Sponsor

 Sponsor is for paid promotions, paid referrals and direct advertisements.

Description

This includes:

• Giveaway of items, which are provided by a 3rd party and the announcement of the winner
• Advertisement of affiliate links
• Segues into a YouTube ad

Exceptions/ Edge Cases

Sponsor should take precedence over other categories such as  Endcards/Credits. If possible, a clean cut should be made.

1. If the whole video is about (or closely related to) the sponsor:
   1. Don't make segments covering the entire video.
   2. If the whole video is a sponsor, submit a full video label using the sponsor category.
   3. If the video isn't entirely about a sponsor but could show bias for the sponsor, don't include the sponsor disclosure and submit a full video label using the sponsor category.
2. If the product stands in no obvious relation to the YouTuber, mark it Sponsor.
3. If the product is advertised with the YouTuber's branding, but is still clearly a product of the company.

If the segment more closely matches the criteria for  Unpaid/Self Promotion, it should be marked as such instead of Sponsor.

• If they are closely linked with or the product bears their branding exclusively.
• Free shout-outs for anything they like
  • Other channels
  • Causes / charities
  • Websites
  • Products

Disambiguation

Exclusive Access

If a referral link is added or referenced, it becomes Sponsor.

Unpaid/ Selfpromo

• No association / affiliate to company:  Sponsor
• Biased investment advice (stocks, cryptocurrency, NFTs, etc.):  Sponsor
• Custom/ build-to-order products:  Sponsor
• Turnkey / white-label products:  Selfpromo
• Considerable ownership of company:  Selfpromo
• Wholly owned company:  Selfpromo

Examples

• Branded "G-Fuel" energy drink:  Sponsor
  • If there is an affiliate link or if it is customized for the content creator
• Merch through a third party distributor (RedBubble, TeeSpring):  Selfpromo
  • RedBubble and TeeSpring are turnkey solutions for merch with limited involvement by the parent company
• Beast Burgers:  Selfpromo
  • Beast Burgers are part of a turnkey solution by Virtual Dining Concepts.
• LunarClient Partners:  Sponsor
  • LunarClient cosmetics are not turnkey
• Epic Games Support-A-Creator:  Sponsor
  • Content creators have no association with the brand and in their Application even states that any creator must disclose their connection.
• Makeship:  Sponsor
  • Similar to YouTooz, the platform is promoted and the products are not turnkey.
• Nebula:  Sponsor
  • While "owned by creators" and payouts are split, no creator has considerable ownership over the platform, it is owned by Standard Broadcast LLC.

Examples

Description	Video link
Positive examples
The sponsor at the start and the end both include their respective segues.	I tried Steam Deck early and it's awesome
The complete segue is included. There is a joke about the video's subject in the segue, but it is encouraged to include it as well.	Space Jam 2 - Terrible but very fun
The show is owned by HBO, but there is no obvious connection between the show and HBO.	Housing Discrimination: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Segue into a YouTube ad.	Rick and Morty season 5 finale breakdown (spoilers)
Outerminds makes video game collaborations for other YouTubers as well.	Papers, Please!
Negative examples
The disclosure at the start shouldn't be marked.	We might need a Wi-Fi upgrade - Juniper Networks showcase
The disclosure at the start shouldn't be marked. Further mentions of the sponsor may be cut though, like the segment at the start or at 6:30.	Jerk Chicken
At 1:06 he is promoting his own shop. This is considered  Self Promotion.	Honda Metropolitan II multipurpose lock picked
This is all about his keycaps. It is similar to using a company that produces and sells custom merch.	Make your keyboard thock for $3