Toyota GR Yaris

[Jobbo]

I think he’s lost a number of followers over the last couple of days. (I don’t follow him)

Not sure he has yet - https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/mrjww

However, it might be that there will be a flurry of activity as people wait for his rebuttal/justification vlog, then they'll unsubscribe. Or, on the basis that there's no such thing as bad publicity, it might simply work to increase his total subscriber count.

[mik]

Sorry this remains off-topic, but see below.

I see other people highlighting that Chris regularly berates the existence of influencers on his podcast (which I have heard with my own ears (both of them)) - and that via this he was starting a turf war between journo and influencer armies.

[Rich B]

Harry's Garage is an "influencer" style show - sponsored by the insurance company and the battery charger (who presumably pay him money to mention their kit) and operated by vehicles leant to him by manufacturers and tuning houses as well as ones he's bought... like any other "influencer". Is Harry ok?

[speedingfine]

Harry's Garage is an "influencer" style show - sponsored by the insurance company and the battery charger (who presumably pay him money to mention their kit) and operated by vehicles leant to him by manufacturers and tuning houses as well as ones he's bought... like any other "influencer". Is Harry ok?

I reckon it's Harry who wants the 25 large

[Jobbo]

Harry's Garage is an "influencer" style show - sponsored by the insurance company and the battery charger (who presumably pay him money to mention their kit) and operated by vehicles leant to him by manufacturers and tuning houses as well as ones he's bought... like any other "influencer". Is Harry ok?

Or does he not count as an influencer Much as Harris et al dislike it, they're in the same sphere as these people and doing the same thing. The only difference is their journalistic integrity. But saying whether you like a car is not quite the same thing as exposing the government giving lucrative contracts to cronies.

[Rich B]

Well what if Lichfield had gone (like CTEK) to Harry and said "you've got a million relevant subscribers, we'd like to target them with a campaign. If we give you our kit and pay you like we do any other of our employees/subcontractors/suppliers, will you do some content about our kit on your show?"

Harry's next question would be "yes, so long as I can be honest about it"

Then Lichfield would agree and they'd all go and spend their marketing budget on some very well targeted marketing.

It's only that the "influencer" in question was the one suggesting it and he clearly pitched it wrong.

[scotta]

Get in a salt n sauce review as an early effort - bet you’d get free chips from your local if you big them up.....

Free Chips - now theres an idea.

[Pete_]

JWW seemed like one of the better car YouTubers to me, high quality content and not an annoying personality. Seeing as he's had some high profile brand partnerships with Maserati (hosting the MC20 launch) and Aston Martin before he probably knows what he's doing when it comes to making deals like this. £25k seems ridiculously high but but what do I know.

[Mito Man]

I'm surprised everyone is already upgrading these cars which have barely been out. On the one hand you've got years of Toyota research and crap loads of money being throw at it and on the other you've got small random independents just chucking a pair of aftermarket springs and roll bars on with their own tune after a few months. Then you get a car review on road as perfect as a baby's buttocks in Wales and/or a racetrack where of course it's going to handle better...

[Rich B]

I'm surprised everyone is already upgrading these cars which have barely been out. On the one hand you've got years of Toyota research and crap loads of money being throw at it and on the other you've got small random independents just chucking a pair of aftermarket springs and roll bars on with their own tune after a few months. Then you get a car review on road as perfect as a baby's buttocks in Wales and/or a racetrack where of course it's going to handle better...

Several parts to that.

1. Most car designs will have been affected by budget, so chucking an additional £3-4K at them is bound to yield improvements.

2. It's a relatively cheap car, people aren't scared of messing it up and voiding warranties like they might with a Ferrari/etc..

3. You tubers need content. Simply owning a car and doing nothing to it will not produce multiple videos. You have to improve it/do something interesting in it.

[Mito Man]

I think it’s mostly 3. It’s why there’s so many automotive channels like Hoovies Garage now. Buy a neglected car and then pretend to cry at the bills whilst drawing in the viewers etc.

You get the odd car which starts off flawed and needs tuning such as the Alfa 4C. But I haven’t read anything about the Yaris which indicates that.

[Rich B]

But certain cars have always attracted modifiers. Particularly if it it's Japanese and turbo'd. Impreza, Evos, GTR, Supra, etc... there's already a big scene for it and it's almost expected that you'll not leave it standard.

[Pete_]

Drive Nation were very complimentary on the Litchfield add-ons, and I think Harry was in his video as well. https://www.instagram.com/p/CKqeC-HlMTh ... qjdert2vqx

I wonder how much they got paid

[Mito Man]

But certain cars have always attracted modifiers. Particularly if it it's Japanese and turbo'd. Impreza, Evos, GTR, Supra, etc... there's already a big scene for it and it's almost expected that you'll not leave it standard.

But this is 2021 where 92% of cars are leased and we have 5 year warranties. I wouldn’t mess with a new car for that reason alone.

[duncs500]

Well what if Lichfield had gone (like CTEK) to Harry and said "you've got a million relevant subscribers, we'd like to target them with a campaign. If we give you our kit and pay you like we do any other of our employees/subcontractors/suppliers, will you do some content about our kit on your show?"

Harry's next question would be "yes, so long as I can be honest about it"

Then Lichfield would agree and they'd all go and spend their marketing budget on some very well targeted marketing.

It's only that the "influencer" in question was the one suggesting it and he clearly pitched it wrong.

Yeah, I think the influencer in question must have totally misread their standing in comparison to Litchfield, and probably approached it in a totally arrogant way. Like anything, it they'd built a relationship first one would imagine there would have been a conversation / negotiation rather than a public shaming.

[JonMad]

But certain cars have always attracted modifiers. Particularly if it it's Japanese and turbo'd. Impreza, Evos, GTR, Supra, etc... there's already a big scene for it and it's almost expected that you'll not leave it standard.

But this is 2021 where 92% of cars are leased and we have 5 year warranties. I wouldn’t mess with a new car for that reason alone.

Maybe the influencers don't worry about that. I would probably also leave it standard, until I'd done many miles in it and learned and was able to exploit its limits and thought it needed improving. But then I don't get paid to talk about cars on YouTube. As above, leaving it standard doesn't create interesting content. Maybe why my Fast Fleet posts are both rare and not exciting.

[duncs500]

WRT Harry / Harris being 'influencers', I'm sure they are, but rightly or wrongly to me the term conjures up people that have not had a career in what they are doing outside of social media. People like Harry/Harris have moved on to the platform as it became the dominant place to get content out, but they were here before that.

[V8Granite]

Harry's Garage is an "influencer" style show - sponsored by the insurance company and the battery charger (who presumably pay him money to mention their kit) and operated by vehicles leant to him by manufacturers and tuning houses as well as ones he's bought... like any other "influencer". Is Harry ok?

He doesn’t just heap praise on stuff though and doesn’t ham stuff up. His passion for stuff he buys has always been there and I don’t believe buying or reviewing anything he isn’t genuinely interested in.

I’d say he has an un-natural love for the project 8 but he was involved in it so that’s understandable.

I don’t watch much on YouTube as so much seems just smile for the camera sound dramatic tosh.

Dave!

[NGRhodes]

Harry and Harris have influence, they are not "influencers".

They influence others primarily based on their expertise and experience around driving and reviewing cars, whereas "influencers" primary mechanism is purely popularity.

[Nathan]

TBH I'm surprised JWW did this. I assumed his channel was a vanity project not a source of income given his old money credentials.