On the current attempts to sell merch, not sure how feasible this is for you but would be interested to integrate merch into HP clips. For example Harry getting a sweater, edit that to have him holding up the merch. Or take a clip of him snagging the snitch and make him grabbing some merch. Trying to organically integrate it into the content people are naturally going to watch from the channel could have positive effects on CTR.
I completely agree suddenly reviewing a product would be jarring and inorganic to the user experience. I worked in influencer marketing and the worst campaigns were always the influencers that were so obviously forcing a product integration for dollars - both from our metrics and the influencers. The content should still meet the expectations your audience has of your content.
On the current attempts to sell merch, not sure how feasible this is for you but would be interested to integrate merch into HP clips. For example Harry getting a sweater, edit that to have him holding up the merch. Or take a clip of him snagging the snitch and make him grabbing some merch. Trying to organically integrate it into the content people are naturally going to watch from the channel could have positive effects on CTR.
I completely agree suddenly reviewing a product would be jarring and inorganic to the user experience. I worked in influencer marketing and the worst campaigns were always the influencers that were so obviously forcing a product integration for dollars - both from our metrics and the influencers. The content should still meet the expectations your audience has of your content.