Toy makers turn to YouTube influencers
Like many kids, Ryan spends his time playing with toys. But, unlike most of his peers, millions of people watch the six-year-old boy open and test toys — a performance that has earned him millions of dollars.
Ryan ToysReview is one of several YouTube channels devoted to unboxing and reviewing toys that has caught the attention of manufacturers. Toy companies that once targeted children watching TV after school have started collaborating with socalled social media influencers, like Ryan, to advertise their products.
“They’re more well-known with kids than celebrities — traditional celebrities,’’ said Tara Tucker, vice-president of global marketing communications for Canadian toy maker Spin Master (TSX:TOY).
Ryan’s channel, for example, boasts nearly 10.2 million subscribers and viewers have watched his uploads nearly 17 billion times. Forbes estimates he’s the eighth highest-paid YouTuber of 2017, collecting a cool $14.1 million.
Spin Master gave the pint-size millionaire a sneak peek of its Soggy Doggy game at a toy fair for influencers. The family created a 10-minute video of them playing and uploaded it in early October. It’s been viewed nearly six million times since.
While Spin Master did not provide Ryan the toy free of charge in this case, the company says it has worked with him on a paid basis before.
The Toronto-based company, whose brainchild Hatchimals was last year’s must-have holiday toy, started working with influencers about five years ago.
“It’s just grown exponentially,’’ said Tucker, adding Spin Master increased the number of influencer campaigns it conducted this year by 50 per cent.
The shift to include YouTube in a company’s marketing strategy comes as children increasingly choose to watch the online video platform and consumers turn to it for shopping recommendations, she said.
Research repeatedly shows kids spend more time online than in front of a TV screen.
Meanwhile, Canadians of all ages looking for inspirations for holiday purchases are most influenced by social media channels, according to a report from PwC Canada. Nearly half of Canadians considered Facebook the most influential, it found, with YouTube in second place at 29 per cent.
PwC’s American report showed younger members of Generation Z, those 13 to 16 years old, overwhelmingly found YouTube to be the most influential.
The busiest season for social media campaigns is definitely the holidays, said Tiffany Kayar, communications media manager for WowWee Group Ltd., maker of Fingerlings, this year’s hottest holiday pick.
The Hong Kong-based company recently partnered with influencers to introduce Fingerlings — animatronic baby animals that cling to a child’s finger created by its Montreal team— to North American consumers.