YOUTUBE as a marketing source.

 Being a big fan of youtube, I have been watching random videos from as long as I can remember. Youtube started as a simple video-sharing and hosting website where anyone could post random videos that could be viewed by anyone anywhere. People started watching everything from the harry Potter Puppet Pals, laughing babies, skateboard accidents (ouch), to "Charlie bit my finger!".

Charlie Bit my Finger!

Harry Potter Puppet Pals

Now, not only is youtube a video sharing website, but also a multi-billion dollar making machine. Not only does google make giant sums of profits, but also the youtubers who constantly post their videos. Many of these youtube 'celebrities' have become so widely known that websites such as Guru Gossip and the more explicit unknowncritic blog (which has gotten so severe in bashing many of these youtubers that it is now closing down). Through the "Youtube Partner Plan", members who constantly attract a steady sum of views on their videos are able to apply and earn money through the people who watch their videos. They earn this money by agreeing to have advertisements placed in their videos, and in this space to the right of them. (If you dont know
what Im talking about, go visit one of the top Youtube videos and look for yourself.) This new viral marketing era, where anyone can be targeted from anywhere, is making many Companies who post their ads much more known and successful.

Here are a couple examples of the different types of youtube advertisements you can see regularly. Many of them are seen on big youtube 'celebrities' videos, such as Shaytards, LisaNova, KassemG, Smosh, peterchao (left), itskingsleybitch,Phillipdefranco, and more.

Firstly, there are pretty much 5 most visited categories on youtube: Entertainment/Film&Animation, Gaming, How-To & Style, Comedy, and People and Blogs. Each of these categories is made up of youtubers who attempt to bring viewers something in that category.
How does this relate to marketing? Well, in the "How-To & Style" category, for instance, we have youtubers such as DulceCandy87, allthatglitters21, and julieg who post videos relating on beauty, fashion, and this seasons most popular: Halloween Costumers & Ideas. Using the POWER OF YOUTUBE, various companies place their ads who promote products that have to do with what the youtuber is takling about in their video. For instance, in this video: Halloween Tutorials, a giant ad to the right can be seen that says: "HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, $1 Sale!!!" Clickign the ad takes us to www.odgirl.com , a website that specailizes in Halloween Costumes.
Another example is Shaycarl and the Shaytards. Shay, having quit his former job, found his epiphany on youtube. Simply starting from a few videos of his kids, his life became so popular that he regularly obtains 500,000 views on every video. Artists such as Bob Dylan, and weight loss companies have placed their campaigns on his website.
Recently, Kia has taken the plunge and started their campaign on youtube. Choosing the most viewed 'celebrities' on youtube, they have found people such as Smosh, Lisanova, and Shaycarl who will be promoting Kia due to the large amount of viewers that look up to them and follow them (religiously, in some cases). They can be seen here: Kia Soul .

The product placement that youtube offers is unbelievable. The male demographic watching videos in the Gaming section is not going to be bombarded by Tampax/Playtex ads, discounts on makeup, or Coastal Scents Cosmetic sets. Companies, big or small, are able to expand and more accurately reach out to their target market. The power of youtube is unmistakable. Whether you're a new starting company with a unique product, or a larger company wishing to expand their targeted demographic, Youtube is a media-wide phenomenon that is one of the most powerful marketing tools (in my opinion) to date.

FOR YOUTUBE!

Why does SEX sell?

No matter where we look, whether it's in advertisements, television, movies, songs, and clothing, the concept of using sex as an advertisement (directly and indirectly) can always be seen.
 Sooner or later, we all have to face the fact that SEX does sell. But why?

Why does Lady Gaga instantly become #1 on the charts compared to Carrie Underwood, who has been in the business longer and released more albums? I think the answer to that is this: if Carrie Underwood paraded Hollywood and MTV scantily clad in her skimpies, she would be the talk of the show.

Sex gains ATTENTION. Marketers and companies have to compete against thousands of other advertisements. It is enough of a taboo subject that we want to see more, but we're still shocked and captivated when we do. People yearn towards romance, love, acceptance, and self-esteem. Products that use sex as their advertising method attempt to satisfy some of these customers needs by telling them that you will be sexy if you buy this, you will get romance, you will get love, you will have intimacy.
Using sex to promote products and services is acceptable to the point where it becomes so uncomfortable and offensive that customers begin to boycott your products and spread negative attitudes.

For instance, this ad by Dolce and Gabanna seems to promote rape and creates an angry attitude by it's customers. Even though their brand is being kept in the limelight and recognized by more people, the appeal or their company and image after this ad become negative, even to the point where International Amnesty ask for their advertisements to be removed completely from selected countries because it promotes violence against women.

The website CreativeBits has an article that displays multiple raunchy and sexual ads ranging from travel to cosmetics, further emphasizing the fact that we are exposed to so much sex in ads in today's time that we almost become numb to it and find it perfectly normal, something that would have been a SHOCK and outrage to people a couple of years ago.

SHOCK Marketing Campaign?

The Last Exorcism marketing team has been utilizing their online sources well in order to promote their genre of horror to the rest of the world through the use of an interactive website called 'Chat Roulette'. After flirtatious giggling and slowly unbottoning her shirt, the girl in this video ends up scaring the bejezus out of her poor victims. :) No wonder they call it shock marketing.  If something scares you enough, you will be thinking about it for the rest of the week!

Watch this video:

Last Exorcism Reactions!

Im sure many of you, or atleast some, have heard of the website called 'Chat Roulette'. If not, then all you need to know is that the website uses your webcam to connect you with some random person around the world who is using the program as well. Sometimes you might not even meet people, but rather body parts.
The cool thing in this case is that the marketing team for the movie decided to project it's film onto a website which has supposedly already lost it's hype. This brought more attention to the website, and also to the movie itself, especially since the poor souls in the videos were incredibly funny to watch. To further promote the film, the reactions were recorded and posted on viral websites such as youtube, marketing the movie even more.