Carpool Karaoke: Understanding Attention & Influencer Marketing
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When James Corden took over from Craig Ferguson in 2015, very few could have predicted the breakout success that Corden has had the past few years. Much of his success and recognition has come from his segment, “Carpool Karaoke,” in which Corden drives around Los Angeles with famous artists, from Adele and Stevie Wonder to Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran. The Carpool Karaoke episode with Adele has now reached 178M views (dubbed 2016’s most viral video), Justin Bieber’s has one at 132M and the Jennifer Lopez episode achieved 15M views in just three days. There are four reasons why Carpool Karaoke has become a hit of a music product…
Authenticity
Consumer psychologist, Kit Yarrow, explains that “[…] deep human connection is our strongest motivator.” With Corden alone with the artist in a car, he is able to successfully leverage this notion. As Vice explains, “there’s something beautifully levelling about being a car passenger.” With always-on cameras, Corden captures the rare, authentic moments in which celebrities are not usually captured. Jennifer Lopez lost her earring down the side of the seat; Adele chugs a mug of tea so as to not spill it; Chris Martin stops for snacks pretending to be on his way to his Superbowl halftime performance. The Guardian comments that, “viewers are treated to a candid, loosened-up version of the stars — seemingly free of soundbites or rehearsed lines.” Ernest Dichter in his book Strategy of Desire, states, “individuals project themselves into products.”
Carpool Karaoke enables one to project oneself into the seat of the celebrity, sitting next to Corden.
Inciting Emotion
Carpool Karaoke most likely would not be the success it is without James Corden’s fun and playful personality. Executive Producer Ben Winston understands Corden’s importance proclaiming, “we could come up with the best ideas in the world but without James to host them, front them and run them we haven’t got a show.” By providing an outlet to laugh and escape from one’s everyday life, Carpool Karaoke possesses a strong emotional appeal. Jack Shepherd, Creative Director of Buzzfeed, asserts that
“people are more likely to share something if they have a strong, positive emotional response to it.”
The emotion that Carpool Karaoke arouses in its audience is key in its shareability and likeability, and keeps watchers returning.
Celebrity Culture & Influencer Marketing
Corden naturally leverages celebrity culture and their influence in Carpool Karaoke. The appeal of celebrity culture can be attributed to the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: esteem and self-actualization. Consumers see in celebrities what they dream to achieve — status, recognition, and achieving their full potential. It is this intrigue — what life could be like — that engages consumers.
Products must appeal to the top of the Hierarchy of Needs to attract intrigue from consumers.
This is partially why people enjoy posting accomplishments on social media — they are fulfilling their psychological needs of self-fulfillment and accomplishment.
Furthermore, and importantly, the celebrities that are featured on the show have massive followings, which naturally help promote the content.
Understanding Attention & Going Digital
Above these elements, perhaps most importantly, Carpool Karaoke is another story of capturing attention on the platforms that matter. Corden and the executive producer, Ben Winston, understand how people today consume content — although it is part of a TV show, Carpool Karaoke’s bite-size nature is meant for social media and the digital world and consequently, has become incredibly successful on YouTube. Ben Winston claims, “when I get in in the morning I will check our YouTube hits before I check overnights [ratings].” This is a critical component to the show’s success.
James Corden debuted to 1.66 million viewers in 2015 — that is nothing compared to YouTube’s 30+ million daily active users.
Corden and his team enable the user to consume their content on their own time. Winston continues that, “[…] it launches at midnight but ultimately it should be consumed how you want it — be it catch up, digitally or on your phone.”
The ROI of Going Digital
Similar to any hit song, Carpool Karaoke acts as a “[…] gateway drug to our other content,” explained by Winston. As of August 2016, there were only 17 Carpools but 185 YouTube clips from The Late Late Show with over one million hits. Furthermore, this product has enhanced Corden’s brand identity, leading to consecutive years of his hosting the Grammys, along with Apple acquiring the rights to create a Carpool Karaoke of its own. Winston has stated that he has no idea how much revenue CBS generates from YouTube views but the digital strategy of bringing late night TV show online has enabled them to leverage far more lucrative deals than relying solely on pushing TV ratings numbers to advertisers.
Takeaways
· Be authentic with your fans — display the human side of your brand/personality. Do something people are afraid to do (e.g., sing on the subway), talk about something people can relate to (e.g., struggles, traffic, etc.)
· Think about the type of emotional response your content provides for your fans — whether it be humour, entertainment, inspiration, or anything else. Focus on creating positive interactions and experiences for your fans. Utilize data to understand what makes a positive interaction for your consumers.
· Influencer Marketing: while you may not be able to get Adele to ride in a car with you, the Internet has created a long tail of content with “micro-influencers” who may have 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000 followers. Utilize the long tail to your advantage to help build a fanbase.
· Understand how your audience may want to consume your material and make it easy for them to do so. For example, most assume that long form video should only be on YouTube but perhaps Facebook is another good place for it, or several Instagram posts. Use data to know how to interact best with your fans.
