Sponsorship, Product Review and Cooperation Policy

Last updated: November 11, 2020

This policy applies to any sponsorships, reviews and cooperations between "Daniel Kreuzhofer Media 3D", further referred to as "DKM3D" and a potential sponsor or entity providing products for review on our YouTube or social media channels as well as our websites.

The customer comes first

It is our intention to provide the most honest review possible for my viewers so that they can make an informed decision on potential purchases. To meet this aim, the following principles apply:

DKM3D will not provide paid promotions. No money or other items of value can change hands to avoid any conflict of interest and any allegations of our review being biased. Where an item is provided free of charge for review, this will be disclosed clearly in the video description.
The item provided must be the equivalent of what a regular customer would receive after making their purchase. If we suspect an item has been specially prepared to receive a favourable review, at the very least this will be disclosed in the video and likely be interpreted unfavourably by viewers. We also reserve the right to cancel the review.
When encountering difficulties, we may initially attempt to consult user manuals, support documentation and community groups before contacting the company representative that supplied the review item. This will allow our experience to be more in line with a typical customer.
Even when difficulties are resolved, it is relevant to include this part of the review experience in the final video. If it is clear the problem was an anomaly, this will be clearly stated so viewers can see the positive response from the company in rectifying such circumstances. If the issues are not rectified, this is also important to disclose to the viewer so they can see what type of experience to expect as a customer.
Once the review is agreed upon, a poor experience during our review period is not grounds for the review to be cancelled or deleted to avoid negative publicity. As such, it is particularly important in these cases for the review to be publicly available to warn customers of less than desirable products. Customers expect to buy products that are adequately developed and tested to ensure performance, reliability and safety.
In the case that we make a verified mistake in our process, we will delete the original video at the company’s request and upload an altered version to be fair and accurate. Reference to the problems of the original video will be made in the description to inform users of our error.
DKM3D will not be held liable for any negative publicity, loss of sales, investment, etc that comes from any review. It is the company's responsibility to create a product that performs well against its competitors. If the product is not of sufficient quality, the review will reflect this.

Sponsorships

Sponsorship opportunities on the YouTube channels, social media and blogs produced by DKM3D range from product integrations to burnt-in product or service sponsor spots in video content. Web-based advertising opportunities on crosslink.io and subsites are also available!

Sponsorships are a vital ingredient to online content and marketing. However, there are a few legal and moral limits:

DKM3D refrains to refuse sponsorship from any party for any reason.
- Generally, sponsorships are only accepted if DKM3D is convinced the product or service is legitimate and provides genuine value to the customer.
- An accepted sponsorship does not constitute unlimited endorsement by DKM3D.
YouTube imposes certain limits to product sponsorship integrated into video content. Legal limitations and requirements to declare sponsored content also apply (relevant German and, to a certain extent, US law are considered)
Payments for sponsorships are not a way to influence the outcome or time schedule of a product review.
- Then again, DKM3D will most likely refuse sponsorships anyways for products with poor review outcomes.
Brand and product integrations may be removed under extreme circumstances.

Timeline and Communication

Any company agreeing to have an item reviewed by DKM3D does so with the knowledge that we are individuals with work, family and social responsibilities outside of our YouTube channel.

For a 3D printer, a typical time frame from receiving the unit to releasing the review is approximately 6 weeks. This is a target, however, and actual time frames may be shorter or longer than this, depending on the complexity of the product and difficulties encountered.
Issues that require replacement components to be sent will slow down the timeframe and extend the release date.
Unless explicitly stated and agreed upon by all parties, there is no defined deadline for a review to be released.
The company is welcome to contact us to ask how our review is progressing, and we will endeavour to reply to them in a timely manner.
For any major issues, we will contact the company and seek their direction on how to rectify the problem.

Review Process - 3D printer

The following is a list of typical, but not guaranteed, steps undertaken when reviewing a 3D printer, that are likely to be included in the final video.

Summary of the advertised features and capabilities based on product pages where the item is for sale. Content and multimedia made publically available on the company’s website and/or social media channels may be included in the video.
Unboxing, assembly, first print setup including levelling, loading of filament, etc.
Evaluation of provided instructions, tools, spares and digital materials as found on an SD card or equivalent.
Test printing of files found on the included SD card or equivalent.
Test printing using included/recommended slicing software and settings.
Test printing using alternate slicing software, if available.
A range of test prints primarily in PLA filament, aiming to evaluate performance in terms of:
- Surface quality
- Dimensionally accuracy and tolerance
- Detail in small prints and features
- Long/large prints in vase mode, typically utilising the maximum vertical build volume of the printer
Tests prints in other materials such as ABS, PETG and TPU, where the specifications of the printer allow.
Testing of thermal runaway protection and any other relevant safety features.
Testing of filament runout detection, power loss recovery and any other relevant features the printer offers.
Availability of firmware source for the customer.
Analysis of the support documentation and community groups available for the printer.
Analysis of modifications and improvements publically and freely available.
A minimum of 100 printing hours is sought in order to adequately experience the typical operation of the printer.

Review process - Other items

The following is a list of typical, but not guaranteed, steps undertaken when reviewing other software/hardware, that are likely to be included in the final video. Those that are applicable depending on the nature of the product.

Summary of the advertised features and capabilities based on product pages where the item is for sale. Content and multimedia made publically available on the company’s website and/or social media channels may be included in the video.
Unboxing, assembly, and first setup.
Evaluation of provided instructions, tools, spares and digital materials as found on an SD card or equivalent.
Installation of the item if it is a modification part for a 3D printer or other existing piece of equipment.
Testing the performance, repeatability and reliability of the primary and additional purposes of the item.
Testing of any applicable safety items or features.
Analysis of relevant consumables and ongoing costs required to maintain the item.
Analysis of the support documentation and community groups available for the item.
Analysis of modifications and improvements publically and freely available.

Review Summaries - Ensuring Fairness

Our aim is to be fair and transparent when summarizing our opinion of a review item. To achieve this, the following principles will apply.

A summary of all of the positives of the experience will be provided.
A summary of all of the negatives of the experience will be provided.
We will assess the performance of the item against what is advertised by the seller of the product.
We will assess the performance of the item against relevant competitors based on our experience using them.
We will try to avoid comparing the review item against competitors that we have not used first hand. It may be relevant to compare the publicly available specifications of each item, but speculation involving performance comparisons will be avoided.
We will evaluate the performance of the review item in terms of its price point in the market.
We may attempt to describe a customer demographics that will or will not be suitable for the review item.
Our opinion will not be altered by whether we purchased the product or received it for free. Our opinion will be formed using the criteria in this document as a guide to assessing the performance of the item on merit.

Publishing

In order to make the content of the video accessible and clear to viewers, and to maintain the financial viability of the channel, standard practices apply when publishing.

The name of the company, the name of the contact from the company, and the name of the product may be included in the title, thumbnail, description, tags and any other metadata.
Images of the product and company logo may be used on the thumbnail.
A range of links to sites where the product is for sale may be included in the description. These will often be affiliate links, as is standard practice on technology based channels.
Videos on our channel are monetized via YouTube advertisements, as is standard practice for most YouTube channels. This will occur on the review video unless the company explicitly requests the video be demonetized before the review is agreed upon.