Taffy Brodesser-Akner, writing for the New York Times:
It quickly became clear that Luckett’s initial business model wouldn’t hold up. The studios balked at the “activation” fee, because promotion by their talent has traditionally been unpaid. “How is it different from going on Letterman?” a marketing executive at a major studio asked me. “It’s no different. It’s in your contract to sell the movie. . . . Just because it didn’t exist when we wrote the contracts doesn’t mean it isn’t part of it.” The endorsement plan didn’t work, either; it turns out that people like Hugh Jackman don’t really want to shill for corporations by gushing about new products on Facebook.
If megastars weren’t going to support theAudience, the founders realized, then maybe microstars could. This insight first struck when, during a meeting with a boy band called the Boy Band Project, Perlman was introduced to the group’s social-media manager, a 14-year-old girl named Acacia Brinley (YouTube: 460,928; Vine: 370,056; Instagram: 2,017,149). (All numbers were pulled at press time and almost immediately rendered inaccurate.) Perlman was considering working with the band, but he became drawn to Brinley instead. He was mesmerized by how many people were watching her on Instagram and YouTube. Back at Disney, Perlman had always been pushing the marketing department to try using YouTube stars to promote their projects. These days, he realized, the Acacia Brinleys of the world have almost as much influence as the Charlize Therons, perhaps more, and they engage better with their audiences too. Moreover, they were relatable and willing to use products — just about anything, really — and talk about them. And oh, right, they cost far less than a movie star. “I basically just put on the camera and then start talking,” Brinley said when I asked her to describe her process. “And then whatever happens, happens.”
This article made me suddenly realize why media is so focused on the young: adults don’t have time for pretend friendships.