Much to my wife’s chagrin – these channels – this “micro-culture” of dedicated film nerds has significantly influenced my consumer behavior (while creating a variety of shelf space issues). And I suspect I’m not alone.In fact I know I’m not alone! YouTube is ground zero for the “micro-culture” – and taken in aggregate, the single most important mass media platform in the world.
YouTube is the most influential media platform in the world and its reach is growing.
Here are some facts about YouTube that every time I share with people, I’m invariably met with head-shaking disbelief:
- YouTube has over 2.49 billion monthly active users and over 100 million paying subscribers. These numbers are growing daily.
- YouTube is the number one streaming platform in the United States by watch time according to Neilsen.
- According to Nielsen, YouTube is the number one most-watched streaming platform on TV screens in the U.S. and has been for well over a year.
- YouTube’s revenue is exploding. Just look at Alphabet’s Q3 earnings statement:
YouTube increased ad revenues by $1b from Q3 ‘23 to Q3 ‘24. YouTube’s ad revenues earned nearly as much as all of Google’s services, subscriptions and devices combined. But YouTube also drove much of Google’s growth in subscribers – with 14% year over year revenue increases.
Advertisers are chasing audience. Creators with reach are flocking to the biggest possible platform. And they’re doing so in exponential fashion.
Is this happening anywhere else in media? I think you’d hear about it.
Why is YouTube so powerful? Why are these relatively low-cost, independent productions so lustily drinking the milkshake of traditional media?
It’s obvious.
4K DVD channels are a small but clear example of the appeal.
Obsessive channel hosts who genuinely care about their subject-matter or their “micro-culture” will attract and generate enthusiasts. Their economic incentives and cost structures are completely aligned with their audience. And in-turn they are creating a more detailed, informed and authentic media product.
So why is YouTube and the “micro-culture” underrated by media professionals? Much of the success of the “micro-culture” flies in the face of what we have been taught is “good, earned media”, and runs contrary to what’s traditionally taught in media coaching.
In fact – successful influence through the micro-culture is almost 180 degrees separated from the precepts of “good PR”.
Across the “micro-culture” of YouTube channels, Substacks and podcasts, these three rules apply nearly across the board:
- Authentic, detailed and messy > Authoritative, simplified and well-messaged
- Community driven > Outlet driven
- Long form > Short form
YouTube is generating tremendous engagement precisely because it runs contrary to traditional “earned media”!
Compare this recent mainstream interview with Willem Dafoe promoting Nosferatu, to his appearance “in the Criterion Closet”
Which is more compelling? One is more refined, well-messaged and scripted in its response, and the other has a rambling and heartfelt discussion of his love of Wes Anderson, Mizoguchi, Rossellini – the films he loves and the films he’s appeared in.
The Criterion Closet video has over 1.2m views! His mainstream media interview? A lot less.
The Criterion Closet is ground-zero for the cinephile /“physical media” micro-culture. As the longest purveyor of specialty cinema (think Goddard, Bergman, Fellini, Ozu, Kurosawa, Scorsese, Hitchcock –the greats!) on physical media, Criterion presents an IYKYK air of delicious pretense and authority on films. Inviting actors, directors, and other creatives into their stockroom closet to pick, discuss and genuflect before their favorite films was a stroke of genius.
Ok, ok, I get it – this is MY thing.
But these videos have legs! Winona Ryder’s trip to the closet has 610k views and video game creator Hideo Kojima’s has 1.1 million! And even if you’re not a cinephile – anyone can tell the honest emotional attachments shared. Not a talking point to be found.
Most importantly – Criterion has helped foster a sense of community among people who love films. At the 2024 NY Film Festival, people lined up for 8 hours for a chance to shop in a mobile replica of the Criterion Closet and buy DVDs.
In the micro-culture, community is king!
My “physical media” journey started with Criterion Closet videos (specifically this one from Agent Cooper himself Kyle MacLachlan) but I got hooked because YouTube’s algorithm turned me onto the channels of Robert Meyer Burnett, MidLevelMedia, Cereal at Midnight, 4K Kings, as well as support from the Ringer’s cinema focused podcast “The Big Picture”
These channels regularly refer to one another, cover granular news in the world of physical media, and have both the depth of knowledge and economic incentives to engage their audience at length – both on tape and in live-streams.
In short – they can nerd out at incredible levels.
This flies in the face of all we’ve been told about “snackable content” and diminished attention spans. Enthusiasts are flocking to creators and channels who can go deep along with their communities and guide them to “the next thing” in their own “micro-culture”.
And while the strength of TikTok and short-form video is unquestioned, for people who are seeking to go deep on a topic, or make a key decision, or even elect a particular candidate – long form video has proven particularly influential.
Take it from me!
My home library is now stocked with incredible transfers and “collectors editions” of some of the Hollywood’s greatest films, cult classics and most intense foreign masterpieces of all time. I’ve introduced my daughter to “To Catch a Thief” and “Rear Window” and my son to “Cloak and Dagger” and “The Last Starfighter” all in perfect 4K and uncompressed audio. If you want to watch Joseph Von Sternberg’s 1927 silent classic “Underworld” (which invented gangster movies), I’m your man.
Behold the power to influence consumer behavior
And while this is my own beloved “micro-culture” – YouTube in aggregate, is having a massive real-world impact on consumer behavior and business response.
The ability of the “micro-culture” to influence critical decision-making is in its infancy – but given YouTube’s success, there are some clear expectations we can draw as more and more audience flows to the platform:
- We should anticipate vibrant “micro-cultures” channels and communities to arise around areas of specific interest and deep detail – regardless of subject matter.
- We should anticipate trade publications centered around niche interests to face fierce competition for these communities.
- We should anticipate that successful “micro-culture” earned media will be longer, less structured, more community-oriented, and conversational.
Audiences are making up their mind in real time. In many ways, the ground has already shifted.
The question is how do we respond? Do you have favorite channels? Favorite creators? A shelf full of tchotchkes you’ve bought inspired by unboxing videos? What’s your “micro-culture”?
Doug Hesney is a senior vice president in New York. This essay originally appeared on his Substack, Cognitive Missives
