Each week, we here at Tubefilter track every sponsored video posted on YouTube. We see prolific sponsors like NordVPN and Factor, which often pay dozens of creators per week to blast info about their products to audiences of thousands of people across different niches.
But increasingly, our weekly brand report data also shows us long-term, ongoing partnerships between creators and brands. Science channel Kurzgesagt–In a Nutshell, for example, has been frequently sponsored by online education company Brilliant for over a year now. Across the digital pond, Linus Tech Tips has an ongoing deal with device case producer dbrand.
And, according to Spotter‘s recent creator-fronted upfront, this is indicative of exactly what career YouTubers are looking for: long-lasting partnerships with brands. Especially brands that are willing to put their money into more than just videos.
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Chad Coleman, Chief Brand Officer at Dude Perfect, spoke about this onstage during Spotter’s event. The five-man group has 60 million subscribers, generates over 100 million views per month, and is in the middle of constructing a new fan-facing headquarters in Dallas-Fort Worth. Right now, Coleman said, it’s actively aiming to secure long-term brand deals in eight different categories: outdoor, hydration, automotive, airlines, consumables, wireless, apparel, and financial services.
It’s so far secured two partners, BodyArmor for hydration and Bass Pro Shops for outdoor. Coleman explained the BodyArmor deal (which resulted in Dude Perfect debuting its own flavor, Perfect Pop, last summer) was structured as a “test partnership” that would let Dude Perfect explore the pros of a longer-term brand deal.
The partnership just wrapped its first year, and has so far been “super successful,” he added. Moving forward, Dude Perfect wants similar deals across the other six unfilled categories.
“The nature of the YouTube business in the brand partnership space has historically been very transactional,” he said. “It’s the one-off deals to sponsor YouTube videos, then you’re on to the next one. We sat down with the Dudes and were like, we don’t love just plugging a brand in this week and then two weeks from now it’s another brand we’re talking about, another product.”
Because of that, Dude Perfect “really are shifting our mindset to doing more with less partners […] and leaning in to finding one key partner within each of those pillars,” he added. “Creating that connection with a brand over a period of time is just way more impactful than a one-off here and there. So there are advantages to this structure.”
Dude Perfect wants sponsors to go beyond videos, too. It’s asking brands to integrate into live events like its upcoming world tour, and maybe even get some splashy placement in its headquarters (once the thing, which has been in progress since 2022, is finally built).
As we mentioned above, Dude Perfect is not the only YouTube channel pursuing lengthy brand deals. Also during Spotter’s showcase, Rebecca Zamolo introduced back-to-school programming that’ll run across all seven of her channels from July through September–a prime opportunity for a wide-net partnership with a single sponsoring brand.
To be fair, some creators are still seeking one-offs. Photographer turned father-daughter vlogger Jordan Matter‘s Spotter upfront presentation mentioned upcoming content will highlight his daughter Salish‘s 16th birthday. His time onstage included an appeal to car brands who might want to give her a four-wheel gift for a sweet 16 video.
“There’s a lot of integrations you can do with a 16th birthday,” he said.
It’s worth noting, though, that Matter and Salish do have a lengthy partnership with cosmetics brand Sephora, through which they’re introducing their own skincare line, Sincerely Yours.
All this is to say we are seeing creators seeking steady, reliable, long partnerships with brands who will support not just their YouTube video production, but also their product development/distribution, live event, and other pursuits. And savvy brands? Will jump on this opportunity.
