As the eyes of the world were glued to Katy Perry's halftime show during the Super Bowl last Sunday, another extravaganza was playing out on YouTube for a different audience.
For the first time, the world's largest video sharing site hosted its own halftime show, hosted by EpicMealTime's Harley Morenstein. While the rest of the world was marvelling at the dancing styles of a certain Left Shark, YouTube offered up a variety show of musical performances, comedy skits and an attempt at a world-record science experiment, all featuring YouTube creators.
No doubt some football fans followed the YouTube live stream on their phones while watching the NFL's entertainment bonanza on the big screen. But for a new generation of consumers that grew up on YouTube and are constantly connected to their peers through social media, programming an alternative Super Bowl halftime show featuring the stars of their world only makes sense.
With the skyrocketing popularity of new platforms such as Twitch.tv – which enables users to stream live video of themselves playing video games, and to watch the streams of others – how long will it take before this sort of user-generated alternative programming crosses over into the mainstream?
Imagine a world where instead of listening to Al Michaels and Troy Aikman call the Super Bowl, viewers would be able to watch the NBC feed of the big game while listening to their favourite YouTube or Twitch.tv stars call and goof on the action? Imagine Hockey Night in Canada broadcasting with a simultaneous live stream of two of the most popular hockey vloggers doing commentary. Or Bethany Mota hosting a live stream to coincide with the Oscars?
Not only would these kind of events make sense for broadcasters – which would be able to engage a younger, more connected demographic – these alternative viewing methods offer a great opportunity for brands to insert themselves into the experience. Anyone who has spent any time engaging with emerging user-generated broadcast powers such as YouTube and Twitch.tv understands that these platforms are creating their own celebrities.
For so many young people, the stars of YouTube and Twitch.tv are more important to them than famous musicians and Hollywood actors. Twenty-two-year-old Toronto native Evan Fong is about to surpass Ellen DeGeneres and Justin Bieber with his number of YouTube subscribers. And along with this fame comes big money too. Fong is estimated to bring in around $300,000 (U.S.) a month with his channel.
Twitch.tv is nothing short of a phenomenon. The site, where gamers congregate to watch their favourite streamers play games such as Minecraft and League of Legends, is now averaging 100 million unique monthly viewers, who watch a combined 16 billion minutes of content each month.
The world's biggest video game companies, from Electronic Arts to Ubisoft, are all on board. Advertisers are starting to take notice, and the site – which Amazon.com shelled out nearly $1-billion for last year – recently ran a promotion with Duracell allowing gamers to compete in a Madden tournament to win Super Bowl tickets.
At the core of this movement is the idea of the chat: the communal conversations that take place on social media during any of these major events. It's becoming increasingly abnormal to watch a hockey game or an awards show in isolation.
For many sports fans, half the fun of watching the game is the digital conversation on Twitter, Instagram, or WhatsApp. Some prefer the more public communications forums, while others like to keep the conversation between friends, via their smartphones.
By creating unique experiences tailored for digital-first audiences – such as YouTube's halftime show – new platforms are finding their own way of tapping into these major events and placing themselves at the centre of the online conversation for specific audiences.
The challenge will be whether these platforms can find a way to work with traditional broadcasters to make the most of the chats taking place, and engage diverse and more fragmented audiences, even when we are in the midst of a collective experience.
We're all in this together, but we all bring something different to the table. What will your brand bring?
Mia Pearson is the co-founder of North Strategic. She has more than two decades of experience in creating and growing communications agencies, and her experience spans many sectors, including financial, technology, consumer and lifestyle.
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