The recent Google+ Hangout was billed as an “insights jam” discussion
of YouTube moderated by Tara Walpert Levy and included Rob Norman (GroupM), Evan
Ellman (Anheuser Busch), Allison Stern (Tubular Labs) and Josh Spanier
(Google). As it ended, I realized that the trends propagated by YouTube - from
“YouTube celebrities” to program memes to reinforcing the value of major brands
- have the capacity to upend our industry little by little. Read on,
traditional media mavens, and quake.
YouTube has been a game changer in the world of video
content and continues to change the rules through its innovations. The entire
notion of celebrity and the dominance of big brands for attention have been
disrupted by YouTube’s easy-to-do and cost effective self-promotion, especially
among younger viewers. And YouTube is a full media company - Tara Walper Levy
noted that “YouTube ads are better and more impactful every year.”
Where is the YouTube impact the greatest? Here are my top areas
of disruption:
Celebrity Disruption
The concept
of celebrity among younger viewers is very different from previous generations.
Rob Norman pointed out that the Variety survey in August of top talent contained
many YouTube stars. “There is a demand among younger people with more relatable
talent instead of superstars. The era is giving way to a more democratized form
of talent. There are the social aspects of YouTube and the flexibility to
transfer and share.” There is impact from the “relatable nature of the new
celebrities where viewer engagement different from anything we have seen
before” according to Levy.
Brand Disruption
Josh Spanier
noted two trends this year. “If you want to reach millennials, this is the year
you can discover talent and enable careers to happen. It is a transformation
(of celebrity). Talent is coming out of the younger generation and a lot of
brands have recognized that. Having VICE news in your corner is better than
having traditional news in your corner, at least among young people. And on the
technical side I am amazed at growth of real time video. RTB for video is up
50% year to year and is equivalent to programmatic. Brands are getting smart of
getting ahead of advertising opportunities and technologies.”
Content Creation Disruption
Content creation, control and curation are shifting. Spanier
spoke of the “new modes of production which work at a different pace and speed.
It changes the paradigm. It has to be authentic and connected to me and someone
I can relate to. Give up control and understand the pace that we are moving.
You need to approve ideas and let things run.”
Unlike
traditional media, the YouTube ecosystem has content memes that are at once
baffling and amusing. Take for example “unboxing” that refers to videos where
the host un-wraps gifts and shows them to the viewer. According to Levy
“Unboxing is one of the hot retail trends. There is an explosion of videos of
people unboxing around the holiday shopping period. There are vastly
accelerated results in a campaign.” Stern suggests that content providers
consider “the time of day that their audience is engaged such as unready videos
– taking off make up – and can be part of that conversation.” It can almost become programming to one based
on your personal activity at the time of viewing.
Consumption Disruption
Mobile is becoming vastly more important since, according to
Levy, “Millennials are less distracted on the mobile platform than on linear
TV. Over 50% of viewership of YouTube is on mobile.” And Norman noted that “Is
it possible that more attention is paid to ads on YouTube because they are less
diluted by multitasking? Pure numbers by Nielsen indicate that TV has not
reached a crisis point but on an attention basis the numbers may look
different.” Allison Stern from measurement firm Tubular said that “there is a
huge shift to mobile where viewers are consuming snack-able content to watch
when they want to watch.” But content has to be in context as Ellman noted, “Is
it consumed on a commute? That is different from content you create for the Superbowl.”
Ultimately the paradigm for media will change as the IP-savvy
next generation of viewers and consumers moves into cultural dominance. Those
of us following the bleeding edge trends know that the consumer is totally in
control. As Norman said, “Content is dictated by consumer not the company.”
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