Portal A is a digital content company that creates branded 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 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
The studio created White Collar Brawler, an original digital series that ran for multiple seasons on TV with the Esquire Network.[8]
Portal A released Song Voyage, a comedy series shot in Asia following YouTube musical group The Gregory Brothers.[9] The show was distributed by Disney's Maker Studios, and earned over 30 million views, including the viral "Chicken Attack" music video.[10]
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.[11]
Portal A developed and produced 5 Minutes From Home,[12] a series starring Stephen Curry. The series received 6 million views[13] over its first three episodes. Lyft sponsored the second season[14] 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.[15] The film premiered at the opening night of South by Southwest[16] and was named Best Documentary at the GLAAD Awards.[17]
In 2020, Portal A announced the scripted original series Action Royale with Snap,[18] and released the 60-minute special Ultimate Home Championship with YouTube Originals.[19]
Branded Content
Portal A works with YouTube and Google[20] on social video campaigns, and with Lenovo, Target, Infiniti, Clorox, Amazon, Twitter, Sony Pictures, Procter & Gamble, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and others.[21]
Portal A is known for producing the annual YouTube Rewind, which has accrued over 1 billion views in aggregate[22][23] since 2011.[24] The company also produced YouTube Rewind 2018, noted as the most disliked video on YouTube.[25][26][27]
The company has worked with Clorox for multiple projects, including "Best Roommate Ever" with Stephen Curry and King Bach.[28] Portal A's work on the "#MotoMods + YouTube Heroes" campaign for Lenovo won a 2017 One Show Pencil.[29] 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.[30] 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,[31] and partnered with the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign to reach young voters in swing states.[32] In 2020, Portal A worked with the Joe Biden presidential campaign for a social media initiative called #ImVotingFor[33] and released the documentary film American Pathogen, about the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[34]
Recognition
In 2021, Portal A was named Agency of the Year by the Streamy Awards.[35] In 2023, Portal A was named Brand Entertainment Agency of the Year by Campaign US[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][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[41] and Business Insider wrote that Portal A is "a go-to for social video work for marketers anchored by influencers."[42]
^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)
