Touchstorm, a technology-based services company that builds video audiences for the world’s best brands, used its powerful Video Index to produce the first comprehensive YouTube report on Outdoor Activities and Adventure Sports. Featuring data from 3,166 YouTube channels across 38 topics, the new report reveals which channels are building a following and mastering the conversation on YouTube. The full report is available for free download at www.touchstorm.com.
The data behind the report pulls from the Touchstorm Video Index and the company’s Voot® analytics software, which appends the YouTube API data with its own proprietary data and algorithms to reveal a channel’s true vitality and health. The result is a look at category and channel details never seen before, with data and analytics on thousands of channels across 38 activity topics ranging from Airsoft, Bushcraft and Parkour, to Camping, Hunting & Fishing, and Skateboarding.
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What are People Watching on YouTube? Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports is a Major Conversation
1. YouTube Marketing Report
Behind the YouTube Category:
Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports
powered by
www.touchstorm.com 1
2. Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
One of the biggest “conversations”
on YouTube is Outdoor Activities &
Adventure Sports.
People love doing them.
Even more people love
watching them.
3. Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
Like any good conversation, the Adventure
Sports chatter on YouTube has “topics.”
Different groups of people are
talking about different things.
Some are talking about
mountain biking.
4. Others, about Skateboarding
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
Others, about Kayaking
Or Snowboarding
Or Skydiving
5. There Are 38 Topics In Touchstorm’s
Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports Conversation*
Geocaching Hot Air Ballooning Hunting & Fishing Inline Skating Kayaking, Canoeing Kite Flying Longboarding Mountain Biking Paintball
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
3,166
Channels in the Touchstorm Video Index
for the Outdoor Activities
& Adventure Sports conversation,
spread across 38 Topics
*As of June 6, 2014, as tracked and identified by Touchstorm. 5
Adventure Sports
Gear & Apparel
Adventure Sports,
General
Airsoft Base Jumping, Sky Diving, Wingsuits BMX Riding Boating & Sailing Bodyboarding
Camping, Hiking,
Backpacking
Climbing: Rock, Ice,
Mountain, Caves
Disc Golf Frisbee
Hang Gliding,
Parasailing,
Paramotoring
Horseback
Riding/Equestrian
Sports
Scootering
Roller Skating,
Roller Derby
Scuba Diving &
Snorkeling
Skateboarding
Skiing &
Snowboarding
Slacklining Sled Dog Racing
Parkour,
Free-Running
Surfing
Stand Up
Paddle Boarding
Survival Skills &
Bushcraft
Trampolining Tricking
Waterskiing,
Wakeboarding
White Water Rafting
Windsurfing &
Kite Boarding
6. Relative Size of Topics in the
Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports Conversation
Each conversation in the Touchstorm
Video Index includes numerous
topics. Some topics have fewer
channels and small view counts;
others have many channels and large
view counts.
We profile and track every channel in
each topic that we can find, as well
as those that are self-registered in
the Touchstorm Video Index.
The biggest topic in Outdoor
Activities & Adventure Sports is
“Adventure Sports, General,” which
includes channels that feature many
sports…like X Games and Red Bull.
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
6
Percent Share of Voice for each Topic in Outdoor Activities &
Adventure Sports
Paintball
Scuba Diving & Snorkeling
Adventure
Sports,
General
Hang Gliding, Parasailing, Paramotoring
Hunting &
Fishing
Skiing &
Snowboarding
BMX Riding
Frisbee
Mountain
Biking
Boating & Sailing
Adventure Sports Gear
& Apparel
Horseback Riding
/
Equestrian Sports
Camping,
Hiking,
Backpacking
Parkour, Free-
Running
Base Jumping, Sky Diving,
Wingsuits
Scootering
Climbing: Rock, Ice,
Mountain, Caves
Bodyboarding
Inline Skating
Windsurfing & Kite
Boarding
Tricking
Surfing
Water Skiing, Wakeboarding
Survival Skills
& Bushcraft
Skateboarding
Airsoft
Longboarding
Disc Golf
Geocaching
Kayaking, Canoeing
Slacklining
Roller Skating, Roller Derby
Stand Up Paddle Boarding
Kite Flying
Sled Dog Racing
White Water Rafting
Trampolining
Hot Air Ballooning
22% 17% 8-11% 4-7% 2-3% 1-2% <1%
7. Views by Topic
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
1,807,152,199
1,364,910,652
882,596,464
668,518,354
550,141,700
371,667,628
344,395,022
245,005,819
234,176,431
193,383,533
175,010,013
158,283,635
141,580,975
134,848,542
133,665,438
107,633,665
96,334,114
85,732,931
68,576,103
44,278,452
35,074,341
31,385,304
27,172,397
25,240,391
24,503,682
23,224,363
22,216,303
16,907,770
14,021,860
13,752,901
13,639,158
7,524,526
6,186,321
4,749,631
4,389,238
2,110,653
1,986,025
1,240,438
Adventure Sports, General
Skateboarding
Survival Skills & Bushcraft
Airsoft
Hunting & Fishing
Adventure Sports Gear & Apparel
Skiing & Snowboarding
BMX Riding
Longboarding
Paintball
Surfing
Parkour, Freerunning
Camping, Hiking, Backpacking
Boating and Sailing
Mountain Biking
Frisbee
Base Jumping, Sky Diving, Wingsuit Flying
Horseback Riding/Equestrian Sports
Climbing: Rock, Ice, Mountain, Caves
Scootering
Scuba Diving & Snorkeling
Trampolining
Windsurfing & Kiteboarding
Hang-gliding, Paragliding, Paramotoring
Bodyboarding
Inline Skating
Water Skiing, Wakeboarding
Tricking
Disc Golf
Geocaching
Kayaking, Canoeing
Slacklining
Roller Skating, Roller Derby
Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP)
Kiteflying
Sled Dog Racing
White Water Rafting
Hot Air Ballooning
What are the most popular topics in
Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports?
You’d probably expect that Skateboarding and Adventure Sports, General
(which is where Red Bull and GoPro live) would be extremely popular.
But most of us at Touchstorm were completely taken aback by the
immense popularity of Airsoft and Bushcraft, which we hardly knew existed.
That’s the beauty of YouTube…it’s a mirror of society. The Touchstorm
Video Index helps you see what’s in that mirror, shining a bright light into
YouTube’s dark corners to tell us what people are really up to. Powerful
stuff for helping you target your Social Media conversations.
www.touchstorm.com 7
8. Top Performing Topics in Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports*
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
6,945,350
5,975,472
2,438,853
2,391,128
1,369,908
1,298,359
1,234,507
1,093,912
1,073,675
766,617
Adventure Sports, General
Skateboarding
Airsoft
Survival Skills & Bushcraft
Longboarding
Hunting & Fishing
Skiing & Snowboarding
Parkour, Freerunning
BMX Riding
Frisbee
7,102
6,825
6,818
5,845
4,839
4,807
4,751
4,374
4,354
4,311
Frisbee
Parkour, Freerunning
Bodyboarding
Longboarding
Geocaching
Scootering
Tricking
BMX Biking
Skateboarding
Disc Golf
Topics with the
Most Videos
Topics with the Highest
Passion Indices
Topics with the
Most Subscribers
Topics with the Best
Conversion Rates
49,116
45,325
44,788
38,487
37,266
23,473
23,210
22,120
20,646
17,793
Hunting & Fishing
Adventure Sports Gear & Apparel
Skiing & Snowboarding
Base Jumping, Sky Diving, Wingsuit Flying
Skateboarding
Camping, Hiking, Backpacking
Boating and Sailing
Horseback Riding/Equestrian Sports
Airsoft
Adventure Sports, General
222
204
165
135
134
118
114
117
114
107
Parkour, Freerunning
Tricking
Skateboarding
Frisbee
Scootering
Horseback Riding/Equestrian Sports
BMX Riding
Geocaching
Longboarding
Trampolining
*Definitions of these metrics can be found on page 12. 8
9. Brand: A manufacturer that produces a
tangible product and controls the
channel. Includes popular brand
names like Apple and lesser known
OEM manufacturers.
Retailer: A brick and mortar store or e-commerce
site that buys products
made by others and sells them to
consumers. Companies that make and
sell all of their own products are
classified as brands.
Service Provider: An entity that sells
intangibles like know how, advice and
middleman services like distribution.
Includes airlines, hotels, consulting
firms, attorneys, and health care
providers.
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
Brands
37%
TV and Cable
Networks
10%
Content Brands
13%
Entertainment
Entities
4%
Institutions
1%
Retailers
7%
YouTube Stars
Service Providers
2%
Users
11%
15%
Entertainment: Entities that attract a
crowd and owe their fame to vehicles
other than YouTube. Includes celebrities,
major motion pictures, movie studios, pro
sports teams and leagues, event venues,
resorts, destinations, events and concert
tours.
Institution: Associations, non-profits,
clubs, schools, governing bodies, state-sponsored
athletic teams, tourism boards
and others who are making content for
cause related, issues based, industry
promotion, fund raising, or economic
development aims.
YouTube Star: An individual or duo
whose fame was achieved on
YouTube, and who meets our view
and subscriber criteria.
User: An everyday Joe or Jill who
self-produces videos and has not yet
achieved enough audience mass to
qualify as a YouTube star.
TV Network: A content company whose
audience and primary source of
revenue results from owning a
broadcast or cable TV channel. TV
Networks often don’t make their own
content; they feature multiple programs
created by various producers. Includes
NBC, Discovery, and Syfy.
Content Brand: Companies and
communities that make professional
video content. They’re distinguished by
a clear content brand name and a
revenue source other than YouTube,
like distribution or a website that sells
the content or the advertising around
the content. Includes old line print
media like the New York Times or Time,
TV shows like Running Wild with Bear
Grylls, and digital-era content makers
like Netflix and Howdini.
Views by Producer Type*
www.touchstorm.com 9
In the Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports conversation,
Brands are dominating the views.
*Touchstorm tracks nine types of content makers, creating a distinction between “who you are” and
“what you’re talking about.” Example: Red Bull is not an Adventure Sports equipment brand, but
yet, is an energy drink brand talking about Adventure Sports. The TVi lets us compare Red Bull to
anyone talking about Adventure Sports, or to all the other Energy Drinks/Beverages, or to all
brands on YouTube.
10. Average Number of Videos per Channel
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
592
477
379
258
231
216
191
188
186
181
175
166
161
114
114
106
106
105
85
77
75
70
68
63
58
56
52
52
51
47
44
43
41
38
36
34
32
18
Base Jumping, Sky Diving, Wingsuit…
Adventure Sports Gear & Apparel
Adventure Sports, General
Surfing
Paintball
Skiing & Snowboarding
Hunting & Fishing
Survival Skills & Bushcraft
BMX Riding
Airsoft
Water Skiing, Wakeboarding
Camping, Hiking, Backpacking
Horseback Riding/Equestrian Sports
Inline Skating
Windsurfing & Kiteboarding
Scuba Diving & Snorkeling
Boating and Sailing
Skateboarding
Mountain Biking
Climbing: Rock, Ice, Mountain, Caves
Geocaching
Sled Dog Racing
Frisbee
Disc Golf
Trampolining
Kayaking, Canoeing
White Water Rafting
Tricking
Hang-gliding, Paragliding,…
Scootering
Parkour, Freerunning
Longboarding
Roller Skating, Roller Derby
Bodyboarding
Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP)
Slacklining
Kiteflying
Hot Air Ballooning
Channels in the Base Jumping, Sky Diving, Wingsuits topic post
more videos per channel than any other topic — an average of
592 videos per channel. It’s no coincidence that the topics
winning the most views are also the topics where the channels
have a lot of videos.
In the entire conversation of Outdoor Activities & Adventure
Sports, the average channel has posted 138 videos.
Anyone looking to succeed in the Outdoor Activities & Adventure
Sports conversation would be wise to note that winning channels
tend to have more videos than the averages shown here. For
example, this chart tells us that the average Airsoft channel has
181 videos. However, the top channel for Airsoft views
(scoutthedoggie) has 491 videos…significantly higher than
average.
Regarding upload frequency, the more successful channels in
this conversation tend to upload content a minimum of once
every two weeks, and a maximum of three times a week.
www.touchstorm.com 10
11. TTwo Biggest YouTube Stars in Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports
YouTube Star – The King of Views YouTube Star – The King of Subscribers
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
Topic: Airsoft
YouTube Channel URL: scoutthedoggie
Home Country: Scotland
Videos: 491
Views: 142,277,474
Subscribers: 421,250
Conversion Rate: 2,961
Views Per Video: 289,771
Passion Index: 89 (11% below average)
Topic: Frisbee
YouTube Channel URL: brodiesmith21
Home Country: United States
Videos: 185
Views: 75,652,182
Subscribers: 637,115
Conversion Rate: 8,422
Views Per Video: 408,931
Passion Index: 145 (45% above average)
www.touchstorm.com 11
To see all of the Top Channels in the Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports conversation, visit
http://www.touchstorm.com/touchstorm-video-index-2014-june-special-report
12. The percentage of a channel’s views
that emanate from the channel’s three
most popular videos. The lower the
score the better. When channels have
70% or more of their views coming
from their Top 3 videos, it’s usually due
to one of two things, neither of which is
good for channel health: one, the
channel had a “one-hit-wonder,” which
it hasn’t been able to replicate, which is
bad for audience growth and subscriber
conversion, or, two, it’s a brand that
used the video(s) as pre-roll, focusing
ad budgets on very few pieces of
creative, which isn’t good for passion
and conversion. The View Density
score helps minimize these unnatural
viewing patterns from the TVi results.
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
GOOD CHANNEL
“Good channel practices” means
many things, but current TVi scoring
is primarily concerned with the
frequency of video uploading, and
whether or not videos have been
taken down. The healthiest
channels upload content constantly
— once a week or even more, and
usually at a cadence of the same
day(s) of the week. On the other
hand, taking down videos — a
practice which can’t always be
helped — is damaging to channel
health in more ways than one. Not
only does YouTube deduct the view
counts attributed to those videos,
but our testing shows that velocity
(a key factor driving the visibility
that attracts audience) decreases.
Indicates how successful the brand
is at converting viewers to
subscribers. Touchstorm expresses
this idea as Subscribers per Million
Views, or Subs/MMV. Building
audience is different than building
views. Conversion is something the
YouTube Stars have mastered —
their Conversion Rates are almost
always the highest in any analysis.
They’ve figured out how to make
the content their audience wants,
and how to market that content to
draw a loyal following.
When a consumer likes a video,
they express it by pressing the Like
button. The average rate of “liking”
on YouTube is similar to that of
banner ad clicks — it typically runs
less than one-half of one percent.
Some videos, channels and topics
generate a much higher Like rate.
For each Topic, Conversation, and
Theme, Touchstorm determines the
average Like rate and normalizes it
to an Index of 100, so that videos
and channels in that competitive set
can be judged on relative Likeability.
The highest indexes indicate very
Positive Passion for the content.
VIEW DENSITY CONVERSION
PRACTICES
POSITIVE PASSION
www.touchstorm.com 12
Definitions of Some Key Metrics Included in the TVi Score
13. For More Information on Touchstorm
Touchstorm Video Index / Powered by
Other Data Available from Touchstorm & Voot®
To download the full Outdoor Activities & Adventure Sports report (Free)
http://www.touchstorm.com/touchstorm-video-index-2014-june-special-report
To Get a Channel Listed in The Touchstorm Video Index (Free)
tvi.touchstorm.com
To Receive a Channel Report featuring performance and competitive insights (Free)
tvi.touchstorm.com
To View YouTube Ratings for any Topic, Conversation or Theme
COMING SOON!
To Pick Up TVi Score Badges (winning channels in this report)
COMING SOON!
To get a Beta subscription for VOOT channel management software
Click “Request an Invitation” on app.voot.net
To Inquire about Touchstorm YouTube Audience Development and Video Syndication Services for
Big Brands…including custom data not publicly available
jbibeau@touchstorm.com
About Touchstorm
Touchstorm is a technology-based services company that
builds video audiences for the world’s largest brands. To
accomplish its vision of helping brands break out of the
advertising box through content creation, the company
grows YouTube channels exponentially, delivering organic
views and subscribers.
The company’s robust editorial distribution network
syndicates content that runs center of the page, and its
native video solution, Arena, drives engagement scores
significantly above industry benchmarks. Touchstorm uses
a suite of software technologies to identify content holes
and build brand audiences at scale, including Voot® and
Scoop™.
The company also produces videos for some of the world’s
biggest brands, and its Touchstorm Video Index showcases
the most effective videos at building audiences for brands.
www.touchstorm.com 13