NEW YORK: What was the most important M&A deal of 2022? One candidate: In August, casino operator Penn Entertainment spent US$162 million to acquire 36 per cent of digital media site Barstool Sports, thus completing a multi-year acquisition (Penn already owned 64 per cent of Barstool via multiple transactions dating back to January 2020). On the popular business podcast All-In, investor and entrepreneur David Friedberg said it was the most important deal of the year because it highlights an important consumer trend: People buying consumer products from influencers instead of corporations. Let me explain his argument with a quick thought experiment: Imagine that you work for Procter & Gamble in the early 2000s and want to sell a mop replacement called the Swiffer. How would you market it to millions of people? Well, first you’d create the product then buy ads where the attention is concentrated: Print, TV, radio and in-store placements. Today, the creation of popular consumer products often proceeds in the reverse order of operations. Internet influencers build massive followings on social media – in other words, they capture attention – then they go out and create products to sell to that audience. That’s the exact playbook that
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Commentary: YouTube star MrBeast is writing a new consumer playbook – CNA
