April 23, 2005. A young man stands in front of some elephants at the San Diego Zoo and starts to ramble self-consciously into the camera; “Uhm, the whole thing about these guys is they have really, really, really long trunks…And that’s pretty much all there is to say.”
The 18-second video was titled “Me at the zoo,” and it would go down in history as the very first video to be uploaded on what would eventually be the world changing-phenomenon called YouTube.
The young man on the video was YouTube cofounder Jawed Karim, who, along with cofounders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, saw the need for a service that allowed people to share personal videos easily. Who would have thought that need would fuel a demand and eventually evolve into a craving and an obsession for the millennial generation?
According to social-media monitoring web site Brandwatch.com, YouTube is now the world’s second-largest search engine and third most-visited site after Google and Facebook. With 400 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute, people spend over 1 billion hours watching YouTube videos a day—more than Netflix and Facebook video combined.
The platform has launched in over 88 countries and is available in a total of 76 different languages (covering 95 percent of the Internet population). More than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices with an average 1,000,000,000 mobile video views per day. From its mumbling beginnings just 13 years ago, YouTube has not only fundamentally changed how we work, rest and play—and it also gave way to a new breed of celebrities.
Video might have killed the radio star, but YouTube has certainly given lots of people a chance to pursue their dreams of stardom.
Over the years, YouTube users, commonly referred to as “YouTubers,” have turned their videos into their careers and this has had an outstanding impact on the state of the entertainment industry.
Television may still be more prestigious than the Internet, but there is no doubt that YouTube is the new TV and since 2005, the platform has become the de facto launchpad for the next generation of celebrities where creativity rules over connections.
From singers, dancers, comedians, gamers and all kinds of vloggers, YouTubers have generally built their followings outside of the control of big media corporations—and there is power and independence in having a huge fan base. And because of this, YouTubers have forced the rest of the media industry to view them as legitimate content creators and entertainers, recognizing their popularity and acknowledging them in mainstream entertainment.
Names like PewDiePie (Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg), DanTDM (Dan Middleton), Benny and Rafi Fine, KSI (Olajide Olatunji), Jenna Marbles, Markiplier (Mark Fischbach), NigaHiga (Ryan Higa), Yuya, Vegetta777 (Samuel de Luque), VanossGaming (Evan Fong), Smosh (Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla), Dude Perfect, Canal KondZilla (Konrad Dantas), Whinderssonnunes (Whindersson Nunes), ElRubiusOMG (Rubén Doblas Gundersen), HolaSoyGerman (Germán Garmendia), etc., have become so popular, amassing millions of subscribers in their respective channels and earning just as much as some Hollywood celebrities via YouTube’s ad-revenue sharing partner program and even more lucrative endorsement deals.
So while your grandma (or moms) are still glued to the TV screen watching the 670+ episode of the invincible Cardo Dalisay every night, the younger members of your family are probably on their favorite YouTube channels watching trending videos, tutorials or some funny cat video shared by other friends who have also ditched the remote control in favor of their mobile phones.
YOUTUBE FANFEST
IN the Philippines there are now over 230 local channels that reach 100K subscribers, and more than 15 channels on YouTube with more than a million subscribers—a big jump from just 70 channels with 100K subscribers, and eight channels with 1 million+ subscribers announced last year.
So it was no surprise that Filipino fans again trooped to the World Trade Center, Pasay City, to see 14 of their favorite YouTube creators live at the YouTube FanFest (YTFF).
The show, which invites established and emerging YouTube stars and their fans from the Philippines and around the world, drew in crowds for a night filled with music, dance and lots of fun. Now on its fourth year, YouTube FanFest also raised anticipation for the country’s biggest talents, with 10 homegrown YouTube creators headlining the electrifying grand show.
Local sensations Janina Vela, Mikey Bustos, Ranz Kyle and Niana Guerrero, Wil Dasovich, Alodia Gosiengfiao, Michelle Dy, Pamela Swing, AC Bonifacio and Renee Dominique joined four international creators (Matt Steffanina, Sungha Jung, the Merrell Twins and D-trix) for epic performances that kept the audience on their feet.
Chris Schremp, YouTube’s Director of Global Creator and Artist Development, said they love coming to the Philippines because of the fans’ energy and enthusiasm, and to see international creators and homegrown Filipino talents shine onstage.
Unlike regular concerts, there were daytime activities, a pregame show, and several meet-and-greet sessions that kept the audience pumped up as the festival culminated in one epic performance one after another.
DIGITAL ADS AWARDS
A DAY before the fans met their fave YouTube creators, the finest digital stories from the marketing and advertising front received recognition at the first YouTube Ads Awards, held on May 10 at the BGC Arts Center. Top brands received recognition from industry captains, seasoned creatives, and decorated storytellers for their outstanding work on the platform.
Held for the first time in the Philippines, the YouTube Ads Awards celebrates the growth of brand stories in the country. Among the forerunners that made the event possible include adobo Magazine and the members of this year’s panel: MullenLowe Philippines President and Chief Creative Officer Leigh Reyes, Digital Measurement Board of the Philippines Cochairman and Unilever Philippines Head of Media Dennis Perez, Cebu Pacific Air Vice President for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog, McCann Worldgroup Philippines Executive Creative Director Joe Dy, television host and three-time recipient of the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature Lourd de Veyra, and singer, performer and one of the Philippines’s top YouTube creators Mikey Bustos.
Early last year YouTube Ads Awards sounded the call for entries for digital ads that offered high-quality content, poignant and uplifting stories, and fresh advertising executions. Entries were then weighed by a judges’ panel based on their content, effectiveness, engagement and business impact.
“Filipino creativity and imagination is on full display with tonight’s awardees. We’ve seen how digital advertising, in its many narratives and formats, can deeply engage audiences and give them a truly satisfying experience on platforms like YouTube,” Google Philippines Country Marketing Manager Gabby Roxas said.
McDonald’s “Wait Lang Po” came out as the night’s biggest winner, after being named the YouTube Ads Awards “Ad of the Year.” The video also won two top category awards, or “Crystals,” for Food and Beverage and Storytelling for Occasions.
Two other Crystals went to Unilab’s “Son,” a moving depiction of a mom’s sacrifices; and, Globe’s “Kaleidoscope,” a mini-series on modern-day artists.
Apart from these, YouTube Ads Awards presented six Second Prizes and 20 Third prizes. Globe and Jollibee brought home the most number of winnings, with five awards each.
The awards concluded with 31 prizes bestowed to the best digital ads on the platform, and some entries winning multiple prizes across its 17 categories.
FREE YOUTUBE EVERY DAY
BECAUSE of the popularity of YouTube in the country, Smart Communications is giving Smart, TNT and Sun prepaid subscribers free access to YouTube and soon to other online video services until July 15.
These subscribers can watch YouTube for one hour for free daily by simply registering to load packages like GigaSurf99, AllOutSurf99, GigaSurf 50, AllOutSurf 30, Panalo Data 30, Panalo Combo 30, Super Combo 20 and Big Time Data 70. They can enjoy this special offer for the duration of the packages that they buy.
Oscar A. Reyes Jr., SVP of Consumer Business Market Development for PLDT and Smart, said that through the path-breaking partnership, they hope to encourage more Filipinos to pursue their passions like music and entertainment, and learn a wide range of skills, hobbies, educational material, news and information through the massive library of video material of YouTube.
He added that this special promo will soon be available to postpaid subscribers, as well.
“We are proud to partner with YouTube to bring the service closer to our customers. This is just the start of a fruitful partnership, and we’re working on a lot of other exciting initiatives that will enhance the digital lifestyle of Filipinos,” Reyes said.
Aside from YouTube, another video service is also set to be part of the offer. Access to Smart360 (360.smart.com.ph), a Web portal where Smart, TNT and Sun subscribers can access various digital content like live TV, movies, series, music and games, will soon be free for a limited time. Other video content providers are also eligible to be included in the offer, subject to mutually agreed terms with Smart.
Smart, TNT and Sun subscribers are now better able to enjoy video-streaming services like YouTube as a result of Smart’s massive network investments over the past several years, which have enabled the wireless communications carrier to provide high-speed mobile data services via its expanded LTE and 3G networks throughout the country.
Smart is accelerating the deployment of LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and carrier aggregation technology to more areas this year. Carrier Aggregation, a feature of LTE-A, enables the combination of two or more radio frequency bands in order to deliver bigger bandwidth and much-faster data speeds, which are crucial in providing the best video-streaming experience to mobile phone users.