CREATIVE: The Week’s Best Branded Instagram Videos

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Another week, another round of creative Instagram videos that shot up in popularity. Adweek has once again ranked the top ten branded videos from the site for the week, and there are a few familiar mainstays from last week’s list, including the NBA, GoPro, Justin Bieber and The Ellen Show. Without further ado, here’s the countdown . . .

https://www.instagram.com/p/tGc8uagvqQ

Justin Bieber showed his cooking prowess in a new video that managed to grab nearly 870,000 likes, as well as over 56,000 comments. Bieber continues to command Instagram with a following of over 21,380,000 viewers.

http://instagram.com/p/s-oJ0otjMA

Over on The Ellen Show, host Ellen Degeneres had a fun time with guest Kristen Wiig, singing along to the hit song “Let It Go” from the movie Frozen. The clip managed to get over 160,000 likes, with over 4,500 comments.

http://instagram.com/p/tGxiidFKwd

Red Bull is no stranger to some great extreme sports clips, and this week’s was no exception, with an outstanding skateboard stunt by Tom Schaar that has over 43,000 likes.

http://instagram.com/p/s8W0ufAWLI

In the fashion department, Louboutinworld turned a few heads with its Red Sole collection, featuring a number of people walking with red sole-bottomed shoes. Though short, the clip has managed to earn over 30,000 likes.

http://instagram.com/p/s-o3AsLf1Y

The GoPro channel was picking up quite a bit this week with a new clip featuring stunt biker Tobi Wrobel in action. This exciting clip managed to get over 147,000 likes, with over 2,300 comments. Go, extreme sports!

http://instagram.com/p/s7MPsKxh5p

With the NBA just a few weeks away from its latest season, the league’s Instagram channel is heating up with plenty of warm-ups. This clip received over 129,000 likes, with over 6,000 comments from devoted NBA fans.

http://instagram.com/p/s-5a4EqFEU

Forever 21 seeks to take its latest line to another level with a new Outware Edit campaign, which launched earlier this month. On its Instagram channel, it’s quite the success with over 68,000 likes.

http://instagram.com/p/tAkzC-TcBE

The latest video from Mercedes Benz takes a close look at AMG GL63, as well as the terrain it’s looking to conquer in the Rocky Mountains. It’s intrigued quite a big audience with its 23,000+ likes.

http://instagram.com/p/tGxkxZgE0e

A new make-up video from Urban Decay Cosmetics showed the creative side to design, and attracted quite a few views in the process, with nearly 16,000 likes and almost a million followers on its channel.

http://instagram.com/p/tDmT51v9Fw

Last but not least, Foot Locker made a few waves with the debut of LeBron James’ newest shoe, fresh out of the Nike Sport Research Lab. The colorway will debut on October 11th, and based on the clip’s nearly 40,000 likes, it should be a big seller.

Source: Adweek

 

YouTube Extends Mainstream Ad Efforts Across The Pond

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By Sahil Patel

YouTube’s efforts to advertise its top creators and channels across mainstream outlets won’t be restricted to those in the US. The company plans to run similar ad campaigns for top talent in international markets, beginning, naturally, with the UK.

According to The Guardian, YouTube will soon launch multi-platform ad campaigns for Zoella, The Slow Mo Guys, and Vice News in the UK. The plans include ads on TV, print, bus and metro stations, and billboards, as well as online display ads across YouTube and partner publishers including Glamour, Wired, Sky Sports, and The Guardian.

Overall, the effort will be exactly like what YouTube has been doing states-side the past few months, with beauty gurus Michelle Phan and Bethany Pota, cooking star Rosanna Pansino, and music series “Epic Rap Battles of History,” among those being promoted.

Notably, Vice News, which was part of YouTube’s second round of ads in the US, will also be advertised in the UK. Joining the news brand are Zoella (real name: Zoe Sugg), a top beauty guru with more than 6 million subscribers and The Slow Mo Guys, slow-motion experts with nearly 4.4 million subscribers.

YouTube’s next round in the US will include ads for Freddie Wong’s hit series “Video Game High School,” which returns for a third and final season in October.

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

CREATIVE: William Shatner Sings ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ In Travel Ad

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Life’s tough for a one-eyed bear, getting dragged around and having to endure the wash cycle countless times. Then, quite unexpectedly, the teddy bear is whisked off to a beautiful place where the sun shines warmly and he meets a special unicorn. All of this is to the tune of William Shatner’s cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” from his album Seeking Major Tom from 2011.

If those seem like two elements that should not be together, you should see how seamlessly British travel company Thomson Holidays weaves them together to relate the now-fortunate bear’s story into something everyone — young or not — can’t help but smile at.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6kMlGymb8jY

Source: AdWeek

Top Googled Brands Sorted By State

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Each state is different when it comes to specialties and preferences — and a new report from Direct Capital indicates just how this works.

In the report, the company broke down just what the top brands searched for in Google are per state — and, as you can see in the map below, they vary quite a bit.

For instance, Seattle — which serves as home base to some of the company’s studios — Microsoft rules the roost, while in California, Yahoo! shows clear dominance.

It’s not all about technical companies, however. As you can see, Pepsi has a tight grip in Colorado; Jose Cuervo and Patron have left their mark in Arizona and New Mexico, respectively; and Nevada shows quite the allegiance to the Ferrari brand.

The company also published results for second and third popular brands per state, as you can see. They vary quite a bit from the first results. California, for instance, shows MTV as a popular second brand, and Samsung as a third. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, companies like Philips, Johnson & Johnson, Beefeater and Dunkin’ Donuts have a very large preference on the list.

This just goes to show the varying tastes when it comes to search result, either by looking up current promotions offered through said company, or trying to seek out new information should a new location be opening up in the area. This could be especially true for Dunkin’ Donuts, which are launching new locations on a monthly basis, quickly becoming a preference for those looking to feed their donut urges.

Food and beverages also play a big part in searches, along with popular brand names, adding an interesting mixture when it comes to looking up information. Alcoholic brands are playing their part as well, from Bailey’s Rum to Budweiser to Grey Goose. What’s more, the locations appear to mix quite randomly, rather than one specific state looking for brands.

What do you think Is your state about right when it comes to Google searches, or do you feel something’s a little bit off if, say, your peers are trying to look up Kentucky Fried Chicken

Source: Adweek

Netflix Orders Children’s Series Based On Popples Toys

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By Sahil Patel

Netflix continues to build out its children’s programming library with a new original series based on the popular Popples toy line.

Based on the series of fantasy characters created by Those Characters from Cleveland, a subsidiary of American Greetings, the new animated “Popples” series will reimagine the Popples characters, which can transform from fluffy balls to furry creatures and back again. Each episode will center on five friends who always try to help their family and friends, only for situations to backfire.

Set to debut in all Netflix territories in 2015, “Popples” will be produced by Saban Brands with ZAG Entertainment. The original Netflix order is for 26 half-hour episodes.

The show will follow the 1980s “Popples” Saturday morning TV series, which aired from 1986 to 1987.

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

4 Ways To Promote Brand Videos That Target The Right Viewers

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By Jessica Klein

YouTube presents brands with different ways to advertise their video content. Some methods work undeniably better than others depending on the specific type of content, and the YouTube Playbook for Brands urges readers to make those distinctions.

With that in mind, here are some guidelines for your brand to follow when it comes to promoting online video via YouTube.

1. Always Answer Consumer Queries First

Viewers who are engaging with your brand for the first time probably have some questions. What exactly does your brand do differently from others of its nature What makes it unique Who is the product meant for

To answer questions like these, your brand should always promote its hygiene content. It should be available constantly and show up first thing when possible consumers make relevant searches. Thus, “always-on” campaigns that use TrueView in-search work best to promote what viewersalways want to know.

2. Cater Regular Content to Your (Potential) Regulars

If your brand puts out certain content on a regular basis (say it’s sponsoring a concert series or creating weekly DIY videos), it’s best to showcase that to the viewers most likely to tune in so often to your channel.

In-stream advertising lets you target specific demographics, so you can make sure your ads supporting hub content appear in front of videos about topics that relate to your brand or to viewers that indicate interests in line with your product.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Make a Big Impression

If your brand is trying to spread the word about a major, short-term event, go for the YouTube masthead. You can book a spot there for a full day, therefore resulting in massive reach and creating a sense of urgency around your time-sensitive promotion.

4. Tack on the Famous “Subscribe” Button

Like promoting via the masthead, using the digital video platform’s mobile roadblocks allows your campaign to run for a full 24 hours as a pop-up ad on mobile devices. Though you can’t annotate mobile videos on YouTube, you can ask viewers to click “subscribe” on these roadblocks, so take advantage of the opportunity!

Getting YouTube Creators On Board With Your Brand

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By Lewis Ball

I’m often asked how brands can better promote themselves on YouTube in a way that works for the audience. More and more often, the best approach to reaching your target demographic is by collaborating with one of the countless YouTube creators generating huge viewership on their channels. Crafting a relationship that is effective and mutually beneficial boils down to three main criteria.

1. Respect the medium.

YouTube is unique in how audiences consume information. It’s interactive, immediate, and unfiltered. As such, there is a distinctiveness in the personalities it’s producing. They themselves, and their content, are relatable in a way that their audiences value. Being entrepreneurial in nature, creators understand their unique positioning and the importance in protecting their subscription bases. Brands need to respect this in crafting their approach and pitch.

2. Find a natural fit.

Find someone who is already producing content that fits with your brand strategy. The market for big names on YouTube is massive, with influential creators owning every niche. Finding a match that works with your brand shouldn’t be difficult. Start with the basics, survey their content quality and subscription and viewership counts. Then, after you’ve found viable candidates, look deeper. Find out if they’ve collaborated with brands previously, or if they’ve defined their channel vision. Research the kind of engagement they’re generating with user comments and ratios of likes to dislikes. This will better inform your understanding of the audience and level of authority the creator holds with them.

3. Map out long-term strategies.

Find a balance that is complementary for both parties by focusing on the importance of creating trust, transparency, and constant communication. And get feedback whenever you can. These creators are the ones uncovering the growth formula online, and their insight can be invaluable to your brand’s digital strategy moving forward.

How to build relationships to hit your target markets:

The first thing to consider is that YouTube creators have an authenticity audiences often value. Videos are most often self-made, with DIY production tools. This translates to content that viewers find relatable, giving creators an approachability that mainstream stars don’t have.

Use this to your advantage. Audiences are savvy, and will often spot when a creator incorporates product placements into their video. So instead of subverting this, it’s best to simply acknowledge the sponsorship from the outset and move on. By giving a shout-out to the brand, audiences won’t feel duped and the trust between creators and viewers is protected. People get that YouTube is a business for a lot of these big names, and for the most part won’t walk away from a creator for simply acknowledging they’re trying to make a living. Keeping it transparent and authentic is the best policy to avoid backlash.

In line with this, it’s important to speak the YouTube language when you’re looking to integrate your product. The audience here is different, skewing much lower, and their consumption behavior has been changed by the digital space. Tailor your strategy to fit within the YouTube format by allowing the creators freedom in their promotion. Don’t push corporate language that isn’t right for the content. Let them find a way to organically tie your product into what they’re doing without distracting from the content.

Overall, brands should always consider that working with creators and reaching their target audience is a process and something as an industry we continue to look at ways to improve and adapt. It’s not a one-size-fits all formula and a successful collaboration requires a lot of give and take between the two parties before finding a balance that sticks. Take stock of the unique nature of the platform and the ways creators are reaching audiences and allow them to help you by promoting your brand their way.

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Lewis Ball is the executive vice president of professional services at BroadbandTV Corp., a digital media company and multi-channel network operator based out of Vancouver, Canada.

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

 

The Chernin Group And AT&T Buy Fullscreen

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By Sahil Patel

Otter Media, a venture backed by The Chernin Group and AT&T, has confirmed its acquisition of a majority stake in Fullscreen, one of the largest multi-channel networks in the YouTube ecosystem.

As part of the deal, Fullscreen founder and CEO George Strompolos will continue in his role and “maintain a material ownership stake in the company,” said Otter Media in the announcement. Fullscreen’s full management team will also stay on.

News of Otter Media’s pending deal with Fullscreen, which is said to value the company between $200 million and $300 million, was first reported in July.

“Our relationship with George started over three years ago when he launched Fullscreen in our offices. Since then, George and the Fullscreen team have achieved something remarkable — they have built one of the largest online content distribution networks, as well as created a leadership position in youth-oriented video programming,” said Peter Chernin, chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group, in a statement.

Founded in 2011, Fullscreen’s YouTube network is comprised of more than 50,000 creators, collectively reaching 450 million subscribers and generating 4 billion views per month. Top talent include The Fien Brothers, Grace Helbig, and O2L, Lohanthony, and Connor Franta.

Otter Media was formed by The Chernin Group and AT&T in April with a focus on investing in, acquiring, and launching over-the-top video services. Fullscreen, which is primarily known for its talent services and multi-channel network, has been working on a millennial-focused off-YouTube platform for quite some time now.

The deal is expected to close within the next month. WPP, which along with The Chernin Group is a Series A investor in Fullscreen, will remain a strategic shareholder in the company.

“Peter Chernin’s The Chernin Group (our first investor) brings unparalleled entertainment experience to Fullscreen, which is critical as our world continues to merge with the broader entertainment industry,” said Strompolos in a blog post about the deal. “AT&T is a worldwide leader in mobile, which is a key area of interest for us, and their TV footprint is poised to expand significantly. WPP will continue to serve as our valued partner in the world of advertising and marketing.”

 

‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ Hitting YouTube

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Pratfalls, blunders and slip-ups won’t just be relegated to TV anymore.

America’s Funniest Home Videos, the popular weekly show that features a number of sent-in clips featuring various blunders and goofs, will be taking to YouTube soon, with ABC teaming up with Disney’s Maker Studios to produce original web content for it.

As part of the forthcoming service, a new show called ShayFV will be introduced, a weekly 17-episode series that will feature YouTube sensation Shay “Shay Carl” Butler. In addition, a segment called AFV Do Overs will feature comedians like Jason Horton, Ceciley Jenkins and Ed Bassmaster re-enacting certain moments from the show, which will air a week on TV before making its debut on the YouTube channel.

The deal is inked specifically between Maker Studios and AFHV producer Vin Di Bona Productions. As a result, the AFHV brand will be part of the channel, and content will be uploaded to the Google-related site after airing on the show.

The new AFHV will also be a portal for other YouTube stars, including the likes of Sam Macaroni, Barely Political, Edward Vilderama, Very Good Listeners’ Brian Morgan and Brooke “Dodger” Lawson, and others, who will appear regularly in the series.

“I never could have imagined, when I first pitched this idea in 1989, that using viewer-generated content to entertain families would become the phenomenon it is today,” AFHV creator Vin Di Bona said in a statement. “Our relationship with Shay Carl and YouTube’s talented roster of comedians is the perfect extension of the AFHV brand as we continue our quest to engage a new generation of ‘AFV’ fans and develop memorable destinations for every platform for audiences who love to laugh.”

Shay Carl also believes the show was a great influence on him. “If it wasn’t for AFHV, I may have never posted that first video of me dancing in a unitard,” he said.

This opens up a new avenue for the show, which is considered the longest-running primetime entertainment show in the history of ABC. Hopefully, it’ll help the YouTube audience shine as well – without doing anything too embarrassing.

Source: Variety

Astronauts Wanted Taps YouTube, Vine Stars for New Advice Series

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By Jessica Klein

“The Feels,” a unique new show from Astronauts Wanted, the studio behind Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart’s “#HeyUSA,” brings together multiple YouTubers in answering the questions their various fans have about sex, relationships, and dating.

The unscripted series features female YouTube stars Andrea Russett, Hannah Witton, Simone Shepard, Laci Green, SmoothieFreak, and others as they respond to one fan query per episode on topics that many people are often too embarrassed to discuss publicly.

Each episode is broken up into multiple sections. In addition to answering a fan’s question, each episode also features a segment covering a different dating and love app, a recurring 60-second feature with “sexpert” Laci Green, and comedic Vine sketch related to that episode’s topic. Astronauts Wanted has tapped Vine stars Hannah Stocking and Hannah Pilkes to create the six-second shorts.

Clearly social is a major element of the unscripted series, which will be accompanied by a Tumblr blog (available here once the show debuts) for additional conversations around an episode’s topic. This is unsurprising, as the two digital series Astronauts Wanted is known for — the aforementioned “#HeyUSA” and The Chernin Group’s “@SummerBreak” — heavily incorporated social media into its programming.

Spanning 12 episodes, the initial season of “The Feels” will debut on Astronauts Wanted’s YouTube channel and website on September 24, after which the studio will roll out a new episode every Wednesday. The series is executive produced by Nick Shore and produced by Shamikah C. Martinez.

For now, you can watch the trailer below:

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.