Social Video Branding Done Right – Samsung & Freddiew’s Gamer Commute

Freddie Wong has earned a mention in more than a few articles here at ReelSEO. His charisma and charm, paired with sharp wit and insane special effects skills, make his channel a weekly “must-watch,” whether you just want to be entertained or are looking to learn from the master. And Freddie’s gotten so consistently good, major brands are now clamoring over each other to get involved with his work in any way they can.

Gamer Commute From Freddie Wong & Samsung

Take, for example, Freddie’s latest video, called Gamer Commute. If you’ve played many video games, particularly any of the Grand Theft Auto series, you’ll get more than a chuckle out of it. It’s actually pretty hilarious at times, and again… the effects are outstanding as well. Check it out:

<INSERT> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2aEsr_2Cfp4

Did you notice the branding? Did you notice a sponsorship near the end of the video for Samsung? It reads:

Special thanks to Samsung for giving us Galaxy S II phones for filming in 1080p Full HD.

That means that Samsung effectively sponsored this video, no doubt paying Freddie for the opportunity (money he has fully earned, by the way). And the sponsorship consists basically of providing the cameras for the video, and a nice little thank you message of text at the video’s conclusion. That’s it.

And you know what? That sponsorship is easily worth it for Samsung, regardless of what it cost them. The video is less than a week old, and already over 7 million views. That’s 7 million people who have been exposed to the little thank you to Samsung, even though many probably didn’t even see it.

Why Samsung Is Smart To Sponsor An Existing YouTube Star

A large portion of Freddie’s audience is savvier than the average bear. Many are filmmakers themselves. That’s why he releases regular behind-the-scenes videos every week, showing how each video is made and how the effects are accomplished–and these how-it-was-done videos often grab over a million views themselves. So those audience members are sure to pick up on the fact that the entire clip was filmed on a smart phone (the video’s description also mentions the Samsung participation).

And how freaking great does that video look, considering the camera? Now think about how many people, many of whom make videos themselves, just saw an amazingly-crisp and very entertaining piece of video shot with a phone. That’s called finding and hitting the target audience!

It’s a win/win, really. Freddie gets a cool camera to play with, and likely some financial gain for his efforts. The brand gets to show off how great its new phone’s HD video capabilities are in front of the exact kind of viewer that’s likely to buy. And as they typically do with Freddie’s videos, the audience wins as well.

Source: http://www.reelseo.com/gamer-commute/