Is this the end of lucrative Love Island?

‘Gone are the days of the million pound Islander’: With falling ratings, a social media ban, lack of brand deals and an all time low in followers – is this the end of lucrative Love Island?

Another season of Love Island has come to a close and even though they’re supposed to be there for love, there’s sure to be a bunch of Islanders waiting in the wings to become the hottest new influencer. 

The show’s success helped launch the careers of influencers like Molly-Mae HagueEkin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Dani Dyer, who all made their name on the programme and came out to six-figure fashion deals, TV shows and brand partnerships.

But this year’s Islanders will have a nasty shock when they see how little their accounts have grown.

After bosses put on a social media ban on the Love Island 2023 cast’s families representing them while they are in the villa, it has had a massive impact on their outreach.

It will come as a blow to islanders to find only three of the six finalists have over 200k followers, when they usually exit to find one million.

Dreams: Another season of Love Island has come to a close and even though they’re supposed to be there for love, there’s sure to be a batch of Islanders waiting in the wings to become the hottest new influencer 

Oh no: But this year’s Islanders will have a nasty shock when they see how little their accounts have grown

Many no doubt hope to go on to forge lucrative careers as influencers and gain clothing brands, and they will have to work fast to try to build their online following once they are given back their phones. 

But they may have even more difficulties ahead, as experts have now warned Love Island fans are growing ‘bored’ with the show and contestants now risk damaging their own personal ‘brands’ by taking part.

The Islanders who starred in this series have also come out to say that the ban was ineffective as they were still hit by negative trolling regardless.

And with the show itself losing ratings and becoming at risk of being axed, is it the end of the lucrative Love Island?   

THE BAN 

ITV2 had an updated duty of care for this series, after the 2022 summer series, which is filmed in Mallorca, received more than 5,000 Ofcom complaints, with viewers sharing their concerns about ‘misogynistic behaviour and bullying’.

As part of extended measures to protect both the Islanders and their families from ‘the adverse effects of social media’, participants were asked to pause handles and accounts on their social media platforms for the duration of their time on the show.

The big change was decided by producers following years of friends and family struggling to cope with the levels of trolling received as they managed their loved ones social media accounts from home.

In past series, Islanders’ teams used their accounts to encourage viewers to vote for them and build up their following – but this has led to them receiving abuse from trolls and getting into spats with other contestants’ family and friends.

ITV has been constantly evolving its duty of care protocols after season two star Sophie Gradon took her own life aged 32 in June 2018 and season three contestant Mike Thalassitis was found dead at aged in March 2019.

Former Love Island host, Caroline Flack, also took her own life at age 40 in February 2020 after struggling with her mental health.

Praise: Prior this year’s series, other Islanders came out to support the ban, including winners Paige Turley and Finn Tapp 

Prior this year’s series, other Islanders came out to support the ban, including winners Paige Turley and Finn Tapp.

‘What I found was that it’s your family on the outside who are seeing all the commotion and what everyone is saying online, and they’re being left on cliffhangers with the show too,’ Paige told MailOnline.

She continued: ‘So our families had more of a rollercoaster than us with it.’

Finn echoed his girlfriend’s thoughts, adding: ‘We’re oblivious to everything that’s going on.

‘I remember coming out and one of my pals was doing it for me and he said he had to recruit like the rest of my family to help because he had so much to post.

He concluded: ‘It was like a full time job and was quite consuming so I think it will be less stressful for the families.’

While Paige added: ‘Especially if social media isn’t your job, it was quite challenging for those people. So, it will probably be much less stressful for the families’.

Thinking back: ‘I remember coming out and one of my pals was doing it for me and he said he had to recruit like the rest of my family to help because he had so much to post,’ said Finn

THE NUMBERS 

In previous years, stars of the past have garnered hundreds of thousands of fans on their respective social media platforms, with the likes of Molly-Mae and Olivia Attwood now boasting millions of followers.

However, the ban has severely stunted contestants’ growth this year, meaning that last year’s winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu finished her series with more followers than the top eight contestants combined in this year’s.

Research has found that Ekin-Su, who was crowned the winner of Love Island 2022 alongside Davide, finished the show with 1,690,996 followers on Instagram – compared with all eight finalists of this years’ Winter Love Island combined total followership of 1,431,000. 

Oh dear: However, the ban has severely stunted contestants’ growth this year, meaning that last year’s winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu finished her series with more followers than the top eight contestants combined in this year’s 

Series winners Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan, who became the first ever Casa Amor couple to scoop the £50k cash prize, have just 123,000 and 147,000 followers on Instagram respectively. 

Runner-up Lana Jenkins scores slightly better with 244k, while Samie Elishi has the most out all the finalists with 259k. 

Shaq Muhammad has the lowest with less than 100,000 followers at the time of publication. 

Low: Series winners Sanam and Kai, who became the first ever Casa Amor couple to scoop the £50k cash prize, have just 123,000 and 147,000 followers on Instagram respectively

Reality TV fame: Runner-up Lana Jenkins scores slightly better with 244k, while Samie Elishi has the most out all the finalists with 259k, while Shaq has the lowest 

WHAT DO THE ISLANDERS SAY?

Since coming out of the villa, many Islanders have spoken out about whether they felt the ban was worth it.

Olivia Hawkins admitted it was very ‘conflicting’ as she said she ‘wouldn’t have wanted’ her family to see the hate she received, but now has to deal with it alone instead.

Speaking on Capital XTRA Breakfast on Wednesday, she said: ‘It is hard because obviously I have had quite a lot of hate when I came out so I wouldn’t have wanted my family to have seen that. 

‘But then again, when I switch my phone on, I had to see it all by myself.

‘Yeah, so it’s conflicting, but I get it completely because it’s my choice to go on the show. It’s not my family’s, so I wouldn’t want them to deal with all that hate. 

Difficult: Olivia Hawkins admitted it was very ‘conflicting’ as she said she ‘wouldn’t have wanted’ her family to see the hate she received, but now has to deal with it alone instead

Tanyel Revan echoed Olivia, saying the ban should be optional, as it doesn’t actually stop trolling.

She said: ‘I would have said no, I don’t need it, personally, and I would have said lift the ban.

‘But I do think health is so important. And if it’s going to help people, then obviously keep it there.’

Zara Lackenby-Brown, agreed, saying that her family were still able to see abuse directed at her online.

Speaking to Newsbeat, she said: ‘If people can’t message your account, people are going to find another way.

‘They’re going to make a TikTok video, they’re going to make a YouTube video, they’re going to make another account to talk about reactions,’ she says.

‘My family definitely experienced the trolling towards me, regardless of whether my account was paused or not.

Optional: Tanyel Revan echoed Olivia, saying the ban should be optional, as it doesn’t actually stop trolling

Pointless: Zara Lackenby-Brown, agreed, saying that her family were still able to see abuse directed at her online

‘And it’s actually a shame. Because islanders’ channels have previously been open, that’s been a way for the friends and family to be able to have a voice.

‘If there’s a rumour going around, they could squish it immediately.

‘But I think this year, it’s almost like that voice was taken away from the friends and family.’

She also added: ‘If anything, the social media ban has just stunted our social media growth.’

‘I actually know one friend that got scouted, but she doesn’t want to do it if it’s going to continue because she just thinks that it’s such a risk to go on.

‘Basically, your social channels have made no noise. So now you’re a public figure, but you haven’t really got a means of making any sort of income.’

LACK OF PR DEALS 

Max Fairhurst, Senior Account Manager at PR and Creative Agency, Red Brick Road added: ‘Love Island is becoming less loved – and instead of Casa Amor it risks becoming Casa Bore. 

‘We have entered a time where brands want to be seen as authentic and part of this is partnering with talent that has credible links to the brand’s product or the lifestyle it promotes – Love Island can no longer provide this. 

‘It has not varied its format enough since its inception and has slept-walked from a light-hearted fun show about people finding love into becoming an influencer factory, where contestants are savvy to the shows benefits with brand deals becoming the aim, rather than love.’

Alex Payne, CEO of brand and influencer platform, Room Unlocked, argues the only way for Islanders to grow their fan base, and turn their newfound fame into a stable income, is through being their most authentic selves.

‘A successful new career as an influencer is not always a given when Islanders return home after the show,’ he said. 

‘While some contestants, such as Molly-Mae Hague and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu have gone on to find fame and wealth through lucrative brand partnerships and social-media sponsorships, others did not experience the glitz and glam they thought they signed up for. 

Millionaire: Alex Payne, CEO of brand and influencer platform, Room Unlocked, argues the only way for Islanders to grow their fan base, and turn their newfound fame into a stable income, is through being their most authentic selves

‘For example, Ikenna Ekwonna recently revealed to Channel 4’s ‘Life After Love Island: Untold’ that his salary more than halved since he took part in the dating show in 2022.

‘Despite some influencers being paid significant sums to promote flat tummy teas or charcoal toothpaste, most of us are now all too aware of sponsored collaborations between brands and influencers, and are becoming increasingly immune to this type of influencer marketing.’

Indeed, a study by InfluencerDB showed consumer interest and engagement from such content is falling, having reached just 2.4% in 2019, down from 4% three years earlier. 

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede told MailOnline: ‘Gone are the days of the million pound Love Islander.

‘They can command good fees for personal appearances and social media posts but these are in their thousands, not hundreds of thousands.

‘You can still make money and raise your profile from this show – a good example is at Antigoni Buxton, who was on it for two weeks last season and has been able to launch a successful music career and one as an influencer too, making money. 

Success: Nick Ede said: ‘You can still make money and raise your profile from this show – a good example is at Antigoni Buxton, who was on it for two weeks last season and has been able to launch a successful music career and one as an influencer too, making money’

‘But financial success is much less now from the heady days of Eyal Booker, Alex and Olivia and Kem and Chris Hughes. I don’t think we will see this kind of fame or the lucrative spin offs that people like Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury can command.

‘As a platform it can and will always remain a way of getting more followers and elevating your status but the more contestants there are, the less likely you will be remembered, and potentially the once-cool bragging right of being on Love Island will actually prove to be a hindrance in the long run.’

Lily Freeman, account director at PR firm, W Communications, said she expected stars to be able to make between £2,000 and £5,000 per paid promotional post, but warned the work would not always just fall into their lap.

‘There are brands now that plainly state they won’t work with anyone that has been on Love Island, so contestants will definitely be missing out on some opportunities.’

Other experts also admitted entering the villa could be as much a risk to young hopeful’s profile, as it is an opportunity.

Andy Barr, CEO of digital marketing and branding agency 10yetis.co.uk, said: ‘There are certainly far less ‘brands’ coming out of this season’s Love Island.

Damage: Mr Barr said: ‘There is maybe a case that the likes of Farmer Will could have actually lost credibility, given he went into the show as a successful social media personality and influencer in his own right’

‘There is maybe a case that the likes of Farmer Will could have actually lost credibility, given he went into the show as a successful social media personality and influencer in his own right. 

‘He remains a popular character with the public but he could have easily blown it and reduced his earnings potential if he had not come across very well.’ 

Ms Freeman added: ‘If they want their 15 minutes of fame with the potential to become a content creator or influencer, I don’t think there’s a risk there as long as they make their own niche in the villa. 

‘For example, Davide from last summer’s show did a lot of cooking whilst in the villa, so I would imagine he’s getting approached by foodie/cooking brands to work together which feels much more authentic.’

Authentic: Ms Freeman said: ‘For example, Davide from last summer’s show did a lot of cooking whilst in the villa, so I would imagine he’s getting approached by foodie/cooking brands to work together which feels much more authentic’

Mr James added: ‘By going onto Love Island and behaving in a likable, personable way, contestants are able to build themselves strong personal followings on social media, opening the doors to a whole host of potential career opportunities that would have otherwise been completely unobtainable with little potential downside.’ 

Mr Fairhurst added: ‘People don’t want to watch reportedly fake set up scenarios, they want raw, ready, real content that they can relate to. 

‘During and post Covid the rise in TikTok is exactly this, people moving away from the highly polished Instagram posed photos to expressing themselves, not feeling as much judgement and simply having fun on TikTok. 

‘Love Island still very much leans towards the old picture-perfect Instagram days which we’re moving away from.’

‘TIRED’ CONCEPT 

PR experts also warn the whole concept of the show is growing tired, as a consensus grows that Love Island’s bubble may have finally burst. 

Ratings are dwindling too, with this season’s launch pulling in a mere 1.2million average viewers – just over half the number that tuned in for 2022’s opener.

Mr Ede said: ‘I think that people are getting bored with the same format and the same kind of contestants. Also a winter version traditionally doesn’t do as well as the summer one. 

‘This is because people don’t feel they can live a Love Island life when they see the contestants tanning while they are at home freezing. It creates a negative FOMO [fear of missing out] and so people tend to switch off.’]

Ms Freeman agreed, saying: ‘Love Island used to be a big cultural event that would happen every summer, something people would get excited about, but I think adding the winter edition takes some of that excitement away. 

‘We know exactly what the format is going to be, and do we really want to watch an hour long show of young people sitting around a villa? It’s predictable!’ 

Mr Barr said: ‘Love Island is suffering from a dangerous recipe of people getting fed up with pretty people pouting and whining in the sun whilst the rest of us in the UK are up against it. 

Oh dear: PR experts also warn the whole concept of the show is growing tired, as a consensus grows that Love Island’s bubble may have finally burst 

‘The growth of the de-influencing movement means influencers are losing their impact, and maybe even the Love Island brand is now starting to look a bit tired.’

In addition, leading bookmaker Coral has slashed the odds to 2-1 (from 4-1) on Love Island being scrapped following this summer’s series.

‘ITV have already commissioned this summer’s upcoming Love Island series, but if the ratings continue to fall, they may have a big decision to make. We have slashed the odds in half on season 10 being the last in the UK,’ said Coral’s John Hill.

Love Island representatives have been contacted for comment. 

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