Latest news with #SpotterShowcase
Forbes
06-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Want To Sell Like Mr. Beast? Brands Must Build A Strong Community
At the first-ever Spotter Showcase, creators weren't pitching content. They were selling loyalty and community. Hosted by YouTubers Colin and Samir, the upfront-style event featured stars like MrBeast, Kinigra Deon, and Jordan Matter making a clear case to CMOs and media buyers: creators aren't just talent. They're channels, production studios, and community builders. As Jordan Matter explained: 'An influencer invites you into their home every week, and you feel like you're part of their family. Once you've built that loyalty, you can sell almost anything.' This kind of connection goes far beyond reach. Creators build parasocial relationships—one-sided but deeply felt connections that make their content one of the most trusted spaces for brand messages. That's why community isn't just friendly to have. It's a competitive advantage brands can't afford to overlook. To fully appreciate its value, you first have to understand what community really means. Community isn't a campaign or a following. It's a group of people connected by shared values and identity. As Sara Wilson, founder of community strategy consultancy SW Projects, explains: 'It reflects some part of who they are, and being part of it helps them feel seen, known, and understood.' Darren Litt started Hiya Health not with a product but with a problem: 'As a parent, I was overwhelmed. Our pediatrician told us to buy five different products: vitamins, probiotics, and powders, and I realized none were built for kids the way I'd want.' So he and co-founder Adam Gillman launched Hiya, a brand offering clean, effective children's health products without sugar, dyes, or unnecessary additives. 'We launched Hiya as a direct-to-consumer company so we could talk to our customers from day one,' Litt said. 'That one-to-one relationship is powerful.' Every team member, including the CEO, responds to customer messages monthly through DMs, emails, or comments. 'You can't lead if you're not listening,' Litt explained. That direct line to their audience has shaped everything from communication to product development. One example: Hiya's Kids Daily Greens + Superfoods powder wasn't on the roadmap. It came directly from conversations with parents frustrated by having to sneak adult powders into their kids' milk. Hiya responded by testing flavors, adjusting ingredients, and launching a product based on community feedback. That same community defended Hiya during a viral misinformation incident that falsely accused the brand of containing heavy metals. Litt didn't rely on a traditional press release—he didn't need to. Hiya's brand advocates stepped in immediately, speaking up across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and comment sections with their personal experiences. 'They weren't just our customers,' Litt said. 'They were our voice. And they were passionate and very effective.' As Sara Wilson puts it: 'When you've built true community, your members respond to threats against the brand as if they were threats against their own identity. Because in many ways, they are.' And that loyalty delivered tangible business results. In December 2024, USANA Health Sciences acquired a 78.8% controlling stake in Hiya for $205 million. Over the prior 12 months, the company served over 200,000 customers and generated $103 million in net sales. Traditional publishing is slow, consolidated, and risk-averse. Success often depends on securing an agent, convincing an editor, and navigating a release cycle built for another era. Enter Bindery. Founded by Matt Kaye and Meghan Harvey, publishing and tech veterans from Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Amazon, and Patreon, Bindery flips the script. It empowers creators from platforms like BookTok to become publishers. Instead of just recommending books, these tastemakers now curate, acquire, and launch them through community-driven imprints. 'Cozy Fantasy' is a perfect example. A genre that once barely registered in traditional publishing has exploded on BookTok. One leading voice, Meg Hood, known as 'Meg's Tea Room,' launched her imprint, Cozy Quill, through Bindery. When she revealed the cover for Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J. Munden (publishing October 2025), her audience responded immediately, driving preorders and engagement. With thousands of book club members, Meg is helping shape what gets read and recommended—leaving traditional publishers scrambling to keep up. 'Bindery books aren't bought,' said Kaye. 'They're backed.' The results are measurable. House of Frank by Kay Synclaire, a cozy fantasy novel released in October 2024 by creator Jaysen Headley through his Ezeekat Press imprint, sold nearly 20,000 copies. It earned positive trade reviews, coverage in traditional media, distribution into hundreds of bookstores, and multiple award nominations. Sales weren't driven by conventional marketing. They were powered by community momentum and creator demand. Bindery also unlocks new revenue models. Fans subscribe to monthly memberships for perks like early access, voting on publishing decisions, and private community engagement. These examples challenge the assumption that community is just a marketing tactic. It's not. A strong community delivers product R&D, brand protection, built-in distribution, and long-term resilience. Hiya Health builds new products based on what parents are already asking for. Bindery Books publishes stories that communities already love, skipping the guesswork. Spotter Studio supports creators so brands can access trust and loyalty at scale. In each case, the value is tangible, measurable, and scalable. Building a community isn't just a marketing move. It's a strategic play. Like data, its value compounds over time when nurtured and managed well. The most forward-thinking brands will stop asking, 'How do we reach more people?' and start asking, 'How do we matter more to the people already with us?
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
YouTube Brandcast Regulars Like MrBeast And Dude Perfect Slated For Separate Creator Upfront
YouTube's annual Brandcast event for advertisers presents top creators as vehicles for commercial messages. This year, the growth of the sector has enabled MrBeast, Dude Perfect and other top-tier creators to get a spotlight for marketers independent of YouTube's event. Spotter Showcase, named after creator-focused tech and licensing firm Spotter, will be held in New York City on March 27. About 150 marketing and advertising execs are expected to attend. The timing puts it several weeks before Brandcast and the dozen or so media, streaming and digital upfront presentations slated for New York in May. More from Deadline 'Andor' Season 1 Episodes Head To Hulu & YouTube Ahead Of Season 2 Premiere On Disney+ A+E Networks Rebrands As A+E Global Media, Renames Ad Sales Unit A+E Media Solutions Oscars Ad Inventory Sold Out, Disney Says, With Pricing In Line With 2024 Confirmed to participate are MrBeast, Dude Perfect, Kinigra Deon, Ryan Trahan, Rebecca Zamolo, Jordan Matter, and other creators who have often been featured in the past during Brandcast. Conversations will be led by fellow YouTubers Colin & Samir, who are also producing the event alongside Spotter. The creation of the Spotter Showcase attests to the steady growth of viewership on YouTube, which routinely outdoes Netflix and other streamers, commanding more than 10% of all viewing through a TV set on a monthly basis, according to Nielsen. YouTube last month revealed that viewing through a TV screen now exceeds viewing on mobile and laptops, a landmark reversal of the longtime use case for the Google-owned video giant. At the same time, with traditional linear viewing declining along with the number of pay-TV households, the glitzy blitz of upfronts that used to pack the calendar between February and May has thinned noticeably. Paramount Global no longer stages an annual in-person upfront, hosting smaller-scale client dinners instead, and The CW has also has vacated its longtime perch due to cost cutting at parent Nexstar Media. While other traditional media companies have continued the ritual, they now face stiffer competition during the main upfront week from deep-pocketed tech firms Amazon, Netflix and YouTube. Creators at the Spotter event will detail their content calendars, formats, tentpole series, audience data, and development plans, giving marketers an up-close look at creator-driven and long-form YouTube entertainment. Added together, the channel proprietors scheduled to be part of the showcase drew more than 77 billion minutes of viewing in the U.S. among adults 18 to 24. 'Spotter Showcase will help brands reach today's top YouTube Creators, giving them direct access to the voices shaping culture and driving consumer engagement. It's not just about ad placements—it's about deep consumer attention and fostering authentic collaborations that give brands access to the unrivaled scale, trust, and engagement of Creator audiences,' Spotter founder and CEO Aaron DeBevoise said. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery The 25 Highest-Grossing Animated Films Of All Time At The Box Office 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
