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Portal A Interactive

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Portal A
Company typeIndependent
IndustryMedia Development and Production
Founded2009
HeadquartersSan Francisco, Los Angeles
Key people
Zach Blume - Managing Partner
Nate Houghteling - Executive Producer
Kai Hasson - Creative Director
Number of employees
53
Websitehttp://portal-a.com/

Portal A is a digital content company that creates branded and original entertainment.[1][2] The company was founded by three childhood friends, Nate Houghteling, Kai Hasson, and Zach Blume.[3] As of 2024, Portal A is independently owned with offices in SoMa and Downtown Los Angeles.[4][5]

In 2019, Portal A entered into a strategic partnership with Brent Montgomery and Jimmy Kimmel's Wheelhouse Entertainment,[6] with Wheelhouse taking a minority stake in the company.[7]

Original Content

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Portal A's originals division is represented by WME.[8] The studio created White Collar Brawler, an original digital series that ran for multiple seasons on TV with the Esquire Network.[9]

Portal A released Song Voyage, a comedy series shot in Asia following YouTube musical group The Gregory Brothers.[10] The show was distributed by Disney's Maker Studios, and earned over 30 million views, including the viral “Chicken Attack” music video.[11]

The studio released One Shot on Youtube Red in February 2018, an unscripted special with WilldaBeast Adams on a journey to find the next underground dance star.[12]

Portal A developed and produced 5 Minutes From Home,[13] a series starring Stephen Curry. The series received 6 million views[14] over its first three episodes. Lyft sponsored the second season[15] of 5 Minutes From Home.

In 2018, Portal A announced State of Pride for YouTube Originals, a documentary feature film directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.[16] The film premiered at the opening night of South by Southwest[17] and was named Best Documentary at the GLAAD Awards.[18]

In 2020, Portal A announced the scripted original series Action Royale with Snap,[19] and released the 60-minute special Ultimate Home Championship with YouTube Originals.[20]

Branded Content

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Portal A works with YouTube and Google[21] on social video campaigns, and with Lenovo, Target, Infiniti, Clorox, Amazon, Twitter, Sony Pictures, Procter & Gamble, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and others.[22]

Portal A is known for producing the annual YouTube Rewind, which has accrued over 1 billion views in aggregate[23][24] since 2011.[25] The company also produced YouTube Rewind 2018, noted as the most disliked video on YouTube.[26][27][28]

The company has worked with Clorox for multiple projects, including "Best Roommate Ever" with Stephen Curry and King Bach.[29] Portal A's work on the "#MotoMods + YouTube Heroes" campaign for Lenovo won a 2017 One Show Pencil.[30] In 2018, Portal A won the Streamy Award for Best Branded Content and the Streamy Award for Best Influencer Campaign for its work with Clorox.[31] In 2020, Portal A released Let's Target with Target featuring Laverne Cox, Tabitha Brown, Emma Chamberlain and others.

Portal A has worked on a variety of political initiatives,[32] and partnered with the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign to reach young voters in swing states.[33] In 2020, Portal A worked with the Joe Biden presidential campaign for a social media initiative called #ImVotingFor[34] and released the documentary film American Pathogen, about the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[35]

Recognition

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In 2021, Portal A was named Agency of the Year by the Streamy Awards.[36]

Portal A was named Content Agency of the Year[37] by Digiday and named Video Agency of the Year by Digiday.[38] Portal A was named Digital Studio of the Year by Cynopsis,[39] a top Content Agency by The Drum [40] and a finalist for Agency of the Year in the Streamy Awards in 2020.

Portal A was profiled by Adweek in its Portrait series[41] and Business Insider wrote that Portal A is “a go-to for social video work for marketers anchored by influencers.”[42]

References

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  1. ^ "We make videos for the Internet. And you". Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  2. ^ Tate, Ryan. "Constructing This Summer's Viral Video Hit". Wired.
  3. ^ "Portal A videos appeal to young voters". SFGate. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  4. ^ Longwell, Todd (12 April 2017). "Los Angeles' New Tech Scene Flourishes Downtown". Variety. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Offices | Portal A | Video for the Digital Age | San Francisco, Los Angeles". Portal A | Video for the Digital Age | San Francisco, Los Angeles. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Brent Montgomery's Wheelhouse Invests in Digital Studio Portal A (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  7. ^ Coffee, Patrick (10 January 2019). "Wheelhouse Entertainment and Partner Jimmy Kimmel Buy a Minority Stake in Content Agency Portal A". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  8. ^ "WME Signs Digital Studio Portal A". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  9. ^ "How Esquire Network Was Sold on White Collar Brawler". 8 November 2013.
  10. ^ Hamedy, Saba (30 November 2016). "YouTube musical comedy group The Gregory Brothers launch new series". Mashable. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  11. ^ schmoyoho (25 January 2017), Chicken Attack // SONG VOYAGE // Japan //, retrieved 21 February 2017
  12. ^ "Miami's Underground Dancers Get 'One Shot' on YouTube Red". Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  13. ^ Spangler, Todd (25 April 2018). "Stephen Curry to Relaunch YouTube Channel With Show Featuring His Postgame Chats With Guests". Variety. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  14. ^ Stephen Curry (26 June 2018), Rudy Mancuso & Stephen Curry Drop a New Track | 5 Minutes from Home, retrieved 30 July 2018
  15. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (14 March 2019). "Stephen Curry's '5 Minutes From Home' Sets Joel Embiid, Daveed Diggs And Others As Guests For Season 2". Deadline. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  16. ^ Spangler, Todd (13 September 2018). "YouTube Orders LGBTQ Documentary About Pride Movement". Variety. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  17. ^ "YouTube And Portal A's 'State of Pride' Chosen As Opening Night Feature For SXSW 2019". Tubefilter. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  18. ^ "UPDATING: Award Recipients at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards". GLAAD. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  19. ^ Spangler, Todd (11 June 2020). "Snapchat Renews Content Deals With Disney, ESPN, NBCU and More; Unveils Original Shows From Kevin Hart, Catherine Hardwicke". Variety. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  20. ^ "NBA All-Star Stephen Curry to Host YouTube Competition Special 'Ultimate Home Championship'". www.tubefilter.com. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Work | Portal A | Video for the Digital Age | San Francisco, Los Angeles". Portal A | Video for the Digital Age | San Francisco, Los Angeles. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  22. ^ "A Few of Our Partners and Friends". Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  23. ^ Watercutter, Angela. "How YouTube Crammed an Entire Year Into Its Epic Rewind Video". Wired.
  24. ^ "The Folks Behind YouTube Rewind Video Are Portal A". AdAge. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  25. ^ "Close To 300 Creators Recreate 2017's Top Online Video Trends In Latest Edition Of YouTube Rewind - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  26. ^ "YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind". YouTube. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  27. ^ "Inside the Making of YouTube's End-of-Year Video and the Company Behind It". adage.com. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  28. ^ Spangler, Todd (13 December 2018). "YouTube Rewind 2018 Officially Becomes Most-Disliked Video Ever". Variety. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  29. ^ "Brita uses social influencers to target millennials - Think with Google". Think with Google. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  30. ^ "Lenovo / Moto Mods + YouTube Heroes". www.oneclub.org. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  31. ^ "Portal A, Kevin Hart, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Honored At First 'Streamys Brand Awards'". Tubefilter. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  32. ^ "Portal A videos appeal to young voters". SFGate. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  33. ^ Spangler, Todd (27 October 2016). "Hillary Clinton Campaign Enlists YouTube Stars for Fan-Surprise Videos (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  34. ^ Wasserman, Todd. "Portal A: From The Playground To Campaigning For Biden For President". Forbes. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  35. ^ Grove, Lloyd (15 September 2020). "How Jeffrey Wright Is Helping Expose Trump's Coronavirus Lies". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  36. ^ @streamys (12 December 2021). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  37. ^ "Digiday Awards on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  38. ^ Hayes, Melissa (8 March 2019). "Complex, NBCU and Group Nine win at the Digiday Video Awards". Digiday. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  39. ^ "Winners - Cynopsis Digital Model D Awards 2016". Cynopsis Digital Model D Awards 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  40. ^ kieran.mceniff_691 (13 April 2016). "The Content Awards 2016". The Drum Awards. Retrieved 9 March 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  41. ^ "Portal A Creates Branded and Original Content for the Next Generation of Digital". Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  42. ^ "A new breed of social-video specialists is stealing business from old-school, TV-obsessed ad agencies". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
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