Commercial sponsorship and partnership marketing opportunities are now available for Thailand's YouTube sensation, My Mate Nate. With around 900,000 subscribers and followers on YouTube and Facebook, and adding some 3,000-5,000 subscribers each day, on YouTube alone, My Mate Nate has won the hearts of millions of Thais with his fluency in Thai and a great dose of humour.
23 year-old Nate Bartling has won the hearts of Thais through his comedy channel on YouTube and page on Facebook, My Mate Nate. In just over a year, the former missionary has gained around 900,000 subscribers on YouTube and Facebook and his videos have been viewed some 70 million times. Using simple, wholesome and fun pranks that make people laugh rather than simply doing something outrageous, My Mate Nate has gone from producing simple tourism videos to becoming one of Thailand's most popular YouTube channels, attracting and working with large brands and rights holders such as Columbia, DJI, Ford, Sanvo, Singha, The Music Run and Unicity.
Social media consumption in Thailand is very high, with the Kingdom leading the region in the use of social media by companies for innovative product development. According to the Bangkok Post, as of mid-May this year, Thailand has 41 million Facebook users, 7.8 million Instagram users and 5.3 million Twitter users. The country ranks eighth in the world in the number of Facebook users and third in Southeast Asia.
In fact, YouTube is so popular that the company chose Bangkok as the location for its first official YouTube Pop-up Space, where people can hang out, network, attend workshops and produce potentially viral videos. The event, which was held on 12 May, was so popular that a follow-up event has been scheduled in August.
With such a large following, My Mate Nate is the perfect platform for brands and rights holders wishing to reach a wide Thai demographic in a fun and engaging manner. We asked Nate why he thinks his channel has become so popular.
"I think there are a lot of factors to consider. First of all, nobody else in Thailand has prank videos. Most Thai people can’t go out and do pranks to random stranger because it’s against their culture. I have the niche where I can do these types of pranks because they look at me as an "outsider" and it’s okay because to them I don’t have to adhere strictly to their culture. Second, I’m white and I speak Thai fluently. They love it. Third, I share my open and honest opinion about how I feel regarding Thailand. The younger generation eats these opinion videos up. We all want to know what other people think about us, and having an outsider share his honest opinion about their country is just wonderful to (most) of the Thai younger generation."
How do you come up with ideas?
When I first started, I took ideas of videos that I like personally from famous YouTubers in other countries, and I adapted them to Thailand and remade them. Some pranks were too harsh for the Thai culture so I would tone them down and do a remake. Now, I just kinda come up with ideas as I walk around the streets, and go about my daily life. Sometimes I just get a random idea out of nowhere and I write it down so I can make it on a later date. I have an “ideas sheet’ on my computer that has over 200 videos that I think would do well and when I don’t know what to film for the week, I open up my file and choose what I think would be fitting for that particular week.
What is your most successful video so far and why?
The biggest video on Facebook was “Water Park in Pattaya” It has 4 million+ views. And it got 1.9 million of those views in the first 24 hours of being posted. I think this one went viral because it was just a fun video, something that we can all relate to – everyone knows and has been to a water park – and the quality of the filming was excellent so it just made it even better. My biggest video on YouTube to date is “Thai Tattoos in Slow Motion” with 1.9 million views. This one went viral because it is “edutainment” at its best. It mixes in some amazing footage of tattoos in super slow motion and everyone who watches the video gets a lesson in how tattooing works and why it hurts. Thailand hasn’t had anyone be successful in the “edutainment” category yet because they just want straight up entertainment. This video was something fresh, and new that nobody in Thailand has ever done. It’s shown me that there is a place for “edutainment” in Thai culture and that, if done properly, I can do as well.
The Sponsorship Experts, Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd.
will be managing sponsorship and partnership marketing for My Mate Nate 2016 and 2017. We have a number of commercial sponsorship and partnership opportunities available for brands and businesses wanting to integrate with this high profile influencer as well as many other opportunities to create bespoke activity for your brand or business.
Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd. is an independent marketing consultancy based in Bangkok, Thailand specialising in commercial sponsorship and partnership marketing, working with both rights holders and brands - acting as a catalyst by bringing them together and maximising the relationship.
We have packaged, sold and managed sponsorship and partnership opportunities for a wide range of rights holders and worked with many of the world’s leading brands to source and engage the right sponsorships and partnerships for them to maximise.
