Two prominent YouTuber’s in the mountain biking space came out this past week and announced they no longer have bike sponsors for 2021.
Paul the Punter lost Scott and BCpov dropped (or lost) Forbidden Bikes. Their videos are down below my thoughts on this.
Why do brands support YouTubers?
YouTubers, websites like this one and other social media outlets do one key thing for mountain biking brands…they create cheap, organic exposure for the products they produce.
Whether it be through reviews, sponsored videos or full out sponsorships, the mountain biking brands work with media to get their name out there. Social media support has really stepped in and taken over what used to be print ads and other sources of legacy media that is seeing dwindling numbers. When watchers, readers see brands being used by people that have built their trust in a more personal manner, it creates a better experience than just having a two page ad in the middle of a magazine that could…and normally does…cost a lot more.
Why is that?
The new media brands and personalities are creating the content. The mountain biking brands no longer have to invest as much in the content creation. They can provide products/compensation for that exposure that also does not go away. Once it is in that video or on the web, it stays.
There is more to it than that but that is the nuts and bolts of the conversation.
Why are brands dropping social media support?
This is a trend you are going to see this year. BIKE198 has been seeing the exact same thing and it is a byproduct of the current market…not that they don’t want to work with YouTubers anymore.
The COVID pandemic brought a lot of new challenges to the bike industry. You can read my article/watch the video of my in depth analysis here. Most importantly…inventory and demand.
1. There is no inventory to give away
Many publications and individuals that worked with mountain biking brands are seeing there is no product to feature or review. The brands can’t keep up with any contracts that are written without product to provide.
There are a lot of “That sounds great and we would love to be involved, but we don’t have any right now. When we do…those are allocated directly to sales that are already committed.” Obviously…the product companies need to make sure they get backorders filled first…then the media. There have been several companies this year that have released product that can’t be bought. It’s not a good look.
2. Marketing budgets when demand is outpacing supply
What happens when your demand for your product is vastly outpaced by your supply? You cut marketing budgets. For one, you don’t need as much exposure. The demand is already there.
Two…while it may sound great that you have this much demand, you still don’t make any money unless you have something to sell. You can increase prices to offset lost revenue from no inventory but it doesn’t make up for all of it and you can only increase pricing so much. When you add overly high demand with no supply, the marketing budget is typically the one that takes the hit first. That means you cut the items like sponsorships and social media support first.
So what is next for social media personalities and websites?
This is temporary.
I would expect to see this trend through 2021 and we hopefully will get supply chains refilled and more of a balance in the system by 2022. At that point in time, it will come back.
The value of YouTubers and websites like BIKE198 is still there. The issue is that the need for it is not due to the factors I laid out above. The quantity of sponsorships and review opportunities are going to be slim until things find their way to a more normal environment again.
Until then…content creators are going to have to get a little bit more creative with the content they are putting out in 2021. This could be a good thing. It will create more interesting content that could be good for the future.