Commentary

Branded Video Hits Its Stride In Q3 2014

Audiences chose to watch branded video more than 2.9 billion times in Q3 2014, due primarily to the continued global interest in World Cup campaigns and growing levels of activity from smartphone brands in September. According to Visible Measures analysis, views increased 3% over Q2, when World Cup mania was at its peak. This means that viewership of branded video was at the highest rate it has ever been to date in Q3 2014.

Fueled by the excitement of Apple’s annual iPhone launch, September emerged as the de facto advertising event time for smartphone brands. Nearly 484 million views in Q3 were the result of campaigns created for and by electronics brands, representing 16% of total views. As a result of this effort, overall views during the quarter grew by more than 73% over Q3 2014.

Lets’ take a look at the top five branded video campaigns that dominated Q3 2014.

Samsung’s “Original Introduction” campaign is the big winner, reaching 49.3+ million views. Samsung typically makes a habit of capitalizing on the buzz from the Apple iPhone launches, and this time was no exception as  the company released this campaign just one week prior to the new iPhone launch. The spot focused on demoing the new Galaxy Note 4, highlighting the technical specs and showing people how to use it.

The second most popular branded video campaign was Always’ “#LikeaGirl,” an ode to female empowerment that reached 42.3 million views in Q3 2014. This smart campaign questions why “throwing like a girl” is an insult by comparing how adults and young girls interpret the phrase. Always launched this campaign in mid-June, about midway through the World Cup event, yet the buzz of the tournament advertising did not stop this CPG campaign from becoming a beloved hit this summer. By taking a page from Dove – which challenges gender stereotypes while bolstering female self-esteem – Always joins the growing group of brands that employ “you go girl” messaging to tell its brand story.

Coming in as the third most popular branded video campaign is Visa’s “Checkout,” which generated 31.3+ million views during Q3. The campaign  relays how easy it is to use Visa’s new payment system via four distinct pieces of creative, with “Out of Time” emerging as the most viewed branded video of the four.

Nike’s “The Last Game” came in fourth place with 30.8+ million views this quarter. It was also the second most-watched video of Q2 2014 and the second most viewed campaign of the World Cup. The five and a half minute animated short video features the voices and likenesses of popular soccer stars including Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Neymar Jr., and Brazilian legend Ronaldo. It has generated a total of 117.4 million views since its first release.

In fifth place, another Samsung campaign, “Milk Music: A New Way to Discover Music,” generated 29.5+ million views. The campaign, which debuted on July 2, promotes Samsung’s new music service and features superstars such as Childish Gambino (a.k.a. Donald Glover), Chromeo, John Legend and Iggy Azalea, among others, playing their greatest hits.

It is heartening to see branded video continue to succeed in reaching more and more consumers who want to be enthralled and informed by the brands they are interested in. And, even better, we are seeing both brands and agencies thrive by taking meaningful creative risks with video content.

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