Letter to Vidcon....keep creators in the center.

I've now read most of the overviews and takeaways from this year's Vidcon in Anaheim. I don't write many letters. When I do its usually regarding something or someone I care about and am worried about. So please know that this comes from the heart. I attended my first Vidcon in 2012 - the year it moved to Anaheim. As a digital agency executive trying to convince brand clients to jump into the social space, Vidcon was a gift from the heavens. Instead of describing to a client how Youtubers were building these audiences, we could go to Vidcon and watch hundreds of screaming teenagers run after their favorite creators in the lobby of the convention center. It was exactly what you imagine when you first hear the term "fanadmonium." Screaming fans deeply connected to their stars. In addition to the Vlog Brothers (Hank and John Green who created Vidcon), every creator who mattered then was there in the flesh - Tyler Oakley, Shay Carl, Shane Dawson, Markiplier, Mystery Guitar Man, Grace Helbig, Taryn Southern, Dave Days, Barley Poltical, Annoying Orange, Rocket Jump, Devon Supertramp, The Fine Brothers and on and on.

It was new and it was magical. And brands were mesmerized. Here are the relationships that made the magic:

Creators and Fans: Vidcon was and still is billed as a fan event. It was conceived as the place where you finally get to meet the creator you are obsessed with, maybe get an autograph and buy some of their merch. For creators, it was the validation moment where they could meet their fans in the flesh and understand them in a way that was not possible via the comment section on a video. At one point pre pandemic, there were apparnetly nearly 50,000 fans at Vidcon over the course of 3 days.

Creators and Brands: Brands are simple beings. They are looking for new, loyal audiences whom they can build relattionships with .... and sell stuff to. They have also learned that building relationsips with the right creators can be a gateway to the audience of their dreams. Creators are also simple beings. They need $$$ and for a long time they saw brand partners as the fastest route to a big paycheck. In the beginning, this partnership made perfect sense and Vidcon was the deal making venue for brand deals.

Creators and Industry people. Before the "creator economy" explosion, the industry was one part services, one part agents & managers and ne part savvy agencies & media partners who knew how to build social video - cue Buzzfeed, Attn, Maker Studios, FullScreen, etc. Their weren't a ton of tools, there were no SaaS models but there were smart people who were helping channel owners, brokering creator-brand deals and reporting on growth - lots of growth.

At one point several years ago, Youtube reportedly flew 150+ brand marketers (and their kids) to Vidcon and made a killing signing up brand clients for media commitments on the platform. For Youtube, Vidcon was like Youtube Live! It was everything you loved about the concept of Youtube right in front of your eyes. And Youtube used the moment wisely - debuting product news, answering creator requests and sparking honest dialgoue at their epic keynote address on day one.

It was the combination of these 3 sets of relationships that made Vidcon so electric. So what happened? I've read more than one article in the past couple of weeks that described VIdcon as "different" or "quiet." Before I share my two cents, lets get one thing straight about events. Successful events are living, breathing, dynamic beings that depend on champions, innovative thinking and a set of unique and repeatable relationships in order to remain influential. This is not easy to do! Here's the original vidcon relationship architecture:

There were three sets of relationships, all contributing to the dynamic with creators in the center. Holding all of these balls in the air is not easy! If you lose one of these groups or replace it with another, it dramatically changes the event benefit structure. It can have a domino effect. In Vidcon's case, they've lost the brands and it seems most of the creators that do attend are now sequestered in another hotel that you can't visit without special access. If you lose the creators, then this negatively impacts community attendence and you have a domino effect. I don't know all of the circumstances and I suspect there are a number of reasons why this happened - change of ownership, security constraints, etc

There ares some bright spots. The industry track programming this year was excellent because it really represented what creators care about now. The focus on creator business building with thoughtful conversations and presentations around new forms of monetization, the presence of funding partners who now have some wins and can offer real world advice was super valuable. And the new industry format of holding a VIP Summit the day before is very smart. The panels at the summit were thoughtful with interesting voices and timely topics that matter.

This is a very fast moving space and its not easy for anyone to stay out front consistently. And as noted last week in Cannaheim Observations , Cannes Lions (held the week before Vidcon this year) has always had the brands and will likely continue to attract creators so where does that leave Vidcon? Here are some thought starters:

Idea #1: Become THE industry gathering focused on creator business. Provide creators the learnings, knowledge and insights to help them build their businesses. Give the creator economy (and creators) a comprehensive forum to talk about all things "creator business" from scaling to diversifying to exiting and do it better than anyone else.

Idea #2: Get creators and fans back together but do it differently. One approach - go big on a few really important up and coming creators and give them a big stage to have their moment. Show that VIdcon knows what's next and is a launch pad for emerging creators - right of passage with clear benefits.

Idea #3: Get creators and industry people connected in a way that will elevate the value of the industry track to the next level. Get creators more integrated in the industry discussions. Collapse the programming silos. By elevating the industry track you will be able to offset any revenue loss and build some energy back.

No one wants to see Vidcon succeed more than me. Whatever we do, lets keep creators in the center! If we do, the rest is solvable.

Please share your thoughts!

Content Ink Regina Angeles Kim Larson Jacques Keyser Rob Gabel Benjamin Grubbs Matt Gielen Lauren Schnipper Brian Flanagan Vira Slyvinska Sergii Bielousov James Creech Shira Lazar Spotter Lucas B. Kollmann Megan Lightcap Rian R. Bosak Olivier Delfosse Colin and Samir Sherry Wong Zach Kornfeld Nuseir Yassin Alex Dwek Max Benator Lisa Milgram Jim Louderback

#creators #creator economy #brand partnerships #creator businesses #Youtube #Tiktok #vidcon

John McCarus is the Founder and President of Content Ink - an executive search, advisory and coaching firm that works with creators and creator businesses as they grow, evolve and develop new revenue streams. John can be reached at [email protected]