Anyone who sees how the BBB sets a new sales record with more than R$ 1 billion in advertising alone can hardly imagine that the program has been losing strength for several years, especially among advertisers. To reverse the situation, Globo 2020 made a bold bet: It brought great digital influencers into the competition.
Whoever won this edition was a pipoca, Telminha, but Rafa Kalimann, Manu Gavassi and Bianca Andrade (Boca Rosa) changed the course of reality, especially in the digital world.
As of this edition, Globo’s reality show is much more than a TV show, it’s a cultural and social phenomenon. More than 153 million people have viewed the content of the latest edition of the BBB on Globo’s platforms, a figure that is 13% higher than the previous programme, the BBB21. And revenue continues to grow, there is a queue of advertisers. More than 30 companies are said to be represented in this edition, which begins on Monday. Globo does not confirm the amount achieved with the sale of sponsor contingents.
It’s not BBB for celebrities, it’s BBB for influencers
It’s the conversations surrounding the program, particularly on social media, that make the BBB so attractive to advertisers. The queue of brands wanting to take part is long. Following Americanas’ BRL 20 billion loss and the BBB giving up a master quota, Mercado Livre replaced the competitor on the same day and there was a queue of candidates for the vacancy of the new master advertiser.
Also, the criticism of the “declining” relevance of the participants in this edition is wrong when assessed from the perspective of digital influence. Fred do Desimpedidos, Key Alves and Bruna Griphao are anything but unknown on social media. Gabriel Santana, who starred in the children’s telenovela Chiquititas e Pantanal, has more than 2.3 million followers on Instagram and is very popular with younger viewers. Another example is MC Guime with 8.3 million followers on Instagram.
At Pipoca, makeup artist Marília has more than 2 million followers and is even followed by exBBB Juliette, who became a successful digital influencer after winning the program in 2021. Marília is also friends with Bruna Gomes (exgirlfriend of Felipe Netto ), champion of Big Brother Desafio Final, Portuguese version of the reality show. Fred Nicário, another Pipoca, has already gone viral in a video on the internet and has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram.
BBB supply and demand
One of the explanations for the growing commercial success of the BBB is the control of supply and demand. With the entry of influencers in 2020, demand has risen sharply. In reality, brands saw the opportunity to run campaigns on television but heavily connected to digital media, a priority for large advertisers.
On the other hand, the BBB became more expensive because content actions (sponsorship of tests, with the eminent presence of brands) have a limited inventory, as it is not practical to run thousands of tests. With the skyrocketing demand and the lack of space in the content, Globo managed to significantly increase the values of the BBB.
The success of the BBB on digital platforms reinforces this point. Last year, while it was broadcast, there were more than 132 million tweets on social networks, 5,408 terms in the trending topics in Brazil, more than 2.7 billion interactions about the program on the networks, with more than 3.2 billion video views official Profiles according to Globo.
A survey of 35,000 people conducted by Globo during BBB22 revealed more than 95% likeability (interest in the brand in the promotions), more than 81% intention to buy and more than 80% intention to recommend. Why advertisers want this isn’t hard to explain, it’s a cannon shot for brand awareness. Over the past year, Globo has also given influencers and journalists more flexibility in using BBB images and videos on social media. The measure extended the range of the attraction.
BBB became a business desk?
For some, there is a risk that the BBB will become a big business table that prioritizes advertising at the expense of entertainment, as summarized by Notícias da TV columnist Gabriel Vaquer. The risk is there, but Globo knows it and doesn’t want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Based on this scarcity management logic, Globo’s efforts should go in the opposite direction: having less commercial space in order to be able to charge advertisers even more. Scarcity creates value and is a differentiator for the Rio de Janeiro station. In the digital world, where Globo’s real competitors like Google and Facebook reside, there is abundance.
YouTube and social media have virtually endless supplies. But when inventory is infinite, the price tends to drop to zero. That’s one of the reasons why ad prices are collapsing in the digital networks and why Google and Facebook are in crisis and have to cut costs and staff.
A little commented but fundamental aspect is Boninho’s proximity to the advertising market. Globo refused to allow its directors to interact with clients and agencies. Boninho was one of the first on the channel’s artistic side to have this freedom. Additionally, early in his career, he spent more than three years writing merch for soap operas, which he believes was key to understanding marketing.
Controversies also help brands
The BBB is such a special case that even controversy can be positive for brands as discussions generate a lot of visibility and engagement on social media. Marketers only complain to Globo when they think their brands have little impact, and that never happens when there’s a controversy surrounding a brandsponsored race.
People understand that the controversy is about the race and the program, not the brand that just sponsors it. According to two ad executives I’ve heard of, the risk is that the whole program will become scum. Even so, not everyone would complain if it has many repercussions.
In the last edition of A Fazenda, by Record, which has become a boundless low for many, the rural reality was a huge success in an attraction’s advertiser’s assessment. Thanks to Record’s appeal, several conversion records have been broken by his brand. From his point of view, the controversies even helped.
BBB is Globoplay’s capital
Another reason for Globo not to turn the BBB into a mere slot is the growing relevance of Globoplay, a major Globo gambling game. Each year, Globoplay practically doubles the number of hours BBB watches on the platform. Reality is primarily responsible for attracting and retaining subscribers to Globo’s streaming service. And that over the three months of the attraction on air. In the long run, that’s worth a lot more than the BRL 1 billion in advertising Globo gets in one issue.
In this edition, Globoplay will have “a new experience with 11 live cameras and a mosaic of simultaneous signals to follow the routine of all participants”, Globo informs in its platform announcement material.
The BBB is very efficient in bridging the TV and digital worlds. It’s having an impact on social media, with Globoplay airing the program 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But he also has the moments that draw focused attention. The building of the wall, the elimination, the most important tests. These moments are rare and perfect to kickstart the conversation in real time on the networks.
Like major sports competitions, reality shows are live and produce FOMO (fear of missing out) syndrome, the “fear of being left out” in conversation. It’s that constant need to know what other people are talking about in that moment.
So there is no crisis on TV?
This year, those who aren’t subscribers can see the program in its entirety and see issues of Click BBB summarizing what’s happening in the house. There will also be BBB chat after Tuesday’s eliminations on gshow and Globoplay. The increase in content available to nonGloboplay subscribers indicates the growth of streaming advertising.
Late last year, Netflix began offering advertising on its platform in 12 countries, including Brazil. Disney+ and other major streaming players are already offering advertising in countries like the United States and have also brought TV shows to streaming. In 2022, after 30 editions on the American television network ABC, the traditional Dancing With Stars was broadcast exclusively on Disney +.
The surge in streaming advertising comes in response to slowing subscriber growth across platforms and skyrocketing costs, which prompted the industry to report disappointing results. And in cases like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, growing losses on its streaming platforms. But the increase in competition has seen the audience and engagement of anything that doesn’t have BBB relevance plummet. And producing relevant content has become much more difficult and expensive. That means the TV and media market crisis is definitely real.
format limits
The results of reality shows are spectacular, but at the same time show the growing dependence of media groups on the format. Aside from attracting an audience, reality shows are cheap to produce compared to dramaturgy. However, there are more and more realities everywhere, from TVs to streaming.
That means the media business, and even Globo, aren’t in a comfortable position. In the digital realm, audiences are becoming increasingly fragmented and the number of platforms continues to grow. From streaming to social networks, dozens of players appear every year.
BBB Brasil brings in billions of dollars for Globo and is one of the biggest cultural phenomena in the world. But it is a rare unicorn. It is virtually impossible to replicate and wears out over time. Globo has managed to reignite the appeal with influencers in 2020. If it continues to hit the formula, as it has for more than two decades, it will go much further than most of its competitors. This applies to television, but especially to digital.