3 Types of Video Sponsorships
TL;DR
There are 3 types of sponsor-influencer sponsorships: ++, +0, and +-.
I have to confess, this was not the first article I had in my mind but it is a type of content that I hope to be writing for the blog + I forgot last week’s idea, so here goes:
Some might know that I have an YouTube addiction. And, because I am Thai, I get to watch and compare Thai and International YouTubers. One of the most annoying thing I found about some YouTubers is sponsors.
As a YouTuber wannabe, I usually don’t hold grudge against sponsors. However, sometimes I found sponsor segments to be intolerable. I never knew why but I did observe that oftentimes I would prefer segments from International YouTubers rather than Thai YouTuber.
I thought that this “influencer marketing” issue was what I learned from Ian Borthwick (Ian from SeatGeek) that is something like:
the ads should help the influencer make their content
After more thought, the problem might be how the sponsor relates to the content. Let’s look at three types of video sponsorships, based from biology:
TYPE 1: Mutualism (++)
This is the pinnacle of sponsorships. When the sponsor ties in with the content very well.
This means that the content would not be possible without the sponsor, not in terms of money but in terms of content. Moreover, it does not means that the content have to diverge from what the influencer usually do to be in accordance with the sponsor neither.
An example of this is David Dobrik’s partnership with SeatGeek; His content of giving away cars would not be possible without the company but it is not something that Dobrik wouldn’t do.
TYPE 2: Commensalism (+0)
This is probably the most common type of YouTube sponsorship. Often, this is depicted as a dedicated sponsor segment or an ad read.
There’s nothing wrong with this type of sponsorship. Heck, saying that it’s a +0 might be unfair because the YouTubers get their money and companies get their exposure. +0, in this case, would most likely means how the sponsor doesn’t really play a role in the content.
Many YouTubers have this type of sponsorship, especially with individual creators reading scripts for SquareSpace, KiwiCo, Raid: Shadow Legends, etc. The king of commensalism sponsorship is LinusTechTips. The ads on that channel can even be very entertaining at times.
TYPE 3: Parasitism (or more softly, Destructive) (+-)
This is probably why I am annoyed at some sponsorships. Sometimes, sponsorships distract the content.
This comes out in two ways: content is something that the creator wouldn’t do OR the sponsor segments is just distracting to watch.
It is fair to say that the first time is tolerable but it is just a little weird to see that the content might be ungenuine. Also, it makes skipping ads without missing the content impossible.
Both can be found with Khot Cool, which has great content but some ads are just intolerable*.
In conclusion, using biological symbiosis to explain influencer marketing might sound a little extreme but it does help make things clearer :)
P.S. This might be something that people have already found out and written articles about. I just thought about it and found it cool. If this is the first time you see this, then yay! I’m original, I guess 😂
*I was debating whether I should add this because it already went over 500 words, but because how this blog is also for myself and how I might forgot the trigger of this annoyance, I might as well listed the exact examples:
Exhibit A: JeebNuNoi and Madame Fin — The sponsorship that brings in guest star kinda loses the original mission of the show to bring in people from the general public, unless it was intentional to change the mission of the show.
Exhibit B: VlogNaDekNgo and Suzuki Swift — The problem here is how ads are scattered throughout the video, making it annoying. It is also questionable whether the content would be like that if the sponsor is different.
Exhibit C: The Right Coach and Axe — A new show that is driven my a sponsor MIGHT be problematic.
