Here's Why 'Authenticity' Is the Buzzword of Choice at This Year's VidCon

As more kids shun traditional media platforms in favor of online video, advertisers are scrambling for the best way to leverage digital media creators to market their products.

This challenge has led brands to a near obsession with the top buzzword of VidCon 2017 — “authenticity.” Spend more than five minutes with anyone involved in online content, and you’re bound to hear it.

Its importance is somewhat obvious: Brands don’t want it to seem like their partners are complete shills for their product. If a creator can seem genuinely invested in what they’re hocking, it’s marketing gold.

Also Read: Service That Curbs YouTube 'Adpocalypse' Starts to Catch On

“Authenticity is your greatest currency when working with a brand,” said Brad Murphy, CEO of Seismic, a digital marketing agency.

This’ll only continue to be the case, as partnerships become more transparent on Instagram and YouTube. Just last week, Instagram announced it would start tagging paid influencer content, and the Federal Trade Commission stipulates influencers must share brand arrangements within the first three lines of a post.

Still, brands will continue to line up for “authentic” creators because it breeds a sense of confidence in their products.

Also Read: Why Today's Teens Shun Old School TV for Video on Smartphones

“Consumers get our most trust for product recommendations from influencers, where historically it’s been friends and family,” said Bill Hildebolt, CEO of Gen.Video, a digital marketing firm bringing together brands and creators. “The problem with friends and family is — they’re completely authentic and they’re completely trustworthy — but they don’t have the expertise we now expect and have at our fingertips through influencers.”

Hildebolt told TheWrap new data shows digital influencers have not only surpassed the impact of family and friends, but also celebrities.

With brands seeing the incredible sway digital influencers have, they’re now flocking to YouTubers for partnerships. But this poses a dilemma of sorts for creators — how do you maintain “authenticity” while actively promoting a product?

Also Read: Watch YouTube Star Rip Racist Trolls to Shreds (Video)

“It comes down to what you choose to associate with. I don’t think it’s possible to be authentic if you’re promoting something you don’t actually like or use,” said Katherine Cimorelli in an interview with TheWrap. Katherine is a member of the Cimorelli group, a six-sister musical group with nearly four million YouTube subscribers.

Her sister, Christina, echoed the sentiment: “We promote things all the time to our friends [in our personal lives] — oh I read this book, or I’m trying this new product. So it can be authentic if its something you really like.”

Passion for a product — or at least the ability to appear passionate — appears to be the key towards keeping a digital audience engaged for creators. As more brands shift their advertising online, influencers believe their fans are open to arrangements, if they feel “real.”

Also Read: YouTube Enlists Kevin Hart, Ellen DeGeneres for Original Unscripted Series

“I think audiences are realizing more and more now that it’s okay people are sponsored by brands, if it doesn’t seem like a sell-out to them,” said Zach King, best known for his “magic” Vines and YouTube videos. “If they know you’re passionate about it, then they’re actually excited for you.”

'Minority Report' and 18 More Movies That Accurately Predicted Future Tech (Photos)

Steven Spielberg's tech-heavy "Minority Report," starring Tom Cruise, is now 15 years old. Considered one of the most prescient sci-fi movies to grace the big screen, it predicted multiple future innovations, including facial recognition, personalize advertising and predictive crime fighting. In honor of the movie's anniversary, click through here to revisit 18 more movies that accurately peered into the future of technology:
20th Century Fox
We're so used to touch screens at this point -- we use them every day on our smart phones, and even at McDonald's -- that it's easy to forget that Tom Cruise used the technology in "Minority Report."
20th Century Fox
Long before Siri, there was HAL. The ominous yet soft-spoken computer system was the antagonist in 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Stanley Kubrick's sinister talking computer ended up turning on its crew in a Siri user's worst nightmare.
MGM
Tech giant Elon Musk is at the helm of SpaceX, which will send two tourists to space in 2018. But "2001: A Space Odyssey" imagined commercial space travel decades ago.
MGM
Elon Musk, Google and Uber have been duking it out to bring self-driving cars to the masses, but Arnold Schwarzenegger might have jumpstarted the competition when he took a robot-controlled ride in 1990's "Total Recall."
TriStar Pictures
"The Terminator" predicted military drones in 1984 -- long before they were introduced to police forces and militaries.
Orion Pictures
Virtual reality is taking over the tech scene. You can play games in VR, watch movies and experience Coachella all from the comfort of your living room. But Hollywood predicted we'd have VR more than 20 years ago in 1992's "Lawnmower Man."
New Line Cinema
The 1982 cult classic "Blade Runner," starring Harrison Ford, predicted digital billboards, which you can see now all over the country, from Times Square in New York to the Vegas strip.
Warner Bros.
Remember when the TSA rolled out invasive body scanners and a lot of people freaked out? "Airplane II: The Sequel" imagined airport scanners that revealed a person's naked body to agents.
Paramount Pictures
Just like other industries, robots are taking over jobs in the military, too. There are even listicles outlining the "coolest" military robots. "Short Circuit" predicted this technology with the prototype robot Number 5.
Tristar pictures
Woody Allen's "Sleeper" had robots assisting surgeons by offering advice during surgery. Today, doctors use robotics to add precision to procedures.
United Artists
The beloved 1960s cartoon "The Jetsons" -- which was made into a movie in 1990 -- predicted the use of robots to clean homes. They had a robotic vacuum and a robotic maid. Can you say Roomba?
ABC
In vitro fertilization and at-home genetic testing are common place these days. "Gattaca," with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, predicted this tech in 1997.
Columbia Pictures
3D printing is used today in industries ranging from aerospace to medical. In "Weird Science," the boys 3D printed an actual girl.

Also Read: From ‘E.T.’ to ‘Explorers': When Kids Ruled the Big Screen (Photos)
Universal Pictures
We know how dangerous cyber warfare is, and countless companies have been hacked recently. 1983's "WarGames" with Matthew Broderick is all about a kid who walks the line between gaming and reality.
MGM
FaceTime, and Skype before it, are commonplace today. But it was cool new technology in 1989's "Back to the Future Part II."
Universal Pictures
There are a ton of different options out there for smart watches. This was predicted in 1990's "Dick Tracy."
Touchstone Pictures
It's so easy to order Domino's online -- you can even watch how far along in the process your pizza is. In 1995's "The Net" with Sandra Bullock, they showed ordering pizza online for the first time.
Columbia Pictures
Tinder, Bumble and OKCupid are only a few of the many, many online dating options out there. But Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks were on the forefront of the online dating trend in "You've Got Mail."
Warner Bros.
VR porn is growing in popularity. Or as it's called in 1993's "Demolition Man" -- "digitized transference of sexual energies."
Warner Bros.
The 1929 movie "Woman in the Moon" predicted space travel. Obviously, we hit that milestone decades ago. And hey, they even got the shuttle shape right!

Also Read: ‘Top Gun': 30 Things You Didn’t Know About the Tom Cruise Classic (Photos)
Fritz Lang Film

1 of 21

From robotic vacuums to smart watches, Hollywood got these tech trends right

Steven Spielberg's tech-heavy "Minority Report," starring Tom Cruise, is now 15 years old. Considered one of the most prescient sci-fi movies to grace the big screen, it predicted multiple future innovations, including facial recognition, personalize advertising and predictive crime fighting. In honor of the movie's anniversary, click through here to revisit 18 more movies that accurately peered into the future of technology:

View In Gallery

'Minority Report' and 18 More Movies That Accurately Predicted Future Tech (Photos)

7DAYFREETRIAL

7
DAY
FREE
TRIAL