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Three new formats let brands fund reader access instead of buying banner space. The shift challenges how social marketers value creator partnerships when the pitch is trust, not traffic.

Substack introduced three sponsorship formats at Advertising Week New York: Upgrade, Unlock, and Masthead. They arrive alongside independent brand measurement through Kantar for qualifying campaigns.

The formats flip the standard creator sponsorship model. Instead of placing a message beside content, brands now fund the content experience itself.

Upgrade gives a publisher's free subscribers one month of paid access at no cost to readers. Brands fund the access, while the publisher gets a chance to convert new readers into paying subscribers.

Unlock makes a single paid post available to everyone. The brand pays to remove the paywall on one piece of premium work. The publisher gets paid for the work, while readers can discover content they may later choose to pay for.

Masthead creates a dedicated destination where a brand and creators present work around a shared theme. Substack compares the format with a digital zine, such as a retail brand curating content guides.

All three are built for brands that want association with trusted voices rather than placement inside a feed. The model works only where the creator already holds enough editorial credibility that unlocking their work feels like value, not interruption.

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