships are a form of advertising in which corporations make deals with YouTubers to advertise their products in the video. This is done as a way for YouTubers to earn more revenue off their content, especially if they are demonetized or aren't making enough off of regular YouTube ad revenue. Sponsored segments may be placed at any point during the video, normally at the middle or the end. Depending on the creative freedom agreed upon, sponsored segments may even integrate into videos via the YouTuber's own style (see: TomSka and Internet Comment Etiquette). Most sponsored videos may include paid promotion, while some don't include paid promotion and instead exchange other physical or virtual goods.
YouTube requires sponsored content to be adequately disclosed in YouTube Studio, after which the video will display a banner at the start in the upper left which reads "Includes paid promotion".[1]
YouTubers present and discuss the product or service, and may provide viewers a promotional code for a discount on the offering and also a link in the description for a credit, free trial, and many more as well as to inform the sponsor which customers are coming from that particular YouTuber. Products that sponsors advertise do vary, but usually include things such as virtual private networks (like ExpressVPN, Surfshark and NordVPN), home-delivered meal kits such as HelloFresh, and other online goods and services like shaving equipment, soap, cereal, and many more.
As with regular advertising, YouTube sponsorships frequently come under criticism due to how common they are, and how sponsors often aren't screened by creators before their collaboration with them since some have turned out to be scams. The YouTube sponsor market isn't considered diverse or centralized, and creators may not be fast to adapt to new incriminating information regarding sponsorship scams.[citation needed]
Fewer people tend to stick around for sponsored segments, as they are usually the least viewed parts of a video with viewers either clicking off or skipping them. This is due to users finding advertised content "disruptive".[citation needed]Users who skip sponsored segments either do so manually (by navigating forward through the video with their keyboard or mouse), or use automated browser extensions such as SponsorBlock (which skips sponsored segments, based on user-reported data).
Big YouTubers love putting sponsored segments in the middle of videos. Also, big YouTubers add transitions into the sponsor like, "Man, look at all this stuff... I wish I can sell it. Oh wait... I can sell this stuff with Shopify, the sponsor of this video." What Michael MJD says, "And speaking of stuff" while the video turns black and white and the camera zooms in on a random part, and Linus Tech Tips is the king of these other YouTubers like Preston don't say "sponsored by" ,"sponsor of the video", or "today's video sponsor" instead they say the name of the product like, "let me introduce you to _____", "this is where _____ comes in" or what MrBeast says, " I'm gonna tell you guys about _____".
Notable sponsors[]
Video game sponsors are marked in italics.
- Ace Defender - video game
- AG1 - vitamins and supplements
- Aki Bento - food delivery service
- ASUS - computer hardware company
- AtlasVPN - virtual private network service
- air up - hydration
- Audible - audiobook hosting service
- BackBlaze - storage and backup company
- Bang Energy - energy drink
- Blue Apron - meal kit delivery service
- BetterHelp - online therapy
- Bokksu - Japanese food delivery service
- Brilliant - online learning platform
- Call of Dragons - video game
- Candid
- Casetify - smartphone case service
- Cash App - financial transfer service
- Casper - mattress company
- Core - blockchain-based metaverse game
- Creator League - e-sports tournament, discontinued
- Crunchyroll - anime streaming service
- Curiosity Stream - documentary streaming service
- Current - mobile banking company
- Dark Nemesis: Infinite Quest - video game
- Dashlane - password manager
- DBrand - device case and screen protector service
- Demon Turf
- Displate - poster company
- Dislyte - video game
- Dollar Shave Club - shaving kit delivery service
- Dragon City
- DraftKings Sportsbook
- DressX
- DoorDash - food delivery service
- Epic Games - video game publisher
- Established Titles - novelty company, exposed as a scam in 2022[2]
- Experian - data analytics and consumer credit reporting
- ExpressVPN - virtual private network service
- Factor Meals - meal kit delivery service
- Fortnite - video game, published by Epic Games
- GamerSupps - supplements
- GFuel - supplements
- Girl Cafe Gun
- GlassWire
- Glossier
- Google - search engine and advertisement firm, the owner of YouTube
- Garena Free Fire - video game
- Genshin Impact - video game, published by miHoYo
- Grammarly - intelligent grammar correction app
- HelloFresh - meal kit delivery service
- Honey - cost-saving browser extension
- Honkai Impact 3rd - video game, published by miHoYo
- Honkai: Star Rail - video game, published by miHoYo
- Indochino - apparel retailer
- INNOCN
- Kamikoto Knife Kitchen (scam)
- Keeps - hair growth medicine
- KiwiCo
- Krazy Ky's BrickLink
- Linode
- LiquidIV
- LootBoy
- Lootcrate - subscription loot box service, exposed as a scam
- Lords Mobile - mobile video game
- Mafia City - mobile video game
- Magic Spoon - sugarfree cereal
- Manscaped - shaving kit delivery service
- Mech Arena
- Monster Legends
- MPL - Mobile Premier League
- Nebula - independent streaming service
- NordVPN - virtual private network service
- Opera - internet browser
- Opera GX - internet browser aimed at gamers
- PCBWay
- Policy Genius
- Private Internet Access - virtual private network service
- PUBG - video game
- PUBG: Mobile - mobile video game
- Raid: Shadow Legends - video game
- Raycon - wireless earbud company
- RHINOSHIELD
- Ridge Wallet
- Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade
- Rouge Company
- SakuraCo
- Scentbird
- SeatGeek - ticketing service
- Shaker & Spoon
- Shopify - e-commerce platform
- Skillshare - online learning platform
- Squarespace - website builder and hosting service
- Stamps.com
- Stumble Guys
- State of Survival
- Surfshark - virtual private network service
- Swagbucks - loyalty and consumer rewards program
- The Battle Cats
- Temu (scam)
- Ting - internet service provider
- Tunnelbear - virtual private network service
- Tokyo Treat
- Vessi Footwear - waterproof footwear company
- Vincero - luxury accessories
- Viture
- War Thunder - video game
- Watchers of Realms
- Wondershare Filmora - video editing software
- World of Tanks
- Wix - website builder and hosting service
- Xbox Game Pass
- ZipRecruiter
- Zuru
See also[]
External links[]
- Search paid product placement videos - a search filter YouTube offers to only find videos which have been marked as having paid promotion