Brief

YouTube New Partnerships challenged Cheerful Twentyfirst to create a learning experience that would inspire and support the next generation of independent news journalists. 

The agency transformed the brief into a global educational programme, using best practice engagement tactics modelled from virtual events to give Creators the foundations for YouTube success.

Solution

The target audience were beginner YouTube creators; a diverse group in terms of their experience, digital skills, confidence, and genre of news they report on. Ultimately they all carried the same ambition – to develop their online presence, improve their content and grow their audiences. 

A multi-workshop, bite-sized learning experience that established creator best practice from the ground up was created. Six live workshops were supported by an evolving suite of resources that hit key learning moments through different formats. 

Regular content drops included a motivational film series, bonus backstage footage, challenges and weekly tasks, regular newsletters and downloadable cheat sheets, created to cater to every learning style. 

The programme’s creative identity reflected the largely younger audience – playful, energetic and visually dynamic in a way that came alive on screen. Careful consideration was given to accessible and inclusive design; with closed captions, considerations into colour theory and including all resources translated into eight languages for YouTube’s global, multilingual audience. 

Result

By taking part in The YouTube News Creator Workshops, the audience honed essential skills (80%), gained confidence (82%) and felt inspired by the online News community (80%) – fuelling the motivation and drive to continue their own news creator success story.

Testimonial

A spokesperson for YouTube Partnerships Strategy Operations said: 

“The original brief was ambiguous and very ambitious, and with the help of Cheerful Twentyfirst’s creativity, understanding of audience and execution grit, the end product was better than we could have imagined. 

“We have since shared these videos as best practices with other internal teams who are consistently astounded by the breadth of detail and production quality of the News Creator workshops, supported by content that is engaging, exciting, and exhilarating for our creators.”