Portal A Interactive

Portal A

Company type	Independent
Industry	Media Development and Production
Founded	2009
Headquarters	San Francisco, Los Angeles
Key people	Zach Blume - Managing Partner Nate Houghteling - Executive Producer Kai Hasson - Creative Director
Number of employees	53
Website	http://portal-a.com/

Portal A is a social video content company that creates brand and original entertainment.[1][2] The company was founded in 2009 by three childhood friends, Nate Houghteling, Kai Hasson, and Zach Blume.[3] As of 2024, Portal A is independently owned.

In 2019, Portal A entered into a strategic partnership with Brent Montgomery and Jimmy Kimmel's Wheelhouse Entertainment,[4] with Wheelhouse taking a minority stake in the company.[5]

Original Content

The studio created White Collar Brawler, an original digital series that ran for multiple seasons on TV with the Esquire Network.[6]

Portal A released Song Voyage, a comedy series shot in Asia following YouTube musical group The Gregory Brothers.[7] The show was distributed by Disney's Maker Studios, and reached over 30 million views, including the viral "Chicken Attack" music video.[8]

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.[9]

Portal A developed and produced 5 Minutes From Home,[10] a series starring Stephen Curry. The series received 6 million views[11] over its first three episodes. Lyft sponsored the second season[12] 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.[13] The film premiered at the opening night of South by Southwest[14] and was named Best Documentary at the GLAAD Awards.[15]

In 2020, Portal A announced the scripted original series Action Royale with Snapchat Originals,[16] and released the 60-minute special Ultimate Home Championship with YouTube Originals.[17] In 2023, Portal A released Level Up with Stephen Curry[18], an episodic series with Snapchat Originals.

In 2023, Portal A announced Moonshots[19], a content fund for investing in independent projects with creators. In 2024, Portal A reported that they had allocated $1m in production and staff resources[20] to over 20 Moonshots projects.

Branded Content

Portal A works with YouTube and Google[21] on social video campaigns, and with Lenovo, Target, AT&T, Volkswagen, 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's work with Lenovo includes #CreatorOdyssey[32], a global creator campaign featuring artists from around the world.

Portal A has worked on a variety of political initiatives,[33] and partnered with the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign to reach young voters in swing states.[34] In 2020, Portal A worked with the Joe Biden presidential campaign for a social media initiative called #ImVotingFor[35] and released the documentary film American Pathogen, about the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[36]

Recognition

In 2021, Portal A was named Agency of the Year by the Streamy Awards.[37] In 2023, Portal A was named Brand Entertainment Agency of the Year by Campaign US[38].

Portal A was named Content Agency of the Year[39] by Digiday and named Video Agency of the Year by Digiday.[40] Portal A was named Digital Studio of the Year by Cynopsis,[41] a top Content Agency by The Drum [42]^[failed verification] and a finalist for Agency of the Year in the Streamy Awards in 2020.

Portal A was profiled by Adweek in its Portrait series[43] and Business Insider wrote that Portal A is "a go-to for social video work for marketers anchored by influencers."[44]

References

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. "Brent Montgomery's Wheelhouse Invests in Digital Studio Portal A (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
5. 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.
6. "How Esquire Network Was Sold on White Collar Brawler". 8 November 2013.
7. Hamedy, Saba (30 November 2016). "YouTube musical comedy group The Gregory Brothers launch new series". Mashable. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
8. schmoyoho (25 January 2017), Chicken Attack // SONG VOYAGE // Japan //, retrieved 21 February 2017
9. "Miami's Underground Dancers Get 'One Shot' on YouTube Red". Retrieved 8 March 2018.
10. Spangler, Todd (25 April 2018). "Stephen Curry to Relaunch YouTube Channel With Show Featuring His Postgame Chats With Guests". Variety. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
11. Stephen Curry (26 June 2018), Rudy Mancuso & Stephen Curry Drop a New Track | 5 Minutes from Home, retrieved 30 July 2018
12. 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.
13. Spangler, Todd (13 September 2018). "YouTube Orders LGBTQ Documentary About Pride Movement". Variety. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
14. "YouTube And Portal A's 'State of Pride' Chosen As Opening Night Feature For SXSW 2019". Tubefilter. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
15. "UPDATING: Award Recipients at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards". GLAAD. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
16. 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.
17. "NBA All-Star Stephen Curry to Host YouTube Competition Special 'Ultimate Home Championship'". www.tubefilter.com. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
18. "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
19. Hale, James (22 February 2023). "Portal A is dedicating a "Moonshots" fund to finance creators' indie projects". Tubefilter. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
20. Hale, James (22 November 2024). "Portal A has spent $1 million trying to make premium short-form work. Is it?". Tubefilter. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
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. "Lenovo collaborated with seven creators on a huge global art project—using a single laptop". Ad Age. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
33. "Portal A videos appeal to young voters". SFGate. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
34. Spangler, Todd (27 October 2016). "Hillary Clinton Campaign Enlists YouTube Stars for Fan-Surprise Videos (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
35. Wasserman, Todd. "Portal A: From The Playground To Campaigning For Biden For President". Forbes. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
36. Grove, Lloyd (15 September 2020). "How Jeffrey Wright Is Helping Expose Trump's Coronavirus Lies". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
37. @streamys (12 December 2021). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 January 2022 – via Twitter.
38. "Brand Entertainment Awards 2023: Brand entertainment agency of the year". PRWeek. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
39. "Digiday Awards on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
40. Hayes, Melissa (8 March 2019). "Complex, NBCU and Group Nine win at the Digiday Video Awards". Digiday. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
41. "Winners - Cynopsis Digital Model D Awards 2016". Cynopsis Digital Model D Awards 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
42. kieran.mceniff_691 (13 April 2016). "The Content Awards 2016". The Drum Awards. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
43. "Portal A Creates Branded and Original Content for the Next Generation of Digital". Retrieved 22 February 2017.
44. "A new breed of social-video specialists is stealing business from old-school, TV-obsessed ad agencies". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 March 2018.