In today’s modern day society, the very fabric of show business and celebrity culture has changed dramatically. Gone are the days a young teen would only dream about the possibility of interacting with their favorite entertaining personality or celebrity crush. Enter YouTubers, (otherwise known as Vloggers), which over the last 5 years have become celebrities in their own right (Wallop, 2015). Using YouTube, a free video upload platform, essentially allows anyone anywhere (excluding YouTube restricted countries, (Amini 2014) to create and share content with the world.

Dan and Phil are but just on example of the Internet phenomenon, having achieved a massive following of over 5 million, and their most viewed video reached 9 million viewers (Wallop, 2015). These are the viewer numbers Channel 4 and even the BBC are dreaming of.

This new celebrity culture has grown so significantly, that a specific event is now held annually in which the most popular personalities meet, to greet fans. Summer in the city started six years ago in a marquee in Hyde Park with only a few hundred people turning up, but soon began to snowball. A few years later, it was moved to Alexandra Palace (the site symbolically, of the first BBC television transmissions, as well as where Darts is held) but that soon this became too small, and so more recently it has come to one of Britain’s biggest exhibition venues, the ExCel Centre.
So why the sudden popularity? Wallop, (2015) believed there were numerous reasons as to why over 10,000 fans are more than willing to pay the £40 entrance fee to see some of their idols. Firstly, how approachable they are, they let the audience see a part of them general celebrities try to hide, everyday routines as well as personal opinions and feelings additionally YouTubers benefit from having a positive fan base. It’s mutually beneficial and it’s what differentiates it from standard media, when the artist interacts with fans on a personal level.

 

An early article from Male (2010) revealed exactly how businesses were beginning to use YouTube as a promotional platform. From this, she explained the most effective way businesses can utilise the tool.

 

Videos must:
1. Inform. These videos inform the viewer about the business (eg. a mission statement or company news).

2. Educate. These are meant to service the viewer in some way (eg. “how-to” videos or product demo). Recently Facebook page Tasty has experienced high viwer ratings simply because of how easy it shows it is to cook certain recipes.
3. Entertain. Of course, this type of video is pure entertainment (eg. Parody videos) -but the best may contain elements of all three, as well as help build a relationship with your target customer.

 

How does this relate to businesses?

Firstly, the very fabric of marketing has changed thanks to 21^st century technology. Both ‘Millennials and Generation Z’,(referencing to when the individuals birth date) now consume products and marketing, differently to previously. Television and print advertising have not gone away, but studies have shown that they are extremely less effective when compared to their performance 30 years ago (Fallingup, 2014).

 

From a business perspective, The Internet has not only changed how ads are delivered, but also how results are quantified and measured. TV viewers access their content a variety of ways, including live streaming and accessing content online on various devices like tablets, iPhones and live streaming.

Yes. TV adverts reach the masses, but online channels engage them, and potentially at a much lower price point than TV.  What’s clear is this: Advertisers follow eyeballs. And so does the money. Peterson (2014) reported that Digital adverts are predicted to Overtake TV Ad Spending by 2019. This maybe scary to some organisations, but to others it opens up numerous opportunities. CEO Bob Iger expressed his optimism in noting that the very fabric of entertainment has changed. Disney’s latest acquisition of Maker Studios, reportedly cost them a figure of around $1bn dollars, and yet some argue that this was a small price to pay.

Maker was formerly one of YouTube’s largest independent multichannel networks (MCNs)has over 50,000 channels and approximately 5.5 million page views a month (Brown, 2014). Organizations that affiliate with multiple YouTube channels aim to help them with “programming, funding, cross-promotion, partner management, digital rights management, monetization, sales, and/or audience development,” in exchange for a portion of the lucrative advertising money that the channels generate, according to YouTube.

One of the pioneers DewpieDie, dubbed ‘Emperor of the internet’ has a cult following of over 40 million subscribers, who regularly check his channel for the latest content. The theory is that Disney will not be able to reach those immune to the traditional methods of marketing, while at the same time, delivering their message through a beloved and instantly recognizable figure. These ready-made audiences, along with a loveable character (the YouTuber) are perfect for businesses looking to spread their message through. Factor in the additional benefit of SEO, real time updates can inform the channel creator what exactly fans like and did not, even more appealing for businesses that love ROI figures (attractive ones at least).

However, motivational gurus and fitness icons, Hodgetwins (2015), explained the YouTube process, and warned that it is not as lucrative as you think for the YouTubers. They explain that YouTube and the government are the main benefactors, followed by the fans, (devliering great content free) then finally the YouTubers, who recieved a portion of advertising revenue based on thier viewer ratings (and also external deals such as product placement, independant reviews etc.) There is no denying it is an amazing age we live in, thanks to YouTube and the Interent, but it is neither easy or as rewarding on the surface, so probs not best quit your day job just yet.

Male, B. (2010) How To Use YouTube To Drive Business – Business Insider. 2016. How To Use YouTube To Drive Business – Business Insider. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-business-2010-2?op=1&IR=T. [Accessed 26 January 2016].

Wallop, H. (2015) Meet the new breed of celebrity: inside the YouTube convention – Telegraph. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11812700/Meet-the-new-breed-of-celebrity-inside-the-YouTube-convention.html. [Accessed 26 January 2016].

Peterson, T. (2014) “Digital to Overtake TV Ad Spending in Two Years: Forrester” Media – AdAge. [ONLINE] Available at: http://adage.com/article/media/digital-overtake-tv-ad-spending-years-forrester/295694/. [Accessed 26 January 2016].

Hodgetwins, (2014) “How to be a fitness YouTuber” Accessed online. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_jEPRVjD8o
Dean, B. (2016) Available at: http://backlinko.com/how-to-rank-youtube-videos

[Accessed 26 January 2016].

Fallingup.com, (2014) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.fallingupmedia.com/video-ads-vs-tv-commercials/ [Accessed 26 January 2016].

Weiss, G. (2015) ) Why Disney’s $500 Million Acquisition of Maker Studios Is Proving Less Than Picture Perfect [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249659 [Accessed 26 January 2016].
Brown, E (2014) http://www.ibtimes.com/why-disney-dropped-nearly-1-billion-maker-studios-youtube-channel-1572752 [Accessed 26 January 2016].