Casual · Creative intelligence
What makes B2B film work.
We study the films companies publish and what they earn. These papers share what we found. Read any of them in full, with no form to fill in.
New research · October 2026
We audited more than 1,600 company YouTube channels. This is what we found.
A year of uploads from the channels of the Fortune 500, the Global 2000 and the FTSE 100, plus 129 fast-growing brands.
72%
of the views on big companies’ uploads look paid for.
About 7x
Channels that earn their views have about seven times the subscribers per view.
12 of 17
How-to series beat the rest of their channel in 12 of 17 tests. Event series did in none of 13.
Read the paper See your channel against it
Read through the YouTube API, 26 to 28 September 2026. Views that look paid for: 5,000+ views with likes under 0.1% of views, a signal rather than proof of spend.
All our research
October 2026 · 12 pages
We audited more than 1,600 company YouTube channels. This is what we found.
What a year of uploads shows about the films people choose to watch.
- 72% of the views on big companies’ uploads look paid for.
- About 7x the subscribers per view on channels that earn their views.
- 12 of 17 how-to series beat the rest of their channel. Event series: none of 13.
For heads of content, social and brand who run a company channel.
October 2026 · 12 pages
The case for human storytelling.
Why B2B film needs more human stories, and how to make them well.
- 7 in 100 B2B video ads on LinkedIn show any human emotion.
- 1.56% against 1.58%: B2B viewers on YouTube like what they watch as often as consumer viewers do.
- 19 of 22 award winners we studied had a protagonist, against 7 of 28 films with no award found.
For brand and creative leads, and anyone writing a brief for a film.
October 2026 · 12 pages
Why it’s worth investing in video.
How film compares with other formats, and why the creative matters more than you’d think.
- 95% of the time, B2B buyers choose from their day-one shortlist.
- 58% of B2B marketers named video among the formats that got their best results.
- 12x how much more the best creative can return than the worst, across about 7,000 UK campaigns.
For people who commission film, and the finance and leadership teams they need to convince.
How we do the research
We read the channels ourselves
1,621 company and brand YouTube channels, a year of uploads each, read through YouTube’s own data from 26 to 28 September 2026.
A second reader checks every figure
Someone who didn’t write the paper checks each number against its source before it goes out.
We drop the statistics that don’t hold up
We keep a list of popular video statistics that fall apart when checked, and we never use them.
Twenty years of making films
Casual Films, founded 2006: 5,704 finished films and cuts for 805 clients, from eight offices in seven countries.
Every page of every paper names its source. Where a figure is our own, the paper says how we measured it.
For your own company
See which of your posts and films your audience already responds to, set against your five competitors.
The papers show the patterns across big companies. A First Look shows them for you.
What you get
- What’s working already, and what your audience responds to
- Your YouTube channel against five competitors and this benchmark
- What people say under your films
- A few quick fixes, and three bigger ideas to think about
- Three ways to make your budget go further
- Three questions for your team
- A 30-minute call to walk you through it
How it works
- Tell us about your company.
- We reply with a yes or a no within one working day.
- Your First Look arrives within five working days of our yes.
- We walk you through it on a call.
We make four a month, because each one takes about a day of reading and checking. It is for B2B companies that already publish films on YouTube or LinkedIn. If you already work with Casual, ask your own team.
Ask for a First Look
Get the next paper
One email when each new paper is out, from a real person at Casual. Stop them any time.
Questions
Do I have to fill in a form to read a paper?
No. Every paper opens in full. The forms on this page are only for the next paper by email, or for a First Look.
Can I share them?
Yes. Send them on, post them, or use a chart in your own deck with a credit to Casual Films.
Where do the numbers come from?
Every page names its source. Our own figures come from public data we read ourselves, mostly company YouTube channels read through YouTube’s own data, and a second reader checks each one.
What does “looks paid for” mean?
An upload with 5,000 or more views and likes on fewer than 0.1% of them. It is a signal from likes, and it doesn’t prove anyone paid.
Can you look at our own films?
Yes, through a First Look. If you already work with Casual, ask your own team.