“Viral Videos Are Almost a Thing of the Past”, Says MCN Big Frame’s Sarah Penna

Late last week, I attended a high-powered digital media conference hosted by leading digital media/tech venture capital firm DFJ Frontier and leading talent agency UTA.  It was one of those rare (very) afternoon of panel discussions that actually “mattered” -- meaningful, insightful, educational.  One particular panel focused on MCNs (multi-channel networks), social media, and metrics (measurement of social media success and influence).  It was real-world, not Ivory Tower.  No press.  Just execs and entrepreneurs.

As one example, I found what leading MCN Big Frame’s Founder/Chief Creative Officer Sarah Penna (photo on the right) had to say.  Since an informal code of privacy cloaked the event, I asked Penna if she would be comfortable with me writing about what she said.  She was.  So here it is.  In particular, and most provocatively (at least to me, who considers myself fairly well-versed in all things video), she pronounced that “viral videos are almost a thing of the past.”  That really struck me.  And, why is that the case in her view? Because YouTube -- the ultimate universal television “channel” -- no longer features videos on its home page (and hasn’t for quite some time), which leads to a massive 1-2 punch problem that she calls “scarcity” and “discoverability.”  Both flow from the viewer’s challenge to find content that matters to them -- that is relevant to them.  YouTube’s previous home page incarnation curated videos -- guiding us to those videos deemed worthy to become viral phenomenon.  They were proclaimed to be as such.  And, so they became such.  Not anymore.

I asked her how her statement “jives” in the face of the current “must see” Russell Brand video and political discussion that has swept the Internet with over 6.5 million views as I write this on a Sunday morning 4 days after it was posted).  She pointed out that that happened outside the YouTube eco-system.  We need to find what “moves” us video-wise on our own -- with more effort -- and actively drive those videos to become global phenomena via our social networks and blogs.  (By the way, no matter what your politics are, you must respect Russell Brand’s passion, reasoning and eloquence in that video, the latter two of which certainly came as a surprise to me).

Penna -- who is both impressive and down-to-earth, by the way -- also answered questions about how the YouTube creative video development process is similar to, or differs from, traditional motion picture and television development.  "YouTube is more of a cult of personality than content development,” she concluded.  YouTube-ian content development is simply worlds away from motion picture and television development.  She expanded on this theme by indicating that YouTube content works when it "is a conversation” -- "and the power of that conversation comes from creating influence.”

Penna also underscored that sheer numbers are not enough.  While having millions of subscribers certainly doesn’t hurt, she emphasized that “t

here's a big difference between scale without influence and niche with influence. The latter is much more valuable.”

One more thing, Big Frame -- and other MCNs -- must justify their existences of course.  So does the roster of talent on Big Frame and others.  In other words, they must make money.  And, that means advertising.  So, how does a YouTube star stay “authentic” in the eyes of his/her audience amidst the reality of big brands infiltrating their intimate space?  Penna explained that she tells her clients to be “up front about it.”  “Tell your audience that this is your living.”

No reason to be subtle about this reality.  After all, subtlety is NOT exactly the central characteristic of YouTube videos.