Poo Puns, Pizza, and Romance: YouTube Brand Videos of the Week

Beats by Dre teams up with some Kardashians to promote their personal brand of selfie, Dick’s Sporting Goods strives for sentiment, and Pizza Hut takes a bold, self-deprecating look at their own product – all in Pixability’s latest and greatest YouTube Brand Videos of the Week.
1. The Hoop

Why it works: Dick’s Sporting Goods shares this sentimental story with a powerful soundtrack that was received positively by its viewers (36-1 like-dislike ratio) and even made some of them cry, as shared in the comments.
Areas for improvement: Sentimental stories are very popular on YouTube, making this category cluttered, so adding more YouTube features and SEO would help improve the video’s discoverability on YouTube. The video only ranks in the top 10 results for keyword “The Hoop.”
Key Takeaways: Sentimental stories with a nostalgic tone work well to capture the interest of viewers on YouTube.
2. A Tiffany Holiday

Why it works: The animation allows for a unique way to view Tiffany’s products as they are arranged around wintery New York City scenes, identifying the brand as having all the perfect gifts you need for the holiday season.
Areas for improvement: The video is lacking in SEO, with only one brief sentence and a non-tracking link in its description. The tags can be vastly improved from the current three in use: “Tiffany & Co,” “Christmas,” and “Animation”, of which only “Tiffany & Co.” ranks in search at the 28th position.
Key Takeaways: To get the most reach for any video on YouTube, SEO must be considered before launch. Also make sure to track all links that lead away from YouTube.
3. Even Santa Poops – PooPourri.com

Why it works: Funny poo puns aside, the video takes a hilarious twist on “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and uses a long end card to direct viewers to watch more content or click through to the Poo-Pourri website. The video also has great engagement metrics.
Areas for improvement: The puns go a bit too far and end up leaving actual substance until the very end. A shorter version of this video might work better, especially when promoted with YouTube advertising. The tags used for the video are limited in quantity as well as quality.
Key takeaways: Comedy is always a good way to get viewers to engage with a video, but discoverability and delivery on YouTube is just as important as creating the video itself.
4. Pizza Hut Flavor of Now: The Old World #FlavorOfNow

Why it works: Pizza Hut shows off its new toppings and crust flavors by juxtaposing the pizza with stodgy old Italians who don’t like change, poking fun at themselves along the way.
Areas for improvement: The first positive mention of Pizza Hut’s new pizza doesn’t come until the 1:38 mark of the video. With an average watch time of 1:28, at least half of the audience won’t hear anything positive about Pizza Hut. Sentiment is also low with less than a 2:1 like-dislike ratio.
Key takeaways: Self-deprecating humor is a bold move to debut a brand’s new look and products. Comment and engagement data should always be evaluated before any future video campaigns. Treat viewer feedback on YouTube like a large voluntary focus group.
5. Beats by Dre Presents: #SoloSelfie – The Tutorial

Why it works: Beats by Dre shows off the Beats Solo 2 in all available colors while simultaneously promoting the new iPhone 6, the first of many co-branded videos likely to come with the recent Apple acquisition.
Areas for improvement: This video is in serious need of comment moderation. It’s difficult to find many positive comments, with most comments talking negatively about the featured products or the idea of selfies. Social actions, while good in theory, don’t always pan out with the actual audience.
Key takeaways: Always be prepared to join the discussion on YouTube, positive or negative, and consider setting up comment keyword blacklists to limit malicious conversations.