The rise of the YouTube generation – we’ve been talking about it for years, so much so that it’s very much a risen loaf of a generation and the ‘dough’ keeps mounting up.
A couple of weeks ago, it was announced very publically that Pewdiepie, friendly ‘bro’ of the gaming community of YouTube had raked in a tidy sum of $7.3million in 2014. For a 25 year old – it’s not something to be sniffed at, especially if you consider that he has earned that money through yelling at games in front of the camera.
It gets interesting however when you begin to look at the statistics he has under his belt – at 37.7million subscribers and over 9 billion views across his videos, it’s not hard to see how he’s reaping the rewards.
He’s been on YouTube since 2010, and although he started small, he’s grown his ‘small’ digital empire to a peak of publishing 48 videos on average per month and getting asked to do game after game review for money.
He’s not the only one either – Jenna Marbles, who became famous after her video ‘How to trick people into thinking you’re really good looking’ went viral, is a Boston-mouthed sweetheart of YouTube. She boasts over 15million subscribers and a snippet past 18 billion video views – making her one of the biggest female stars on the platform.
The fast growing hub for everyones favorite demographic
Google owned YouTube has now become so great that it’s eclipsed any individual US cable network as the main attraction for 18-49 year olds. They’re not just watching one video either – they’re sticking around for up to 40 minutes at a time on average, an increase that can certainly to attributed to the rise in smartphone use. In 2014, mobile users doubled they’re thing watching clip after clip and it’s only continuing to rise.
Naturally that’s peaked the interest of advertisers – a new report shows that the number using YouTube as a gateway to reach the pool of switched on, ingrained YouTube millennial consumers (god I hate that phrase) have soared to more than 40 per cent over the last year.
Partnerships aren’t a new concept but the proof of their success is clear when we look at brand: creator set-ups on YouTube. In 2014, the top 100 brands featured on the platform enjoyed a 55% rise in monthly video views as a result of partnering with YouTube Celebrities. (I think I hate that word more)
Less pre-rolls, more understanding
The success is almost surprising, what with the platform actively promoting creativity and approachability. The way vlogging has taken hold of the platform or simple DIY beauty videos is testament to the fact that although brands are succeeding, YouTube is still very much a community driven enterprise.
Some of that is thanks to the change in strategy of the brands on the site – from standard media buying – mass ad placement to qualitative content co-creation. Adreas Goeldi, CTO at Pixability ( YouTube partner) commented:
“We’re seeing a significant shift from brands treating YouTube as a dumping ground for commercials, to a destination site for a broad range of branded video content. They understand how consumers use the platform, and recognize the need to guide the viewing experience.”
Clearly something is looking up for brands wanting to get the attention of they’re content hungry targets – as the number of subscribers rises by 47 per cent year on year, it should be noted that brand channels are receiving 10 times more ‘likes’ than dislikes. It’s starting to show that if the content is good enough, the audience will not only like it; they’ll be loyal to it and tune in for more – which is good news when attention is lax.
Famously melodic voice actor and personality Ze Frank is no stranger to partnerships – lending his voice box to the Purina ad that ran on Buzzfeed back in 2014. With over 22million views it’s certainly played up to the stereotype that everyone on the internet loves cats (whether they actually bought the cat food and the cat is another story).
I’m not going to mention the brands doing own branded content well by themselves – they get enough ‘air’ time and you clearly don’t give a ‘Bull’ about them anyway. What strikes me is the seamless operations that brands enter in to with the creators – and how, the big players of the platform still have autonomy to keep they’re content original, as unbranded as possible and largely true to their ‘art’.
Truth be told, the ones that don’t, quickly find out that their subscribers catch on quickly and there’s nothing worse than trying to pull the wool over your audience’s eyes.
Take Mamrie Hart and Hannah Hart for instance (weirdly not related, but they are best friends). These two YouTubers are responsible for alcohol fuelled recipe shows by the name of YDAD (You Deserve a Drink) and My Drunk Kitchen and have made a living out of being comedic and a bit squiffy online.
Whilst they’ve branched out a lot since they started into a community funded comedy film Camp Dakota and a string of YouTube collabs and live shows, they’ve also woven in a number of brands here and there.
Most YouTubers I tune into have ‘codes’ that their subscribers can use to get unique discounts / access to everything from Audible.com to Netflix. The two aforementioned video starlets signed deals with alcohol companies like Club W , a wine tasting and delivery service (ohh la la) – it’s on brand, their community benefits and ultimately they’re the ones enjoying the alcohol on live streams along with their favourite YouTubers.
This is not a game of my ad is bigger than yours, this is finally a space where brands can truly take time to understand what their consumer is looking for and interested in. In doing that, brands can and are creating better content with more soul and a legitimacy to entice their chosen audience.