Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Online Presence
Digisoc1 Assessment for Digital Society
TV and film start Dwayne Johnson, also known as ‘The Rock’, was the 19th richest celebrity in 2016 (according to Forbes) with a net worth of $64.5 million. From WWE fighter to international megastar and co-owner of a successful production company, Dwayne has utilised the relationship with his fans to become incredibly successful.
Dwayne’s Instagram could be mistaken for a lifestyle bloggers feed, peppered with clips and stills from his latest films/tv shows. Photographs of himself during workouts, holding his baby daughter, meeting fans, boarding a private jet, all of these images provide fans with an inspirational, and down to earth, view of Dwayne. This means that his followers (all 76.9 million of them) feel that they are following a real person, not Dwayne as a brand.
However, Dwayne does not use his Instagram merely to share his epic cheat meal snaps, this business mogul capitalises on the power of Instagram advertising to further his work and projects. In 2016, Instagram beat Twitter as the most popular platform for advertisers for the first time, according to Strata (via the Independent). Dwayne is a great example of combining advertising and ‘real-life’ posts.
Dwayne also posts frequently about his fans. This creates strong ‘brand’ (‘The Rock’ could technically be thought of as Dwayne’s brand!)loyalty within his fan-base, with some even getting tattoos of his logo’s and catchphrases. Fan’s also know through his Instagram feed that Dwayne often meets fans when he is on filming locations, so they all wait to see him, again furthering their level of devotion.
Youtube
The Rock’s YouTube Channel launched in 2016. With 1.7 million subscribers, it has quickly gained popularity. The channel is mainly content led, yet the funny, entertaining and well produced videos cleverly advertise Dwayne’s brand affiliations, films and other projects. The overall aim of creating a shareable and fun video however, means that you don’t feel like you are watching a huge advertising campaign.
The videos on the channel also feature contributions from hugely popular YouTubers such as Lilly Singh (Superwoman) who brings 11 million subscribers with her. This will increase Dwayne’s reach on the platform, and the collaboration with these YouTubers serves to diversity his online presence by associating himself with them and attracting different viewer demographics.
Seven Bucks Productions Website
Dwayne doesn’t have a website dedicated to himself as a person, but there is a website for his production company (Seven Bucks Productions). I feel that this website is the weakest area of Dwayne’s online presence. Seven Bucks, although directly connected to Dwayne, has a distinct lack of content for fans, and is geared more towards business clients. However, Seven Bucks is often mentioned on The Rock YouTube channel as a fun and interactive project that fans can interact with, which I think creates a clash.
Overall, I believe that Dwayne Johnson’s online presence is strongest when he can share content and interact with his fans. His affiliate websites create a clash in ‘The Rock’ as a brand, and lets him down in that respect.
