Criteria and Guidelines for Sponsors

Podcast Sponsorship Criteria and Guidelines

1. Alignment with Values:

  • Sponsors that align with the core values of West Coast Acadian, promoting inclusivity, diversity, and open exploration of nature, culture, wisdom, language, and gender, will be prioritized. 
  • Sponsors that are local or regionally aligned with the North West of British Columbia will be given preference over non-local, non-BC, and non-Canadian sponsors, products, or services. 

2. Relevance to Audience:

  • Sponsors need to offer products or services relevant to our target audiences. Preference will be given to companies, services, and products that have a demonstrated relevance to our Key Themes or Target Audiences.

3. Ethical and Sustainable Practices:

  • West Coast Acadian, as a project of Amanda Ramsay's, remains committed to ethical and sustainable business practices. Preference will be given to companies with a demonstrated commitment to social responsibility and environmental sustainability.
  • Preference will be given to sponsors who have a demonstrated commitment to gender equity, gender diversity, and parity in hiring LGBTQIA2+folx.
  • Preference will be given to sponsors, products, and services, that have a demonstrated commitment to people with varied abilities, whether physically, cognitively, or mentally. 
  • Preference will be given to sponsors, products, and services that prioritize circular and regional economics, and those that offer additional value to our audience through promotions, free inclusion, etc. 

4. Connection to Themes:

  • Sponsors should have a connection to the podcast's themes, contributing meaningfully to discussions on women, nature, wisdom, culture, language, and spirituality. 
  • Additional platform themes include: philosophy, politics, writing, opinion, reviews, pop culture, film & cinema, television & series, books & literature, Canadiana, British Columbia, northern realities, and topical interests of a timely nature.

5. Audience Engagement:

  • Sponsors must demonstrate a commitment to engaging with the West Coast Acadian community, potentially offering exclusive promotions, discounts, or content for our listeners; but more than that, have an active brand voice currently in the social media and online landscapes. If you have a witty retort on your social media that got some traction, then you probably have the right vibes for us.

6. Collaboration Opportunities:

  • Sponsors are encouraged to explore collaborative opportunities, such as co-created content, event sponsorships, or themed podcast series. As a small business and single-parent, I get that sometimes the easiest ways we can support one another is with our time, in-kind contributions, or cross posting on the socials together. If you are interested, please email us at: westcoastacadian@gmail.com

7. Transparent and Honest Representation:

  • Sponsors must accurately represent their products or services without misleading or deceptive practices. Zero tolerance. All products, services, and sponsors must conform to Canadian, and British Columbian regulations and laws, as applicable. 
  • Please see legislation for each jurisdiction, as necessary.

8. Exclusivity Consideration:

  • WCA, the podcast, aims to provide a diverse range of sponsors. While exclusivity is not guaranteed, it will be considered to ensure that sponsors do not directly conflict with each other. 
  • Further, we will not prevent an advertiser from purchasing an entire episode block of ads (3), however, advertisers & sponsors may not purchase exclusive ads for a period longer than two weeks. 

9. Compatibility with FolkWisdom Rating:

  • Sponsors must be comfortable with the FolkWisdom Rating System, understanding that their brand may be associated with content which ranges from family-friendly to mature audiences.

10. Cultural Sensitivity:

  • West Coast Acadian places importance on cultural sensitivity. Sponsors should be aware of and respect diverse cultural backgrounds, avoiding content that may be considered culturally insensitive or appropriative.
  • Priority will be given to female sponsors, services, and female-targeting products because regardless of their interest, our key audience is female. As the largest audience in western society, women are reclaiming their power and in it, the power to tell their stories. The utmost respect is to be shown for all stories, contributors, and realities of our feminine audience, feminist advocacy, and the intersection of the feminine reality with other realities. 
  • We will prioritize voices that belong to various marginalized groups to speak for themselves, but we will not promote any hate speech or rhetoric, including xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, eugenics, antisemitism, and many others. A key marker is that a company, service, or product, ought to be "owned by" to mention or press to be any authority on said representation. Representation, as self-disclosed, will be respected. 
  • We will prioritize content that seeks to fulfill the calls to action in the

    Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's calls to action, and we will prioritize being a "buffer" as white, settler-descendants as western culture continues to reexamine our roles in settler-colonial culture and the effort required to untangle ourselves as enablers in an inequitable system we never built. Sensitivity and nuance are required as we speak regarding Reconciliation, the Residential School System, the 60's Scoop, and various other policy-enforced hate. Denialism will not be tolerated.