The American magazine Variety decided to test this new phenomenon by doing a survey asking 1,500 teenagers to rate 10 popular Youtubers and 10 celebrities out of 100 for attributes such as authenticity, relatability and looks. Whereas in the past traditional teenage idols have been pop stars and actors, celebs such as Katy Perry, Johnny Depp and Leonardo Dicaprio, surprisingly, didn’t even come close to the top. Youtubers such as Pewdiepie, Fine Bros and Smosh took the first five spots with the late Paul Walker as the first celebrity at number six. While the celebs rated higher in reliability and intelligence the Youtubers were described as “engaging, extraordinary and relatable”. Even popular actress Jennifer Lawrence, lead in the franchise The Hunger Games, was deemed “fake” while the Youtubers “authentic”.
From the evidence of Youtubers being more influential in teenage lives, big businesses are getting quick to cash in on the young talent. With large companies such as Asda and Cadbury desperate to find new ways of reaching a younger generation, many try to find association with these vloggers. ‘The world’s best-known brands are desperate to reach today’s youth market, knowing they no longer watch normal TV,’ says Ria Campbell, head of social media at creative agency Mr President. ‘Working with a YouTube “influencer” buys a peer-to-peer recommendation, which is far more effective than blanket advertising.’ For a vlogger with 2 million subscribers, a company could pay £5,000 to be named in a video or £1000 for a tweet. British companies such as Krave, Coca Cola and Maybelline already sponsor product placement or challenges with the YouTube channels in promotion of new lines and deals.
And it’s not just the businesses making the best of this new opportunity of popularity. The Youtubers themselves are finding themselves mixing in with Hollywood’s A-list in our shops and on the TV. This year’s Teen Choice Award in LA in August saw eight new categories dedicated to YouTube, replacing the previous year’s one category. Alongside celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, The Kardashians and Jennifer Lopez, Youtubers Zoella, Pewdiepie, Tyler Oakley and Bethany Mota all took home awards in categories like Fashion/Beauty, Comedy and Gaming. In our shops in Britain we can already expect makeup lines from Tanya Burr, who owns a “beauty guru” channel, singles from Troye Sivan from his music channel and a coming of age novel from the incredibly popular Zoe Suggs or “Zoella” aged 24 from Brighton. From the success of their channels, Jim Chapman and Zoe Suggs have been signed as TV presenters on British TV.
YouTube’s biggest channel owner, Pewdiepie, puts down his own success as the relationship he has with his fans or “the Bros”. 'Unlike many professionally produced shows, I think I've established a much closer contact with my viewers, breaking the wall between the viewer and what's behind the screen,' The channel belonging to 24 year old Felix Kjellberg from Sweden makes $4m a year from posting himself playing computer and video games and reacting to them, mostly in the horror genre. With 30 million subscribers and 4.7 billion views, Felix reacts humorously and often hysterically with screams and swears to popular horror games such as Slender and Outlast. Because of this he is incredibly influential in the gaming industry, as well as within the YouTube community. The publicity he gives to games, especially indie horror means that he can make or break a game by criticising it or praising it., the most recent example being an iPhone app “Flappy Bird”. His philanthropic work with charities such as Save the Children, WWF, Saint Judes Hospital and Charity Water has raised a total of $1million of donations from viewers and gaming companies.
In conclusion, with the changes in media and technology, teenagers are identifying with and inspired more by Youtubers than actors, pop stars and models. A few years back and the “vlogger” concept was nothing more than grainy videos set up in the privacy of bedrooms. Now it’s a big money industry with business sponsorships, advertising deals and for the YouTubers themselves, an own brand. All supported by a dedicated fanbase that put the fans of Taylor Swift and One Direction to shame.
From the evidence of Youtubers being more influential in teenage lives, big businesses are getting quick to cash in on the young talent. With large companies such as Asda and Cadbury desperate to find new ways of reaching a younger generation, many try to find association with these vloggers. ‘The world’s best-known brands are desperate to reach today’s youth market, knowing they no longer watch normal TV,’ says Ria Campbell, head of social media at creative agency Mr President. ‘Working with a YouTube “influencer” buys a peer-to-peer recommendation, which is far more effective than blanket advertising.’ For a vlogger with 2 million subscribers, a company could pay £5,000 to be named in a video or £1000 for a tweet. British companies such as Krave, Coca Cola and Maybelline already sponsor product placement or challenges with the YouTube channels in promotion of new lines and deals.
And it’s not just the businesses making the best of this new opportunity of popularity. The Youtubers themselves are finding themselves mixing in with Hollywood’s A-list in our shops and on the TV. This year’s Teen Choice Award in LA in August saw eight new categories dedicated to YouTube, replacing the previous year’s one category. Alongside celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, The Kardashians and Jennifer Lopez, Youtubers Zoella, Pewdiepie, Tyler Oakley and Bethany Mota all took home awards in categories like Fashion/Beauty, Comedy and Gaming. In our shops in Britain we can already expect makeup lines from Tanya Burr, who owns a “beauty guru” channel, singles from Troye Sivan from his music channel and a coming of age novel from the incredibly popular Zoe Suggs or “Zoella” aged 24 from Brighton. From the success of their channels, Jim Chapman and Zoe Suggs have been signed as TV presenters on British TV.
YouTube’s biggest channel owner, Pewdiepie, puts down his own success as the relationship he has with his fans or “the Bros”. 'Unlike many professionally produced shows, I think I've established a much closer contact with my viewers, breaking the wall between the viewer and what's behind the screen,' The channel belonging to 24 year old Felix Kjellberg from Sweden makes $4m a year from posting himself playing computer and video games and reacting to them, mostly in the horror genre. With 30 million subscribers and 4.7 billion views, Felix reacts humorously and often hysterically with screams and swears to popular horror games such as Slender and Outlast. Because of this he is incredibly influential in the gaming industry, as well as within the YouTube community. The publicity he gives to games, especially indie horror means that he can make or break a game by criticising it or praising it., the most recent example being an iPhone app “Flappy Bird”. His philanthropic work with charities such as Save the Children, WWF, Saint Judes Hospital and Charity Water has raised a total of $1million of donations from viewers and gaming companies.
In conclusion, with the changes in media and technology, teenagers are identifying with and inspired more by Youtubers than actors, pop stars and models. A few years back and the “vlogger” concept was nothing more than grainy videos set up in the privacy of bedrooms. Now it’s a big money industry with business sponsorships, advertising deals and for the YouTubers themselves, an own brand. All supported by a dedicated fanbase that put the fans of Taylor Swift and One Direction to shame.