Industry Report
2014
Top 500 Brands
on YouTube
The Top 500 Brands on YouTube have grown average
monthly views by nearly 70% in the past year
SUMMARY STATS FOR TOP 500 BRANDS
In our second annual report about the top brand channels on
722 million
YouTube, there is no mistaking the macro trend: Brands are
Total Monthly Views
1.4 million
increasing their commitment to marketing on YouTube and
recognizing a substantial return.
Our report analyzes OpenSlate data on the Top 500
Average Monthly Views
non-entertainment brands on YouTube. These are marketers
41 million
who aren’t typically required to be in the content creation
Total Subscribers
82,000
Average Subscribers
136,000
Average Views Per Video
business by nature, but have chosen to do so largely based on
the “earned media” opportunity offered by YouTube and its
monthly US audience base of more than 120 million.
The most successful brands in our report have adopted audience
development strategies employed by the most successful
YouTube channels overall: They’re consistent, on brand and very
focused on growing their YouTube subscribers. As a result, the
Top 500 brands on YouTube have seen their average subscriber
Top 500 Brands selected based on OpenSlate
data, week of March 24, 2014, and excludes
Entertainment category brands.
© Outrigger Media, April 2014
base skyrocket from 37,000 to more than 82,000 in
the past 12 months.
1
Overview by Industry
TOP 500 BRANDS
ON YOUTUBE
The Top 500 Brand Channels by Industry
Our top three marketer categories – Tech, Auto
Technology
and Retail – account for nearly two-thirds of the
Retail
Top 500 channels. There are 131 channels in Tech
Automotive
alone, with Google accounting for 24 of them,
including successful channels for Chrome,
Consumer Goods
Mobile, Developers, Glass and a recruiting
Food & Beverage
channel called Life at Google.
Travel & Tourism
Business & Finance
Samsung boasts 17 channels in our Top 500
Fashion
report – the second highest for a single brand
Alcohol
– with their main mobile channel clocking in at
over 800,000 subscribers alone.
Restaurants
Education
The top 5 brands in each category typically
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35
70
105
140
account for 50% of the measured category
overall. They are listed below, in order of
subscribers.
TOP 5 BRANDS IN EACH INDUSTRY
By Subscribers
Alcohol
Automotive
Business & Finance
Consumer Goods
Budweiser
Corona (Music)
Heineken
Bud Light
Dewars (India)
Audi
BMW
Chevrolet
Mercedes-Benz
Ford
SpaceX
Boeing
Geico
GE
Lockheed Martin
Luxy Hair
Old Spice
Orabrush (CureBadBreath)
Real Techniques
L’Oréal Paris (Spain)
Education
Fashion
Food & Beverages
Restaurants
TED Talks (Director)
Stanford University
NASA (Explorer)
Harvard
Harvard Business
CHANEL
Dior
Burberry
Ford Models
Louis Vuitton
Red Bull
Pepsi
Monster Energy Drink
Coke (StudioAtMTV)
Coca-Cola
Burger King
Starbucks
Chipotle
McDonald’s
Taco Bell
Retail
Technology
Travel & Tourism
Nike (Football)
DC Shoes
Blendtec
Victoria’s Secret
LEGO
Google
Apple
GoPro Camera
Samsung Mobile
Google Chrome
Disney Parks
LonelyPlanet
Downtown Dubai
Turkish Airlines
WestJet
© Outrigger Media, April 2014
2
Audience
The huge success of TED Talks in the context
TOP 500 BRANDS
ON YOUTUBE
300,000
of our Education channels (just 10 of the Top
Average Subscribers Per Channel
500) drove that industry to the top spot for
average subscriptions. With over 2.2 million
200,000
subscribers, TED ranks third overall for this
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The Food & Beverage category dominated
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players like Red Bull and excellent campaigns
from the likes of PepsiMax (feat. Jeff Gordon)
5,000,000
Average Monthly Views Per Channel
and Lipton Tea (feat. The Muppets).
3,750,000
YOUTUBE MEDIA BUYER SURVEY
In a survey of 313 online media planners
and buyers conducted between March 6 and
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400,000
Average Views Per Video
Consistent with a sales strategy that appeals to
Television budgets, YouTube media buyers were
49% more likely to claim that
their online video dollars were
transitioning from traditional
TV budgets.
300,000
2014
2013
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100,000
Our online survey was conducted between March 6 and March 22, 2014,
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more than 60 individual agencies were represented in our results.
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12 months. Of those respondents, 96% are employed by ad agencies, and
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© Outrigger Media, April 2014
3
Subscriber Acquisition
TOP 500 BRANDS
ON YOUTUBE
Converting Views to Subscribers
YOUTUBE MEDIA BUYER SURVEY
Like any social network, YouTube offers brands the opportunity to convert a view
Paid Media Subscriber Growth
to a connection – one that will see the brand and its content more frequently and
reliably in their future YouTube experience. While views can be bought using
YouTube’s highly effective TrueView ad unit, subscribers must be earned. And
doing so is a science mastered by every successful channel on the platform.
The most successful content channels on YouTube overall convert views to
subscribers at a rate of 0.5% meaning, on average, every 200 views results in a
new subscriber. Brands are far less successful in this endeavor, generally needing
In a recent survey of more than 200 YouTube
media buyers, we found that adding subscribers
to a brand’s channel page was rarely a priority:
Is YouTube Subscriber Growth a KPI when you buy
media on YouTube?
Yes
20%
No
80%
close to 750 views to draw in just one new subscriber. There are many factors
working against brands in this regard, including an inconsistent content and
However, buyers that do consider subscriber
publishing strategy and the likely impression by a viewer that whatever drew
4x more likely
them to the brand’s content in the first place will not be repeated. A high
percentage of TrueView driven (paid) views by brands also has a large impact.
growth an important KPI are
to develop ad creative especially for their
YouTube media buys. They’re also
26% less likely
1,400
Number Of Views To Drive One Subscriber
to demand audience guarantees from
1,050
comScore or Nielsen.
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Shortcomings aside, one real driver of this discrepancy may simply be that
brands haven’t found enough utility in their YouTube subscriber base. Compared
to a Facebook friend or a Twitter follower, YouTube channels are offered no
direct or targeted connection to their subscribers. Since brands are concerned
with selling product or service, and not ads on their YouTube channel, there’s a
completely different value proposition at work on this front.
© Outrigger Media, April 2014
4
YouTube Strategy
TOP 500 BRANDS
ON YOUTUBE
Missing an Opportunity
With a combination of beautiful campaigns, viral success and big media budgets,
Duracell, Visa, Walmart and Lipton cut through the clutter to deliver big views in Q1.
30,000,000
8,000
22,500,000
6,000
15,000,000
4,000
7,500,000
2,000
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Duracell
Visa
Walmart
YouTube Content Strategy
Just 13% of YouTube media buyers in our survey
“often” create content specifically for YouTube
campaigns.
Never
Sometimes
Often
0
Q1 Views
YOUTUBE MEDIA BUYER SURVEY
Q1 New Subs
Lipton
Duracell
Views Per New Sub
Visa
Walmart
Lipton
But these same four brands pulled up well short of the potential of that success,
converting views to subscribers in the bottom 1% of our study.
But those buyers were
2x more likely
to increase their spend with YouTube in the
next 12 months.
Repurposed TV Commercials
Our survey of YouTube media buyers found that 33.2% “always” repurpose TV
commercials in their YouTube media buys. These repurposed commercials often
represent a significant amount of the overall content on a brand’s channel page.
Average Video Length by Industry
Education
Technology
60
Fashion
Percentage of Channel Content That Is Repurposed Commercials
45
Alcohol
Business & Finance
Automotive
Travel & Tourism
Consumer Goods
30
Food & Beverage
Restaurants
Retail
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© Outrigger Media, April 2014
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5
Brands to Watch
TOP 500 BRANDS
ON YOUTUBE
Audi of America
SlateScore: 574 Monthly Views: 881K Subs: 63K
Challenger brand no more. Audi (U.S.) introduced the “Stay Uncompromised” A3
campaign in Q1 2014 with the help of Doberhuahua and brand endorsers like
actor Ricky Gervais, chef David Chang and boxer Claressa Shields. The luxury auto
brand has maintained a consistent and engaged audience and it’s clear they’re
committed to creative and original content.
Target
SlateScore: 563 Monthly Views: 429K Subs: 24K
The SlateScore measures quality
and is calculated from data about
a channel’s Engagement, Consistency,
Influence, Momentum and Reach.
Just like its stores, Target’s YouTube channel has something for everyone. The
American retailer repurposes commercial spots, which boosts channel views,
but they don’t rely on these ads alone. Target’s content includes instructional
beauty and DIY style features, how-to home decorating and entertainment
tips, plus music and movie content. A playlist dedicated to its Spanish-speaking audience shows a brand that is in tune with its digital audience.
Dell
SlateScore: 523 Monthly Views: 809K Subs: 31K
Some of the best technology brands on YouTube blend storytelling alongside promotional product videos and the PC giant does just that with its recent “Beginnings”
campaign focused on reinvention. The Dell Vlog channel organizes content into
playlists of industry events, product launches, case studies and an entrepreneur
help center. Dell’s consistent publishing keeps its 30,000+ subscribers engaged and
returning for more inspiration.
The North Face
SlateScore: 556 Monthly Views: 1.33 MM Subs: 44K
The North Face Video channel has amassed a following on YouTube by appealing to
outdoor enthusiasts and weekend warriors while capturing extreme athletic endurance
feats and the training it took to get there. The high-quality content is grouped into
playlists around series focused on one sport and/or location. While this type of
publishing (and content) does not lend it self to consistency, The North Face has an
influential channel thanks to its adventurous appeal.
Cover Girl
SlateScore: 546 Monthly Views: 2.1 MM Subs: 25K
Beauty brand Cover Girl engages make-up enthusiasts with their how-to, beauty tips, and
DIY content. The Procter & Gamble brand has ambassadors including Ellen DeGeneres,
P!NK, Katy Perry and Sofia Vergara to help spread the message of female empowerment
in its “Girls Can” campaign, and they have also recognized Seventeen Magazine’s Beauty
Smarties as instructional content collaborators for their younger audience.
© Outrigger Media, April 2014
6
Top 10 Brands by SlateScore
OpenSlate is a video analytics
platform that tracks more than
160,000 ad-supported channels
on YouTube and measures their
ability to attract and engage an
audience. Our data about quality,
brand safety and subject matter
expertise is used by brand
marketers to target the most
effective and appropriate
YouTube inventory at scale.
For more information, visit:
openslatestudios.com.
The SlateScoreTM is on a scale from 1-1000 with
higher being better. Scores of 500 or higher are in
the top 7% of all channels in OpenSlate.
Engagement, Consistency and Influence are
calculated on a a scale of 1-10 with higher
being better.
© Outrigger Media, April 2014
781
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692
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671
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663
655
647
TOP 500 BRANDS
ON YOUTUBE
Red Bull
8.6
ENGAGEMENT
7.8
CONSISTENCY
9.7
INFLUENCE
TED Talks (Director)
7.6
ENGAGEMENT
7.8
9.6
7.6
9.4
CONSISTENCY
INFLUENCE
GoPro
8.6
ENGAGEMENT
CONSISTENCY
INFLUENCE
Luxy Hair
8.1
ENGAGEMENT
7.3
CONSISTENCY
9.3
INFLUENCE
Samsung Mobile
8.1
ENGAGEMENT
7.6
CONSISTENCY
8.5
INFLUENCE
Coca-Cola
8.5
ENGAGEMENT
7.6
CONSISTENCY
9.1
INFLUENCE
Nike (Football)
7.1
ENGAGEMENT
7.5
CONSISTENCY
9.4
INFLUENCE
Victoria’s Secret
7.1
ENGAGEMENT
7.7
9.3
7.3
9.3
6.9
9.3
CONSISTENCY
INFLUENCE
Pepsi
7.4
ENGAGEMENT
CONSISTENCY
Nokia
7.2
ENGAGEMENT
CONSISTENCY
INFLUENCE
INFLUENCE
7