How Makers Can Best Work with Sponsors
World Maker Faire New York 2018
September 22nd-23rd
If you build it, they will come. In today’s world of exploding maker content, on YouTube and beyond, companies are aggressively pursuing popular content creators, offering them ad relationships, outfitting their shops with tools, and other types of brand relationships. This is fabulous for makers. They get much needed monetary support, free tools, and greater reach and respectability. These creators also have far more control over how they incorporate sponsors into their channels than traditional advertising relationships. But what are the best practices in incorporating advertising so that the brands and the content creators are happy, but equally important, the consumers of the content don’t find the sponsorship relationship invasive, a turn off?
In this casual, audience-inclusive discussion, we will speak with some of YouTube’s most beloved makers about how they navigate this situation, what approaches they like/don’t like, and how they respond to feedback from their viewers. This talk will give content creators, would-be creators, and content consumers an opportunity to discuss best practices. The panel includes voices from content creation, publishing, and marketing.
Gareth Branwyn
(Host) Gareth is the former Editorial Director of Maker Media and regular contributor to Make: and Boing Boing. As ED of Maker Media, he worked closely with Make:’s Sales and Marketing Dept to create unique, successful, and popular sponsorship relationships with RadioShack, Ford, GE, DigiKey, Jameco, Singer, Proctor & Gamble, and other major brands.
Bradly Hoos
Bradley is the Chief Growth Officer at The Outloud Group, an influencer marketing agency that helps brands tell their stories through influencers. A proven marketing innovator, Bradley is responsible for building client relationships and making new business models come to life.
Jimmy DiResta
Jimmy DiResta is a designer and master maker known for his ability to fabricate in an impressive array of materials. He's starred on a number of cable shows and recently starred as Shop Master on NBC's new series "Making It," hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. Jimmy's a well-known maker star on YouTube where he creates regular content on his DiResta channel and contributes videos for Make:, Core77, and others.
Laura Kampf
Laura Kampf is a clever, funny, 33-year-old Content Creator/Maker/YouTuber from Cologne, Germany. While studying design in college, a few concepts came into her head and her urge to build prototypes grew—so she started building a workshop and improving her skills. A couple years later, she rediscovered her interest in filmmaking and combined the two passions and started making videos for Youtube. Now, every week, Laura builds a new project and documents her process along the way.
Bob Clagett
Bob Clagett doesn’t care what the material is, or what it’s for, he just loves making stuff. On his popular YouTube channel, I Like to Make Stuff, he enjoys showing other people how he works, to hopefully inspire them, and empower them to make whatever it is that they’re passionate about.
Alex Gabriel Ainouz
Alex Gabriel Ainouz is a food maker. On his popular YouTube channel, "French Guy Cooking,” he weekly shares his inspirational journey as he tries to recreate the iconic foods with which he is obsessed. As a former engineer, Alex relies on science and technology to understand the cooking process, and as a dodgy DIYer, he builds the contraptions he needs in his quest to achieve, and we quote, "World Food Domination."
John Graziano
John Graziano is relatively new to the YouTube maker family, with his Graz Makes channel, but with his clever builds, his often hilarious videos, and his overall engaging personality, he has quickly established himself as a content creator to watch. And then there’s the beard.
