Media & Journalism
Santiago Turned Down 75,000 Dollar Brand Deal to Maintain Creative Integrity
Modern Wisdom
The Art of Unstoppable Self-Belief - Joe Santagato - #1108
"There was a brand deal that came in for $75,000 and what they wanted was for me to promote a phone game. I always did advertisements at the very end of my video. But they wanted me to put it in the first like 30 seconds or a minute, and that's why they were paying $75,000. And I was like, I'm not doing that."
Early in his YouTube career, Santiago walked away from a $75,000 sponsorship because the brand wanted ad placement in the first minute of his videos, violating his principle of keeping sponsors at the end. Despite having little money at the time, he refused to compromise his audience's trust or his format for a life-changing sum, a decision that shaped his reputation for authenticity over revenue.
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