VSCRL × Microsoft

TheRetainer

The always-on creator partnership for Surface + Windows.

Built for the Surface + Windows team

Confidential proposal

The Model

The Retainer Breakdown

Base

$12,000

per month

  • Standing advisory seat — recurring working sessions, live direction
  • Content review + creative feedback on everything in flight
  • Vetted creator bench, maintained monthly
  • New campaign + creator concepts every month
  • Live performance dashboard + monthly insights readout

Campaign Kickoff

$7,500

per campaign

  • Brief development
  • Creator discovery + slate
  • Campaign strategy
  • Tracker + dashboard standup

Creator Activation

$5,000

per creator

  • Sourcing, negotiation, contracting
  • Concept approvals
  • Production management
  • End cards + publishing QA
  • Wrap reporting

Travel

$5,000

per day, all-in

  • On-location production support
  • Team of 1–2
  • All travel costs included
  • Day count approved per shoot before booking

How It Plays Out

One Campaign

A product launch — 5 creators, one on-location shoot.

Campaign kickoff $7,500
5 creator activations × $5,000 $25,000
Travel — 2 days on location $10,000
Total $42,500

+ Base $12,000/mo keeps strategy, reviews, the creator bench, and the dashboard always-on — campaign or not.

Hero pieces + larger productions scoped separately.

Terms: quarterly commitment, auto-renews, 60-day out. Invoiced quarterly.

Creator fees: pass-through, Microsoft's budget, full transparency. Talent costs never live inside VSCRL fees.

Productions: scoped per project, pre-approved estimate before booking. Travel: domestic US, international scoped per trip.

Insights & Strategy Reports: separately scoped engagements, $10,000 per report — priority scheduling for retainer clients.

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