The number of branded video shares grew by 7% quarter-over-quarter in Q2 to exceed 33 million, according to results from the second quarterly social video report [download page] from Unruly. It was a top-heavy affair in Q2: the top 10 videos represented 45% of all sharing activity, and the top 2 categories dominated to the tune of more than 60% of all shares. Those top categories were once again entertainment and FMCG, each increasing its share from Q1.
Entertainment videos (which include movie, videogame and TV trailers, but exclude music videos) accounted for about one-third of all shares, up from 28.7% in Q1, as total entertainment video sharing volume increased by 12%. The top ads in the vertical were Warner Bros.’ “Man of Steel Trailer” (3.4% of total Q2 shares; 4th-most shared video) and Universal’s “Fast & Furious 6 Trailer” (1.4% of total shares; 10th-most shared). Given that the top 2 entertainment videos together generated less than 5% of total shares, one can surmise that sharing of entertainment content was diffused among several brands and videos, rather than primarily spurred by heavy sharing of a couple of top videos.
Behind the entertainment vertical, FMCG brands had another strong quarter, increasing their share of voice from 25.3% in Q1 to 28.7%, and their total volume of shares by 10.3%. The category was led by Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches,” which was the most-shared branded video of the quarter, at 12% of total sharing activity. It also became the 3rd-most shared ad of all time, per the researchers. Evian’s “Baby & Me” also had a strong showing, with more than 3 million shares during the quarter, good for 9.4% of all sharing activity and the 11th spot on the “all-time” list. In contrast to the entertainment vertical, the FMCG sector’s activity was dominated by those 2 ads.
Sharing of tech videos was fairly flat for the quarter, up just 1.6%, as the category’s share of voice remained fairly unchanged at 17.8%. Retail was the big mover for the quarter, more than tripling from 2.7% share in Q1 to 8.7% in Q2, as the number of shares of retail branded videos soared by 218.6%. That activity was spurred by Kmart’s “Ship My Pants,” which was shared almost 3 million times during the quarter, the 3rd-most of any branded video ad, representing almost all of the sector’s sharing activity.
Auto’s performance was a bit of a disappointment, down to 3.1% of all shares from 9.4% in Q1, as sharing volume dropped by 67.3%. Audi’s “The Challenge” managed to break into the top 10 most shared videos for the quarter, at 1.9% of all shares.
Finally, the report hands the Financial sector an honorable mention for GEICO’s “Hump Day” ad, which generated more than 850,000 shares, the 5th-largest amount for the quarter.
