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"By now, pretty much every major brand has a presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but the latter is definitely more of an afterthought.\nA surprisingly high number of branded YouTube channels \u2014 like Amazon\u2019s and UPS\u2019s \u2014 are sparingly updated and have few followers. Meanwhile, a handful of brands \u2014 including Visa, Oracle and ExxonMobil \u2014 don\u2019t appear to have branded YouTube channels at all.\nThe following brands demonstrate why Amazon et al are missing out on a big opportunity. As these examples show, a YouTube channel doesn\u2019t have to merely be a vehicle for new commercials. It can house games, behind-the-scenes stories and, best of all, a new, visual way to interact with your fan base. \n\n\n5 Branded YouTube Channels That Get it Right \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStarbucks\n\nUntil recently, Starbucks didn\u2019t do much -- or really, any -- TV advertising. That\u2019s changed, but Starbucks doesn\u2019t see its YouTube channel merely as a dumping ground for new ads. Instead, there\u2019s a lot of extra content, including some exclusive stuff with musicians like Jakob Dylan, Broken Bells, James Mercer of the Shins.\nIn the video above, Mercer plays Broken Bells\u2019 track \"The High Road\" to a focus group of British kids. \u201CI didn\u2019t like the synthesizer bits in the chorus,\u201D says one of them, \u201Cand it\u2019s a bit dark.\u201D\nIn addition, there are commercials for the brand, information about where Starbucks gets its coffee, and interviews with Starbucks employees.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOrabrush\n\nOrabrush is a real product, but you still might want to check out the brand\u2019s YouTube channel even if you\u2019re not in the market for a new oral care solution.\nSince 2009, Orabrush has been cranking out one zany video after another that resemble Funny Or Die bits more than standard commercials. For instance, Orabrush the Movie, shown here, presents the company\u2019s creation story as a gritty independent flick. Best of all perhaps is Orabrush\u2019s iPad 2 parody, which will change the way you look at Apple\u2019s ads forever.\nChoice quotes: \u201CWe have a great product that\u2019s revolutionized the world. So what? Are we going to sit around in front of a white screen in turtlenecks bragging about it all day?\u201D and \u201CGive me a choice between the cure to cancer and the cure to bad breath and I\u2019d take the Orabrush.\u201D\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGoPro \n\nSome brands have all the luck. GoPro has an advantage over many other brands in that its product line -- wearable HD cameras for sports -- happens to be the perfect one to be shilling in the age of YouTube.\nNaturally, the brand\u2019s YouTube page features video after video of POV shots from athletes recording their feats on one of the cameras. Some of them are even in 3D. Spend some time on the site and you\u2019ll never look at an avalanche cliff jump the same way again.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWalmart\n\nCall it propaganda, if you will, but there\u2019s no denying that this is really good propaganda.\nWatch enough of the content Walmart's channel -- which ranges from TV commercials, to stories from Walmart employees, to testimonials from \u201CWalmart Moms\u201D who save money at the store -- and you\u2019ll be ready to conclude that this is the best company in the world.\nLike Starbucks, Walmart\u2019s YouTube site is a great example of a brand that\u2019s providing a range of content that never strays far from its marketed image. There\u2019s nothing on either site that feels like it doesn\u2019t belong or doesn\u2019t promote the brand in some way.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPepto Bismol\n\nProcter &amp; Gamble\u2019s stomach care brand is on this list because it\u2019s one of the few (and maybe the only) brands to use its channel to host a game.\nOn Cinco de Mayo, the brand introduced Pinata Smash, which let you make your own pinata-smashing video with variables for the pinata, the filling and the smasher. The program didn\u2019t set the world on fire -- each video got in the five-digit range for views -- but it did suggest some new possibilities for YouTube as a social media marketing vehicle.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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