Inside Canon's deal with Emma Chamberlain to connect with aspiring creators

With one in four members of Gen Z interested in becoming influencers, Canon is teaming up with prominent creator Emma Chamberlain to inspire these aspiring creators to pursue that career goal. 

Canon partnered with Chamberlain on a social media campaign centered around her journey from a teenage YouTuber to a famous internet personality, podcaster and business owner. At the core of the campaign is a video that depicts Chamberlain’s career path, highlighting pivotal moments, such as her early days as a novice YouTuber, her red carpet appearances and the launch of her coffee brand, Chamberlain Coffee. 

“It's been an absolute roller coaster for me,” Chamberlain said of her growth as a creator. “It's not what I expected to happen. I started making videos because I just enjoyed the process. I was editing videos and filming videos in a very novice way before I even made YouTube videos. And it was obviously very natural for me to start [on YouTube], but I didn't really expect much to happen. I mean, I didn’t even think this was possible.”

Also read: How Emma Chamberlain built a thriving coffee brand

Director Scott Cudmore, who has worked with brands including Subaru and Ikea, and production studio Good Company,  recreated these career highlights. Cudmore crafted sets that nearly resembled Chamberlain’s childhood bedroom and various red carpets she walked on, Chamberlain said. The team even had her wear clothing she hadn’t put on in years to accurately represent those times in her life, she said. 

Along with using inspiring would-be influencers, the Canon campaign is also meant to promote the company’s newest content creator kit. The kit contains essential tools for beginner social media creators such as a camera, microphone and tripod. A brand such as Canon, aiming its messaging specifically at creators, is something Chamberlain couldn't have imagined when she first began creating YouTube videos, she said. 

“I remember when I was 15, 16, and I was at the beginning of this journey, I was really intimidated, and I felt like, ‘I don’t know how to do this. What makes me think I can start a YouTube channel and do this whole thing?’” she said. “I think that's a misconception that a lot of people have when they are starting this journey. They feel like they aren’t experienced enough. But the truth is, you don't need to be.”

Through this campaign, which will run across social media platforms and Canon’s owned channels, the camera company aims to “inspire and amplify the next generation of creators,” and chose Chamberlain because of her “prominent voice among young creators,” Melisa Yoo, senior marketing manager at Canon, said in an email. The first camera Chamberlain ever purchased to film her YouTube content was a Canon model, and she has continued to use Canon cameras throughout her social media career, making the partnership even more fitting, she said.

Millions of people around the world consider themselves either part- or full-time content creators—SignalFire’s estimate is around 50 million, while Adobe’s places the total at over 300 million. But no matter how many people truly identify as influencers, content creation has become an increasingly appealing career path, particularly among younger generations. 

And though brands have long partnered with creators to promote products or produce social media content, Canon is one of the first brands to specifically market its products to this sizable group of aspiring creators. Beyond this partnership with Chamberlain, Canon also recently worked with three creators—Karl Ndieli, Kirsten Titus and Alisa Marie—to highlight how each creator incorporates Canon products into their career, Yoo said.