#SPON
how YouTubers are changing the format of advertising
Meet Dodie Clark, Thomas Ridgewell, and Thomas Sanders. They will be our examples (pause for applause).
They make their living on YouTube, which means working with advertisers. This relationship plays into one of the basic tactics of persuasion, using a credible voice, but it also has done something funny to the form of the ad.
In the 21st century, advertising is ubiquitous on free platforms like Tumblr and Facebook. While the classic form of an ad — someone pretty implies that buying product x will solve problem x and also you’ll achieve eternal happiness — persists, it has become less effective because we know it’s trying to sell us something.
How do you sell something to an audience that knows your game? You bring in new players.
The following is a sponsored video by Dodie Clark.
Clark employs nostalgia, cheery art, and her own enthusiasm for the product to convince the audience that Chupa Chups airheads must be on their shopping list.
The idea of a sponsored product isn’t new, but YouTubers take that familiar idea and turn it into something that is their own. Clark’s video is in keeping with her personal brand, and is enjoyable to watch, which shows the audience that she approves of it.
Equally important, this video shows that the brand approves of her. They are supporting her career, which is a tactful and deliberate ploy to get brownie points from their consumer base.
Additionally, her openness with the audience about the nature of the video implies that there is nothing sneaky going on, which tells the audience (if she’s successful) that they can just sit back and enjoy the content.
It turns out, being honest with people is a quick way to get their guard down.
Let’s look at the next example. (Fairly long, so feel free to cut out before the end. Or don’t, I’m not your mother.)
SO this video is a perfect storm of persuasive tactics. It’s got interactivity, humor, simple form, pop culture, and the stamp of approval from the audience’s credible source.
PLUS: Did you catch the exclusivity offer? (If you sign up for product x because of this video, you get a longer free trial) Who can resist the chance to feel special? (Maybe people who don’t like anime in this case, but the point stands)
This video is in the exact same track as the previous example: it is honest about the motivation, the content is from the creator’s own mind, and it is simply structured.
You couldn’t possibly have more examples of how sponsored videos offer creators the chance to make the kind of content they normally would while also making some money which gives advertisers the appearance of being cool and supporting the creators and that by itself would be enough to get loads of people to buy their stuff! (that’s you)
HA. please.
This video (last one I swear) takes all the strategies outlined above and ads in (pun intended) the opportunity for the audience to feel smart.
This offers the honesty, creativity, and brand trust of the other videos while pretending that it’s better than a plain old ad because it makes fun of ads.
To paraphrase Amy Poehler in the cinematic masterpiece Mean Girls:
“I’m not a regular AD, I’m a cool AD.”
To summarize:
Advertisers have found a way to make other people do all of the creative work and advocate for them on a free platform and then come off looking like the good guys in the process.
Youtubers have found a way to make money while being creative.
Audiences have not yet found a way to get out of this relationship.
