Who is the real winner of Tati Westbrook, James Charles Feud? Gummy vitamins, experts say

May 15, 2019, 17:33 UTC

By Ben Kesslen

Gummy vitamins swept over the internet last weekend. The beauty supplements were at the center of the quarrel between YouTubers beauty Tati Westbrook and James Charles, who captivated social media and made its way into the mainstream.

Research on "James Charles", "Tati Westbrook" and "Sugar Bear Hair" has peaked since the tragedy that occurred last weekend, according to Google Trends.

While people were looking for google "Who is James Charles" and were trying to figure out why it had been canceled, many came across something that is often considered an internet niche, but that is actually a huge market.

YouTubers and influencers can make or break a brand, like Sugar Bear Hair, the company in full drama. According to Captiv8 data, the company has received tens of millions of likes on sponsored publications, and the company's most important commitment stems from its support for YouTube.

When Charles published a sponsored article for Sugar Bear in April, experts believe the vitamin brand could pay six digits. He was not only scorning his mentor, he was threatening to rob his customers of Westbrook's burgeoning rival company millions. The friendship was at stake, but the money too.

But after all this fighting, Sugar Bear is the real winner of the quarrel, said Krishna Subramanian, co-founder of Captiv8, a branded content platform that connects brands with creators and influencers.

"[Sugar Bear] James Charles has published a story on Instagram, "Subramanian told NBC News. It is difficult even to quantify the value of the drama, he added.

The influencer market is expected to reach $ 50 billion by 2020, according to Captiv8's analysis. An important part of this market comes from the Youtube beauty – the world of Westbrook and Charles.

Beauty videos on YouTube receive about 4.6 billion views each month and about 18 million beauty videos are uploaded to YouTube each year, according to TradeGecko.

Subramanian explained that this was largely due to the fact that Generation Y members and Generation Z members do not generally interact with the more traditional forms of Internet advertising, such as banners advertising. Instead, he said, they turn to influencers, often like Charles, who created their own brands via YouTube.

"Influencers have a very strong emotional connection with their audience. This emotional connection drives their supporters to shop, "Subramanian said. "You do not see that with traditional celebrities."

YouTube offers influencers and personalities, often random, who have just started making videos at home, a platform to forge this emotional bond with viewers – and build trust.

Confidence, said Subramanian, is a powerful marketing tool.

"A video on YouTube is not just a person who publishes a photo," explained Subramanian. "It's a tutorial that will show you how to use a product, how to adapt it to your complexion and why you should buy it."

According to TradeGecko, 37% of millennial women said they were "more likely to trust a brand" after seeing it turned off by an influencer.

Rachel Seo, director of social media at JUV Consulting, specializing in marketing with General Z, said influencers and YouTubers were "not only misunderstood, but also overlooked."

Seo was raised on YouTube and not on traditional television. To put the power of YouTuber's reach into perspective, she talked about the popular 1980s Family Ties TV series, which peaked at about 30 million viewers per episode. In contrast, Charles's video of Westbrook's viral apology, released Friday, had been seen 44 million on Wednesday.

An average Charles video receives between 7 and 10 million views. At its peak in 2013, Breaking Bad received 4.32 million views per episode.

"James Charles touches more people than a traditional news network or a television network," Seo said.

If you can look beyond the interpersonal drama between Charles and Westbrook, what is beyond the hill is money, and a lot of money.

Charles has raised millions of dollars on his YouTube channel and subsequent branded deals. According to the influencers 'marketing arm, if Charles' apology video was monetized, he could have made more than $ 80,000.

But as YouTube turns to more traditional content creators, YouTubers have the feeling that they can not make the same money as before with views and are starting to turn to branded deals. At the same time, brands have recognized the power of using influencers.

"Influential people have become a staple in every marketing budget," said Subramanian, adding that "YouTube is by far the most powerful community of all platforms."

Influential personalities like Jeffree Star can analyze a makeup primer and, after downloading the video, the product will be sold to Ulta Beauty. Star has created his own brand and business, which, according to him, has earned him at least $ 100 million – and it's Kylie Jenner, the richest member of his family, thanks to his makeup company. billion dollars.

As shopping malls struggle to survive and some retailers avoid them together, Morphe, a YouTube-based beauty brand, opens brick and mortar stores in shopping malls across the country. The company often pays stars like Charles and Star to attend their inaugurations, attracting thousands of followers. "We closed the entire mall," Star said in a video that he made about the opening of Morphe.

But as the Westbrook / Charles puzzle has shown, associating with influencers can be a bit trickier than a more traditional ad purchase.

Dave Dickman, CEO of Tagger Media, works with companies to maximize influencer activations. "It's risky to call on a super-influential," said Charles. this can potentially become negative. "

Nevertheless, Dickman said that even though the Internet was turning against Charles and that he was losing millions of subscribers, he was still accumulating points of view (and has 13 million subscribers). The YouTubers are caught in the drama all the time, then they make a tearful apology video and accumulate views. Major brands might be reluctant to approve Charles now, but more views on his excuses for Westbrook could mean more money.

In the end, experts think that all this drama is primarily good publicity for everyone involved.