In an interview, Felipe Neto talks, among other things, about the transformations throughout his career on the internet and his relationship with advertising and brands.
April 24, 2010. This was the date of the first two-second video posted on one of today’s biggest YouTube channels, and with just that little information, you probably know which channel it is.
Born in the Engenho Novo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Felipe Neto is an actor, businessman and, at age 34, he became the 5th largest youtuber in the world, with a channel that has over 44 million subscribers.
Recently, the Felipe Neto channel turned 12 years old and has more than 14 billion views and more than 3,000 videos published. With sunglasses, a black t-shirt and a backdrop of posters, Felipe’s trajectory on the internet began with the videos “It doesn’t make sense”, but it was in 2011 that the turning point took place and the youtuber’s name became mainstream with a video that , currently, has 17 million views.
Over the years, the channel — as well as the owner — has undergone transformations. Felipe Neto retired his glasses and aggressive tone and started to communicate in a lighter way and with informative content, curiosities and games. During this period, the youtuber became the face of campaigns, author of best-selling books, even had a special on Netflix, in addition to having presented Americanas’ Black Friday Live for three years in a row.
In 2019, Felipe Neto, together with João Pedro Paes Leme, founded Play9, a content curation, digital intelligence and audiovisual production company, which has a team of influencers such as Angelica, Ademara, Ana Paula Padrão, Raphael Vicente and, announced recently, Galvão Bueno.
To PROPMARK, Felipe Neto talks about the transformations throughout his career on the internet and tells about his relationship with brands and advertising.
What do you consider when starting a partnership or advertising with a brand/company?
Today we have an image strategy that includes only associating my content with brands that are in the top 3 of their segments. In addition, there is a legal compliance team that analyzes everything about the company you want to advertise. One of the greatest values that I deliver to the brands that work with me is precisely credibility, as the entire public is used to only seeing strong brands in the content.
How do brands get to you? Is there an agency or platform that bridges your gap with brands? How is this job?
The commercial work is carried out by Play9, a company that I am a partner and which today is one of the strongest in the market. There is a large commercial team that handles all the relationship with brands and agencies.
Do you participate in the creation of the campaign? Script, production, etc.
Usually yes. There are screenwriters specialized in advertising creation for the content of the channel and my social networks. Everything is done, of course, together with me.
For a few years, you have been positioning yourself on the internet on various subjects. Did that influence your relationship with brands? If yes, how?
Yes, for two years I did not close a single brand operating in Brazil. That only changed now, in 2022, when Yakult and Reserva broke that streak. The reasons were the most varied, from fear of some agencies due to the number of Bolsonaristas who hate me, to agencies and brands with Bolsonarista members on their boards of directors, who vetoed my name whenever it appeared.
Do you have a brand you would like to campaign for? If yes, which one?
It’s hard, over these 12 years I’ve done campaigns for many of the biggest brands in the world: Google, Microsoft, Visa, Burger King, Netflix, Disney, Universal Parks, Samsung… Maybe a Disney parks campaign, like I did for Universal. They are my favorite places in the world.
Of all the advertising work you’ve done, which one did you like the most?
It’s impossible to avoid this: it was the video hired by Universal to announce the new roller coaster of Hagrid, from Harry Potter, in the park in Orlando. It mixed several elements that I’m passionate about and the video worked out super well, with almost 9 million views.
How do you see yourself as a brand?
It’s a great question, because my main characteristic in these 12 years has been transformation. I was never afraid to change everything and throw myself into something completely new. While this is fantastic on the one hand, as it allowed me to reinvent myself and cultivate new audiences, it also has its difficulties, such as defining a brand known for something specific. My name is very much associated, today, with “the guy with the YouTube videos” and “political activist”. The second part gets in the way of the first one a lot, but that never worried me. Today, I have been working hard so that my work speaks louder and my brand is increasingly valued in the market.
What would be the best definition of the Felipe Neto brand?
My brand is associated with transformation. The Felipe Neto brand brings a lot of the “family”, “union” and “trust” aspect to the community of fans and followers that was created. They never know what to expect from me in terms of content, but they know my values like no one else.