R1S first look videos from Yosemite [shows space available with seats folded, connections, & storage]

[Lawrence-of-Blaine]

These are car experts?

No, these are social-media savvy women. An even more powerful entity than a car expert.

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[kanundrum]

Honestly Im nitpicking because Im sure like 90% of people don't care but the data/facts they got wrong is a little annoying, says the adventure package comes with launch edition badging etc. I get Rivian trying to promote it to some famous youtubers for maximum exposure but really they should have choose JRE or MKBHD in terms of Hits.

I guess they were going for the female perspective which I respect but at least get info right. On the positive note a lot of great shots of the rear storage etc.

 

[kanundrum]

Personally I would have loved Emme Hall but alas they want the views not the content.

 

[koersontap]

So first question- I’m having trouble with the interior volume measurements. How many Justines are there in an RJ? ?

You need to carry the two

 

[Count Orlok]

No, these are social-media savvy women. An even more powerful entity than a car expert.

Media savvy = paid to play advertisement.

 

[R1Sky Business]

 

[SoCalTravels]

Also disappointed this is the FIRST external R1S content. Totally not knocking having social media influencers, it’s the day in age we live. But the first ones?!

At least the R1T big media announcement was in partnership with Motortrend. Hoping to see a lot more videos roll out this week.

edit: As I think about it more…. It’s more about how you view this content. If I view this as a Rivian sponsored ad for the R1S, then it’s great. It’s just not a “review” by any means which is what most of us were hoping for. Better to call it what it is. This is Rivian’s version of advertisements.

 

[kylealden]

Thanks that’s helpful. If you could help some more- I’ve been out of B school for a while and I’m wondering if anyone compiles hard data on influencers and their ability to translate to purchases like an auto? I’m not knocking these reviewers- they are very watchable and entertaining while informative…but I’m certain if/when my R1S arrives I’ll sell a dozen to the raisins in my community just by parking it in front of the post office for a few hours. Can these women top that hit rate?

Well, there is a cottage industry of companies that purports to measure influencer networks, brand sentiment, segment social audiences, etc. I've worked with Onalytica in the past, there are many others.

In my experience, in practice, most of what these agencies actually do is generate pretty charts for mid-level product marketers to justify their plans and for management to pat each other on the back for "big number go up." I'm pretty skeptical that anyone can make a causal signal from "we gave it to iJustine first" to "purchase intent increases by 5 points in the target demo." At least with any rigor.

That said, I find it pretty easy to believe that this is smart marketing. Remember that Rivian doesn't actually need to sell any individual R1S in the near term. They have a preorder backlog years long, and there is no uphill battle to sell individual vehicles in the near term. Things like this matter a lot for establishing Rivian as a lifestyle brand that fashionable, sophisticated, well-pursed buyers hold in high regard so 2-5 years down the road, when you can just buy a Rivian, it's rattling around in their brain with a lot of good vibes attached.

For the R1S, they need to branch out from the R1T's "gadgets, adventures, speeds n' feeds" folks into "soccer moms, luxury SUV buyers, Uber Black" style buyers - iJustine is (one) great place to start with that shift.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

While nice to get a better look,

There's a solid amount of camera witchcraft when they show being seated in the 3rd row.

When they first show her sitting in the rear, the seat beside her is all the way back, while the one ahead of her when she locks it in is 6" further forward. Next scene is her friend getting in the rear with the seat open for access then quickly cutting to blonde girl in the rear drivers with the seat seemingly in a good position ahead of her, but looking at the door jamb, is actually set quite far forward and likely not in an adult seating position.

I think having 7 adults in the vehicle will be quite cozy legroom wise for the 2 and 3rd row occupants.

 

[Jay]

Someone download this before asked to remove by rivian

 

[Tim-in-CA]

FINALLY confirmation that the top portion of the hatch is powered DOWN as well via external button ... see the iJustine video at 7:37

 

[R1Sky Business]

Someone download this before asked to remove by rivian

Woman who posted has almost 1 million followers, so probably just Rivian PR approved

 

[R1Sky Business]

Just past 3 min mark, you can see space available with seats folded, connections, & storage.

 

[opnwide]

I'm just glad Doug DeMuro doesn't wear Yoga pants.

 

[Snazzy Labs]

Media savvy = paid to play advertisement.

Just hoping to correct a little bit. No money exchanged hands here. I’m also a YouTuber (though a smaller one than Justine) and not only are we held to extremely strict standards by the platform itself, but also federal law (16 CFR 255). The FTC requires disclosure of any transference of funds between creator/advertiser with on screen text and an audible call-out. I’ve known Justine for years and she’s one of the most talented creators on the platform with overwhelming integrity. Take a recent sponsored video she did about a cat litter box. Not only did she meet the FTC’s disclosure requirements, but she went beyond that by disclosing it in the description text as well as the video player itself.

I can guarantee no money swapped hands here. She was certainly enticed by the viewership that would come from an exclusive first-look video, but (and I know this sounds crazy!) influencers are people too and just being able to drive a cool new car that’s not on the road yet (a car her sister has on order) for a week is incentive enough.

Edit: while final cut approval is often given to brands that are paying up, I’ve never heard of a reasonably popular tech creator (not just iJustine or MKBHD—but even myself) giving final edit approval (or even pre-publishing access) on a video where money didn’t change hands. It’s my guess Rivian is seeing this at the same time we are. And if you really believe Rivian went through this before publishing, you’d better believe they’d have requested edits for the few details that were incorrect but still went live.

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