The sought-after tickets were a gift from SeatGeek, in exchange for a shoutout in Dobrik’s video.

Since then, SeatGeek have featured in over 20 Dobrik videos – bought more than ten of his friend’s news cars, flown them to Las Vegas to watch the Mayweather Vs McGregor fight and to top it off, they helped Dobrik buy a brand-new Ferrari.

While these all sound like wild and extravagant (and expensive) stunts, they fitted in perfectly with Dobrik’s content. His vlogs are 4 minutes and 20 seconds of chaos, in which his friends (affectionately known as the Vlog Squad) perform wild stunts, pranks and comedic sketches. The content is unapologetically outrageous, wild and fun. Other creators took note, with popular YouTuber JC pining over Dobrik and SeatGeek’s relationship to his 6.7 million followers:

SeatGeek’s success has come from giving creators total freedom when it comes to how they incorporate the brand into the video, trusting them entirely. All the creator has to do is read a short, scripted plug for the brand. In fact, SeatGeek encourage their influencers to be as crazy as possible.

What this means is that when SeatGeek are mentioned in a video, instead of skipping past the ad, fans lean in closer, because they know something wild is about to happen.

Dobrik echoed this, “it doesn’t feel like a brand integration; it feels like two people collaborating”.

The partnership peaked when it became a meme itself, with Dobrik reciting the SeatGeek ad while still loopy after he had his wisdom teeth removed – the video clocked over 15 million views and led to fans posting their own versions online.

It’s an important lesson to any brand considering influencer partnerships – trust your creator, they know their audience and how to speak to them. Form true partnerships and you will reap the rewards.