Advertise with us
Three placements, one lower-city audience
We sell three fixed placements across the Muskeg Signal podcast and website, reaching readers and listeners in Corktown, Gore Park, the International Village, Durand and along the escarpment stairs.
The offer
What you can book
Placement 01
Episode Shout-Out Spot
$150 CAD
A single 30-second sponsor mention placed mid-episode in our lower-city Hamilton podcast, read by the host from a script you approve. It is a gentle entry point for a shop on Augusta Street, a café near Gore Park, or a seasonal event on the escarpment stairs — the kind of business that wants to be heard by name rather than lost in a banner.
The mention airs in one episode and stays in the archive afterward, so a listener who finds the episode weeks later still hears your name. We send a listen count 14 days after the episode goes up, so you can see how it landed without us dressing the number up.
What's included
- Script polishing with your input before recording
- One host read, mid-episode
- Stays in the public archive after airing
- Listen count sent 14 days after release
Placement 02
Local Life Section Sponsorship
$590 CAD
Your name and a short supporting line appear on the Local Life section of our website for four weeks, with a matching credit in two newsletters sent out over the same period. It suits organizations connected to community, culture or food anywhere from Corktown through the International Village and up toward Durand.
We build placement mock-ups for your approval before anything goes live, so you see the exact wording and position first. One mid-run copy change is included if your event details shift, and the run closes with a page-view summary for the section.
What's included
- Placement mock-up sent for approval before launch
- Four weeks on the Local Life section
- Credit in two newsletter editions
- One mid-run copy change included
- Page-view summary at the end of the run
Placement 03
Seasonal Partner Package
$1,180 CAD
A three-month package pairing a monthly partner-labelled article, six podcast mentions and a recurring newsletter credit, planned around the seasons our lower-city readers actually notice — patio season on King William, the first frost on the escarpment stairs, the run-up to the holidays around Gore Park.
It suits an organization that prefers a steady, relationship-based presence over a single burst of attention. The package opens with a kickoff call to set the calendar, runs on a shared schedule you can see in advance, and closes each month with a short check-in where the figures are explained in plain language, not jargon.
What's included
- Kickoff call to plan the three-month calendar
- One partner-labelled article per month
- Six podcast mentions across the run
- Recurring newsletter credit
- Monthly check-in with a plain-language summary
Inventory
Inside each placement
Episode Shout-Out Spot
- Script draft & polish
- 30-second host read
- Mid-episode placement
- Archive retention
- 14-day listen count
Local Life Section Sponsorship
- Web placement mock-up
- Four-week section credit
- Two newsletter mentions
- One mid-run copy change
- Page-view summary
Seasonal Partner Package
- Kickoff call & shared calendar
- Monthly partner-labelled article
- Six podcast mentions
- Recurring newsletter credit
- Monthly plain-language check-in
In numbers
The figures that matter
30s
Length of an Episode Shout-Out Spot
14 days
Until we send your episode listen count
4 weeks
Length of a Local Life Section run
3 months
Length of the Seasonal Partner Package
Consistency
How we keep placements consistent
Every script and every piece of web copy goes through the same two steps before it airs or publishes: a draft written from the brief you give us, and one round of your approval before we record or post. We do not change wording after approval without asking first.
Reporting figures — the listen count, the page-view summary, the monthly check-in — are pulled straight from the site's analytics and the podcast host's own statistics, using the same method every time a placement runs, so one month's figures can be read against another's.
Scheduling
Lead times and access
We record episodes and update the website within normal business hours, Monday – Friday, 08:00–16:30. A couple of weeks of lead time keeps your placement comfortably ahead of the recording or publishing schedule.
For the Seasonal Partner Package, the shared calendar set on the kickoff call fixes each article and mention date in advance, so nothing lands as a surprise on either side.
Coverage
Who hears and reads this
Every placement runs to the same lower-city audience: Corktown, Gore Park, the International Village, Durand and the escarpment stairs. We do not sell placements against a wider Hamilton or regional audience — if that is what you need, we will say so plainly rather than stretch the claim.
Who this is for
Who books each placement
Independent shops and cafés
A single mention or a four-week section credit suits a storefront on a fixed budget with one message to land.
Community and cultural groups
Festivals, markets and cultural organizations along the International Village and Corktown use the section sponsorship to reach people before an event date.
Businesses that want a steady presence
The Seasonal Partner Package suits an organization that would rather be known gradually over a season than make one loud push.
It is not a fit for a business outside lower-city Hamilton, or for a campaign that needs national reach — our audience is local by design.
Pricing note
What the price covers
Each price on this page is the full cost of the placement as described — the script or copy work, the agreed run length or episode count, one round of approval, and the reporting figure named for that placement (a 14-day listen count, a page-view summary, or the monthly check-in). It does not include a second production pass after you have signed off, or a placement outside the format listed. A final booking is confirmed once you approve the script or mock-up, not before.
Questions about booking? See our full FAQ.