Why is product placement no longer profitable enough for reality TV influencers?

Shiny racing cars and overpriced designer clothes parade on the screens. Behind this flashy lifestyle, the daily lives of small screen stars would take water. ” Are the salaries of reality TV candidates plummeting? “asks the Youtubeur, Sam Zirah, in his program “Today” (or “AJA” for friends) of March 9, 2022. In question: the crisis of product placement, a job that has inflated the salary for some years.

On paper, the principle is tempting: brands are betting on candidates weighing more than two or three million subscribers on Instagram and / or Snapchat to promote their products. In the end, it turns out to be cheaper than running a commercial on television.

Teeth whitening kit, oversized blanket or dog food – it’s all there. In her work, Reality TV: the factory of sexism (Les Insolentes editions), Valérie Rey-Robert talks about it “character sign” to designate those influencers who flood their Instagram or Snapchat account with advertising.

Very quickly, the prices fly away, “at the stroke of 100,000 euros the partnership for several pubs “, recalls reality TV blogger Shayara TV. For example, between 2018 and 2020, Cloé Cooper discovered a Marseille Australia, made between 30 and 35 collaborations per month, as he explains: “ We got our hands on it. Now competitors are arriving from all over and the television competitors have more difficulty.observes the young woman whose monthly yield has fallen sharply.

And it’s not the only one: even heavyweights take the hit. Previously paid for the package, Nabilla Vergara is now paid for the seat, the show reveals AJA. Maeva Ghennam from Marseille also sees her income decrease according to Shayara TV: ” Two years ago he was earning between 300 and 400,000 a month. Now it would run between 40 and 50,000 euros. ”

Bother with “teleshopping” stories.

Did these celebrities have gluttony? Aware of being sitting on a gold mine, the environment is abusing the new vein, favoring cheaper products. “Most bought their makeup in Asia and put their name on it. It happened very quickly. ” underlines Valérie Rey-Robert, with Madmoizelle. This practice can be considered unfair and fuel public distrust. Especially when she realizes that her favorite influencer wasn’t as involved in developing her brand as she claimed …

The first drifts arise with the era of the popularization of dropshipping (from the early 2010s, or thereabouts, for reality TV stars). Dropshipping is the system where the seller has no stock to buy, because he has the product delivered to the customer directly by the supplier. The seller’s margin depends on their ability to target a market, market and over-position the product, etc. And so the more he manages to make the product dream (even if it means embellishing things a little too much), the more he manages to secure a significant margin.

Little by little the machine jams: disappointed customers, products not received … Trust in the principles and princesses of the show is eroding and thebother with stories “teleshopping” climb. As a result, applicants become less profitable for brands that lower their prices.

“We had gold in our hands”

Reality TV blogger JeffLang2VIP observed these excesses closely: ” Candidates and influencers have pulled the strings too hard. ” Two giants share the market: Shauna Events and We Events. The first was created by Magali Berdah who claims to be at the origin of product placement. If he hasn’t answered the questions of Losethe business manager justified on the set of Don’t touch my TVon June 28, 2022, the reduction in the salaries of TV candidates of ” restrictive choices to do better quality work “.

The 40-year-old businesswoman has no shortage of enemies. Influencer agent (including Benjamin Samat), Sebastien Jaillard talks about a lady who held ” the majority of TV candidates “and those who” destroyed ” the activity. He accuses him of abusing it, not fixing advertisers enough: “We had the gold in our hands and it would have been sustainable if everyone had worked correctly. “

For its part, We Events, directed by Wesley Nakache, has a completely different vision and denies any ” decrease in activity in terms of number of product placements “. Words and mouths sewn between the influencers of the agency.

Youtube, OnlyFans and MYM taken by storm

For lack of product placement, the Marseillais and their colleagues “They begin to devote themselves to something else, we even see reservations reappear [comprendre : les vedettes sont payées pour venir s’afficher en boîte de nuit, et poser avec des fans] “, reports Valérie Rey-Robert. Discovered in Secret Story, Bastos is one of the first to land on Youtube. He now has over a million subscribers, and his videos easily have at least 300,000 views. “It can pay off big: for 50,000 views you have to count between 400 and 500 euros”, assures JeffLang2VIP.

Reality TV stars are also switching to MYM and OnlyFans accounts, applications that allow you to monetize private content, which can be sexy or even pornographic. It is not about talking about their way of life that is falling apart. On the contrary, they highlight the easy money won thanks to these platforms: at the beginning of May, Astrid Nelsia confided the victory to Sam Zirah’s microphone. “Between 20 and 100,000 euros” a month working “three minutes” a day. Still escalating …

Une photo credit: Bastos ‘YouTube screenshot, Bastos’ Instagram account, Nabilla’s Instagram account, and Magali Berdah’s Intstagram account.