How many of you watch Youtube videos? Now a days there are hundreds of thousands of videos that an individual can find on youtube from your favorite NBA players highlights to learning how to play the ukelele. Now more than ever Youtube stars have become the new form of advertisement for companies. Why you man ask? Think about all of the viewers they have. Reaching millions of subscribers all over the world, one individual is able to convey an opinion, inform a viewer, or even promote a product through a worldwide media source. Youtube was launched in 2005. On April, 23rd 2005 it had it’s first video, only 19 seconds long. And in September 2005, Youtube had its first ever million hit video. Today Youtube “celebrities” are able to post videos of realistically anything and have over a million hits on just a couple of hours. What I want to talk about is the evolutionary effect that Youtube has had on the social media world.
It should not come to a surprise that people on Youtube have been used as advertisement tools for different brands. Companies will often give Youtubers free products to try out and promote on their channel. In doing so, that one individual is able to send information out to thousands of viewers in one video.
In early April 2014 Youtube Google chose three sensational Youtubers that each have over 1 million subscribers. They launched this campaign through Google owned properties as well as on TV. They advertised this campaign through commercials on Youtube as well as on billboards, train cars, and on TV itself. With this advertisement they were able to reach millions of people all over the country to increase social media activity through Youtube. The three Youtubers they used were Bethany Mota a fashion and beauty vlogger, who also has her who fashion line at Aeropostale. Michelle Phan, a make-up star who recently launched her own make-up line with Lancome, and Rosanna Pansino, a popular baker.
These ads were wrapped around billboards on subway trains
I personally think that this form of advertisement is ingenious. I’ve been watching Youtube for about 7 years consistently and watch how the Youtubers that I used to watch get famous is incredible in itself. I think for companies it is a very smart move to reach out the bloggers or Youtubers because these are the individuals that can help get your product out to thousands of people. I personally always go to Youtube first when i am looking to buy a new product whether it be makeup, skincare, etc. What do you guys think about Youtubers being the media channel from the company directly to the consumer? Do you think it will only help increase profits, or do you think companies should be focusing on other ways to get their business out to the public?
References:
Peterson, Tim. “YouTube to Run TV Ads Promoting Creators in Big 2014 Push | Special Report: TV Upfront – Advertising Age.” Advertising Age Special Report TV Upfront RSS. 3 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
Loyola Digital Advertising [로욜라 디지털 광고] 
I agree. I think its smart, its where consumers are spending a majority of their time so why not use it as a platform? However, I do get annoyed sometimes when I just want to see a certain video real quick, and then I am forced to sit through this advertisement that I don’t care about. I like how they addressed that though and give you the option to skip ads after a few second for the majority of them.
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I really love this post! As an actual YouTube Vlogger, I can say that advertising and monetizing YouTUbe is a smart strategy. I remember seeing the Michelle Pham ads at the Fullerton stop. In addition to this- I think that YouTube is a fantastic, organic way to create client bases. The only ethical dilemma that I see with using Vloggers is ensuring that viewers know when certain products are sponsored (often times this is not the case and can be misleading). What do you think about ads that users cannot control?
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