At YouTube Brandcast on Wednesday night, the finale of a three-day blitz of upfront presentations in New York, Lady Gaga achieved the rarest of things: a standing ovation and screams of enthusiasm from a crowd of advertisers.
The pop star’s scorching 20-minute set closed things on a high note and received the opposite of the usually jaded reactions, but the event had already been a substantive one before she stepped onstage. The 20th anniversary of YouTube earlier this year served as the framework for the presentation, with appearances and remarks reflecting the milestone.
“In just two decades, YouTube has reshaped how we watch entertainment,” CEO Neil Mohan said. Live events, from concerts to sports to many other kinds, have come to be a signature of YouTube. “We want to bring more of these moments to fans everywhere,” Mohan said.
One such live event in September will be an NFL game in Brazil, streamed on YouTube in full for the first time. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell took the stage at the Lincoln Center presentation and joined Chief Business Officer Mary Ellen Coe to mark the step-up in the relationship between the league and the video giant.
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Coe also announced a new initiative to give ad buyers a chance to get in on key cultural moments. Brands can collaborate with YouTube creators and properties like this month’s PGA Championship (or dozens of others around the calendar) to create custom ads.
Befitting the night’s themes, MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) made an appearance. With 394 million followers, he has long been the standard-bearer for the creator community. “People ask me if I’m going Hollywood. Why?” he said. “The future of entertainment is not in Hollywood. It’s happening right here, right now, on YouTube.”
Popular YouTuber Brittany Broski (aka Brittany Tomlinson) interviewed another O.G. creator, Sean Evans, who hosts interview series Hot Ones. Evans recently participated in an $82.5 million deal to buy the property from BuzzFeed, giving him an ownership stake in the chat show.
“Ownership, equity, and having a stake in the game is like a natural state for a creative person,” he said. “We are far past the days when a production company or studio is bigger than the person creating the content.”
Asked about the enduring appeal of his 10-year-old show, Evans said, “It pierces the façade of celebrity. … We knock them off the pedestal and take it down to a relatable level.”