Our next president will be a YouTube Star

Well maybe not the exactly the next one, but he or she will rise through the content, access and platform that YouTube has created. The rise of YouTube stars is nothing of a new phenomenon, but the speed in which they are gaining in popularity and becoming brands favorite ambassadors, is something worth noticing. Both ad agencies and brands are investing enormous time and money in promoting their products by paying the latest and most popular YouTube stars to subliminally use or review their products on their Vlogs. Again, not a huge secret, but this form of integrated marketing has grown in leaps and bounds. People like Casey Neistat, The Dude Perfect guys, PewDiePie, JennaMarbles, DanTDM and Roman Atwood are all making great chunks of change, by directly uploading their passions, humor, opinions, quirky lives and special talents, through this medium. They are coming from all corners of our country and reaching their audience in the most creative or just sometimes simplest ways. But once they start getting traction in terms of over 1 million subscribers, that’s when brands and YouTube itself begin churning out the dollars of support and public promotions. The content they provide may sometimes look very loose and casual, but behind the scenes there is a lot of curating that content, grooming their image and message, so they keep it fresh exciting and relevant every time they upload a video. As their subscribers grow, so does their revenue streams and exposure.

70% of teenage YouTube subscribers say they relate to YouTube creators more than traditional celebrities and 4 in 10 subscribers say their favorite creator understands them better than their own friends or some family members.

           I have personally been watching Casey Neistat’s daily Vlog for over a year. His content is both personal, informative and honest. His sense of purpose and commitment to his daily audience, keeps wanting you to see what’s he up to next , what latest tech gadgets he’s reviewing and where he is going to take us in his daily life journey. His personal style and his direct engagement with his audience is somewhat addictive and transparent. Yet his popularity as well as other YouTube stars is getting challenged by two much younger and goofier guys in Jake and Logan Paul. In a matter of 3 months, these two brothers from Columbus Ohio reached 10 million subscribers each! By posting home made, daily pranks, goofs and music videos, each brother reached cult like status in no time and seem as if their meteoric rise has just begun. Both actors started on the defunct platform Vine, but migrated over their crazy antics as well as their followers, seamlessly to YouTube. Barely out of high school, both are making six figures in endorsements and ads revenues from brands like Hanes, PepsiCo and HBO. Their core demographic of young boys and girls aged 9 to 16 are also feverishly buying their sold out, “Merch” on-line at $26 to $200, with their printed catch phrases and logos. Their universe of followers are the exact demographic marketers and advertisers covet. Eat your heart out Gap and Abercrombie and Fitch.

           I’m sure that the Paul brothers are just the tip of a much bigger iceberg that’s developed into this giant marketing and content mushroom, which has endless possibilities for both stars and brands. In the same way reality shows blossomed in the early 90’s and we see the result is sitting in the White House today. What’s separating the reality and entertainment aspect is the lack of filter and access that YouTube Stars have with their audience. The Paul brothers is basically a giant 24 hour 7 days a week frat party that never seems to end. Without any real story, scripted drama, or high production value, this kind of content creation is both super cheap to make and with a huge ROI for both advertisers and brands. Once again the middle-man has been cut out and the content is being directly fed to you and your kids. Another differentiating factor may be that each of these stars view their interaction with their subscribers more like friendships rather than fanships.

They value and understand their audiences, but they also know how to curate their own brand, so they are delivering the goods without having a corporate hand deeply involved. However, YouTube does have their corporate guidelines and limits, but they are pretty loose and hands off, when it comes to managing their rooster of talents. Basically free creative reign and unlimited access. Yet YouTube did not escape controversy in February, when one if it’s biggest stars PewDiePie (ranked Forbes highest-paid YouTube star of 2015-2016) made some anti-semitic jokes that lost him both Disney and YouTube sponsors. For some in the industry this scandal serves as a reminder of what needs to be done when content stars cross the line.

So as each of these young YouTube stars grow in subscribers they are also helping in changing and shaping our culture. They are not only seen as celebrities but more of trendsetters, content influencers and political influencers. If either of them decide to run for the highest office in the land, their reach can be a powerful tool, with a generation of followers whom they have built a strong bond and trust with every upload. I would not be surprised to see President Casey Neistat or Miranda Sings in the near future.