• by Mallory Russell , November 17, 2014

Q3 2014 was a watershed moment for branded video, as audiences watched it 2.9 billion times during this timeframe largely because of World Cup mania and the influx of new smartphone ads.  But branded video also reached its apex last quarter because of the unparalleled creativity we are seeing from forward-thinking brands and agencies that want more immersive ways to share their stories with consumers.

We uncovered  the top five creative agencies that pulled in the largest amounts of viewers and actual views of their campaigns during that time period.

It was no surprise that Wieden + Kennedy was the most viral agency for the third quarter in a row, with more than 89.5 million views.  Its long-standing partnership with Nike accounted for 68% of its Q3 viewership, as two popular World Cup campaigns, “Risk Everything” and “The Last Game,” attracted substantial global audiences.  The Portland-based agency enjoyed another big hit with “Don’t Touch My Dart,” Dodge’s hilarious video series starting Craig Robinson and Jake Johnson. 

In second place was 72andSunny Los Angeles, which garnered more than 87.2 million views, bolstered by its powerhouse campaigns for Samsung’s smartphones.  More than 89% of the agency’s viewership came from Samsung campaigns such as “Milk Music” (29.5 million views), its competitive campaign against Apple entitled “Wall Huggers” (24.4 million views) and the new “Note 4 Then and Now” spot (22 million views).

BBDO New York came in at number three with more than 61.6 million views, with half of that viewership attributed to Visa’s widely viewed “Checkout” spot.  Other popular BBDO New York campaigns included AT&T and The Chernin Group’s “@SummerBreak” (13.4 million views) and Foot Locker’s “Short Memory” (7.9 million views).

Coming in at fourth place was TBWA/Media Arts Lab with more than 48.6 million views, all driven by the agency’s popular Apple campaigns.  Apple has released 11 new campaigns since July 2014 in support of its recent iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch launches.

Lastly, the fifth most viral agency of Q3 was Leo Burnett Chicago, with more than 42.5 million views, due primarily to it groundbreaking female empower spot, “#LikeaGirl,” for Always. 

Credit for this exploding branded video viewership must also be given to the top five brands that benefited from massive exposure in Q3 2014.  The most viral brand during that time period was Samsung with 257.4 million views, thanks to its annual habit of ambushing Apple’s annual September iPhone launch with its own counter ad, the popular “Wall Huggers.”  More than 45% of the brand’s total viewership in Q3 came from five campaigns that were either challenging Apple’s upcoming iPhone launch or promoting its competing product that debuted at the same time. 

The second most viral brand was Nike with 116 million views, fueled by more than 80 separate campaigns.  Nearly 40% of Nike’s total viewership came from its two most popular World Cup campaigns, “Risk Everything” and “The Last Game.”  Nike was the most-viewed brand of the World Cup tournament, even though it was not an official sponsor.

Coming in third was Google, with over 95.4 million views across 140 campaigns, including “Chromebook: For Students,” which raked in 24.1 million of the brand’s views. Official World Cup sponsor, adidas, followed Nike with 73.1 million views, driven by its World Cup campaigns. One in particular, “#allin or nothing,” was released during the final week of the World Cup and reached 20.8 million views. That campaign’s debut coincided with the final match between Argentina and Germany and starred popular Argentina soccer star Lionel Messi, who was adidas’ biggest spokesperson during the tournament.

Apple was the fifth most viral brand in Q3 with 51.3 million views, fueled by three popular new smartphone campaigns: “Introducing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus,” “Duo” and “Seamless.”