While the fast-food brand could have posted a short message to their social pages or returned the item to menus. Instead, they chose to capitalize on the cultural moment and really make it spicy.

Taco Bell marketers understood this: social video audiences aren’t lit up by short ads — instead they go crazy for captivating entertainment they can really engage with. In Tubular’s latest insights report, our data shows that 9 minutes is the average length of video viewed by Gen Z audiences. Insights like these should reassure risk-taking for brands considering creating more elaborate and innovative content types.

Additionally, our report Nourishing Relations with Fast Food Diners, uncovered that postsabout menu items are the most published content type by fast food brands. In this graph, you’ll see just how much menu item contents outweigh content related to pop culture, sports, and business.

However, Tubular data also shows that these posts actually don’t perform the best. In fact, pop culture and entertainment posts actually get 10x the amount of engagement per video than menu item announcements. 

While Taco Bell could have made a few posts and announced the return of the pizza, they created a really innovative and exciting campaign around this cultural moment. This is a question all advertisers should be asking themselves: how can we lean into popular culture and other media formats and recreate our own campaign? 

KFC had success in this tactic with their short Lifetime film featuring Mario Lopez. Taco Bell did just that. And we’re here for it. 

Diversification of Audiences

In what world does young, poppy Doja Cat meet country singing legend Dolly Parton? In Taco Bell’s Live Mas world.

Long before Taco Bell employed these icons to star in their Mexican Pizza the Musical, they had been vocal about their love for the menu item in the media. During an interview with Insider Parton said she thought they should bring the menu item back.

Then, the pop singer Doja Cat posted to Twitter “I will do everything in my power to bring back the Mexican pizza from taco bell”.

According to Dolly’s Instagram, the front of the script states “Based on the true story of the Internet losing its mind.” As celebrities and consumers alike took to the internet protesting the loss of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza, the creative minds at the food brand created a media strategy to capitalize on the unexpected cultural moment. And… a star was born!

How Taco Bell is Connecting with TikTokers

Along with A-list musicians, Taco Bell also looked to TikTok stars to support this project and connect with younger generations. Our favorite TikTok musical duo, Barlow & Bear, was brought on the project to write the musical score. There’s been a significant buzz around the duo as they wrote the first-ever Grammy-award-winning TikTok album based on Netflix’s Bridgerton. Aligning this project with the duo is an indicator that Taco Bell is watching what’s happening on social and is tapping in on a cultural moment. TikTok username Taylor not Swift commented, “If Barlow and Bear are involved, I will absolutely be watching”.

In this video, the two tease, “so, now that we’ve wrapped up our past project, what should we write about?”

As Taco Bell began leaking content around the beginning of May, they started to post entertaining supplementary material. Here’s a hilarious TikTok of a guy named Milo auditioning for Fire sauce packet #3.

We also get a sneak peek of the musical script that encourages TikTok users to perform the duet in another video. Using these popular TikTok content types that promote viewer engagement helps spread the virality of the campaign and grows awareness.

Taco Bell the musical will premiere live on TikTok on May 26th. We’ll be watching!

Insights to Actions

1. Seize the cultural moment

Whether it’s Milani responding on social video to the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard case or Starbursts capitalizing on the resurgence of Berries and Cream boy, it’s important that brands who strike gold (albeit by random chance) maximize the moment. In fact, Taco Bell has really set the standard of what it looks like for brands to respond to and engage with social video audiences.

2. Supplementary material on large productions gets the most bang for your buck

While creating musicals and short Lifetime films is a larger investment for brands, you also get an incredible amount of supplementary materials you can use. There are teaser videos, posters, soundtracks, audition tapes, and more. We saw this with Nissan’s epic Super Bowl ad that mirrored a large-scale film premiere. There were movie posters, trailers, behind the scenes, and more… Eugene Levy even had a real-life action figure made after his fictional character! 

3. Diversifying participating creators is key to attracting various demographics and creating buzz 

From Dolly to Doja Cat, Taco Bell called on all sorts of creators to collaborate on the production of their live TikTok musical. Victor Kunda, the British fashion icon and creator has over half a million TikTok followers and 36M likes on the platform. 

If your company is interested in learning how Tubular can help you refine your content strategy, contact us here.

The post How Taco Bell is Using Social Video to Relaunch the Mexican Pizza appeared first on Tubular Labs.

Last week, the first in-person IAB NewFronts since 2019 took place in New York City where the leading brands, media publishers, and advertisers gathered to watch keynote speeches that featured famous actors, eccentric singers, and even 26-piece marching bands. Before events began, YouTube announced it would move its presence from NewFronts to linear-focused UpFronts, putting them in an entirely new competitive category — so we knew it would be a week filled with tons of excitement and surprises. 

The media industry is evolving as video audiences become the scriptwriters of pop culture. Advertisers around the world have responded in innovative and strategic ways. At Tubular, we feel the most significant advances revolve around integrating advertising and entertainment for a seamless viewing experience. 

Ad supported media just got an upgrade

One of the main points made across several presentations was that SVODs saw their first decline in years while AVODs saw an impressive upswing. According to Samsung’s content measurement solution, AVODs are up 10% this year, while SVODs have fallen by 11%. With so much competition from platforms like Hulu, Disney+, HBO, Peacock, and Prime, the king of streaming services, Netflix, reported its first decline in subscribers in over a decade. From streaming competition to the economy’s inflation, many factors are shaking the media marketplace. But, with the rise in AVODs, many consumers are sick of paying for a multitude of services and would much prefer a free, ad-supported experience. Enter Amazon’s Prime, Freevee and NBCU’s Peacock.

This shift from SVODs to AVODs calls for new and simple ways for advertisers to put product placements into shows and target these audiences. Amazon and NBCU both took to NewFronts to announce their new capabilities in virtual-product placements. This technology revamps approaches to product placement by allowing post-production to enter products in pre-approved places. Even more interesting is that the technology allows these products to change based on the consumer. For instance, one consumer who likes men’s fashion might see a watch sitting on the desk of their favorite show’s main character, while another might see a bag of M&Ms in the same place. This reinforces the need for content and audience insights to be in conversation with ecommerce insights. As social video reigns supreme over other types of media on the internet, viewing behaviors and ecommerce behaviors must be used in unison to give advertisers a holistic understanding that supports partnerships and ad deals.

Snapchat simplifies brand partnership.

Snapchat came to NewFronts with guns blazing, announcing partnerships and content. First, they brought out Simone Biles to discuss her new Snap Original series, where she tries out different hobbies and encourages viewers to get out of their comfort zone. While Snap Originals have been around for years, the platform announced both new shows and updated contracts. The social platform also announced its partnership with Cameo. Cameo has historically allowed individual consumers to hire their favorite celebrities to wish their mothers a Happy Mother’s Day or their friends a happy birthday. Many celebrities make a good chunk of cash by recording short 30 second clips of themselves wishing fans happy birthdays, but now brands can get in on the fun. Through this partnership, brands can hire celebrities to review their products and encourage viewers to make purchases. For ease with endorsements, brands can sidestep the tedious process of partnerships, use the Cameo app, and efficiently get high-profile celebrity partners. Could this alter the way advertisers negotiate and form partnerships? Most likely — and we can’t wait to see this take off.

TikTok takes on paid advertising

All eyes were on TikTok as one of the fastest-growing platforms that both perplexes and excites advertisers around the globe. The app has been chasing its tail trying to offer advertising and measurement solutions at the rate at which it’s growing and it hasn’t been easy. At this year’s hybrid in-person, virtual NewFronts, the platform announced TikTok Pulse, allowing brands to schedule their content alongside the top 4% of TikTok videos. Here are the details: Advertisers can choose from 12 content categories to place their advertisements alongside. Then, the app uses its machine learning to ensure content is up to standards. A TikTok announcement states: “Our proprietary inventory filter ensures that TikTok Pulse ads run adjacent to verified content with our highest brand suitability applied on the platform.”  Then, ad revenue is split with creators 50/50, and marketers would have transparent and trustworthy access to measurements that assess campaign performance. The program is said to launch in June of 2022, and we expect to see the app integrating more accessibility for advertisers in the future.

With Consumer Insights, our partners can easily see what unique social video audiences are shopping online for. You can optimize your media strategy to drive conversions from audiences to product categories or brands to specific creators more efficiently.

If your company is interested in learning how Tubular can help you refine your content strategy, contact us here.

The post NewFronts 2022: How companies are integrating ecommerce & entertainment appeared first on Tubular Labs.

In this piece, we dive into some of the unique TikTok tactics used by stand-out stars to attract massive, high-impact audiences to their upcoming musical releases.

Charlie Puth was an early adopter of TikTok music collaborations. Throughout the pandemic, he began sharing his creative musical process, recording from unusual camera angles, and revealing a more authentic side of his life. Fans do not idolize him; rather, they have a deeper allegiance – connection and camaraderie.

In the instance of his smash single “Light Switch,” we were able to accompany Puth on his creative journey. Check out how he comes up with the song’s rhythm:

We even saw some members of the audience finding new sounds for Charlie, like tapping the end of a long hollow construction tube. Of course, Puth happily responds back and creates a beat for his fans.

For many months Puth continued to tease his new music and his upcoming release. In October of 2021, Puth says “I really do have to finish this song” but he was still figuring out how to start the song. We see him call several collaborators over the phone and ask for suggestions until he finally unlocks the most epic beginning for “Light Switch” which would go on to be played across top 100 radio channels for months.

Since the beginning of September when Puth posted the first “Light Switch” creation video that racked up 121M views, he has uploaded 148 videos to TikTok. Our TikTok insights indicate his channel has collectively totaled 1.3B views and 158M engagements over the past 7 months.

Because TikTok is such a dynamic and engaging platform, it has altered the way artists engage with audiences. Let’s take a minute to contrast Puth’s TikTok success with the best-selling artist, Adele and her release of the 30 album in 2021. Adele received around the same number of views, 1.3 billion over the same time period, albeit on YouTube (the singer does not use TikTok). While both artists had a massive amount of views, Adele’s number of engagements is considerably lower at 18M compared to Puth’s 158M. While these findings do not suggest a lack of success for either performer, they do demonstrate how engaged TikTok users are and the significant differences between the platforms that provide unique user experiences.

Puth’s key practices:

• Engaging questions: Puth recently hinted at a new tour concept on TikTok asking  “what if there was a tour called: What If There Was a Tour?”   riffing on his popular videos that begin, “what if there was a song that went…” What’s remarkable here is that Puth has established a video format that effectively piques the attention of his audience. When creators start their videos with questions that invite their audience to participate in the creative process, they are far more likely to catch fire and go viral. When an artist uploaded a video asking, “what if Bridgerton was a musical?” we saw the same thing happen with the TikTok-created Unofficial Bridgerton Album.

• Creator conflict: Charlie Puth vs. Benny Blanco has become a major battle amongst TikTok audiences. Blanco, producer and writer of countless hit songs, is seen on the Tok nagging and making fun of Puth’s videos. Needless to say, audiences are freaking out and the online scuffle has driven many of Puth’s fans to become extreme loyalists, running to the singer’s defense. The best part? The two creators are actually great friends. The drama is a spoof, yet its creation has ignited engagement and even obsession from TikTok fans.

Let’s look at some of the other artists following suit

Jack Harlow

Who exactly is Jack Harlow? If you’re not familiar with the Kentucky rapper yet, you will be soon. While the singer has been working on his craft for some time, he went viral on March 31st after posting a preview of his latest tune, “First Class.” In just one week, 50,000 TikTokers had used the soundtrack in the creation of their own videos. This is the ultimate indicator of engagement as a fan is not just liking and commenting on his posts, but also identifying themselves with his brand.

So, what was it about the soundtrack that made it so popular? The creator cleverly remixes Fergie’s popular song “Glamorous,” which corresponds to Gen Z’s current obsession with early 2000s throwbacks. The song is relevant to the cultural moment and the preferences of audiences.

Harlow’s key practice:

• Soundtrack generation: While Puth brings viewers along on the creation of his upcoming album, Harlow’s song was picked up as a popular soundtrack for dances and other videos amongst Gen Z audiences. With a catchy chorus that is easily adaptable to video content and relevant to current preferences, this song was sure to take off.

Lizzo

Recently, we saw Lizzo leak upcoming snippets of her single “About Damn Time” which was officially released on April 14th. She posted several viral videos of soundtrack sneak peeks, the main one garnering 2.5M views.

Then, she ‘duets’ with the TikTok king himself — Charlie Puth, to dance side by side to her new track.

Lizzo’s key practice:

• Dance collaboration: Lizzo’s video with Puth was everything she needed for the song to take off on the app. With such a loyal and engaged fanbase, the video on Puth’s page would lead millions of users to Lizzo’s hit new single.

We’ve seen so many artists and creators inspiring new ways to cut through the clutter and shape culture through their content. Creators, record labels, and marketers can learn from these individuals who are pushing the needle of innovation and finding new ways to generate viral content and connect with massive audiences.

If your company is interested in learning how Tubular can help you refine your content strategy, contact us here.

The post TikTok Revolutionizes the Way Musicians Connect to Audiences appeared first on Tubular Labs.

In February of 2021, Airbnb launched its first global marketing campaign in over 5 years, bringing tears to the eyes of millions during a surging pandemic and lockdown restrictions in place. They did this by utilizing customer-generated content that would trigger feelings of nostalgia and hope for a brighter future.

In Tubular’s latest piece of research, we used data to uncover new types of travel content viewers that have emerged since COVID lockdowns. We explore personal motivations, consumer behaviors, and viewing preferences within each unique mindset. This investigation helps us understand the magic of Airbnb’s global campaign that features ordinary guests like you and me, enjoying time with their loved ones in unique stays across the world.

Made Possible By Hosts

Conceptualization

In the campaign kick-off video, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky shared that the vacation rental company originally started conceptualizing the campaign in the ‘traditional’ way: fleshing out a script, hiring directors, paid actors, and high-quality production studios. But considering the state of the world at the end of 2020, they realized it would be too commercial. Chesky says they knew: “what the world needs right now is to feel something real.” The Made Possible by Hosts campaign was born.

The company turned to user-generated content. They asked a handful of people who were great photographers to book an Airbnb with their friends & families and submit the photos to Airbnb. “What we got back was deeply moving.”  These videos tap into a sense of nostalgia, encouraging audiences to think of their own meaningful trips.

Execution

The most-viewed video, Forever Young, garnered 7.5M views. The concept is simple — an ordinary group of friends rents out The River House and shares photos of how they spend their time there. The beauty is that it’s imperfect, authentic, and simple. There’s nothing extravagant about the house, the group activities, or their clothing. It feels relatable to everyone.

Looking at these videos through one of the unique mindsets we identified in our latest report, we can see the qualities of The Narrator shining through. The Narrator is a travel enthusiast who posts videos about their experiences to inspire and educate others.

During lockdown, this archetype advanced to play a crucial role in providing hope, inspiration, and connectedness to billions of people stuck in their homes. Content created by Narrators virtually exploded on social video as viewers turned to travel videos to inspire their next trip and bring them comfort. In 2021, there were over 40B views for travel content. For reference, that’s more streams than Drake’s collective portfolio (and he’s the most-streamed artist of all time).

The Narrator’s travel content inspires travel Seekers. The Seekers archetype uses travel content as a means of planning future travel, educating themselves, and feeling connected.

Airbnb strategically used Made Possible by Hosts ads to target both hosts & renters.

From the host’s perspective, you get the sentiment that renting your property is not just a business transaction— it’s a heart transaction. In the same campaign kick-off video, Chesky interviews father-daughter host duo whose Rhode Island rental property is featured in the campaign. When asked about their favorite aspects of hosting, they shared “making people smile.”

For Seekers, who are potential Airbnb renters and viewers of this campaign, they are feeling inspired to travel and find comfort in these videos. Chesky shared that Airbnb’s survey indicated people miss traveling even more than they miss bars, restaurants, and sporting events. In fact, he shared that “just thinking about traveling boosts their happiness.”

We’d have to agree — watching this video makes us pretty happy.

Using Tubular data, we found that audiences with “The Seeker” mindset are one of the most eager-to-purchase segments across any social video category. After over two years of patiently waiting, they are more than ready to book the Airbnb, purchase necessary travel gear, and hit the road. This has created the current ‘travel boom.’

They are likely to purchase gear and book upcoming trips. The Seeker audience makes up a whopping 42% of Peak Design’s online shopping and 24% of Coleman’s. Their primary shopping categories include technology, gear, and educational materials.

Across Social Platforms, the Made Possible by Hosts campaign attracted over 17M global views, while also appearing on live television and other mediums. The company’s keen awareness of the social video landscape helped them achieve cultural relevance by leveraging the emerging traveler mindsets affected by the pandemic. Campaign engagements topped 243K across platforms. Tubular data also uncovered that these videos on Facebook had 10X more engagement in the first 30 days than other content.

Strangers Aren’t That Strange

After almost a year of user-generated content, Airbnb launched a new, produced campaign called Strangers which reverberated similar elements we saw in Made Possible by Hosts. There was the same use of an older, iconic song. It showed clips of guests showing up to their rental and the activities that ensued, however, this campaign had a surprising twist…

The family consisted of three giant shaggy ‘guests’ playing on potential fears of real-life hosts letting strangers into their homes. We see the three guests having morning coffee, playing family games, and watching movies at night. The shaggy little kid is so adorable while it dances around the house. In the same way that Made Possible by Hosts made viewers feel connected to guests in the campaign, this video made viewers fall in love with the shaggy family. In the end, the viewer comes to understand: strangers aren’t that strange.

Today, the heartwarming video has garnered 53.8M views. Part of the campaign initiative to encourage hosts around the world stems from what we’ve identified as The Nomad.

This travel mindset appeared when lockdown presented more remote work opportunities around the world. This travel audience has embraced phenomenons such as #vanlife and digital nomadism. With more people traveling than ever and living nomadically, Airbnb seeks to offer more rental options for longer stays. Airbnb shared that trip lengths have increased by 15% from Q3 2019 to Q3 2021 and more than half were over a week.

In January of 2022, the Strangers campaign helped Airbnb climb top the leaderboard at #1 for US Travel YouTube Creator. Tubular’s analysis of the post-COVID traveler mindset helps us understand how Airbnb achieved cultural relevance by leveraging these unique mindsets. This understanding made their campaigns sticky in the hearts & minds of their global audience.

To learn more about the distinct mindsets within the travel category, read our latest report here: Audience, Shoppers, and Modern Storytellers: How Social Video Influences Consumer Cycles.

If your company is interested in learning about Tubular can help you refine your content strategy, contact us here.

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The Beijing Winter Olympics has been nothing short of interesting, and many of the content trends that performed so well during the Summer Olympics are being skillfully leveraged today! In 2021, all sports content that showed athletes’ emotional reactions and private lives took off. This winter, eyes are on social video to bring audiences the best of this Olympic season. It’s no surprise that the biggest names from this year’s global events are stories that inspire audiences across the globe. Before we get into that, here are some of our most significant insights from the first three days of the Beijing Olympics:

• Olympics content garnered 64M views on YouTube.
• NBC Olympics viewers are 7.8X more likely to shop for kayak gear than other audiences.
• Olympics audiences have a high purchase affinity for Skechers & Adidas brands.
• The Jamaican bobsled team returns after 24 years and the team’s pure excitement held three of the top ten FB videos.

The stories we share here inspire hope and connection that go beyond impressive athletic performances. We discuss how social video coverage continues to capture the global audience, and how three Olympic underdogs are reaching new heights.

The Comeback Kid: Nathan Chen

The Quadruple Jump Heard Around the World: Valieva

At just 15 years old, the Russian Olympian Kamila Valieva has already achieved the impossible. Her short-program score was one of the highest in history at 90.18 points, thrusting the Russian figure skating team into the lead. To put that into perspective, the second-place score in the short program was 74.73. Then, in the free skate event, Valieva became the first woman in Olympic history to land a quadruple jump. But she didn’t just land one, she landed TWO! This event won her the gold medal with a score of 178.92 points!

Although Valieva isn’t an ‘underdog,’ achieving such a difficult move at such a young age is beyond impressive. As we saw with Chen, the mounting pressure for first-time Olympians to perform can throw even the most skilled athletes off their game. Kamila has many large sponsors like Puma, Glade, and Paulig. It’s safe to say these brands made a smart choice betting on this superstar. Thus far, social video content about Valieva has racked up 10.5M views on YouTube since the start of this year’s Olympics. We expect to see this number continue to rise as the moment she landed those quadruple jumps will go down in Olympic history for many years to come. The NBC Olympic commentator remarked, “we’ll be talking about this moment for 100 years.”

The Diagnosis that Changed His Life: Max Parrot

Canadian snowboarder, Max Parrot, was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. While he was undergoing treatment, Parrot was forced to give up snowboarding, remarking, “I felt like I was a lion in a cage because I wasn’t able to do what I love most.” After completing 12 rounds of chemotherapy, Parrot’s rare form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was cured. In 2019, he resumed his training to show up for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

It seems that his newfound appreciation for snowboarding and life gave Parrot the boost he needed to win the gold in his 3rd Olympic season. He earned the gold medal when he landed two consecutive triples, which Parrot had reportedly never done before; “I laid down the best run of my entire life,” he said. In the last week, videos about Parrot have racked up nearly 1M views across multiple platforms. This Canadian is a beacon of hope for people currently struggling with illness. He told CBC News that 3 years ago he was laying in a hospital bed:

“I had no muscles, no energy, no cardio. It was even hard for me to think about a week later, I was just focusing on making it to tomorrow. To be able to do my passion again, to be out here at my 3rd Olympics, and to win the gold means a lot.”

–Max Parrot

Social video audiences have been highly attracted to deeper emotional stories that make them feel connected to the people on the screen, even when it comes to sports. Social video’s ability to show not just one narrative, but many, makes the medium multi-dimensional and customizable for viewers.

Some of the stories we discussed depict athletes that have been knocked down and got back up. Our Content Intelligence tells us that viewers are watching not only for impressive sportsmanship but also to support the athletes with whom they identify. Viewers enjoy ‘the human factor.’  

When partnering with athletes, it’s less important to try and guess which athlete or team might win. It’s far more important to look for someone who has values that your brand identifies with. Then ask, how can our company help this individual better tell their story to the world?

If your company is interested in learning about Tubular can help you refine your content strategy, contact us here.

The post 2022 Olympics: The World Loves an Underdog Story appeared first on Tubular Labs.

In a new report from the Global Video Measurement Alliance (GVMA), “Discovering Audiences on Social Video,” industry analyst and Alliance member Howard Shimmel breaks down the challenges traditional linear TV is facing and how TV advertising can work in conjunction with social video to drive increased awareness and audience growth.

For example, Shimmel notes that linear TV has seen a decline in viewership across all demographics except ages 65+ since 2010. More than 60% of linear TV’s audience is 55 and older, while only 8% of linear consumption comes from ages 18-34.

However, Shimmel argues this is where social video can alleviate this disparity between demographics in TV. If advertisers, brands, and media companies want to reach younger audiences, they only need to look at social video, where 53% of social video consumption comes from the 18-34 demographic.

In order to realize the value of these audiences, the industry needs a standard form of measurement like Tubular Audience Ratings to show exactly who’s watching and where. Then, media companies can make smarter, more informed decisions about content investment, while brands and advertisers have a greater opportunity to reach young audiences outside of linear. 

To read the full report, head over to the GVMA site and…

The post How Brands and Media Companies Can Leverage Social Video to Reach Non-Linear Audiences appeared first on Tubular Labs.

This is why, in our newest report, we looked at the topic of loyalty across unique, de-duplicated U.S. audiences on YouTube in January and February 2021 for the top media creators and influencers. We measured loyalty by the amount of viewers who watched consecutively across both months and who met a 30-second quality threshold.

We found three key aspects of loyalty that media companies can apply to their audience development strategies:

• Create dependable content that creates an emotional connection with your viewers.
• Learn how influencers and top creators connect so well with their followers.
• Use loyalty as a complement to reach and engagement.

We’ll look at a couple of these key findings shortly, but before we go any further, let’s consider why media companies even need to pay attention to the loyalty of their viewers.

Why Media Companies Should Care About Loyalty

Below are four compelling reasons media companies should aim to foster a trusted relationship with their audiences.

Retention

It’s no secret that getting new eyeballs on your content is hard, and the costs associated with this task can often run very high. That’s why it’s important to focus on maintaining the dedicated viewers you have now to reduce overall churn and spend. It’s easier to delight and engage current audiences than it is to continually try to reach new ones.

Ad Frequency

The more often the same viewers come back to your content, the more exposure they’ll have to any brands and advertisers working with you. This can potentially impact brand lift, making your advertising partners happy and want to continue working with you.

Advocacy

Your audience can be one of the best marketing resources in your arsenal. This is because loyal viewers are more likely to recommend your content to friends and family than casual viewers are. Word-of-mouth from dedicated audiences can help expand your reach to new viewers.

Content Strategy

Finally, loyal audiences are usually some of the most vocal when it comes to your content. More often than not, these viewers will tell you exactly what they want to see from your videos, which makes it easier for you to create that content and deliver it to them. The more often you give audiences content they want, the more likely they are to keep coming back for more.

Loyalty Differs Across Content Genres

Now let’s jump into the first key aspect of audience loyalty, which is that loyalty differs across content genres. This is especially important when deciding what kind of content to make, because some genres will likely have more loyal audiences than others.

For example, we found gaming audiences were 53% more loyal than average, implying their audiences find and stick with the creators they like the most. Entertaining genres such as People & Blogs, Entertainment, Sports, and Music also showed above average levels of loyalty.

This was not the case for genres like Travel, Home & DIY, and Animals & Pets, however. These types of creators generally showed a lower loyalty rate than the average channel. 

That being said, top creators have shown they can have higher loyalty than those around them. The Dodo, for example, has an audience loyalty that’s 67% higher than the benchmark (while the Animals & Pets genre average is 38% below benchmark).

Clearly, you can still have a very loyal fan base in a genre that overall doesn’t show high loyalty.

Influencers Have More Loyalty on Average

In another section of our report, we discovered influencers in general tend to have more loyalty than media companies. Across the top 1000 influencers and 1000 media channels, we found influencers showed an average loyalty value 17% higher than that of media companies. 

This data implies influencers are, on average, better at making an emotional connection with their audiences and making them tune in on a regular basis compared to media channels and companies.

As individuals who candidly sit and record themselves in front of a camera, influencers undoubtedly seem more personable than brands and media companies, who don’t always take such a direct, relatable approach to their content.

But that doesn’t mean media companies can create a loyal following like influencers. If anything, it’s important to learn from these top influencers and strive to make a connection with your audience by being personable so you can build loyalty across your viewers. 

In summary, audience loyalty is important for media companies who want to reap the benefits of a lower cost of retention, a higher ad frequency, fan advocacy, and an audience-informed content strategy. 

In the report, we dove even deeper into the topic of loyalty, so if you want to learn more about how the best-of-the-best creators are building loyal audiences, make sure you download it for free below!

The post The Value of Loyalty: How Media Companies Can Build and Benefit from Dedicated Audiences appeared first on Tubular Labs.

Based on viewership and subscriber counts, we ranked U.S. athletes and leagues on YouTube from March 1 through August 26, 2020, during the peak of Covid-19 and the shutdown of most professional sports teams. 

Here’s a quick rundown of what we discovered!

Top U.S. Leagues and Players on YouTube Since March 2020

Our U.S. leagues and players leaderboard showcases the ongoing commitment of leagues on YouTube, with the NBA taking the top spot. More importantly, though, it shows a snapshot of an explosive trend in professional sports of athletes migrating to the platform as a place where they can own their audience and showcase their life off the field. 

Athletes have built a massive fandom, with V30s (average views per video over the past 30 days) rivaling that of the sports leagues. With the pandemic re-shaping professional sports in 2020, the trend of athletes owning their audiences on YouTube has only accelerated. 

Despite seeing an initial dip in sports viewership on YouTube from March (7.5B views) to June (6.2B views) as the world adapted to the pandemic, viewership rebounded from June to August to hit the same viewership numbers from March (7.5B views). 

It’s a testament to the insatiable appetite for sports fans to connect with the athletes they love most. And those that do it best are rivaling top creators — growing their subscriber base, driving engagement, and generating hundreds of millions of views.

Stephen Curry: How Athletes Should Approach YouTube

This growing category within media has endless potential for the athletes, from extending their relationships with fans to developing their off-the-field personae in a controlled environment. And as the numbers suggest, no one has demonstrated the power of YouTube quite like Stephen Curry. 

After launching his production company Unanimous Media in 2018 and partnering with the award-winning content company Portal A to revamp his YouTube channel, Curry quickly grew to become the most-followed athlete in the U.S. with attention-grabbing series like 5 Minutes from Home and viral hits like the Hamilton sing-along with his daughters Riley and Ryan. 

Like many successful athletes on YouTube, Curry has also used his growing influence on YouTube to amplify his brand relationships and endorsement deals. His signature series 5 Minutes From Home, which garnered 15M views on YouTube over two seasons, led to a partnership with Lyft Entertainment, and other videos have featured other partners like Infiniti, Under Armour, and Rakuten, as well as spotlighting his ABC series, Holey Moley. 

Stephen may be the top athlete in the land for now – but the race is on for the #1 spot in 2021!

Want more insights like this?

The post Stephen Curry Is King Among the Top Athletes on YouTube appeared first on Tubular Labs.

Partnering with the biggest media groups worldwide, RTL AdConnect reaches over 165 million people in Europe every day — and even more globally — across 150 TV channels and 300+ digital platforms. 

So just exactly how do they do it?

Tubular talked to Jean-Baptiste Moggio, Head of Marketing of RTL AdConnect, about RTL’s strategy for approaching social video and reaching an expansive global audience. 

These are the key takeaways: 

Think Outside the Box When You Need to Pivot

Like many media and advertising companies, RTL AdConnect was hit by the effects of Covid-19 and had to learn to both create and repurpose content that would help them stay connected with their audiences.

For example, the company had a French chef host guests via a Zoom call to do a cooperative cooking program. RTL AdConnect also started to share more clips from owned properties and TV shows like Fremantle’s Got Talent across social platforms to expand awareness and engagement, further driving advertiser interest and investment.

“We are talking about half a billion views per month across Got Talent [social channels],” Moggio said. “So we can really position our content brands as global leading brands that you can attach your brand to.”

Produce Premium Content Across All Platforms

Moggio said RTL AdConnect’s goal is to convince advertisers they’ll get the highest ROI on premium content, so this is the kind of content the company creates. Moggio said RTL defines “premium” as resonating on social video for its international brands, impacting local European audiences, and being socially native by working with professional creators.

RTL takes a property like Got Talent, for example, and translates it to social video as a way to capitalize on the company’s premium broadcast content and build a global brand. Similarly, RTL created individual channels for regionalized versions of Got Talent to create local impact. Finally, RTL carefully selects the right influencers to partner with and help develop professional video content.

“Our DNA as RTL Group, and more largely from our mother company, which is the Bertelsmann Group is to really produce premium content. I know in 2019, Bertelsmann communicated that it invested on a yearly basis €5 billion into video content,” explained Moggio. 

“So we are really focusing and capitalizing on this great experience and great investment on premium video that can resonate across all platforms from us. It’s bringing [advertisers] the right insights to make them sure they are [making] the right choice.”

Total Video Reach Is Not a Zero-Sum Game

RTL also operates on the idea that total video reach is added on top of TV reach; in essence, you’re adding more audiences beyond simply TV viewers. As such, advertisers need to be on as many platforms as possible to maximize global reach.

Moggio said RTL also sees very small overlaps across platforms, which means advertisers can reach very different audiences across Facebook and YouTube, for example, with worrying about cannibalization. 

“There are users to be reached on all platforms and you have to be on all these platforms… to make sure you maximize your attention,” Moggio said. “And being on all these platforms, then you make sure you maximize your reach and you play the complementarity.”

Is your global reach in need of a boost?

The post How RTL Reaches a Massively Engaged Global Audience on Social Video appeared first on Tubular Labs.

As a global kids entertainment company, Spin Master is in this situation of needing to safely grow its family of brands, including Bakugan®, Hatchimals®, and Paw Patrol®. We talked with Spin Master’s Brock McLaughlin and Talia Carr on how they approach social video in the Made for Kids era with their successful influencer marketing program.

Here are three takeaways McLaughlin and Carr had for making the most impact in the kids’ space with influencer marketing!

Discover Influencers Who Align with Your Audience & Message 

For Spin Master, partnering with the right influencers can happen through multiple different channels. However, every single one must feel like they naturally mesh with the company’s goals and messaging.

“We really want to work with influencers that genuinely love the toys we’re putting out and are looking to create fun and exciting content with them,” Carr explained. “We always ask our creators how they can fit our product authentically into the content that they’re already creating on their channels.”

Practically, Spin Master suggests looking for influencers who: 

• Are already talking about your brand organically
• Are top performers in specific categories (“dolls” vs. simply “toys,” for example)
• May have worked with competitors on sponsored campaigns with audiences similar to your own
• Are on the rise in terms of views
• Have high average 30-day views (V30)

As an example of out-of-the-box influencer marketing, consider appealing to the nostalgia of parents and collectors and not just kids. Spin Master’s partnership with filmmaker and comic book fan Kevin Smith, for example, drove strong awareness around Spin Master’s new Batman toys. 

“[Smith] was one of the first people we reached out to,” McLaughlin said. “He was very excited and he did a whole unboxing on Twitch and YouTube. Then he put up a YouTube video. He did so much for us. I was not expecting him to just go live for two hours and talk about our Batman toys and open them.”

Partner with Influencers on a 360-Degree Approach

Spin Master doesn’t approach its influencer marketing strategy as a siloed system that works separately from its other marketing efforts. Instead, the company brings its influencers to all aspects of its campaigns in what it calls a “360-degree” approach.

For example, Spin Master often uses the same influencers from YouTube that they do in TV ads, which isn’t a typical kids’ marketing approach but ensures the same faces are consistently in front of children and parents to build recognition, trust, and brand affinity. 

Spin Master also encourages its influencer partners to organically craft and deliver a message that resonates with their audience, as opposed to reading off a script.

“If a kid is watching their favorite YouTuber and within multiple videos they’re seeing a toy or a brand, like Hatchimals, for example, they’re going to remember that their favorite YouTuber loves Hatchimals and maybe they should buy that Hatchimal and get to play with it,” Carr said.

Be Flexible in Adjusting Messaging

Over the last few months, views on YouTube in the kids’ space have skyrocketed due to the effects of covid and families being at home. As such, Carr and McLaughlin suggest brands adjust their messaging in the current environment, while continuing to tell the stories kids want to hear. 

For example, Spin Master’s GO GLAM nail studio and hair extension toy set shifted their messaging from doing friends’ nails and hair, to taking the product home to try on yourself or your family members.

As Carr explained, “Just thinking about our marketing and the way that we’re marketing in terms of [covid] changes a bit, but the ability to continue [our] influencer marketing strategy is strong because there’s so many more eyeballs on our content.”

“If anything, we’ve really doubled down on our kids’ content over the past few months,” McLaughlin added. “We had to take a step back and assess the situation, but really, it led to a lot more creativity on our part.”

Curious how you can use influencer marketing to appeal to kids?

The post 3 Ways Spin Master Engages Kids Audiences Through Influencer Marketing appeared first on Tubular Labs.

But times have changed. Around the world, children’s content is coming under the protection of privacy laws like the GDPR in the EU and COPPA in the United States. And most of these laws restrict advertisers from marketing directly to children. 

Now, kids’ media companies and brands must look beyond ad revenue for new ways to grow their audiences so they can prove their overall value and license, merchandise, or even sell their properties.

In our newest report about Made for Kids content on YouTube, we break down how leading children’s entertainment companies and even some brands are growing their audiences so they can prove their value and monetize beyond ad revenue, including:

1. Creating white space content: Set yourself apart from competitors through unique content offerings in up-and-coming categories.
2. Expanding your global reach: The more you can localize content, the more likely you are to grow your reach.
3. Finding untapped audiences: Comparing your owned vs. earned media views can help you find audiences already talking about you and who may want more owned content.

Let’s take a look!

Discover and Develop White Space Content

When it comes to growing your audiences and proving your overall value, stand apart from your Made for Kids competitors by finding and creating white space content.

For example, some of the most-watched content from creators like Peppa Pig and Blippi in 2020 hailed from untapped spaces such as kids’ sports and children’s museums, both of which had higher-than-normal average 30-day views (V30) but fewer overall uploads across Made for Kids creators. 

This strategy clearly worked for UK-based entertainment company Moonbug. The digital kids’ creator used data to determine what new property to create; out of this stemmed its Go Buster IP, which was eventually licensed by Netflix. 

Takeaway: When you want to expand your Made for Kids content and overall reach, look for growing opportunities in spaces that aren’t crowded yet and develop content for these areas.

Make Localized Content to Expand Reach

Localizing content is an important part of reaching new audiences around the world. When you do, your kids’ entertainment company will have a bigger global footprint across Made for Kids content and you’ll have more proof of value to bring to the table.

For example, properties like Peppa Pig and Masha & the Bear are available in over 20 languages around the world. Their expansion into other regions helped each property drive a ~50% increase in viewership across their respective YouTube channels from January to July 2020.

In particular, Masha & the Bear’s global success has led to licensing and distribution deals with U.S. and UK media giants like Universal Kids, Netflix, and Tiny Pop.

Takeaway: In order to attract licensing and merchandising partners, prove your global appeal by translating your country-specific success into regional-specific content pushes. 

Find the Audiences Already Talking About You

Finally, discovering your owned to earned media ratio can help you not only discover untapped audiences, but can also help you prioritize where first to expand globally. 

This strategy is particularly useful for brands who have yet to make an impact in localized regions, but see that audiences in these areas are already talking about them via earned content and driving significant views.

Mattel’s Barbie is a good example of analyzing owned vs. earned media. The brand’s YouTube channels dominate in countries like the U.S., Russia, and Spain.

However, the percentage of Barbie-related views in the APAC region are significantly higher on earned media, meaning the Barbie brand has an opportunity to grow its owned media within those audiences.

Takeaway: In regions where audiences are already talking about you primarily through earned media, use this opportunity to grow your owned media presence in these areas and improve your pitch to potential partners.

Want to prove the true value of your kids’ entertainment offerings?

The post How Top Made for Kids Creators Prove Value and Land Licensing Deals appeared first on Tubular Labs.

But this poses a problem: what is each streaming service’s share of voice among all their competitors, and why does it matter?

Share of voice on social video platforms not only helps SVOD marketing teams make more informed decisions, but also helps them build the case for doing promotional marketing beyond paid campaigns and trailers. But they can’t do this without first knowing their share. 

In a recent report about streaming services, we dove into this dilemma and discovered:

• Streaming services with the most views on YouTube were more likely to have the most paid subscribers.
• Different SVODs use different content strategies across social video platforms, with most moving beyond uploading just trailers.
• Earned content generates large percentages of views for top streaming services on Facebook in particular.

Let’s look at these in more detail:

YouTube Content = More Paid Subscribers

When it comes to social video content, YouTube is the place to be for streaming services that potentially want to attract more paid subscribers.

We found that investment into YouTube correlated with the success of SVOD’s paid subscriber bases. For example, Netflix claims 70% of views (6.2B total) across all streaming services content we measured, and it also boasts the highest number of subscribers at around 180M globally.

Takeaway: The top SVOD players see a correlation between volume of views on YouTube and paid subscribers. If you aren’t already, start uploading more YouTube content so you don’t miss out on your potential share of subscribers.

Don’t Forget to Think Beyond the Trailer

Finally, streaming services need to embrace the fact that trailers are no longer the only or preferred content format driving views on social video. In fact, different formats, such as music videos, comedian show snippets, and shoulder content like fireside chats are working incredibly well for different SVODs.

On YouTube, Disney+ leans on promotional movie compilations, which make up 98% of its views on that platform based on its top videos.

On Facebook, music/dance clips are a key format for Prime Video, with two videos featuring music from My Best Friend’s Wedding and Grease earning 50% higher engagement compared to the channel average. Additionally, Hulu relies heavily on shoulder content for Little Fires Everywhere, a format which makes up 93% of its owned Facebook content for that title.

Takeaway: Your SVOD social video strategy needs to be more than simply uploading trailers. Instead, you should treat your promotional efforts like a larger content strategy that integrates multiple types of formats to effectively engage and delight your show’s fans. 

Earned Views Boost SVODs’ Reach

Facebook provides another factor for helping SVODs reach more subscribers: earned content. In general, the top streaming services on Facebook in the first half of 2020 saw large percentages of their views coming from earned — not owned! — content.

As an example, Hulu saw over half of its total 476M views stemming from content predominantly released by media companies and press. In particular, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale indirectly earned 21% of its Facebook views from media, with 4M of these views hailing from just two videos from NowThis Entertainment.

Takeaway: Not all content has to be generated by your SVOD company. Look for ways to make earned and user-generated content on Facebook work for you; for example, if media companies are bringing in millions of views for your shows, consider partnering with them to sponsor this content.

Want to know how you can claim your share of the streaming market on social video?

The post How Top SVODs Are Going Beyond Trailers to Fuel Subscriber Growth appeared first on Tubular Labs.