Send a brief
Andy Bailey of Andymation, in headphones and a cap, animates a LEGO town on a tabletop in his studio, a large round softbox lit behind him and a blue backdrop to one side.
A jackal stands beside a red dirt road in tall pale grass in Namibia, a termite mound behind it and a line of cliffs on the horizon.
The Diesel Creek host, in a cap and a checked shirt, stands in a gravel equipment-auction yard, a telehandler, trucks and an excavator parked against the trees behind him.

YouTube and podcast advertising for brands.

We choose the channels and shows, buy the reads, brief the creators and hosts who give them, and measure what each one does.

Send a briefSee how it works
  1. Andymation on YouTube · Frame at 16:01
  2. Lindsay Nikole on YouTube · Frame at 0:06
  3. Diesel Creek on YouTube · Frame at 56:40

What a read is

A read is about a minute of a video or episode someone chose to watch or hear, given by the person who made it.

People chose that video or episode, and the person they came to hear tells them about your product. We place those minutes with channels and shows whose audience fits, write briefs that leave the wording to the creator or host, and report plainly on what each one did.

Stills in the line, in order: Modern MBA, Shark Numbers and DipYourCar, on YouTube

Where the reads live

Every kind of channel and show

We start from the audience a brand needs and look for it across YouTube and podcasts, whatever the subject, the size or the format.

Heidi of Your Way Living stands on a rock in a clear, shallow mountain river, seen from behind, trees in full leaf along the far bank.
Your Way Living on YouTube Outdoors and cooking · Frame at 12:30
Ryan Arey, host on ScreenCrush, in a cap and a jacket with a shoulder bag, smiles at the camera in an autumn forest.
ScreenCrush on YouTube Film and TV · Frame at 3:09
A LEGO skatepark against a yellow wall, a minifigure on a skateboard in the air above the halfpipe and three more watching below.
Mr. Bricks on YouTube LEGO builds · Frame at 58:00
Adults in summer clothes dance on a rhythm game platform in an arcade lit with neon.
Modern MBA on YouTube Business · Frame at 2:10
Red and silver classic sports cars on the floor of a custom car shop, more cars stacked on lifts behind them, a logo on a jacket and the lifts' maker's name blurred.
Dave's Auto Center on YouTube Engines and repair · Frame at 15:42
Two hands hold up a curved test panel in colour-shift paint that turns from deep blue to violet and gold in the light.
DipYourCar on YouTube Car paint · Frame at 8:16
The Shark Numbers host plays a ukulele in his desk chair, beside a monitor showing a fire and a window with the curtains open.
Shark Numbers on YouTube Tech reviews · Frame at 2:16
Lindsay Nikole, in a bucket hat, looks into the lens in her studio.
Lindsay Nikole on YouTube Wildlife and science · Frame at 7:01
Seen in first person on a golf green, a hand holds a putter over a golf bag with a squirrel sitting on top of it.
Buttered Side Down on YouTube Comedy · Frame at 3:57
Jon Law films himself in an empty office, a long conference table and chairs behind him.
Jon Law on YouTube AI tools and business · Frame at 1:06
An indoor canal with an arched bridge between Venetian-style shopfronts at a Las Vegas resort, visitors along the railings, the shop signs blurred.
NoodleNick on YouTube Gadgets and vlogs · Frame at 8:40
A sedan sprayed in bright orange colour-shift paint, seen side on in a parking lot with trees behind it.
DipYourCar on YouTube Car paint · Frame at 6:19
A corner of the Andymation studio: a blue paper backdrop, a light on a stand and a LEGO town laid out on a wooden table.
Andymation on YouTube Animation · Frame at 13:11
White robot arms work behind a drinks bar, rows of upturned bottles hanging above them.
NoodleNick on YouTube Gadgets and vlogs · Frame at 10:44

Each frame is credited to its channel and shows the kind of video a read can sit in.

Services

What we do

We can run a whole campaign or any part of it.

See every service

Formats

Approach

How a campaign runs

About twelve weeks from the first call to a decision on every channel and show.

See the approach
  1. Seen in first person, a hand reaches toward a grey squirrel sitting up on dry leaves.

    Week 1

    The brief

    We agree the goal in numbers you already use, such as cost per new customer, and start a baseline before anything runs.

    Buttered Side Down on YouTube

  2. A pile of yellow LEGO minifigure heads, each with a different expression.

    Weeks 2 and 3

    The plan

    We watch and listen to every channel and show we consider, then send a shortlist with a reason and a cost for each.

    Mr. Bricks on YouTube

  3. Ryan Arey, host on ScreenCrush, raises a finger as he makes a point in an autumn wood.

    Week 4

    Briefing the hosts

    We book the reads, send each creator or host a brief and the product, and set a code and URL for every one.

    ScreenCrush on YouTube

  4. The Shark Numbers host, in a beanie and glasses, talks at his desk microphone, a neon shark sign glowing behind him.

    Weeks 5 to 11

    The reads go live

    We check each read as it goes out and give the results the weeks they need to arrive.

    Shark Numbers on YouTube

  5. Two oily hands hold up a curved bearing shell beside a crankshaft.

    Week 12

    Measure and renew

    Each channel and show gets a cost per new customer and a recommendation to renew, change or drop it.

    Dave's Auto Center on YouTube

Specimen

From brief to read

The brief gives the host the reasons, the offer and the two or three lines that must be said exactly. The sentences are theirs.

Read about briefs

The briefLarkspan, savings app

  1. 1

    One idea

    Saving happens when you no longer have to remember to do it.

    Give a host three ideas and they will choose one, so we choose it.

  2. 2

    Talking points

    • You choose an amount and a day, and Larkspan moves it each week. There is no decision to make each time.
    • You can pause or withdraw at any time, with no fee. Listeners worry about being locked in.
    • The app shows what you have put away this year. Seeing the number keeps people going.

    The reasons are for the host, to use or leave.

  3. 3

    The offer

    Open an account at larkspan.com/listen by November 30 and Larkspan adds $20 after four weekly deposits.

    It runs past the final episode, because people keep listening for weeks.

  4. 4

    Say exactly

    “Larkspan is a financial technology company. Banking services by Fernhill Bank, Member FDIC.” The URL as “larkspan dot com slash listen.”

    Two lines, each with its reason.

The readAbout a minute

I have opened about four savings accounts in my life and put money into maybe one of them, twice.

Larkspan is the first one that has worked for me, and the reason is pretty boring. I told it twenty dollars every Friday, and then I stopped thinking about it.1 If I need the money I can pause or take it out, with no fee, which is what got me to try it.2 There is also a line in the app that shows what you have put away this year, and I check it more than I would like to admit.2 Larkspan is a financial technology company. Banking services by Fernhill Bank, Member FDIC.4 If you want to try it, go to larkspan dot com slash listen before the end of November, and after your first four weekly deposits they will add twenty dollars.3 That is larkspan dot com slash listen.4

Specimen. Larkspan is an invented brand, and the read is written in the voice of an imagined host. The small numbers in the read show which part of the brief each line answers.

Pricing

What a read costs

A host-read on an episode with 25,000 downloads, at $25 CPM, costs about $625 in media.

Most podcast reads are priced per thousand downloads, and YouTube integrations as a flat fee, per thousand views or per view.

Published 2026 host-read rates run from $18 to $26 CPM on the Libsyn Ads rate card and from $25 to $40 or more in Acast's pricing guide, both accessed October 2026.

See pricing in full

Guides

How reads are priced, briefed and measured

Every figure in the guides is sourced and dated.

Read all guidesOpen the glossary

Covers: Jon Law, Lindsay Nikole, Diesel Creek and Andymation, on YouTube

Contact

Start with a short brief

Tell us what you sell, who buys it and what a good result would look like. We reply with the channels and shows we would test first and what a first flight would cost.

Send a brief

Lindsay Nikole on YouTube · Frame at 0:07