From left: Connie Contardi, Yolanda Gampp, and Jocelyn MercerHow To Cake It
When Food Network Canada canceled the baking competition show Sugarstars, co-producers Jocelyn Mercer and Connie Contardi ran into a problem. They were convinced that former Sugarstars regular Yolanda Gampp, who Contardi describes as “beautiful, hilarious and a master of her craft,” could be a star. But all the TV execs they talked to did not agree.
They pitched and pitched, and after not getting any bites for their show ideas, the 3-woman-team pivoted. According to Mercer, they “left all those ideas behind. And we thought, what is the show that we really want to make?” The answer was something inspirational, funny and informative - a show about actual cake-making instead of some manufactured drama so ancillary to baking that Gampp, who’d been a veteran cake decorator long before she was on those shows, couldn’t stand.
So they turned to YouTube. And immediately got a response.
How To Cake It took the YouTube baking show formula and turned it on its head. When the show debuted, most baking channels didn’t have a visible host, and those hosts definitely didn’t make ambitious cake creations like Gampp’s cartoonish stacks of books, giant jars of the Australian staple Vegemite, and recently, cute little Halloween monster cakes with ooey gooey centers. But what really sets How to Cake It apart are the fourth wall breaks.
Gampp explains, “When we first started and you put me in front of a camera, I felt like I should be ‘professional’ and make cakes. Jocelyn was just doing her job and directing me, but because we’re friends, it felt more like a genuine conversation.” A few episodes in, they started incorporating that jovial banter into the show. This dry, self-aware acknowledgment of the production process was a relief to all three women. Breaking the fourth wall felt like an act of rebellion to TV veterans Contardi and Mercer, and it let Gampp (or Yo, as she’s often called) loosen up and show off that sparkling personality. Plus, it worked.
From the first time Mercer’s laughter was heard off-screen, How To Cake It’s subscriber count started ballooning. That uptick led to more videos, more huge cake creations (Gampp makes a point of mentioning how many pounds of cake go into each one), and lots of branded products. Now, How To Cake It produces two YouTube channels, a paid livestream called “Camp Cake” that lets fans spend a day baking with Gampp, cake-themed subscription boxes, and even a How to Cake It “cakebook.”
No one could pull off all that with just three women, and Mercer is quick to point out that they, “have quite an extensive team at this point...With women specifically, we’re often put on these pedestals and sold as ‘The Woman That Does It All.’ The woman who looks incredible, is in perfect shape, has 17 children and is a CEO.” That person doesn’t exist, so being transparent with their fans about the fact that the How to Cake It team now includes eight women and, “some amazing men,” is important to Gampp, Contardi, and Mercer.
When 3.8 million people watch your show, you need to pay attention to what they’re getting out of it. And while it’s certainly a business, what’s most exciting to the ladies behind How To Cake It is the opportunity they have to inspire young women.
Recently, Gampp was out shopping when she noticed a group of girls following her. After a long while, the girls tapped her on the shoulder, asked for a picture and told her in effusive terms how much How To Cake It means to them. Gampp and the rest of the team are humbled by that response and others like it. Gampp puts it like this, “Nobody comes up to me and says, ‘Oh my God, the way you roll fondant’! People don’t say that to me in the street, believe it or not. They’re just commenting on how happy the show makes them.”
Making all those fans smile week after week is a big responsibility, but if anyone is up to the task, it’s these three women who never, ever try to “do it all.”
Read Again https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizzysaxe/2018/10/13/how-to-cake-it-from-a-food-network-failure-to-nearly-4-million-subscribers/Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "How To Cake It: From a Food Network Failure to (Nearly) 4 Million Subscribers"
Post a Comment