Are streaming platforms using influencer’s content to leverage their presence in media?
That’s the question that popped out in our heads when we started seeing different streaming platforms releasing docuseries and special programs about influencers’ lives, such as Georgina by Netflix, The Ferragnez or Dulceida Al Desnudo by Amazon Prime Video, or even hosting different kinds of events with world-recognised streamers, like Ibai Llanos and Twitch. What would they do for this course of action? What would they expect from these collaborations?
To understand this match and how it could be made in heaven, we need to establish some ground:
- The number of subscriptions to online video streaming services worldwide reached 1.1 billion in 2020
- The most popular type of digital subscriptions are streaming services, which 90% of consumers subscribe to, according to a survey ran by Forbes.
- Consumer interest in video game streaming is growing rapidly among users and is a $9.3 billion per year industry.
- Americans spend an average of 13 hours and 11 minutes a day using digital media.
- Total video streaming time by users increased by 18% from 2021 to 2022
Now, if we cross the evident data that we have about the interest of current generations on streaming platforms with their love and admiration for influencers, we have a great opportunity for the streaming brand that is beyond any direct marketing they could do.
How to attract customers? They have billboards, marketing campaigns, social media presence… How else can they stand out among each other? The answer is, of course, with influencers. And not in a traditional way.
By partnering with influencers, brands can access their established communities and leverage their authentic influence and fanbase to indirectly promote the streaming brand. As in today, brands need to start leveraging all connection points they have, and reaching media outlets and social media is kind of hard if you’re not the center of attention… But you can be.
That’s what they have learned so far. They don’t need to make it about themselves, but to give users a reason to talk about them without them even focusing on the brand, but their original and proprietary content, and this means: creating content around influencers
Authenticity and genuine connections are key elements of influencers; they make audiences need to see themselves as close to them, so streaming platforms are an ideal place to offer users meeting points, building trust and increasing engagement by transferring influencer sentiment to the brand.
THE CASES: NETFLIX AND AMAZON PRIME
To prove our theory, we ran a social listening exercise to understand the impact some docuseries have had on their production brand. In this specific case we are talking about Georgina by Netflix, and The Ferragnez or Dulceida Al Desnudo by Amazon Prime Video.
| Georgina by NETFLIX | The Ferragnez by Amazon Prime Video. | Dulceida Al Desnudo by Amazon Prime Video. |
| General NewsShare of voice 53% | General NewsShare of voice 60 % | General NewsShare of voice 40% |
| TwitterShare of voice 22% | TwitterShare of voice 25% | TwitterShare of voice 39% |
| Youtube Share of voice 13% | Blogs Share of voice 7% | Youtube Share of voice 10% |
We looked for the share of comments or mentions that the platforms had in relation to the influencers name and content, and as we can see, most of the share belongs to media outlets. Without needing to launch a campaign, both Netflix and Prime achieved to dominate the media space by leveraging the relevance that influencers have for audiences.
THE CASE 2: LIVE STREAMING, TWITCH AND IBAI’S KINGDOM
Aside from the benefits of creating proprietary content around influencers to attract attention not only by the fans but also by media channels, platforms such as Twitch also offer advertisers unique opportunities to create immersive experiences that go beyond traditional advertising formats. Features such as live chats and exclusive promotions allow brands to foster direct interactions with viewers, leading to increased engagement and a sense of community around the brand.
- By 2022, Twitch had 140 million unique monthly visitors, with 107,800 live Twitch broadcasts going on at any given time.
- According to our surveys, 6% of Gen-Z are already discovering new products or services on Twitch
We need to remember that younger generations are looking for places to connect and feel free of sharing their interests and needs, and that’s why these spaces are so sacred and relevant for them. This is the reason why the recent law regarding the content restriction imposed by the European Camera could represent a huge pain for brands, streamers and audiences; if they feel they’re being controlled, this could affect the whole dynamic established, and most likely would imply that they’ll go find that connection elsewhere.
But, as long as the platform is still a safe-place for the niche communities, it can become a paradise for users (and, therefore, for brands). Such was the case of “La Velada del Año 3”, an event hosted by the Spanish streamer Ibai Llanos, where he showed a live boxing event that already gathered over 65 thousand people in the stadium Cívitas Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, with guests such as Quevedo, Feid, Ozuna, Duki, Nicki Nicole.
- 3.4 millions of users connected for +8 hours on a livestream.
- Viewers’ peak: 3.449.999M
- Average number of live users: 2,893,443M
- Unique viewers: 15,197,859M
- Broadcasting time: 8h and 13m
- Live views: 100,435,114M
This has become, officially, the stream with the most views in history.
But why is this happening? Because of the power of influencing. Public figures like Ibai Llanos represent the new idols, people that are already an expert on some matter and that leverage platforms to connect to the audiences in a different and constant way. We all daydream about meeting our idols, but the streamers connect with their communities on a daily basis, making them engage more with the content and feeling like they are, basically, the closest people to them; promoting support, empathy and affection.
In fact, NOBOX’s strategy for Emperador® Xtra Power® as a sponsor got millions of people to see the iconic characters, “THE EMPERADOR® GUARDIANS”, accompany Rivers in her epic entrance to the ring, being one of the most mentioned of the event. This simple but powerful action allowed them to be on everyone’s lips, including those of other brands, media and influencers, without them even realising it, positioning the brand as the ideal ally of the biggest streaming representative in Latin America.
So, instead of spending all the budget on billboards or campaigns to tell the communities that a brand care about them and their interest, some of them are already getting involved with their passions, such was the case of ElPozo King Upp, Mahou, Grefusa, Alsa, iGraal, Spotify, PlayStation, Coca-Cola and Revolut, sponsors of La Velada del Año, knowing that being connected to streamers and Twitch means being connected to the Gen-Z and Alpha.