A Vine Convention's Coming To The UK To Attract Fans And Big Business

    The first event of its kind in the UK, organised by content marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy, will feature many of the country's leading Viners.

    The UK's first Vine convention, In the Loop, will take place next February, a sign of the growing commercialisation of the six-second video platform here.

    In the Loop is scheduled to be a ticketed 2,000-capacity event featuring various Vine-famous Brits live on stage...

    vine.co

    ...including Daz Black, whose 2.6 million followers probably make him the most-followed UK Viner (Vine, owned by Twitter, doesn't release figures).

    vine.co

    Also confirmed are Stuggy, Anto Sharp, Chloe Merp, Joe Charman, Jayne Sharp, Huw Samuel, Leslie Wai and Ben Adams.

    The company behind the event is Billion Dollar Boy, a London-based content marketing agency that already works with many social media personalities to make sponsored content.

    Its founder, Edward East (above), told BuzzFeed News that the event emerged from the somewhat informal UK Vine Meetup in February 2014, where Daz Black, Dapper Laughs, Arron Crascall and many others got together in Trafalgar Square.

    "We thought, why doesn't BDB organise an official Vine meetup for the Viners and their fans? We're looking at the success of the ones that have happened in the States.

    "People are professionalising the talent they have and it's a positive step – a lot of these people were working full-time as plumbers or builders, or in an office behind a desk, and were doing Vines in their spare time.

    "It's a lot of work, that's the thing to bear in mind. It's a hobby, it's a passion and it requires a lot of dedication and hard work to be successful at it."

    East said as many as 20 of the 80 social media stars BDB works with, including five Viners, now make video content full-time.

    He said the company is already in talks with possible commercial partners to sponsor the event.

    BDB works with agencies including Saatchi and brands such as McDonald's and Ford to create bespoke videos across Facebook, Instagram, Vine and YouTube. East claims to have closed at least 50 separate deals since the agency was founded in April 2014.

    So a Vine convention is a chance not just for fans but also brands and agencies to get close to the stars too.

    The line-up so far suggests that the Viners with family-friendly humour – as opposed to the X-rated Dapper Laughs, who emerged through the UK Vine scene – are more attractive to advertisers.

    In March, BuzzFeed News reported that leading UK Viner Ben Phillips, who's worked with Ford and Peugeot, can make up to £12,000 for a single sponsored Vine.

    vine.co

    But this is small compared to the figures US social media personalities can command. Jerome Jarre, who with 8.5 million followers is one of the most famous Viners, says he turned down a $1 million contract to make Vines for a New York advertising agency.

    In common with many others who broke through thanks to Vine, Jarre now focuses on Snapchat and Facebook.

    Here's the official trailer for the event, and you can register your interest here.

    View this video on YouTube

    youtube.com