Close Menu
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing & Mental Health
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
Trending
  • Busting myths about Asset Based Lending 
  • Self-driving cars could hit UK roads sooner than you expect, says Heligan Group
  • New Venture Aims To Help Propel Growth For Start-Ups
  • Building community, one cause at a time
  • How to build a £1 million pension and ISA portfolio
  • 5 Reasons Why Every Office Should Include Flexible Spaces to Work and Their Key Benefits
  • Pension reforms risk higher prices, fewer jobs and slower growth, FSB warns
  • Building Trust in AI Through a Decision-Centric Approach in Manufacturing
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
You are at:Home»In Profile»Liam Chivers – Founder of OP Talent, talks to SMEToday
Liam Chivers - Founder OP Talent

Liam Chivers – Founder of OP Talent, talks to SMEToday

0
Posted By sme-admin on June 15, 2021 In Profile

Liam Chivers – Founder of OP Talent, responsible for managing YouTube Stars including KSI, Joe Weller and Ali-A, talks to SMEToday


As OPI talent grew, could you tell me some of the struggles you faced and how you overcame them?

“At the beginning, it was the credibility factor. In the industry, particularly marketers with budgets saw YouTubers as kids in bedrooms; no professionalism, very risky to spend money on.

“I really took it upon myself to break that myth down and educate the industry. YouTube needed a professional face, someone dedicated to them to knock down doors and present them in the best light.

“In terms of brands, it really took me to highlight the platform and take away the blinkers of the industry who were so used to traditional marketing and physical marketing. It took a few key case studies to get the ball rolling, so we had something to present to the top agencies.

“I remember the very first one which stuck at my head, it’s still a Google case study to this day, about how to grow a brand on YouTube. One of our first clients was KSI, who used to play the video game, FIFA. We actually got in touch with Rio Ferdinand, a Manchester United footballer at the time, because he enjoyed the game too.

“[Rio] was quite new to understanding YouTube, he loved twitter – I think he had about two million followers. KSI only had a couple hundred thousand at the time, but the difference between the two was the engagement.

“KSI was getting 1.5 million views on every YouTube video, even with only a few hundred thousand subscribers.  Rio had a few million Twitter followers, played for Man United, was making videos with players like Ronaldo, had access to the dressing room and to the training ground, but was only getting a few thousand views per video on his YouTube channel.

“We did a collaboration where I went to Rio’s restaurant in Manchester, and they played a game of FIFA in the middle of the restaurant at lunchtime. They played two games of FIFA, KSI released the first one on his channel which got about two and a half million views in the first week. And then they played a rematch on Rio’s channel – nearly two million went from KSI’s channel and watched it on Rio’s channel.

“His subscribers went up from 20K to over 100K. His average views went from an average of about 5K to 25K on all future videos, on an upward scale.

“Google saw this and actually got in touch with Rio’s team, who then reached out to us to explain what had happened, because they saw Rio’s blow up overnight. We explained what had happened and they saw the exact timing of the video, the upload, and the links to KSI’s channel – they saw his influence.

“Then they made a nice deck for us, showing how KSI had basically created this brand on YouTube for a celebrity with his own following. The beauty of the case study was the engagement, from less actual followers KSI was able to drive more traffic than the celebrity, who had many followers. That was the difference, the value of the actual followers who were engaging with somebody.

“And that case study was one of the very first which really took off.”

In terms of marketing, what is the secret to capturing and maintaining audience attention in the digital era?

“It comes down to the engagement of the entertainer or the creator. We don’t call them ‘influencers’ per say, it’s the industry does that, and I think that’s key. It’s the relatability with their audience, to have that trust with their audience so they don’t think they’re being influenced by them.

“The beauty of why marketing is so strong amongst this digital era is the people watching them share the same interests. They have largely the same beliefs and interests, and they’re fairly malleable because of that. So if one of our guys is doing a particular type of video, showing a new sport, adventure or product just organically, then people will pick up on that better than if they see a TV advert. Because you’re not there to watch the ads, you’re there to watch the show, the adverts are just filler.

“The actual value of the demographics is the key. Everybody could be watching a TV show on a Saturday night, from young to old, male to female, each with different interests. Whereas if people are watching a particular YouTube channel, they’re there for a reason, for the actual creator or the topic of the video.

“So, you can target demographics more efficiently and cost effectively rather than the blanket approach of traditional advertising.

“When we started working with brands, we would turn down probably 80 to 90% of deals because the fit wasn’t perfect for the YouTuber’s channel. The number one goal is to not upset their audience, not to sell to them, to be completely organic. And it doesn’t matter what the fee is, it’s not worth their career as a YouTuber.

“As long as that integrity stays and the brand can work within the parameters of the content and the style of the YouTuber, then everybody wins.”

Having managed some of the biggest influencers of today, why do you believe these individuals are so popular and how can businesses translate such methods to their own success strategy?

“Well, it comes down again to engagement, the organic nature of the content and how they engage with their followers. They’re far more readily available in the eyes of their fans than somebody they have to wait to watch a football match on a Saturday or wait for a TV show scheduled to actually be able to see them.

“YouTube never goes anywhere. Social media never goes anywhere. It’s always on. They’re always available and accessible, even if it’s just through the content they’re putting out.

“I think this popularity was highlighted best in 2015, when Variety Entertainment, the big US entertainment magazine, did a survey every year of 16- to 18-year-olds. It was a survey about influence, based on popularity of celebrities. They would include the top sports stars, the top musicians, A-list actors, Hollywood actors, and they would put all these entities together and they would ask these young people who they like the most, who they’d want to meet.

“It was really a metric into popularity, to discover who of these actors and celebrities were really liked and would want to be met by fans.

“They were given a Q score out of 100. And for the very first year, 2015, they included 20 YouTubers in the mix amongst all the rest of the stars.

“And lo and behold, top four of the top five were YouTubers!

“That opened people’s eyes with a great case to show brands, ‘here are the popular guys. You may not have heard of them, but they’ve got bigger reach than X, Y, Z, because they have their own platform’.

“I think that’s key for brands. Anybody who is building a brand or image these days, they have to be online. They have to be digital.”

Available to book via The Motivational Speakers Agency, Liam Chivers discusses social media, digital disruption, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

In Profile: Michael Stausholm, founder and CEO of SproutWorld

An Interview with Alexandra Palt: A sustainability leader and L’Oréal’s CSO

James Wilkinson CEO of Rock Face Talks to SME Today

Comments are closed.

Follow SME Today on Linkedin and share all the topics you find interesting
Verify your identity for Companies House

The Newsletter

Join our mailing list for the best SME stories, handpicked and delivered direct to your inbox every two weeks!

Sign Up
Events Calendar
    • Marketing
    July 7, 2025

    Bold Business Marketing Specialist Speaks In Swindon This Week

    July 4, 2025

    How Generative AI is Giving SMEs a Marketing Edge

    • Finance
    July 14, 2025

    Busting myths about Asset Based Lending 

    July 10, 2025

    How to build a £1 million pension and ISA portfolio

    • Health & Safety
    July 1, 2025

    Temperatures Soaring: Is Your Workplace Becoming Unsafe?

    January 29, 2025

    UK takeaways guilty of shocking hygiene failures:

    • Events
    July 4, 2025

    £20k grant for female-founded SME up for grabs

    July 2, 2025

    As Seen on BBC Panorama – Brad Burton to Headline The South West Expo in Swindon

    • Community
    July 11, 2025

    Building community, one cause at a time

    June 23, 2025

    Celebrating One Year In Fairford Supporting The Community

    • Food & Drink
    June 23, 2025

    England Cricket Captain, Ben Stokes OBE, takes a stake in Spencer Matthews’ alcohol-free spirits brand, CleanCo

    June 16, 2025

    Hospitality industry risks collapse

    • Books
    April 24, 2025

    Values-Driven Professionalism: A Path to Client Loyalty

    December 2, 2024

    Banish the banshee boss: how to lead without fear – addressing the issue of fear-based management and how NOT to be this manager

    About

    SME Today is published by the same team who deliver The Great British Expos’. We have been organising various corporate events for the last 10 years, with a strong track record of producing well managed and attended business events across the UK.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Receive the latest news and updates from SMEToday.
    Read our Latest Newsletter:


    Sign Up
    X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    Most Recent Posts
    July 14, 2025

    Busting myths about Asset Based Lending 

    July 14, 2025

    Self-driving cars could hit UK roads sooner than you expect, says Heligan Group

    July 11, 2025

    New Venture Aims To Help Propel Growth For Start-Ups

    July 11, 2025

    Building community, one cause at a time

    July 10, 2025

    How to build a £1 million pension and ISA portfolio

    Categories
    • Books
    • Community & Charity
    • Education and Training
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Features
    • Finance
    • Food and Drink
    • Health & Safety
    • HR & Recruitment
    • In Profile
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • News
    • Property & Development
    • Sponsored Content
    • Technology
    • Transport & Tourism
    • Wellbeing & Mental Health

    Copyright © 2020 SME Today.

    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Editorial Submission Guidelines
    • Privacy
    • Contact
    Copyright © 2025 SME Today.
    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Editorial Submission Guidelines
    • Privacy
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.