ShayCarl, father of YouTube’s first family and one of the co-founders of Disney-acquired Maker Studios gave an uproarious and anecdote-filled closing keynote at [a]list summit last Thursday. We caught him beforehand to talk one-on-one about influencer marketing and about his personal experiences dealing with brands.
Brands, take note: “Trust the influencer.”
The [a]list summit on Influencer Marketing took place last week on July 31st, and there were many industry visionaries as part of the proceedings — and in the audience. Here’s a summary of what went on during the event.
Chris Younger, principal and director of strategy, Ayzenberg
Welcome by Chris Younger
The summit was kicked off by Ayzenberg principal and director of strategy Chris Younger.”The three biggest topics we hear about from the [a]list daily are social, mobile, and influencers,”said Younger. The [a]list summit today will focus on influencers, a huge part of the changes that are transforming industries and marketing. “The rapid pace and change the industry is going through takes us on a journey where we may be pioneers in a new age of creativity,” Younger noted.
Setting the Stage
Julian Hollingshead, VP, strategy and client services
“We need to look at a snapshot of influencer marketing overall,” said Hollingshead. He discussed a range of influencers, from a brewer with thousands of followers to Beyonce.
Hollingshead mentioned various axes to think about with influencer marketing, like the find vs. buy continuum and the creation continuum. Influencers have many important roles. “They influence, they create, they are part of like-minded communities,” he said.
“What community leader wouldn’t want the brands they already love to reach out to them with information and content to talk about and share. If you can find these people and activate them, what a powerful force,” said Hollingshead.
Eric Solomon, head of brand strategy. Google
Keynote: Hypertelling
Eric Solomon, head of brand strategy, Google/YouTube
YouTube: 6 billion hours per month are viewed, 1 billion unique visitors, 20 percent of all Internet traffic.
“We’ve been in the middle of a digital revolution for a long time,” said Solomon. Advertising is now about orchestration, not just integration. How does all this crap go together?” asked Solomon. “It really is an orchestration of all these things.”
“The idea of content these days is very liquid,” Solomon noted. “There’s no space limitation on YouTube.” This gives you complete freedom to craft messages the way you want.
“The user is in control,” Solomon noted. Consumers are very demanding, and they want content “where I want it, when I want it, how I want it.” “We’re very demanding as consumers,” said Solomon. “This makes the difficulty of how all this goes together very, very complicated. If it was passive before, consuming content is a very active thing. It’s about providing something that’s relevant, compelling, contextual content, not just advertising.”
“It’s not just telling a story if you’re a brand, it’s what happens to it after you tell it,” said Solomon. As his mom noted, it’s about hyperlinks… which led him to the word Hypertelling. Speaking about Nike’s masterful Olympics campaign, Solomon said: “It was about not just integration of content, but orchestration.” He drove it home with his summation: ” It’s no longer about where it can go, but where it should go. How much is up to the brand, and how much is up to the user You don’t own it any more, people are going to want to do something with it if it’s good.”
Ultimately, Solomon noted, “Can we give people a reason to believe ”
Oprah to PewDiePie panel
Oprah to PewDiePie
Moderator, Jim Louderback, GM Digital Discovery Network
Jeanette Liang, executive director of global digital marketing at ADF, Estee Lauder Companies; Phil Ranta, VP of talent operations at Fullscreen & PronunciationManual; Jack Vale, Fullscreen and Rob Ciampa, CMO of Pixability
PewDiePie had 350 million views in June, his audience 75 percent male. “From a brand perspective, he’s not an influencer,” said Ciampa. Liang said “he has the potental to be an influencer, but it’s up to the brand to work with him to make him an influencer.” Ranta believes he is an influencer, he just doesn’t know he is, as the Flappy Bird example illustrates.
“What makes a good influencer?”asked Louderback. “Who are you speaking to?” responded Liang. “It comes down to how receptive they are and how smart they are. If you have seven status meetings with them and you can’t get it through to what you want them to do, that’s not good.”
“You have to find something you think your audience is going to be receptive to,”said Vale.
“We have a view obsession,” said Ciampa. “We’ve looked at influencers and they are really good at engagement. Many brands can’t have that because they have some intern doing engagement.”
“There are companies that are looking for up-and-comers,” said Liang. They are always trying to find the people who are in the process of building an audience. “We’ve got a team who’s out there finding and signing,” said Ranta, using a team of people who are savvy and immersed in the market.
Ranta noted they’ve just started partnering with Vine channels. They are starting to combine the Vine and YouTube worlds, to help popular Viners get paid.
How do you balance what you want to do with what the brand wants to do?” asked Louderback. “Like I do my marriage,” said Vale. “It’s all about give and take.”
Liang noted that they have an objective, but not a list of tactics. Those are developed with the influencer. “We let the conversation be a very genuine brainstorm,” Liang said. Ranta agreed. “I feel the best interactions are collaborations.”
“When you do things right, organic happens,” said Ciampa. He mentioned a campaign they just did for Puma, and it got great organic traffic and engagement. “True success is organic.” Vale agreed, saying that buying views just really doesn’t work ultimately.
“Is traditional advertising going to disappear and be replaced by influencer marketing?” asked Louderback. “The digital audience expects a different experience,” said Ciampa. “We’ll always have TV advertisements,” said Liang. Ranta had difficulty thinking of any form of advertising that ever died. “As long as there’s still an end user that’s absorbing something in a meaningful way, there will still be advertising,” said Ranta.
Creator Visionaries panel
Creator Visionaries
Moderated by [ion] talent group director Brian Foster
Olga Kay, filmmaker and founder of Mooshwalks; Zach King, filmmaker, and Connor Franta, filmmaker.
Starting off with videos from all three of the creators, they talked about the experiences. Franta worked with Coke on a series of videos, and let them shoot him and do the editing — which he’d never done before. King did some great stunts on Vine, and because of that was bale to partner with brands. So many brands are sticking with what’s new and hot, like SnapChat and Vine. Kay talked about hwo she came from traditional media as an actress seven years ago, and now she’s teaming with brands as a creator and it’s a very different experience. Now she has her own brand and is creating content for her own brand.
“How do you create all of that content by yourself?” Foster asked. “I started because it was so difficult to break through and do the things you wanted to do,” Kay said. “Now nobody is telling us what not to do. It’s so hard to let people come in and take over.” Fanta noted. “I find it easy to work with brands I like.” King agreed, noting that all three of them “are very picky about the brands they works with. I think that as a brand, you want to partner with influencers who are picky.”
The panelists noted that it’s not just all about YouTube, and it’s important to work with other media as well. “The most powerful platform right now is Instagram,: said Kay. “Whenever a brand approaches me I check to see if they have an Instagram account.”
Harmonizing panel
Harmonizing
Moderated by Noah Eichen, director of original content for Ayzenberg Group
Justin Rezvani, founder and CEO of theAmplify (Instagram Network); Larke Paul, senior director, creator program and partnerships, Defy Media; and Kong P, co-founder and CEO of Simple Pickup. Christian DelGrosso, filmmaker on Vine.
“Authenticity is the big thing,” said Rezvani. He noted that the content has to be believable to have an impact. “Content is the big thing,” said Paul. “Our time is very valuable, and the things that really speak to us can reach millions around the world.” Kong talked about some of the problems he’s encountered. “The biggest hurdle is to get the brand to understand that this is my content,”Kong said. “Their ideas might work if they do them somewhere else, but I have to do what my audience will like.”
“What can you do to make sure that content stays organic to your audience?” asked Eichen. “We brainstorm ideas that we would do anyway if the brand wasn’t there,” said Kong. “We use technology,” said Rezvani. “We use our technology to find out who are the perfect influencers, and use technology to help them create the content, and then to find the right audience. It’s not just who you are as influencers, but who are you reaching.”
“We’ve done some really cool things with an email list,” said Kong. “The more platforms you are on, the better your reach.” “Do brands have ideas on what to do with each platform?” asked Eichen. “They always come with the biggest platform in mind,” said Kong. “We have to put amazing content on every platform,” said Paul. “It’s challenging, but creatively rewarding.” “We haven’t gone to other platforms because they don’t give us the data,” said Rezvani. “Fortunately Instagram has a wonderful API and we can get that data. What matters is the number of viewable impressions you get on Instagram. We’ve chosen to go to platforms where we can get that data.”
“How important is analytics?” asked Eichen. “It’s the most important thing,” said Rezvani. “That data is what’s driving why companies want to work with us and work with talent in a larger way.” “Data is absolutely important,” agreed Paul. “What’s my ROI? There’s also a qualitative angle, as in how a piece of content has changed attitudes towards a brand.”
“What is the most important metric for measuring success?” asked Eichen. “It depends on the goal of the campaign,” said Rezvani. They used a third-party analysis metric on a recent campaign for a movie, and found a 27 percent increase in purchase intent for tickets. That’s a really useful metric to give to a brand looking to judge how a campaign is doing.
We love the ability to dive a little deeper and see if this made an impact on somebody,” said Paul. “It’s a little harder to get that, but we like to do it.”
Brendan Gahan, YouTube marketing expert
Blowing the F#@k Up
Brendan Gahan, YouTube marketing expert
In 2008, we worked on a campaign for the launch of Spore. We sold through a campaign where we were going to get 50 celebrities to create creatures and post them all on a web site. Katy Perry, Mark Cuban, Elijah Wood, and influencers on the social side like iJustine. Phil DeFranco got 100+ votes in 24 hours. At the very bottom were traditional celebrities like Katy Perry. We all know these celebrities, but their recognition doesn’t necessarily translate to impact.
We’re at a stage in this space where there’s so much hype, focused on the top one percent of creators. It’s very cool, but supply and demand will dictate their prices are going up. There’s a big opportunity to stop and say, why am I working with these people It’s important to recognize there are 50,000 creators out there with over 10,000 followers. Buy low and sell high.
“Make it their idea,” Gahan urged. He noted how important it is to work with influencers rather than handing them a script. “Imagine if you’re going out with a friend of yours and they just jump into a sales pitch to you,” Gahan said. “It would feel really weird. That’s what it feels like when you’re writing words for these people. Don’t armchair art direct. You want to hit that sweet spot where everybody wins – brand, influencer, fans.”
Gahan also reminded the crowd that “You are not your audience. The content does not necessarily need to look the same way. Put yourself in the shoes of the creators.”
The sheer flood of content out there makes it difficult to have an impact. “500 million tweets each day. 100 hours of video posted to YouTube every minute. It’s extremely hard to have an impact,” Gahan said. “So what’s the solution You want to start the snowball effect. Focus your efforts so everyone stops and looks at what you’re pointing to. Working on the promotion for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, worked with 50 YouTubers who were influential. We flew them to LA and introdcued them to all the creators. We gave videos a week in advance to key influencers and had them prep content, and their seven videos got an aggregate of 70 million views.”
Key takeaways:
Bigger is not always better. Why am I selecting these people Let your competitors work with people and overpay for the same audience. Make it their idea. What can you do so influencers will get excited? Create a moment in time. The impact will be greater if you schedule it properly. And finally, YouTube us a decade old. Prepare for what’s next.
Discovery panel
Discovery
Moderator Vincent Juarez, principal and media director at Ayzenberg
Andrew Barrett, director of marketing for Jukin Media; Allison Stern, co-founder and GM of media solutions at Tubular; Matt Gielen, director of programming & audience development at Frederator Studios; Mary Healey, global lead, YouTube Brand Partner program; and Tony Chen, CEO, Channel Factory.
“As marketers, we have a problem. There’s so much content vying for our attention, how do we get people’s attention ” asked Juarez.
“We try to make something great our users will want to watch,” said Healey. “It can be inspirational, like P&G’s Moms channel. Or “How to tile a bathroom floor,’ which has over two million views. That’s a safe and antural place for brands to get started.”
“We are the company finding the content,” said Barrett. “We’ve only in the last year started working with brands. It’s very enticing for brands because they can get 100 percent of voice, but we have to proceed very carefully.”
“We think about the audience, not necessarily about the brand,” said Gielen.
“Partner with native YouTuve influencers,” said Stern. “If you partner with someone who’s taken years to build their audience, that’s absolutely the right answer.” She also noted how important it is to see what’s already out there.
“You have to create content that’s current,” said Chen. “Buy content and contextual media to really get your content out there, to the right people and the right places.”
“Who do you think is providing best-in-class discovery of content?” asked Juarez.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” said Chen. “The content creation part of it was spectacular, and the distribution side of it really created an impact.”
“Discoverability can mean many things, but platform is important,” said Stern. “Vine is doing a really good job of this. On YouTube, tentpole events is doing a really good job with this concept, tying in with things people are already searching for.”
“People won’t click on something until they’ve seen it ten times in their feed,” said Gielen. “You can’t overlook the power of many individuals in generating interest.”
Media-Ization panel
Media-Ization
Moderated by Ayzenberg principal and director of strategy Chris Younger
Jonah Minton, senior vice president, sales and brand strategy, Fullscreen; and Scott Carlis, VP, digital and social media, AEG global partnerships.
“One percent of the marketing budget is going into influencers,” Younger pointed out. “Yet all of you guys are here today. What is going on here CBS had 35 million unique viewers last month. How do you classify influencers in your marketing mix? Where does the budget come from? Typically when you add in one area you take from another?”
“There’s not one central location for influencer marketing,” Minton noted. “We have to talk to everybody and connect the dots for different opportunities. Budget is coming from everywhere. A lot of the market is really getting excited about influencer marketing, because we see how many millions of viewers they have but we aren’t familiar with them. Can you describe them? We call them the connected generation, who seek out digital sources of entertainment. If you’re 15 or 16 you might not be going to Comedy Central, you might be going to Shane Dawson’s channel. We see the influencer landscape as the next evolution of the TV landscape.”
“We’ve been working with influencers at SOE for over two years, and we’ve learned a lot,” said Naviaux. “Influencers run the gamut, from influencers who are just getting started and want the attention from SOE, so we architected our web site to help them grow. Then you have influencers who have already made it, and we try to work with them, to.”
“We certainly are in a unique position, because we are in the most passionate areas of sports and music,” said Carliso. “One of the beauties of social and digital is that it becomes must more emotional. Now it’s how do we develop deeper connections, how do we get our influencers to share the best experience they’ve ever had.”
“When you’re a brand, you’re an influencer — when you’re an influencer, you’re a brand,” said Minton, noting that it’s time to move away from thinking about campaigns. It’s more of a continuous effort that’s required. “We want to do campaigns, it’s important to drive revenue for a particular quarter, but you would never do just one tweet and walk away. Video content and influencer marketing are similar — you have to think about it constantly.”
“Early on in the lifecycle of Planetside 2, TotalBiscuit made a video and the next day there was three times the registrations,” said Naviaux. “We brought influencers down to SOE and measured the influences as their streams went up, and we saw a ten to twenty percent lift.”
“Knowing influencers are looking for exclusives, early access, product — where does it fit in the campaign strategy ” asked Younger.
“It’s worked phenomenally well,” said Naviaux. “Are you somebody that has a voice with our competitor? Are you credible? We’ll fly you down and let you play our game. It works, but it’s challenging. You want to make sure you’re taking care of the press. We think long and hard about the distribution strategy as well as the content we’re creating.”
“64 percent of influencers make revenue from blogging. Much has been said about brands paying influencers to endorse a product or service — is this wrong? Is it a form of journalism or press? ” Younger queried.
“As long as you’re up front about it, you’re fine,” said Naviaux.
Robert Brill, executive director, [ion]
BCN — the Brand Channel Network
Robert Brill, the executive director of [ion]
We are launching the Brand Channel Network, something we’ve spent a long time developing.
Influencers, marketers and the Brand Channel Network connects them together, noted Brill. “People are spending time away from television, and this is a big opportunity for brands and marketers.” He talked about the differences between Big TV vs. Big Tech, and Traditional vs. Digital, “a massive reogranization of the traditional TV market” that’s happening right now, Brill pointed out.
Brill discussed the 116 million Nielsen homes in the U.S. served by Big TV. Big Technology is all the publicly traded companies that go over the Internet (over-the-top delivery of television, in the common parlance). Brill noted that a recent report from Luma Partners that while Big TV seems impressive, it’s dwarfed by Big Tech. The digital market cap of Big Tech is $1.6 trillion versus a $400 billion market cap for Big TV, and Big Tech has 5x more cash on hand. “Big Tech has plenty of money to buy, support and pay for structures to compete with TV,” Brill pointed out. “Big TV has 500 channels, Big Tech has over 1 million channels. This year users spend more time with digital than TV, for the first time (via eMarketer).”
Marketers are left with significantly fragmented audiences, Brill proclaimed. According to comScore Online Video Rankings, “153 million unique users watch content on YouTube monthly, and another 91 million watch content of Facebook monthly.” So while the audiences are fragmented, social networks provide easy distribution, low cost production equipment, and more demand for content means far more content becoming available.
Ultimately, Brill said that BCN is going to be a key player in bridging these gaps. “BCN will enable scalable co-creation of content. Influencers, and marketers will become another competitor to television.”
Online Video Leadership panel
Online Video Leadership
Jocelyn Johnson, founder of VideoInk
Angie Barrick, head of industry, media and entertainment for Google/YouTube; Paul Kontonis, SVP, strategy and sales, CDS, executive director, GOVA; Nathan Brown, general manger, video, Complex Media; and Shira Lazar, What’s Trending.
“Is some of this content purely entertainment or is it propaganda?” asked Johnson. We try to remind people that three of the top ten videos on YouTube were created by brands,” said Barrick. “You see brands being successful when they create content that does not require the brand to exist,” said Kontonis. “Entertainment works really well on YouTube, you have to lead with entertainment.” “A lot of it is propaganda, you have to be very careful,” said Brown. “But a lot of the viewers are 18 year olds who just don’t care as long as it’s good.”
“How much should you be putting toward paid to get your video started?” asked Johnson. “We encourage our advertisers to create great content and give it a push to get started,” said Barrick. “What you can’t do is use paid and look at the view number out of that and saw ‘Wow, we’re successful!'” said Kontonis.
“Complex partnered with Pepsi to launch Grey Label, which is its own destination site. They produce, with the blessings of Mountain Dew, a lot of content every day,” said Brown. “We’ve had tremendous success with that, our traffic has actually eclipsed what Mount Dew does. We’ve actually begun to sell ads to non-competitive brands on the site and used that revenue to generate more content.”
“How do you really hone in on a niche? What about eSports, or something like Minecraft?” asked Johnson. “The Complex model is built on niche communities,” said Brown. “We can go super deep and be super authentic in these niches, and these subcultures amount to what passes for pop culture these days.”
Shay Carl, co-founder, Maker Studios
Closing Keynote: Shay Carl, the co-founding talent of Maker Studios and filmmaker, Shay Carl and the Shaytards.
Shay’s keynote was a series of observations drawn from his experience as a creator and working with many other creators in the process of building Maker Studios. Some of the highlights:
“You made it to the end of the day… remember, authentic, organic, content. Just don’t lie.”
“They’re going to stop putting a premium on the size of the screen, and realize that eyeballs are all the same size.”
“I’ve made daily videos every day for five years.”
“When I watch YouTubers, it motivates me to make my videos.”
“My favorite part of what I do is the two hours from 10:30 to 12:30 when I’m stalking my friends on YouTube.”
“I spend about an hour after my video goes live, linking and posting.”
“Sometimes advertising is the best content. I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.”
“It’s good if you’re here in this room, it shows you’re ahead of the curve.”
Oculus Rift virtual reality technology is capable of much more than amazing video game experiences like the one Sega and Creative Assembly crafted with Alien: Isolation. Hollywood has embraced VR, which is only natural given feature films have been exploring virtual reality for decades. The only difference now is that science and technology have finally caught up to what was once science fiction.
The role of VR in the future of games and movies has yet to be determined, without even a release date or a price point for the Oculus VR or Sony’s Project Morpheus, the leading VR devices. There has been tremendous interest in VR among consumers, sparked by demos at various conventions. Perhaps even more compelling is the interest among developers, with more than 100,000 Oculus VR development kits sold so far.
Legendary Entertainment CEO Thomas Tull was an early investor in Oculus VR, long before Mark Zuckerberg spent $2 billion on the company. So it was no surprise that Legendary was one of the Hollywood studios to showcase just what can be done with Oculus Rift when coupled with the creative minds behind the Pacific Rim movie franchise, which include Guillermo del Toro, Industrial Light & Magic and Legendary. Hollywood computer animation studio ReelFX even used Epic Games video game technology Unreal Engine 4 to bring the experience to life. Barnaby Legg, vice president of theatrical strategy for Legendary, talks about the Hollywood potential for Oculus Rift in this exclusive interview.
[a]list daily: Creatively, what does VR open up for the minds behind big motion picture events like Legendary makes?
Barnaby Legg: What is most interesting about VR, and most different to traditional filmmaking, is the way in which the storyteller hands over control to the audience. When Guillermo del Toro makes a movie, he is the primary author of that experience — he is placing the camera, presenting audiences with the proscenium of the cinematic frame, and directing them where he wants them to go. With Pacific Rim: Jaeger Pilot, the viewer is an essential part of the storytelling. They are the cinematographer and the star, and these total immersion experiences thrive on limitless universes which are expansive enough to contain that kind of limitless storytelling. Legendary knows how to do that.
[a]list daily: How did you work with actor Charlie Hunnam on this project?
Barnaby Legg: Charlie’s performance was one of the last things to be added to the experience. It’s a very busy time for him as he finishes the final season of Sons of Anarchy, but we were thrilled he was able to find time in his schedule to become Raleigh Becket for all the fans who will experience this. Charlie is such a committed, physical performer. He was jumping around the voice over booth, acting out all the fight moves.
[a]list daily: What was the reaction from fans at Comic Con?
Barnaby Legg: The words “multiple fangasm” springs to mind. We had so many people tell us how mind-blowing this experience was for them. We ran the experience like it was a recruitment initiative for the PPDC, and everyone who got to take part was awarded their own Jaeger Pilot license. Which is what it’s all about… the fans are what drives the Pacific Rim universe. And now they can — literally.
[a]list daily: How easy would it be to add controller support or Kinect motion-sensor support to an experience like this (given that the user is asked to raise his hands in the demo)?
Barnaby Legg: Having overcome the creative challenges presented by this project, I would say anything is possible. Clearly, motion control is a natural next step. Seeing how people react to being immersed in the visual world of VR, interaction with that world is the next key evolution.
[a]list daily: What do you think it says about VR that there were multiple Oculus experiences on the show floor at Comic Con?
Barnaby Legg: Oculus VR goes from strength to strength, and I think they are really breaking out right now. Everyone is curious about VR, experimenting, trying new things, and I think we are going to see some really exciting stuff in the next twelve months. VR’s hardly a new thing, and we’ve been watching the Oculus tech as it has evolved over the past couple of years — but we never wanted to just jump on the bandwagon. We wanted to do it right, and set a new benchmark for what these kinds of experiences can achieve. Based on the feedback from fans at Comic-Con this year, I think we have achieved that.
[a]list daily: What impact do you feel the Facebook acquisition of Oculus and Sony’s Morpheus VR technology will have on the mainstream acceptance of VR in the home in the near future?
Barnaby Legg: That’s a question for Oculus. But that company has the talent, the innovation, and clearly now the resources to make incredible things happen. We are as excited to see where this might go as everyone else is.
There’s nothing like quarterly earnings reports to get an unvarnished look at just what’s happening with video game console sales. In between financial reports, we have to be content with whatever numbers companies release — which often isn’t anything concrete. Usually it’s a generality like “sales are strong” or “we’re pleased with the progress we are making” instead of “we sold 2.1 million consoles last quarter.” Financial reports, while they may be somewhat opaque, are still the correct numbers — if not, a company has more serious problems than how many consoles it sold.
The latest figures are in from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, so it’s a good moment to compare not only how the companies are doing overall, but just how each company’s latest console is faring saleswise. This will give us an idea of how healthy the console market is at this moment in time, and some indication of how it might fare into next year.
Microsoft had a good quarter and a good year overall, with both revenue and income rising. Microsoft Corp. today announced revenue of $23.38 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. Gross margin, operating income, and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) for the quarter were $15.79 billion, $6.48 billion, and $0.55 per share, respectively.
When it comes to the Xbox, Microsoft did not release precise information. “Computing and Gaming Hardware revenue increased $274 million or 23 percent, driven by higher Surface and Xbox Platform revenue,” the company noted. “Xbox Platform revenue increased $104 million or 14 percent, driven primarily by increased console revenue. We sold in 1.1 million consoles in the fourth quarter, as we drew down channel inventory, compared to 1.0 million consoles during the prior year.”
Note a couple of important things about that last statement: Microsoft did not break out Xbox One sales from Xbox 360 sales, combining the two into one number; and the sales number is the amount sold in to retailers, not the number purchased by consumers. There’s plenty of Xbox inventory in the channel still, so Microsoft still has some work to do with the Xbox One despite the boost provided by the new $399 version. Still, Microsoft’s game business is doing well, and the Xbox One is selling well — even if it’s not at the level Microsoft would like yet.
Sony had an exceptional quarter, with investors responding to the earnings release by boosting the share price over 5 percent yesterday. Sony’s overall sales grew 5.8 percent, and operating income almost doubled (up 96.7 percent) as sales heated up and operational efficiencies were realized. The big driver of Sony’s sales and profit improvement, though was the fantastic performance of the Games & Network Services division, which saw sales jump 95.7 percent and income turn positive from last year’s loss. The reason is the PlayStation 4’s continued strong sales.
“Sales increased 95.7 percent year-on-year (an 86 percent increase on a constant currency basis) to 257.5 billion yen ($2.550 billion),” Sony noted. “This increase was primarily due to the contribution from sales of PS4 hardware which was launched in November 2013, as well as a significant increase in network services revenues accompanying the launch of the PS4. Sales to external customers increased 101% year-on-year. Operating income of 4.3 billion yen ($43 million) was recorded, compared to an operating loss of 16.4 billion yen in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. This significant improvement was primarily due to the above-mentioned increase in sales, partially offset by a decrease in PlayStation3 software sales.”
As Microsoft did, Sony lumps sales of its newest console in with its older one, showing a total of 3.5 million PS4 and PS3 units sold in the quarter — though that number is sell-through, not sell-in. It’s the number customers purchased, not the number sold to retailers (which is what Microsoft reported). Sony’s consoles outsold Microsoft’s by more than three-to-one, in other words. Maybe “PlayStation 4, Xbox One” isn’t just the names of the two consoles, it’s the sales ratio.
Meanwhile, off in Nintendo’s separate corner of the console market, things are not so good. Nintendo’s sales dropped yet again, with the company recording a loss of ¥9.9 billion, or $96 million, compared to last year’s net profit in the same quarter of ¥8.6 billion ($83.8 million). Sales dropped as well, down to ¥74.7 billion ($729 million) from last year’s ¥81.5 billion ($793.3 million). Nintendo blamed the shortfall on a lack of major new releases, even though Mario Kart 8 sold 2.82 million units on the Wii U.
The Wii U sold 500,000 units worldwide in the quarter, well up from last year’s 186,000 units in the same time period, bringing the total sold to date to 6.68 million units. That’s less than the PlayStation 4, and the Xbox One will probably be passing up the Wii U this year as well. While Mario Kart 8 helped, it’s clear most of the title’s sales went to existing Wii U owners rather than generating massive new Wii U sales.
The real disappointment for Nintendo is the drop in 3DS sales, which has been the company’s bright spot while the Wii U has struggled. Nintendo sold 820,000 units of the 3DS line, compared to 1.4 million units in the same quarter last year, a significant drop.
Nintendo left its forecasts for the year unchanged, when it expects to post a ¥20 billion ($195 million) profit after March 30. This is beginning to sound like last year, when Nintendo maintained optimistic year-end forecasts while quarterly numbers looked grim. This is placing even more pressure on the next quarters to do well, which may be hard with new releases only scheduled to hit near the end of next quarter. The slate is thin, meaning each title has to be a massive hit to make up the ground Nintendo needs.
While Nintendo may indeed make its numbers for the year if all goes very well, it’s hard to see any long term return to “Nintendo-like profits” (as CEO Iwata likes to say) without the introduction of new hardware, which probably wouldn’t happen until summer of 2015 at the earliest.
The console business overall, then, looks to be a great market for Sony, a pretty good market for Microsoft, and a very tough market indeed for Nintendo. The basics of the hardware and the price points of the consoles won’t change as we head into the holiday season; what may change is marketing. We may see different software bundles and promotions designed to boost sales, and the important thing to watch will be the overall marketing campaign and the spending for each company this fall.
Microsoft will probably want to spend heavily to catch up to Sony, and the Master Chief Collection will probably get a great deal of attention. Sony may well double down on its successful PS4 business by increasing the marketing spend to stay in the lead. Nintendo’s kept its marketing efforts in check for the last year — will we see Nintendo marketing unleashed this holiday season to effectively re-introduce the Wii U, push the Amiibo products and try for exceptional Super Smash Bros. sales It’s time to crack open that piggy bank, Nintendo, and spend some of the cash you’ve been hoarding on holiday marketing if you want to grab some console market share this Christmas.
The 9th [a]list summit officially wrapped up Thursday evening and it seems that the summit has given attendees a lot to chew, as evidenced by the sheer number of interesting quotes from our panelists throughout the day. We’ve gone ahead and gathered the best crowd-sourced takeaways from the packed event below.
More from #alistsummit: "regardless of what vertical you’re working in…concept of bigger always better doesn’t apply” @brendangahan
— VideoInk (@VideoInkNews) July 31, 2014
"1 billion social media users are history's largest and greatest unpaid workforce." #alistsummit #influencermarketing
— [a]listdaily (@alistdaily) July 31, 2014
Most brands get half % of engagement. Average YouTube channels get 1-3% engagement. Top influencers like @BethanyMota get 10% #alistsummit
— Digital LA (@DigitalLA) July 31, 2014
We aren't just storytellers, we are hypertellers – Eric Solomon #alistsummit
— theAmplify (@theAmplify) July 31, 2014
#alistsummit is today, here's what influencers are saying: "YouTube gave everyone an opportunity to create our own brand" @OlgaKay
— VideoInk (@VideoInkNews) July 31, 2014
"a brand is an influencer and an influencer a brand" #alistsummit
— Justin Hills (@hellojustin) July 31, 2014
"Don't lie." #lifetips with @shaycarl at #alistsummit pic.twitter.com/ANH9RMJW90
— [a]listdaily (@alistdaily) July 31, 2014
The rapid rise of eSports to a major industry force has not gone unnoticed by major brands. The audience of millions in key demographics difficult to reach by other means is an irresistible attraction for brand marketers. Last year’s League of Legends World Championships attracted a viewership comparable to the NHL finals, and this year’s DOTA 2 championships, The International, featured a prize pool of over $10 million (comparable to the top PGA events) and viewership of over 20 million people.
Last year saw the entry of major brands like American Express and Coca-Cola into eSports sponsorships, and as viewership numbers continue to grow the sponsors will no doubt follow. At the recent Casual Connect conference in San Francisco, eSports and brand execs gathered for a panel to discuss the opportunities ahead.
Peter Warman, Newzoo
Moderated by Newzoo CEO Peter Warman, the panelists included Craig Levine, VP North America for Electronic Sports League (ESL); Matt Wolf, head of global gaming for Coca-Cola; Vincent Tucker, senior manager of gaming business group, Logitech; and James Grunke, director of global eSports for Nvidia.
“The reason why eSports is such an interesting platform for us is because the amount of viewership assoicated with it is pretty extraordinary,” Wolf said. “The audience here is probably half filled up, and that’s interesting because it’s Casual Connect. Esports is pretty core, still, so it doesn’t surprise me, but in terms of numbers it’s not — it’s pretty mass market. We’re talking about the kind of numbers, the kind of viewership, that for a certain gender and age split eclipses big events like the Super Bowl multifold. As a big global brand like Coca-Cola, that’s really interesting to us. The trick for us is to authentically integrate our brand into that world and build value for players. That’s what we try to do, and so far, so good. We did a deal with Riot Games for League of Legends, and we’ve had a really excellent time so far with them in 2014.”
“At ESL, we are the world’s largest eSports organizer, and we produce the biggest events in the industry,” said Levine. “At our recent event in Frankfurt with DOTA 2, we sold 23,000 tickets — screaming DOTA fans enjoying the event. Celebrating the world’s best gamers is what we’re all about.”
“To put eSports in a broader perspective, it ties all the world together,” said Warman. He pointed out that each player on the third place team at the World Cup this year, the Netherlands, received a million dollars — which is what each memebr of the winning team at the DOTA 2 championships received. “If you do some calculations on the amount of money people spent on the Compendium, $2.50 went to the prize pool,” Warman noted, “The rest of the money went to the developers of the game. Valve made more than $20 million in revenue simply around the championship. That’s not even spent in the game. It’s an eye-opener that games are becoming entertainment brands, with live events, video streaming, and also making money with the events outside of the game.”
Warman pointed out that eSports is a perfect way to help games-as-a-service generate more revenue. “Companies have invested millions in eSports because if you have a game where it’s all about getting people to spend time in the game, getting people to spend more money, instead of a single moment of a box, the investment in eSports suits this business model much more,” said Warman. “It’s the sole reason why eSports was a lot bigger in Asia up until a couple of years ago, because they’ve always had this business model.”
“Streaming is consumer-generated content, don’t forget that. It’s the most important part. It adds to the viewership. The majority of people who love eSports only watch. Combine that with watching multiple videos on screens all over the place, and there’s far more time spent on games than a few years ago. Ultimately, that results in more spending,” said Warman.
Matt Wolf, Coca-Cola
Part of the appeal of eSports to brands is the heroic nature of what goes on. “There’s something about the aspirational story of someone going from obscurity to the top of the game,” said Wolf. “It’s not just relegated to eSports — that’s sports. Nike’s entire marketing strategy is based on aspirational storytelling, and I think it’s powerful. I think everyone aspires to be the best they can be and fantasizes about ‘what if.’ I think eSports provides a modality for people, if they take it seriously, to go all the way. From a marketing and communications standpoint I’m really interested in that. I think from a brand standpoint, our role is really to inspire and celebrate achievement. As a brand, we do that for other sports, and there’s no difference when you look at gaming.”
The casual eSports arena is also becoming important. “If you pull back from the definition of eSports as just being competitive play, and look at it as a lot of people playing together, and then a leaderboard coming out of that for prizes, then almost any game can theoretically be an eSport,” said Wolf. “A partnership we recently put together with Ubisoft is for Just Dance, which for us is really important. Just Dance is this ultimate nexus of music and movement and play. For Coca-Cola, we’re interested in an active, healthy living approach. With Just Dance, you have people dancing together, and they can dance for a common goal or they can dance for leaderboards. I think we’ll see more and more kinds of games bleeding into this space because eSports and that kind of play creates multiple touch points.”
By Jocelyn Johnson
It’s still in stealth mode and has (not-so) quietly been banging at the doors of the online video space’s major players and YouTube creators. Until recently, Jason Kilar’s secret startup went by the code name “The Fremont Project.” Last month, the company announced its official name — Vessel — via a statement distributed on its site.
But if you go to Vessel.com, there’s not much in the way of clues towards what Kilar, CTO Richard Tom, and the team have been building outside of a vague note that it will “delight consumers and content creators alike.” According to our sources and some digging on the interwebs, though, here’s what we’ve found out:
Vessel is a premium streaming platform specifically for short-form video content. Some of that content would be offered in front of a paywall, for free. In many ways, think Hulu or DramaFever, but for premium short-form content.
There’s been speculation that Vessel would be a mobile video product. While mobile video is said to be a primary focus (especially given viewing trends for online video on mobile), Vessel’s own recruiting materials claim they are building “a multi-platform consumer facing service” so there will likely be a web product as well.
As far as business model goes we’re told there will be an ad-supported free offering (hence the sales hires mentioned below) as well as a subscription option.
Judging by how Vessel has been acquiring talent — mostly from subscription VOD platforms like Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix — it wouldn’t be surprising to see a very similar framework built, but focused on mobile functionality and short-form content.
Some of the new key hires include former Amazon digital media manager Corky Cook (biz dev), former Hulu execs Steven DeMain (sales), Brian Conkling (finance), Lindsay Monroe (design), and Anthony Di Muccio (sales). GigaOm also previously reported that former Hulu execs — VP of product Lonn Lee, head of recruiting Megan Healey, and SVP of advertising Jean-Paul Colaco – had already been poached by last fall.
According to those we’ve talked to, Kilar’s team has already taken meetings with nearly every major content company from MCN Land as well as premium content companies who are not exclusive to YouTube. Vessel is also looking to strike upfront deals with top tier YouTube creators.
The offer
Well, in exchange for uploading content to Vessel first, the company is prepared to offer solid returns much higher than YouTube, much in the way we’ve heard Yahoo is approaching creators. We’re told that any brand-related content can not be added to the site to start though. The vertical focus has yet to be confirmed.
Vessel is working against a relatively tight timeline to get those deals locked up, however, given we’re told the company is readying a launch for fall of this year.
Looks like Vessel should be added to our list of companies poised to take on YouTube.
—
*Sahil Patel contributed to the reporting of this story.
This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.
The [a]list summit on Influencer Marketing is coming up this Thursday, July 31, and it shaping up to be the biggest and best summit yet. The summit brings together thought leaders and key players from a variety of fields to share knowledge about Influencer Marketing, the cutting edge of marketing today. Influencer Marketing is at the forefront of the massive shift in marketing that’s been taking place, from classic “push” marketing where advertising messages are thrust upon people, for the most part, against their desire, with the new breed of “pull” marketing where marketers are creating content that people actively want to experience.
The field of Influencer Marketing involves creative endeavors like YouTube as well as social media, and working with the best and most influential content creators to craft more engaging content that embodies brand identities.
Here’s a look at some of the key learnings attendees will take away from the [a]list summit on Influencer Marketing:
Julian Hollingshead, VP of strategy and client services for Ayzenberg, will be Setting the Stage — providing an overview of how word-of-mouth drives brands and how influencers have the most powerful voice. He’ll discuss how to activate, steer, and use them as a distribution channel and source of content.
Then Eric Solomon, head of brand strategy for Google/YouTube, takes the stage to talk about Hypertelling. That’s what he terms storytelling in the hyperactive, hyperlinked atmosphere of today. “We are constantly leaning in, looking for the next big thing instead of just waiting for it,” Solomon writes. This should be a fascinating look at how storytelling is being reimagined for brand marketing.
The panel that’s next up covers the state of Influencer Marketing. Oprah to PewDiePie is moderated by Jim Louderback, the GM of Discovery Digital Networks, with panelists Jeanette Liang, executive director of global digital marketing at ADF, Estee Lauder Companies; Phil Ranta, VP of talent operations at Fullscreen & PronunciationManual; and Rob Ciampa, CMO of Pixability. The panel will review the stae of influencer marketing, and discuss how to create win-win campaigns, be authentic and picking the right influencers for your brand.
After a break, you’ll hear from Creator Visionaries, a panel moderated by [ion] talent group director Brian Foster, with panelists Olga Kay, filmmaker and founder of Mooshwalks; Zach King, filmmaker, and Connor Franta, filmmaker. They’ll talk about how they connect with their user bases and how they work with brands, and you’ll get valuable insight on how to work with creators and the possibilities of content.
The final panel before lunch is Harmonizing, with moderator Shira Lazar from What’s Trending. The panelists are Justin Rezvani, founder and CEO of theAmplify (Instagram Network); Larke Paul, senior director, creator program and partnerships, Defy Media; and Kong P, co-founder and CEO of Simple Pickup. The panelists will discuss how to facilitate creation of great branded content, and how to work a successful influencer campaign into a broader marketing strategy to fully engage the audience.
After a gourmet lunch by celebrity chef Roy Choi, the summit continues with Brendan Gahan, YouTube marketing expert, talking about Blowing the F#@k Up, or influencer marketing’s epic wins, fails and lessons learned. Gaham discusses what to do and what not to do when creating an influencer campaign, with best practices for bringing brands and influencers together.
The Discovery panel is next, with moderator Vincent Juarez, principal and media director at Ayzenberg. Panelists are Andrew Barrett, director of marketing for Jukin Media; Allison Stern, co-founder and GM of media solutions at Tubular; Matt Gielen, director of programming & audience development at Frederator Studios; Mary Healey, global lead, YouTube Brand Partner program; and Tony Chen, CEO, Channel Factory. The panelists discuss specific techniques to break through the clutter and get noticed, and how to maximize content discovery, views, shares, virality, subscriptions and engagements.
The Media-Ization panel, moderated by Ayzenberg principal and director of strategy Chris Younger, will explore the science of making word-of-mouth behave more like media to move the needle forward for both brands and influencers. Panelists include Jonah Minton, senior vice president, sales and brand strategy, Fullscreen; Scott Carlis, VP, digital and social media, AEG global partnerships; and Margaret Laney, CEO, Blurr and former CMO, Awesomeness TV.
Next up, Robert Brill, the executive director of [ion], will talk about BCN — the Brand Channel network, which is a tool for recruiting, incentivizing, and managing a force of influencers. It’s all about how to identify and empower communities on behalf of your brand.
The final panel, Online Video Leadership, is moderated by Jocelyn Johnson, founder of VideoInk. The panelists include Angie Barrick, head of industry, media and entertainment for Google/YouTube; Will Keenan, president, Endemol Beyond USA; Paul Kontonis, SVP, strategy and sales, CDS, executive director, GOVA; Nathan Brown, general manger, video, Complex Media; and Shira Lazar, What’s Trending. The expert panelists will talk about online video and how brands can navigate through this complex milieu to find the right audience. If you want to know how much to pay for an influencer campaign and what results to expect, this panel will have the answers.
The Closing Keynote is provided by Shay Carl, the co-founding talent of Maker Studios and filmmaker, Shay Carl and the Shaytards. He’ll put the whole influencer marketing picture into perspective, and it should be an excellent way to end the summit.
Of course, there’ll be a closing cocktail reception, where the attendees will have a chance to network and discuss the day’s events. If you won’t be attending the [a]list summit, never fear: After the summit we’ll be live-blogging the Summit as it happens, and we’ll be covering much of the content after the fact in the [a]listdaily.
Raptr is expanding its online service features for PC gamers with its Game Video Recorder (GVR) technology, which allows Nvidia and AMD PC owners to seamlessly capture gameplay and stream video content. The new Instant Replay feature leverages the GVR functionality and enables users to save up to 20 minutes of gameplay even after it’s happened. Other new features include automated uploading and sharing of recorded gameplay, and an online destination where gameplay clips are shared and curated via the Raptr community of 30 million gamers. Both the GVR and live streaming functions in Raptr are supported across more than 5,000 games.
Live streaming has given rise to the global eSports phenomenon, something that Raptr co-founder Dennis Fong knows well. He was one of the early eSports stars who played under the name “Thresh.” Fong explains how he’s used his eSports skills to succeed with his video game business ventures in this exclusive interview.
What were eSports like back in the days you played?
One of the bigger differences is that because of the popularity of live streaming, it’s much easier for guys in the minor leagues — the guys that haven’t been discovered yet — to come up. You can pop into a stream and watch them play. It also enables a lot more scouting and recon on your opponents today to see how they play. Back when I was playing you had to decide if you wanted to record a demo/replay, and it wasn’t widely distributed. You couldn’t upload it because of the format.
Dennis Fong
With Twitch you can record audio while you’re playing, which changes the way gamers interact with their stars. It gives a lot more insight into their personalities. Before, you wouldn’t know a lot about me or my personal life, only the match results. There’s more transparency. It’s as if LeBron James or Kobe Bryant had a GoPro camera on their chest every day in practice. Fans are able to connect with pro gamers on a more personal level. And players can make money through Twitch streams while interacting with their fans.
What’s a favorite memory that stands out from your career?
It’d have to be the tournament where I won John Carmack’s Ferrari 328 at E3 in Atlanta. One of my big strengths is that I don’t get nervous when I compete. I focus on what I’m able to do. I believe if I do my best, I’m going to win. Shaky hands can affect your play with your mouse in PC gaming. The only moment I got nervous was in the final match. I was seated at a PC where the Ferrari was behind me and I could see the reflection in the monitor. I had already won the game but there were 10 seconds left and I finally let myself relax because I’d won the tournament. It’s a big deal to win a Ferrari at the age of 19.
What impact do you feel big sponsors like American Express, Coke and HBO will have on continuing to grow eSports?
Up until the last few years, very few people could make a living playing games; making more than $100,000 a year playing games. Having big sponsors spend money on pro athletes to build up brands is a big step. It brings legitimacy to eSports. Once these big brands jump in, they open the gateway. The floodgates are starting to open with Coke, AmEx and these other brands because they feel like they’re missing something. Those brands have been extremely happy with the results they’re seeing and the impact and reach of eSports thus far. It ultimately means more money coming into this, more pro teams and more players. We’re past the tipping point and eSports is getting to a real scale.
How will your GVR technology impact eSports or eSports fans?
Twitch has 40 million uniques watching streams, but less than a million people actually broadcast their gameplay. It’s designed around a premium content premise where you go there to watch the most famous players play. Part of what we want to do is democratize the experience a bit. I feel like every time I play a game there’s something amazing or cool that happens, it could be a funny moment or a bug or something epic. But I may not be at a point where I can generate a lot of Twitch streams. We want to help people capture those moments. We’ve designed capture technology that has no impact on the performance of your PC. Whenever something cool happens you click save and it’ll save the last 15 seconds. It’s like the ESPN SportsCenter highlights. You can capture and share with the community. We have 27 million PC gamers on Raptr and they can live stream any game they’re playing without set-up or complex broadcasting software, similar to what Xbox and PlayStation did on next gen consoles. With the rise of the GoPro cameras everybody has hero moments, and now you can share those with friends.
Raptr GVR
How do you feel your GVR tech differentiates itself from Twitch?
League of Legends is our number one game and DOTA 2 is in our Top 5. We have live stream gameplay videos featured on Raptr for the community. Our take is more democratic. Think of us as helping the minor league players to rise up to the premium leagues. Everyone has the opportunity to be recorded and capture cool moments. And then the community decides who has the coolest stuff and it rises up.
How have you seen the League of Legends Challenger Series open up eSports?
The Challenger Series has been structured as a way to be discovered and rise up through the ranks. It’s only for League, but before you’d have to get lucky. Any kind of structure that helps people to rise up through the ranks and know what your next goal is. Before they had a system, you didn’t know what level you needed to get to be on a pro team. The minor league system mirrors pro sports. There’s a reason why every sport has a minor league system. It helps gamers explain to their parents what it will take to be a pro. I’m sure it’s something that other developers and companies will institute. Riot just happens to be way more aggressive in pushing this stuff. Korea has a similar structure with StarCraft gaming houses. A lot of what’s happening with League and the rest of the world is playing catch-up to Korea. It speaks a lot to how serious Riot takes this and how much they are responsible for driving eSports forward.
What differentiates this golden age of eSports from the earlier days when you played?
Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) and World Cyber Games (WCG) are gone. Leagues come and go. They were supported by outside organizations. Riot was one of the first to put the whole company behind eSports. They are the single biggest reason eSports is as popular as it is today. The big money helps. For many years, very few people could play games professionally. That’s changed because of sponsors and prize pools growing.
How has being a pro gamer helped with your second career as a gaming exec?
One of the things I was known for as a gamer was Thresh ESP. They called me the most intelligent player and I could tell what opponents were doing before they knew it. As I moved into other stuff, my brain naturally works in a way that applies well not only in games, but where you put yourself in other people’s shoes and see the world through other people’s eyes. It’s like Super Turbo Speed Chess. As I’m running around playing Quake I’d see my opponent from his first-person perspective and I could visualize if he was coming around the corner. I have a strong intuition in what I’d be doing in his situation given what he thinks I’m doing. That’s the one thing that’s quite unique about me. I don’t have to consciously do it. I don’t have to separate things. It happens intuitively. That translates to starting companies or business. Recruiting people you need to understand what excites them and what their passions are and see things through their eyes, or see things through gamers’ eyes marketing-wise and try to put understand how your product solves problems for them. That transition into business was seamless for me.
How much overlap is there across top eSports titles like League of Legends, DOTA 2 and StarCraft II?
We’ve done pretty in-depth analysis on these games with our Raptr audience. The core enthusiasts all play games like World of Warcraft, Counter-Strike and Dragon Age. In the months of May and June 2014, 22.8% of League of Legends players also played some DOTA 2.
Our hardcore gamers spend time playing 30 to 100 games in the time we track them. The newer breed of gamers not in that hardcore play a much broader variety of games including League of Legends and DOTA 2. The big trend we’re seeing is the rise of indie games. The Top 5 games that League of Legends players also play is other free-to-play games or other indie games. The picture of a gamer has changed the past few years as free-to-play is more popular with games like World of Tanks and the rise of eSports.
At what point did you realize that video platforms like YouTube and Vine could be a boon for brands?
Larke Paul, Defy Media’s Senior Director, Creator Program and Partnerships
There wasn’t a single “AHA” moment; for me, it was following audience growth and engagement consistently. It’s a must to closely monitor the platform landscapes as they ebb and flow and understand the personalities and intricacies of both established and emerging platforms. As we saw audience numbers grow and engagement between talent and their fans became more profound and transactional (i.e., twitter conversations, direct comment responses, fan shout-outs in videos, merchandise purchases), it seemed to be an advertiser’s dream set-up.
Many of today’s digital stars have a genuine connection with their audience, combine that with the massive reach of their content (which is often times larger than traditional programming) and you start to see the real value for brands to get involved.
What are challenges that content creators have when being approached by brands to work with them?
Similar to celebrities who garnered fame via TV shows/movies, digital talent will have similar challenges and need to ask themselves: is this a brand that I genuinely like and engage with, is there anything about the brand that may conflict with content I’ve produced in the past or are they asking me to do something that doesn’t mesh well with my content or my brand attributes These are all key questions to answer when considering a brand opportunity. Since creators know their fans the best, they are usually the best judge of how to incorporate a brand into their content in a way that will benefit all.
It’s important to find the right balance between the brand message and the creator’s natural content format and to weave that message in without being heavy handed. This balance is key to keeping the content authentic and engaging for fans while also aiming to achieve the advertiser’s goals.
Do you have a personal favorite campaign you’ve worked on that utilized influencers?
My favorite program is the partnership DEFY Media forged with Coca Cola for the brand’s “The AHH Effect” campaign which is now in its second year. We worked with Coca-Cola and their agency connecting them with YouTube artists Kurt Hugo Schneider and Mark Crilley (both members of the DEFY Creator’s Program) to create an original series of videos that incorporated use of Coke bottles in awe inspiring ways.
Mark contributed illustration work and created two mind-blowing videos that featured coke bottles while Kurt created two music videos that used only Coke bottles as musical instruments and were later aired as commercial spots during this year’s “American Idol” season premiere. It was a thrill to see these creators absolutely thrive and see their content connect with audiences so deeply and emerge as some of the campaign’s most engaging content.
What are some tips you feel would be important for marketers to know before embarking on creating their own content for YouTube? What about tips for would-be creators who look up to those like Smosh?
When marketers are working with creators, they should absolutely get to know the talent — watch their videos, research social posts, and get to know the style and point-of-view of the creator. If a marketer is creating content outside of a single creator, then it’s a mix of age-old rules and new rules. The writing and concept has to be solid — if they’re going for funny, it really needs to make people laugh and smile”“ and hopefully share. If it’s a more serious message, then it should really evoke emotion with the audience. Be cognizant of the video’s length and engage with the audience through comments on YouTube and other social platforms. Creating a smart launch and distribution strategy around the content or channel is key and should be part of a comprehensive strategy that includes PR, marketing, social media and a well thought out YouTube rollout schedule. Whether it’s a smaller campaign or a longer term initiative, connecting with your audience across all of their touch points matters.
What’s next on your Watch Later list?
I’m hoping for new content from Hello Denizen and I’m excited to catch the latest from Kingsley’s Mid-Year Overexposed Series, Brusspup illusions, Minute Physics, and Chriselle Lim.
