TOGETHER WITH

TGIF! Of course, if you do end up missing the stresses of capitalism over the weekend, you can always go check out Netflix’s new Squid Game pop-up.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO…

The inaugural VTuber Awards was a hit

The first annual VTuber Awards is a wrap. Here’s how the December 17 event went down:

In the spotlight: Filian hosted the inaugural VTuber Awards from a green box at WePlay Studios (which served as the show’s producer alongside Mythic Talent).

• To the thousands of viewers who tuned in, the Twitch star’s avatar appeared to emcee the five-hour event from the middle of an enormous virtual arena.

By the numbers: The VTuber Awards included 25 categories. Ironmouse—aka the most-followed English-language VTuber on Twitch—won both “VTuber of the Year” and “Miss VTuber.”

• A peak audience of 38,417 tuned in to watch Filian dole out those honors.
  
  

• Creators joined in from all across Twitch: in total, 21 channels launched raids during the show.
  
  

• Overall, the VTuber Awards generated over 155,000 hours of watch time, while its host earned 4,555 new subscribers (per Streams Charts).

More please: The 2023 VTuber Awards was the first event of its kind. That initial experiment has now proven to be a success for both creators and brands—meaning more companies are going to throw their weight behind the VTuber community. Some, like Razer, have already gotten started.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

This revolutionary AI tool makes it possible to create viral TikToks, Reels, and Shorts in just one click

Klap makes it easy to turn any video into a viral short-form clip—and all it takes is a single click. Klap’s revolutionary AI technology automatically identifies the most interesting segments in a video and generates edited TikToks, Shorts, and Reels in seconds.

So all you have to do is hit the ‘generate’ button.

235,166 creators have already saved time with Klap by generating 933,518 clips in 52 languages. Best of all: Klap is compatible with videos across all platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Here’s how it works:

1. Paste a YouTube link or upload your video file. 🔗

2. Click the ‘Generate’ button.  🪄

3. Receive a ready-to-publish HD clip in seconds. (The first video is free!) 🎉

Once your new Short is ready, you’ll have the option to download the file as-is or customize everything from the caption font to the video framing. 

Ready to generate your first short-form clip for free?

Try Klap for free →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• The 2023 edition of Hot Ones’ annual Holiday Extravaganza charity drive included an interview with the series’ first-ever three-time guest: Jackass star Steve-O. (Tubefilter)
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• We sat down with the creator behind That’s So Drea to find out all about her rise to TikTok stardom. Check out the full interview here. (Tubefilter)
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• Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie has responded to an open letter from 247 Substack authors by doubling down on the claim that demonetizing or censoring Nazi content “makes it worse.” (The Verge)
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• Google searches for “Threads” reportedly peaked on Thursday morning, when an outage on X affected more than 90,000 users. (Gizmodo)

DATA • ON THE RISE 📈

This creator fell in love with making “drinkable art”

Wootak Kim has “always loved art and creative things”—but that doesn’t mean he always had a chance to embrace his creative side. Until college, he says, life was “very up and down.” Then, at 22, he got behind a bar.

How it started: Kim didn’t initially get into mixology for the love of “drinkable art.” In fact, when he first picked up a shaker, he was just a university student in need of tuition money. Then he made his first drink.

The turning point: Kim threw himself into bartending “full force.” After six months, he’d already founded his own bar consulting business: BarChemistry. That endeavor led him to Instagram, which in turn led him to the wild world of ecommerce.

• By 2020, the mixologist had decided to produce his own line of bar tools. And where better to show off his creations than on TikTok?

How it’s going: It took “about a month and a half posting three videos every day” for Kim to see “explosive growth” on TikTok. Within a year, he’d hit 1 million followers; fast forward to 2023, and he’s now doubled that number.

• These days, Kim splits his time between creating content, hosting a podcast called Under the Influence, and running two businesses: BarChemistry and SuperBonsai.
  
  

• Find out more about the creator’s journey here.

WHAT’S TRENDING?

Here’s how the advertising world changed in 2023 (according to YouTube):

YouTube isn’t done recapping 2023 just yet. In a recent blog post, Ads Marketing VP Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle reviewed some of the platform’s best video campaigns of the year. Here are four “takeaways from great ads of 2023”:

Going multiformat: YouTube encouraged advertisers to go multiformat by spreading ad campaigns across long-form videos, live streams, and Shorts.

• That strategy was a winner for brands like Pepsi, which produced one of the most-watched ads of the year—a roughly three-minute musical anthem that scored 250 million views—and found success with six-second PopCorners ads.

Generative AI: In addition to debuting an array of AI-inspired features in 2023, YouTube helped advertisers deploy AI-driven Video Reach Campaigns that delivered 3.7 times more return on ad spend compared to manually optimized campaigns.

Creator tastemakers: According to Google, 68% of Gen Z YouTube viewers visit the platform to watch their favorite creators.

• Advertisers took advantage of that cultural sway in 2023 by partnering with creators like @kylehanagami (Reese’s), @ritu.singh27 (SUGAR Cosmetics), and @grandmadroniak (Apple).

Shorts ads: Short-form ad campaigns made their YouTube debut in 2023—and they’re unlikely to lose momentum anytime soon.

• A recent test conducted by ad agency Precise.TV found that Shorts ads are both more cost-effective and more engaging than their TikTok counterparts.

WATCH THIS 📺

Crayola is bringing the holiday spirit to YouTube Kids

Did a cat break all your Christmas ornaments? Never fear: Crayola is here with all the crafty content you need to DIY the holidays.

Magical Moments: The crayon company joined forces with TheSoul Publishing—aka the digital studio that operates 5-Minute Crafts—to create a four-video series of “Magical Winter Moments.”

• You can check out the whole playlist on YouTube Kids or head over to Crayola’s channel for more holiday inspo.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.