Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-26-2021
Publication Title
Television and New Media
First page number:
1
Last page number:
18
Abstract
This paper analyzes emerging shifts in YouTube, advertising, and children’s digital media industries through a case study of Pocket Watch, a digital-first production and distribution studio built exclusively for YouTube child stars. Our analysis reveals the company’s strategic use of legacy media industry power, networks, and expertise to transform YouTube stars into global brands through the creation of toy, clothing, and lifestyle product lines across several industries. We further argue that Pocket Watch’s newly formed advertising division, Clock Work, exploits its child partners through problematic native advertising and host selling practices. The strategies implemented by Pocket Watch and other similar emerging companies may therefore act as a litmus test for how governmental regulation and platform policy changes will impact the evolving landscape of children’s digital media as commercial forces increasingly groom a growing number of young children to shift from YouTube stars to global brands.
Keywords
Advertising; Branding; Child-created content; Kidfluencer; Platform regulation; YouTube
Disciplines
Business Analytics | Cognitive Psychology
File Format
File Size
168 KB
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Repository Citation
Feller, G.,
Burroughs, B.
(2021).
Branding Kidfluencers: Regulating Content and Advertising on YouTube.
Television and New Media
1-18.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/15274764211052882