Top 10 Universities Making Branded Video

By Megen Musegades |  Executive Producer, Branded Filmworks

Most universities have a ways to go to break into the viral video age.  Perspective students are going to be relying on social media more and more to help make their higher education decisions.

Recent research shows that online video users are expected to double to 1.5 billion in 2016, (Cisco) and 92 percent of mobile video viewers share videos with others (Invodo).

Universities are going to want to hop on board the video train. We were happy to see these early adapters putting so much creative and thoughtful attention to their videos.  This list is based on YouTube and Facebook subscribers, as well as interaction with subscribers and the variety and creativity of their videos that offer a sense of what their university community is about.

1. HARVARD UNIVERSITY 

Harvard is very good with diversifying their content.  There seems to be a little bit of everything on their YouTube and Facebook pages, offering a good sense of "college life" at this prestigious East Coast University. For each post on Facebook, there are many shares, likes and comments, helping to make this University number one on this viral video list.




2. STANDFORD UNIVERSITY 

Standford's viral video strength lies on their facebook page, their facebook fans love to comment and share their videos.  However their YouTube page is also chock-full of great content, including videos of campus life and news from the work of their professors and students. 



3. FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY

Full Sail University is an art, music and film school.  With that said, it is one of the best sites in this group for really showcasing their students work.  Due to the fact that many of their students work involves video, that may make it easier to do.  The whole online community Full Sail creates, shows perspective students what they can expect.



4. UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX

The University of Phoenix is an online university and is doing very well.  As an online school, it would make sense that it's students look to social media for school information.  It's YouTube subscribers aren't nearly as large as some of the other universities on this list, but their social interaction is strong.  Also, many of their videos have had views in the hundreds of thousands and even some in the millions. U of Phoenix partnered with NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and are making a series of his time there.

5.  MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (MIT)  

MIT puts all of their courses online for people all over the world to view free of charge.  They also have a separate, easy-to-use site to help you find everything you need to know and more about MIT.

6.  ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY 

Arizona State University captures student life very well on both their YouTube Channel and Facebook page.  They have a wide variety of video programming.



7. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

The University of Michigan's YouTube channel is probably the most organized and easy to use of all the ten listed here.  They've combined their landing page to include all their channels into one.  It really looks like you've tuned in to the UM station.




8. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

While the majority of facebook posts are sports based and their most popular youtube channel with over 10,000 subscribers is their athletic department, Texas A&M knows what their subscribers want and get a lot of interaction on both sites.




9. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

The University of Pennsylvania does a great job with their youtube page.  Their videos are well-rounded and offer a good sense of what the University has to offer.  There's also lots of feedback on their posts.



10. LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Louisiana State University's YouTube page shows the schools sports pride, but it also has a nice section featuring different events happening.  Including the first ever open house of the libraries special collection section, showcasing some of the rarest historical artifacts and literature.

Sprint hits it out of the park with Jones & McDowell

Ever since I was little, I would get excited for certain commercials.  Sprint has a new series called "At Sprint, Everything's Important" that makes me un-mute the commercials when I see James Earl Jones and Malcolm McDowell appear.

My favorite one so far is titled Totes McGotes.  This is a great campaign, there is something for everyone.  There are renditions of a couple texting while trying to find each other in a store, a girl checking her facebook page, to another person checking emails.  AdAge talks about the launch in this article, if you're looking for more information.

A Cat's Guide to Advertising

This video from Tidy Cat, is smart.  Previously Sad Cat Diary.  It's a funny little video that you want to share with all your cat-loving friends.  The voice-over has a Ron Burgundy feel to him.

"Besides that cute little tuft on their heads, humans are for the most part, sadly, hairless.  During the day they cover themselves with little body blankets. You must donate your fur to these articles whenever possible. Each night you must curl up on their faces or they will freeze to death."

Enjoy.

Top 10 Hotels Making Branded Video

By Megen Musegades | Branded Filmworks

Most hotels have a long way to go, but these top ten are setting a good example. There are some unique and charming web series online.

This list is based on YouTube and Facebook subscribers, as well as interaction with subscribers and the variety and creativity of their videos that offer a sense of their company life and mission.

1. JUMEIRAH HOTEL & RESORTS

Jumeirah Hotels are luxury hotels based in Europe, the Middle East and Far East.  One quick look at their youtube channel and you will see they're not joking around with luxury.  Each hotel looks like a fantasy.

In their latest video, they partner with Red Bull.  "To celebrate, Infiniti Red Bull Racing's 750bhp Formula One car became the first to run and do donuts on the Burj Al Arab helipad.

Burj Al Arab's distinctive sail shape makes it an icon of modern Dubai. Its duplex suite-only accommodation, host of private butlers, chauffeur driven Rolls Royce, Mercedes and helicopter airport transfer service cause it to be constantly voted as the world's most luxurious hotel."




2. HYATT

The Hyatt is good about adding videos often and giving viewers a solid idea of what is important to their company.  One of their campaigns is called #InAHyattWorld.  The campaign centers on mini documentaries of Hyatt employees helping out strangers with little things to help make their day more pleasant.  In this video, they hand out umbrellas during a rainstorm.  They also have a video where employees open doors for people all over the city, and another where they offer free juice refreshments on a warm day.




3. FOUR SEASONS

The Four Seasons looks like they encourage their staff to participate in their social media efforts by adding a variety of helpful tips and information on the cities each hotel is in.  This keeps their youtube page up to date and full of useful information.  They have a nice series called "Concierge Recommends" and while I wish the quality of the sound was better, the concept is good.

Another nice web series they have is the wedding series.  They film different couples' weddings that take place at their hotels and turn them into mini documentaries that help showcase the hotel, but also share the couples story, which is ultimately what makes viewers keep watching.





4. HAMPTON INN

Hampton has made up a new word, "Hamptonality", to show off their special type of hospitality.  The latest videos posted on their youtube pages are stories of football and football fan give-aways.  Searching a little further back you can find videos on how they're helping improve their communities, Hampton staff volunteering to help at the Boys & Girls club in Atlanta, or the story of how they opened their doors to people displaced by Hurricane Sandy.  However, my favorite video from Hampton is this sweet documentary about TJElevatorFan and what they did to make this child feel important.




5. HOLIDAY INN

The Holiday Inn recently put in lots and lots of benjamins to improve their hotels.  Along with the renovations, they've added a musical web series to show off the improvements.  They took real customer reviews and turned them into song.  Some of the videos are as short as 16 seconds, which can be used for Instagram, and others are a bit longer, like this one showing their new, almost sound-proof, rooms.





6. BEST WESTERN

Best Western has a variety of web series, including one with Cesar Milan offering tips on traveling with pets to showcase their pet-friendly hotels, but my favorite series is their Best Western Indie Films.  Best Western is a franchise, so they decided to showcase the different individuals and/or families that run some of the hotels.  It's a great way to showcase the care and attention that goes into even an economically priced hotel chain.




7. W HOTEL

The W likes to push their music and fashion interests in many of their videos, but my favorite is their Four Stories series.  It is clear from their videos and facebook presence that they're looking to attract the "cool crowd" or at least those who want to be part of it.  They know their target demographic and they execute their strategy well.

For the Four Stories web series, the W Hotel partnered with Intel and chose four short screenplays out of almost 1000 submissions.  Four Stories was created  "to identify and support rising visionaries in filmmaking, and provide them with a platform to share their talent with audiences around the world."  Of course the films were shot in various W locations.  The one below is directed by Actress/Writer/Director, Lake Bell.




8. KIMPTON HOTEL

Anyone who's stayed in a Kimpton hotel knows they have a unique, fun touch they put on things.

Their videos do a good job of showcasing who they are as a company and what's important to them.  I hope they keep building their page with more "how to" videos.  Also, their "Meet Mat" commercial with the Ron Swanson-like mustache yoga mat is adorable.  More of that please!



9. HILTON HOTELS

Most of Hilton's videos are more or less beautiful tours of their different hotels.  They have the most facebook fans of any of the hotels we've included in this top ten list.  Their last video was posted about three months ago.  They helped kick off Market Days as part of their "Stay Hilton. Go Out" campaign in Chicago and had a concert featuring Steve Grand.

Hilton has so many subscribers, they will hopefully keep adding more videos like the concert and maybe take note of the personal videos that Best Western and Hampton are making that they can add to their mix.





10. SOFITEL

Sofitel has been good about adding videos often, showcasing a different hotel every time.  They were also one of the few hotels listed that had a link to their youtube page on their facebook page.

While it's great that they keep adding new videos, they are a bit boring and more like moving slideshows.  Hopefully they're working on adding a more personal touch to up-coming videos.

Old Spice Guy Goes to the U.K.

Old Spice is creating a new series with their "Old Spice Guy", Isaiah Mustafa.  This time he is on the search across the pond, to find "Gentlemanliness".   According to AdAge, "Old Spice will release a number of its trademark social-media videos, where Mustafa will share his views on the quirky regional differences in gentlemanly behavior across Britain's biggest regions and cities."

Here is the launch video.

The Growth of Branded Video According to Unruly

RIP Nelson Mandela

Thank you Nelson Mandela. Your light touched the whole world. May we take that light and continue what you have taught us; equality, forgiveness and compassion for all.

I read a recent comment on this video I'm posting that summed things up well for me.  The comment says, "He was among the last and least I know whom humanity can trust with closed eyes. I am sad to learn such a good and great person is no more."

"Yeah bitch, Meteorites!"

Aaron Paul has teamed up with Bushmills Irish Whiskey again.  The latest short is called "The Sting - Cooking up Meteors".  This is fun content, it had me hooked from beginning to end.  Basically it opens with Paul sitting around a table with his buddies, drinking Bushmills and telling stories.  The story we come in on is about a prank (whether it's real or fiction doesn't matter) Paul and his buddy played on another friend.

Paul is a good storyteller and the animation provided fits perfectly with the story.  Bushmills does a great job of creating an atmosphere people want to see themselves in.  I hope there's more to come.

Top 10 Clothing Retailers Making Branded Video

By Megen Musegades |  Branded Filmworks

Many clothing retailers are hopping on board the branded video community.  Most retailers feature videos of models showcasing their clothes. We went in search of retailers that offered a more thorough look at their company culture and also those who had an easy communication with their subscribers, making everyone feel like they're part of the same community.

This list is based on YouTube and Facebook subscribers, as well as interaction with subscribers. We also looked at the variety and creativity of their videos.


1. LEVI'S

Levi's has a good amount of YouTube subscribers with strong interaction.  Their page is organized well, offering videos on Levi's Culture, Women's Style, Men's Style, Collaborations and Events Videos.  Levi's videos do a great job of making you want to be a part of their cool club.



2.  MR PORTER 

As an online store, Mr Porter has got it down.  The culture they share on their youtube page alone makes you want to order everything on their site.  The epitomy of cool, their videos make you feel like if you follow their rules, you will be a successful artist/banker/writer/you name it.







3. PRADA

Prada's latest short is directed by Wes Anderson (director of such quirky films as Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums,  Fantastic Mr. Fox). Need I say more?  Their videos show a classy brand that doesn't take itself too seriously.  At least it shows that they like to have fun, serious fun, and their subscribers and fans love it.





4. MODCLOTH

Modcloth knows their fans well.  It shows in their youtube and instagram videos.  Their videos are not just models wearing their clothes. There are Make-up tutorials, DIY crafty videos and of course styling tips for every decade.  They are also doing a great job of keeping the videos coming every week, making you come back for more.




5. H&M

H&M has a lot of subscribers to both their youtube and facebook pages, however they've disabled the comments section on their youtube videos which makes it easier for the company to manage, but it takes away the community it's trying to create.  This is one of the reasons that, although they have the most subscribers of the ten listed, they're fifth on the list.  H&M does a good job of keeping the videos rolling out with interviews and events and fashion shows.




6. HUGO BOSS

Hugo Boss' youtube homepage is nicely organized and easy to use.  You get a clear idea of the fashion shows and the videos do a good job of connecting elegance with the brand.  They also have a webseries of a "behind the scenes" fictional love story called "Shanghai Affairs".  You can shop the outfits from the "movie".





7. J. CREW

J. Crew calls their youtube page jcrewinsider.  It makes you feel like you get to be part of the jcrew club.  They have a great variety of films.  They seem to post a series of films in waves.  Hopefully they'll start adding videos more frequently because they're fun to watch and offer a good glimpse of what it means to be a part of the J. Crew community.



8. GAP

GAP is another company that is starting to offer a more well-rounded youtube channel.  You can get style advice from costume designer Jenn Rogien, listen to musicians in their Back to Blue series and watch their latest documentary short series with Tony Bennett and a group of NYC students, supporting Arts Education.





9. ANTHROPOLOGIE

Anthropologie is doing a great job of creating a variety of videos that show the vibe their brand wants to create.  The videos make you want to leave your regular life behind and start cooking everything from scratch and live in a beautiful old farm house where you spend your time writing your novel.  Their latest video features window designer Ashley Nardone showing all the care and detailed attention she's put into her latest installation.




10. STYLEMINT

StyleMint has slowed down making videos unfortunately, but the ones they have made are fun. They have videos showing a variety of outfits for individual pieces, style advice from different people in the fashion industry, or my favorite, funny short and sometimes interactive videos staring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson.  Maybe StyleMint could take some advice from Mr Porter and start shooting mini documentaries of fashion-forward individuals wearing their items.





What are your favorite clothing channels and/or videos?

Unilever Project Sunlight

Unilever has launched a new campaign and the video has generated over 2 million views already on youtube, it has the makings to be quite successful.  It's called Project Sunlight.  Here's the info from their website:

"We believe there has never been a better time to create a better future for our children; a world where everyone has enough food to eat and no child goes to bed hungry.
Where every child lives to their fifth birthday and has the right to a happy childhood.
Where every home has enough water to drink and to wash, cook and clean.
And where everybody can enjoy life today while protecting the planet for future generations.
Project Sunlight is a movement that has already started.
It’s made up of a growing community of people who believe it is possible to build a world where everyone lives well and lives sustainably.
Who recognise we can only achieve this if we all work together to do small actions every day that make a real difference.
And who inspire others to join us in making this the way everyone chooses to live."

In this short documentary, Unilever interviews prospective parents about their fears for their child and then shows them a short film about what they hope to achieve with Project Sunlight.  The strength of this video lies in the words and actions of the parents.  It's beautifully done, if I could make one critique it would be to include more of the parents, their thoughts, hopes and fears and less of the video.

A European Definition of Thanksgiving

I've got my mashed potatoes boiling and the pie is in the oven and all I can think about is wathcing the Thanksgiving parade and dog show and what I will be stuffing into my face tomorrow.  So I've just been watching Thanksgiving videos today to set the mood.

Here is BuzzFeed's, British Friends Describe Thanksgiving.

Helping Others

Something about this video irks me, but in the end, they did something good, and with Thanksgiving coming up, it's a good time to be thankful for what you have and share the love.

Since this is a blog for branded video, I will just say that the music and close-up clips of this man crying feel like it's screaming at the viewer to cry.  This kind of coaxing doesn't make for a strong video.  The story itself holds the power, not the dramatic music.  This is a simple, touching story, it should be told that way.  Also advertising clothing when this man has been homeless seems strange and missing the point.  I don't want to sound cynical, it's great they helped him, but I wish they just helped him, instead of promoting the clothing line too.

Harvard vs Yale

Oh man, I couldn't resist sharing this article I read on Business Insider. 

Coming soon, Harvard and Yale have their annual football game, known by all as "The Game".  As you can imagine there is a lot of competition between the schools.

Harvard's student comedy group, On Harvard Time, played the ultimate prank.  They went on to the Yale campus dressed as Yale students to give tours to prospective parents and students, giving such helpful information as Yale are "stupider", "less attractive" and "less successful" than Harvard students.  The host does a great job, I'm reminded of Van Wilder watching this spoof.

Foot Locker's Week of Greatness

This ad has been shared on my facebook feed quite a bit today.  Foot Locker and their advertising partner, BBDO put together what they envision a whole week of supreme sports greatness would look like.  Here it is, all the way down to Mike Tyson apologizing and returning the piece of ear he bit off of Evander Holyfield in that 1997 boxing ring.

GoldieBlox - Inspiring future engineers

Dismayed by the small percentage of women in her program, Stanford engineering student Debbie Sterling founded GoldieBlox, a construction toy meant to "prove to the world that engineering for girls is a mainstream concept."  

The company strives to encourage little girls to remain interested in engineering by engaging them in story-oriented building.  GoldieBlox, has made a set of interactive books and games to “disrupt the pink aisle and inspire the future generation of female engineers.”

Posted on YouTube November 17th, it already has over 3.5 million views.

Volvo Live Tests

Perhaps you were one of the over 35 million people who have watched Jean-Claude Van Damme's spectacular stunt, showcasing Volvo Trucks Dynamic Steering.  If not, you should check it out immediately.



This is test six of Volvo's live tests.  It's an interesting campaign that I believe will help put Volvo back in the minds of car buyers.

The Ballerina Stunt (almost 8 million views) was the first of the tests, also quite impressive.

Dumb Ways to Die is Smart

I've loved this ad campaign for awhile and just came across this article on AdAge with a bit of a breakdown of the campaign and why it's been so successful.

Is Summer the best time to promote the "Little Guys"?

I came across an interesting article today on iMediaConnection.   It seams, that while the Fall and Winter commercial and viral video content seasons tend to be capitalized by larger companies, like car and electronics.  Summer is when the "little guys" may have an easier time being seen.

Many of the larger companies don't put as much money into advertising during the summer months, when television is mainly playing reruns.

One of the examples they talk about coming from the summer season was the viral ad for the new period subscription service, helloflo.com.  As of today, this video has over 6 million views.

To read the full article, (and you should, it's short), check it out here.

Univ of Phoenix

From our research, the majority of universities in the US have some work to do on the social media front.  One university that is on top of things is the University of Phoenix.  It would make sense that a university that is online would adapt more quickly to social media.

This video is from a campaign they have with NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who has decided to finish up his degree here.

AOL & Nicole Richie

This past spring AOL rolled out a whole new group of web series, 15 of them to be exact, many of them hosted by well-known celebrities.  One of my favorites that has become an addiction is Nicole Richie's series called #CandidlyNicole.

In it, "Nicole Richie brings her unfiltered sense of humor and unique perspective to life in a new series based on her irreverent twitter feed. The show follows the outspoken celebrity as she shares her perspective on style, parenting, relationships and her journey to adulthood."

In my opinion, she was the best part of the reality show "The Simple Life" with her and Paris Hilton.  Lukily it appears she hasn't lost any of her sarcasm and willingness to make a complete fool of herself.  Here's one of the episodes.  Nicole raps for today's working woman.

CANDIDLYNICOLE – Fashion icon, creative director of House of Harlow 1960 and Winter Kate and mom, Nicole Richie, brings her unfiltered sense of humor and unique perspective to life in a new series based on Nicole’s clever twitter feed and will follow the outspoken host as she muses on her own daily insights and shares her uncensored perspective on style, parenting, relationships and her journey through life. Produced by Telepictures Productions and World of Wonder with executive producers Nicole Richie and Michael Baum.

Life lessons from an astronaut

Posted October 28 and already over 850,000 views on youtube, Chris Hadfield has a sweet two minute short promoting his new book.



If you're unaware of who Mr. Hadfield is, perhaps you'll remember him from this clip. Canadian astronaut, Hadfield, was a mission specialist on STS-74. He started documenting his time in space to put out on social media to get people excited about space again.  If you'd like to learn more about his book, NPR did a great interview with Hadfield.

PlayStation Plays Funny

This made it to #2 on last week AdAge's Viral Video Chart.  It's clever and funny (and in my personal opinion, coming from someone who doesn't play video games),  equally depressing that this is someone's "perfect day".

The Boss is Back

"In addition to taking advantage of live video streaming services to bring its fashion shows to the masses in real time, Hugo Boss has also embraced the power of short film by recruiting famous directors to develop film narratives on its collections."  Media Post

This short, Anthropocene, was created by artist Marco Brambilla.

Toys "R" Us brings the heart back to the toy store

Wow, this is great.  It reminds me of when I was little and thinking to myself while walking through the toy store that I will never turn into one of those adults who would choose to buy a new outfit over a new toy.  This brought back all that excitement again.

According to AdAge, "Toys "R" Us is looking to bring a bit more emotion to its holiday campaign this year.

A year ago the brand's campaign leaned heavily on more promotional messages, like its price match guarantee, free layaway and "door buster" deals. "We've tried to find a better balance between the rational reasons to come to Toys 'R' Us and the emotional reasons to come," said Peter Reiner, senior VP-marketing at the retailer."

Scary Mini

This spot from Mini Cooper, is AdAge's "ad of the day".  Just in time for Halloween.  It does a fun job of showing off the amount of space actually in a Mini.

Philips Click & Style Campaign

On August 16th, Philips unveiled it's latest campaign to promote it's three-in-one rasor, an interactive campaign by Ogilvy.

The campaign is available on youtube and goes between six different characters in order to create the story of what happened the night before.  There are 625 possible story combinations.

Philips is set to promote its three-in-one electric grooming tool Click & Style in a European campaign created by Ogilvy.

The fully digital campaign – developed by Ogilvy Duesseldorf – is
available on YouTube, with users able to go between six different
characters in order to create the story of what happened the previous
night, with 625 possible story combinations.



Read more at http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/08/16/philips-click-style-interactive-campaign-unveiled-ogilvy#4zrUrwlfUUCLE37t.99

Philips is set to promote its three-in-one electric grooming tool Click & Style in a European campaign created by Ogilvy.

The fully digital campaign – developed by Ogilvy Duesseldorf – is
available on YouTube, with users able to go between six different
characters in order to create the story of what happened the previous
night, with 625 possible story combinations.



Read more at http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/08/16/philips-click-style-interactive-campaign-unveiled-ogilvy#4zrUrwlfUUCLE37t.99

Philips is set to promote its three-in-one electric grooming tool Click & Style in a European campaign created by Ogilvy.

The fully digital campaign – developed by Ogilvy Duesseldorf – is
available on YouTube, with users able to go between six different
characters in order to create the story of what happened the previous
night, with 625 possible story combinations.



Read more at http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/08/16/philips-click-style-interactive-campaign-unveiled-ogilvy#4zrUrwlfUUCLE37t.99

Last weeks #1 Viral Video

Last weeks #1 viral video, according to AdAge.  This ad from Samsung, did a good job of bringing back fond television memories.

"How Will You GoPro" Campaign

GoPro is once again stepping up their quest to be at the top of the branded viral video market.  This campaign has some similarities to the Heineken ad I posted last week.  The contest here is to answer the question, "How will you GoPro?" in 500 characters or less.  Then you create an original drawing, movie poster, collage or any other visual representation of your idea featuring the GoPro logo and lastly and most important for them, you share it with your friends.  The winner will travel with a friend and GoPro crew to film your adventure.  A great way to get people activated and spreading the "GoPro word".

How can we help you.

Humans are wired for stories. May the best story win.

Just came across this from MarketingProfs.com and love this little tidbit I wanted to share with you.  Here's the full article, by Kathy Klotz-Guest,  if you're interested.

"Humans are wired for stories; we're storytelling animals. The resurgence in storytelling, the original social medium, is an important and welcome evolution for many reasons. Memorable stories scale in a way that facts alone cannot. And a multiplier effect is critical in marketing. Finally, stories cut through the tremendous clutter—much of it lacking context and meaning—created by the never-ending content explosion. Here's where stories pay dividends: According to a recent Stanford study, stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone. In a world of noise, the best stories win."

Red Bull Stratos

Posted just two days ago, this clip from Felix Baumgartner completing his world record breaking jump from the stratosphere already has over two million views.  You can see it here, along with a link to the full documentary.




Interesting article on the Huffington Post about what this kind of marketing campaign can do for a company as large as Red Bull and as small as the shop next door.  Written by  Janean Chun.

"Heineken Dropped" Web Series

Heineken started a "Departure Roulette" game a little while ago, now they've changed it up to "Heineken Dropped".  According to their youtube channel the pitch is, "What are men truly made of when taken out of their daily lives and dropped into the great unknown? To find out, Heineken dropped New York biker William in the bustling medina of Marrakech. But time is ticking and melting away. Legends aren't born, they're dropped."

It's a fun almost ten minute doc.  My only recommendation would be to make it shorter.  Too long to be watching at work.

What do you think, is this campaign a good fit for the beer?

Derrick Rose & Adidas making lemonade out of lemons

"Normally, an NBA MVP and star sneaker pitchman going down with a massive knee injury would be a brand's marketing nightmare. But Adidas and Derrick Rose have managed to turn that scenario on its head.

A series of short web videos called "The Return of D. Rose" have chronicled his road to coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the first game of last season's NBA playoffs." Mashable

Now Adidas celebrates Derrick Rose's brave return to the game.

Welcome to Tokyo

Genki Sudo's, World Order, a unique Japanese band, has a new video out.  It's pretty awesome.

AmEx #PassionProject Series

American Express has started the #PassionProject.  The first two videos came out in June and now they've got quite a collection.  The program is designed to enable and inspire people to pursue their passions.

"The program reflects the findings of the recent American Express LifeTwist study, revealing that Americans now believe success is no longer rooted in a sense of arrival, but defined primarily by the experiences they accumulate, detours they embrace and passions they pursue throughout their lifetime." dailyfinance  As the Declaration of Independence says, "...the pursuit of happiness".

Here's one of the webisodes about the creators of MADE and what they're doing to help new designers.

Tiger Direct shows their fun side.

This may not necessarily make you want to run to Tiger Direct right now, but I'm guessing their goal is that you laugh and will remember them in the future when you're shopping for electronics.

Mr Porter has style

Mr Porter is an online men's store and they're doing great stuff with web series.  In this webisode, we meet musician Nick Waterhouse.  He talks about his style. All shot beautifully and simply.  They do a great job of connecting the video with the brand, after you watch the video you can go to their site and shop what he was wearing.  What guy doesn't want to dress like a musician?  If he doesn't, there are many other videos of well-dressed men with different jobs.

Branded info from Ogilvy Entertainment

Making magic, using logic from Ogilvy & Mather

What a great promo for NYC!

Makes me miss New York.  Well done, Johnny T.

Lizzie Bennet Web Series

This is a new web series to me, but not to hundreds of thousands of others.  Apparently, as of this blog post anyhow, they still don't have a specific brand to make it a branded content series.  Seems crazy.  Here's a sample from the first episode, there are over 100.  In future episodes, additional characters enter the mix.




Here's the article from AdWeek.

Nick Offerman Can Do No Wrong

One of the immortalized videos on FunnyorDie.  So many brands come to mind that would love to be connected with Mr. Offerman.  This video would have been perfect for a "manly man" product.  Old Spice comes to mind.

Branded Content Takes Time & Planning

I was reading a blog from Joe Pulizzi on ContentMarketingInstitute.com and actually found this comment by Steve Faber the most interesting of the article.  You can read the full blog post here.  But basically Pulizzi talks about how brands are getting bombarded with all these different companies coming at them pitching their content marketing strategies, but how do they know which ones to choose.  Faber left this great comment.  During a time when everything feels immediate, videos seem to blow up over-night and companies wants to get a piece of it, Faber comes in with some realism, a good reminder that not everything happens in seconds and even those that seem too, have been at it for a long time.  Long-term planning and goals are important, getting real customers that aren't just "likes" on facebook are important.  Having true interactions with real people to build a solid customer-base that wants to share and "spread the word" is what content marketing is looking to achieve .
 
"One challenge we face with clients, especially those used to "traditional" marketing, is the long term view content marketing requires. Sure, you can get the occasional "one hit wonder", but brand building through content requires long term consistency. Not that brand building is the only reason to use CM, but it's often the outcome, no matter the initial goal, if everything's hitting on all cylinders.
We focus on planning, an oft-neglected part of the process. Goal setting, and a road map to achieve those goals is ignored by businesses that have heard all about the content marketing magic bullet. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way, as all too many discover, much to their chagrin.
It's funny that most organizations have no problems creating a marketing plan, and in fact, do so. When it comes to making a honest-to-goodness CM plan as part of that, well.... that's a whole different ballgame. So many are using the "hope something sticks" approach.
Thanks for highlighting the value inherent in using a CM plan. It's a critical success step in the process. It's not a loss leader, and agencies should treat it as such, although the lure of a long term project is sometimes too attractive to ignore." -Steve Faber

SEO & Social Media

Companies Are More Successful With SEO If They Integrate Social Media (Ascend2) 
According to Ascend2,  38% of companies that rated their own SEO efforts as "very successful" are integrating social media into SEO tactics, compared to just 2% of the companies that felt their SEO efforts were largely "not successful."

Out of the Box Thinking

I remember the first video he did last year from this series.  I think it's smart and funny.  People can connect with these videos.  Especially people with young kids.

Recommended Video Sticks with Consumers Longer

I just read an interesting blog on "recommendations" of videos to friends.  According to Unruly, the impact of the recommendation on consumers is substantial.

Here's their quick breakdown.

• Viewers are more likely to enjoy a video when it has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (14 percent higher enjoyment).
• Viewers are more likely to recall a brand name when the social video has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (7 percent higher recall).
• Viewers are more likely to engage with an ad's messages when the social has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (10 percent higher brand association).

When to post Branded Video

You put in so much time and effort into making the perfect video.  You couldn't be more proud of the end result.  Unfortunately none of that really matters if no one sees it.

Luckily, Unruly seems to have figured out the best day.  They analyzed the sharing activity of the 1,000 most shared branded videos during the 52-week period leading up to June 7, 2013.   Here's what they found:

  *Sharing Activity was highest on Fridays (15.9% above average). With Wednesdays (+14.1%) and    Thursdays (+7.5%) the next most active.

  *Hold your horses, don't launch your video on Friday.  Analysis shows that the viral peak occurs on day two of the campaign.  Actually, 25% of all shares occur in the first three days.

Conclusion: Launch your video campaign on Wednesday!

*Check out this blog for the full article.

Volkswagon has a little fun.

Great, quirky clip.

"The Motherhood" by Fiat

This video has been shared by mom's all over Facebook. It features a rapping mother with three kids showing off her oh-so-glamorous life of poopy nappies, nursing bras and cesarean scars. Well done, Fiat.

An Apple, non-Apple Ad?

Whether Apple had a hand in this or not, I don't know, but it's a great "non-Apple" ad.

Squaresville Web Series

Already finishing season 2, this web series has been around for awhile (in "web series land").  It's a good example of what can be done with a fairly low budget and still generate viewers/consumers.
Here's their first episode.

Guiness

I know this video has been circling the web for a little while, but I'm going to post it here as well.  A great example of an engaging story that is easily and happily shared.

3 Basic Steps to Engage Your Audience with Branded Video

Posted by Megen Musegades

There are many ideas and helpful tips to help make a successful branded video, these are my top three.

1. Develop your why.  What makes you different.
• If you are stuck, ask your customers and/or your employees what they love most about your company.
2. Make your story engaging and easy to share.
• Keep it short.
• Connect with your customers at an emotional level, make them want to share.
3.  Use a trigger.
• Jonah Berger, the author of Contagious, says it well, When you hear the words "Peanut butter", you automatically think of "Jelly".  So peanut butter is a trigger, an advertisement for jelly.
• A great example of a trigger is Geico's Hump Day ad.  Every Wednesday, this commercial gets passed around online.  "Uh oh, guess what day it is!?!"

I just like to rock. - Samsung

Samsung's Companion Stories are sweet and simple. Their budget may have been a lot larger, but this could be done on a very low budget for smaller companies.

Photoshop Live - Event & Branded Video

I couldn't stop watching this.  Getting people's genuine reactions tugs at everyone's emotions.  Very memorable and charming.

Kevin Allocca - YouTube's Trends Mngr talks Viral

This isn't specifically about branded content, but great points to remember before creating it.

ABC's Happy Endings webseries, gets branded

Further proof, if you're still looking for it, that video is the way to grow.  Here, Karin Gilford, Senior VP of Digital Media for Disney/ABC Television Group, talks about what a six episode web series did for Subaru.

Dove does it right, Twitter shows the stats.

I'm sure by now you've seen this Dove ad.  I just watched it again and again, it brought tears to my eyes.  Dove has been doing this right for awhile now with their Real Beauty campaign.  We've seen their commercials about how their product is better on your skin than other soap, but this video and others they do like it, make you want to by the product based on their mission to make women feel empowered and comfortable in their own skin, it grabs you at the emotional level and that's powerful.  Here is the video.



And here's how it went viral on Twitter.

Brands on a Vine - Toblerone & Ballantine's

Lowe's 6sec. Vine Campaign

Lowe's is one of the companies jumping on board the Vine train.  Helpful do-it-yourself tips in 6 seconds.  Check them out here.

Expedia Viral Video

This is a tear jerker.  Well-executed branded film.
 

Band-Aid Video

Good Combination of Video & Website

Coca-Cola - Branded Content Doesn't Have to Cost an Arm and a Leg

Point Made for a reasonable budget

Web series for Intel & Toshiba

These are seriously fantastic.  Just posting episode 4, but check them out on youtube for more episodes.

Hot Pocket

Hot Stalket - watch more funny videos