The same research method, as an engagement.
AutomotiveCloudWatch works directly with the people making automotive, manufacturing, and physical-AI decisions, investment teams doing diligence on a target, executives setting an SDV or plant-floor AI roadmap, and organizations that need a rigorous, sourced breakdown of a product or a market rather than another press release. The method behind the newsletter, filings, supplier datasheets, direct factory pricing, and component-level teardown, is available as engagement: advisory, briefings, research, and speaking, scoped to what you actually need to decide.
Five ways to work together.
No fixed price list, every engagement is scoped to the target, the audience, or the machine in question. Each line below gives a typical engagement, so you can gauge the shape of it before the first call.
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01
Advisory & diligence
Diligence a target, a thesis, or a supply chain before you commit to it.
- Who it's for
- Investment funds, corp-dev, and strategy teams evaluating an automotive, manufacturing, or physical-AI target or thesis.
- What you get
- Company, supply-chain, and technology diligence; structured briefings for the deal team; an ongoing retainer for standing coverage.
Outline of the deliverable
- Company, supply-chain, and technology diligence
- Structured briefings for the deal team
- An ongoing retainer for standing coverage
An outline of what an engagement contains, not a sample of client work.
Scoped per engagementTypical engagement: a 2 to 3 week diligence sprint, delivered as a written memo plus a briefing call.
From a single briefing to a standing retainer.
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02
Executive briefings & training
Get a leadership team or board fluent in the stack before it makes a decision.
- Who it's for
- Leadership teams and boards setting direction on SDV, physical AI, or plant-floor AI.
- What you get
- A half-day or full-day workshop with a curriculum built around your roadmap, not a generic deck.
Outline of the deliverable
- A half-day or full-day workshop with a curriculum built around your roadmap, not a generic deck
An outline of what an engagement contains, not a sample of client work.
Scoped per engagementTypical engagement: a half-day session for 8 to 15 leaders, on-site or remote.
From a single briefing to a standing retainer.
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03
Speaking & moderation
A keynote, panel, or internal town-hall on the car and the factory turning into compute.
- Who it's for
- Conference organizers, corporate events, and internal town-halls.
- What you get
- A keynote, a seat on a panel, or moderation, built around a pre-call to align the brief.
Outline of the deliverable
- A keynote, a seat on a panel, or moderation, built around a pre-call to align the brief
An outline of what an engagement contains, not a sample of client work.
Scoped per engagementTypical engagement: a 30 to 45 minute keynote or moderated panel.
From a single keynote to a recurring speaking slot.
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04
Sponsored editorial
A commissioned long-form piece that reads as analysis, because it is.
- Who it's for
- Technology companies that want thought-leadership presence around a launch, a trade show, or a campaign, in front of senior engineers up to CIO level.
- What you get
- A long-form editorial built around an interview with your customer, partner, or senior expert; independent research and fact-checking; an original visual; publication on Substack and LinkedIn; a feature in the ACW newsletter; LinkedIn promotion; and a performance report after publication. You review the draft for factual accuracy. The piece is clearly labeled as a paid partnership and editorial control stays with ACW.
Outline of the deliverable
- A long-form editorial built around an interview with your customer, partner, or senior expert
- Independent research and fact-checking
- An original visual
- Publication on Substack and LinkedIn
- A feature in the ACW newsletter
- LinkedIn promotion
- A performance report after publication
Conditions
- You review the draft for factual accuracy.
- The piece is clearly labeled as a paid partnership and editorial control stays with ACW.
An outline of what an engagement contains, not a sample of client work.
Scoped per engagementTypical engagement: one commissioned long-form editorial, from interview to publication in four to six weeks. An event package adds a framing piece before the show and a follow-up after it.
From a single piece to a campaign-long series.
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05
Newsletter and article sponsorship
A tasteful mention in front of readers who make these decisions.
- Who it's for
- Companies building in or selling into automotive, manufacturing, or physical AI.
- What you get
- A sponsored placement in the newsletter or an article, offered selectively. You pay for the placement, never for the opinion, and ACW never publishes a claim it hasn't verified.
Outline of the deliverable
- A sponsored placement in the newsletter or an article, offered selectively
Conditions
- You pay for the placement, never for the opinion, and ACW never publishes a claim it hasn't verified.
An outline of what an engagement contains, not a sample of client work.
Scoped per engagementTypical engagement: one sponsored placement in a monthly issue or an article.
From a single placement to a season-long partnership.
Start a conversation →
How it works.
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01
Reach out
Send a short brief through the form below: what you need, your timeline, and a rough budget band. No call required to start.
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02
Scope the engagement
A short call confirms the shape of the work and lands on a fixed-fee quote or a retainer, scoped to what you actually need.
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03
Deliver
Work starts on the agreed date. Briefings and research ship as a written memo plus a live conversation, not a slide deck alone.
Frequently asked.
How is pricing determined?
Every engagement is scoped individually against the target, the audience, or the machine in question, there's no fixed rate card. The form below asks for a rough budget band so the first conversation starts from a realistic scope rather than a guess.
How fast can you start?
Advisory sprints and briefings typically start within two weeks of a scoped agreement. Standing retainers run on a longer lead time, mention your timeline in the form and it'll shape the first call.
Do you work with competitors in the same space?
Engagements are confidential by default, and material conflicts are flagged before work begins, not after. Say so in the message field if exclusivity matters to your engagement.
Is sponsored editorial a paid review?
It is paid work, not a paid opinion. A commissioned piece is labeled as a paid partnership, the sponsor reviews the draft for factual accuracy only, and the analysis and conclusions are ACW's own. That is what makes it read as credible analysis to an engineering audience rather than as product copy.
What if I'm not sure which offering fits?
Pick the closest option and use "not sure" for the budget band, the intake call exists to figure out the right shape of engagement, not to hold you to the first guess.
Start a conversation.
A short brief is enough to start. Every field below reaches Shawn directly, nothing is outsourced to a sales team.