Unmetric analysed more than 1 million pieces of brand content to produce this list of the most engaging uses of social media in the last year.

If the ‘90s was the so-called golden age of television, 20 years down the line, the current decade will be recognized as the golden age of social media. Don’t buy it? Here’s why you should. At the moment a large portion of advertisers’ target universe is active and spending a large portion of its waking hours on social.

The space is ideal for brand advertising, especially since ecommerce aids in the possibility of an immediate sale and the dollar spend is a lot less than traditional media. If you can get 100 per cent viewership from followers on Instagram with no ad-spend, what’s not to love?

To create this list of the Top 25 brand moments from Asia in 2014, we analysed over 1 million pieces of micro-content published by brands in the form of Facebook posts, tweets, YouTube videos, Instagram posts, and so on. With brands taking social media this seriously and creating content regularly, we had a tough time picking just 25 of the top moments. To curate this list we looked at Unmetric’s engagement score, along with total interactions in terms of likes, retweets and views.

1. Thai Life Insurance Thailand – Unsung Hero

Get the tissues ready for this one. We see the protagonist of the video carrying out selfless deeds, and what he gets in return will leave you in tears. The message ties in beautifully to the insurance brand’s tagline. The video garnered over 25 million views and is the channel’s and industry’s most viewed video in Asia.

2. Dtac Thailand – The power of love

Another tearjerker from a brand in Thailand, this video shows a young man embracing fatherhood. While technology can connect and help people it will never replace love. This beautiful video touched the hearts of over 17 million viewers and went viral shortly after it was posted.

3. Sunsilk India - Highest Facebook fan growth

In just one year, Sunsilk India went from 1.1 million to 14.5 million fans, achieving the highest rate of fan growth on Facebook at 92 per cent.

4. Lifebuoy India – Help a Child Reach 5

Following the brand’s heartwarming campaign in 2013, Lifebuoy adopted another village in 2014 and promised to “Help a Child Reach 5”. Basing the campaign on the fact that many children pass away at a very young age simply due to lack of hygiene, the video captured the hearts of more than 11 million viewers.

5. McDowells’s India – Dhoni Sings for his Buddies

McDowells leveraged its brand ambassador, cricketer MS Dhoni, to promote its karaoke app and soda (advertising alcohol is banned in India). This got the brand over 7.8 million views on YouTube and was one of the more popular videos in India in 2014.

6. ToysRUs Singapore - Brand with the most new views

With a growth rate of 145 per cent and 50 million new views, ToysRUs Singapore achieved the highest YouTube channel growth rate in 2014 in Asia.

7. Emirates Middle East – All Time Greats

For the football World Cup, Emirates put together this humorous video with Ronaldo and Pele traveling the airline. The video went viral among fans are garnered over 7 million views.

8. Samsung Malaysia – Galaxy K

Samsung’s ad that introduced the Galaxy K (with a zoom camera) received over 1 million views and became one of the top five most viewed videos in the brand’s channel. Was it the short, 20-second format or the new feature that made this video tick? Let’s say a combination of the two.

9. Idea Cellular India – No Ullu Banaoing

The telecom brand had the whole country chanting the catchy phrase following this ad campaign. The video on YouTube garnered over 1 million views and became the most viewed video in the brand’s channel. The positioning of the company and the promise to keep people smarter really engaged the audience and made the video go viral.

10. Old Spice India - Most liked Facebook post

Quirky and funny. Those are the two ingredients Old Spice used to make its post the most liked Facebook update in all of Asia. Close to 420,000 Likes were received on the post.

11. Fastrack India - #KeepTripping

Fastrack knows how to target its market with excellently urban and crazy videos. The campaign was anchored with the hashtag #KeepTripping and was one of the top performing campaigns for both the brand and industry.

12. Ixigo India - Most shared Facebook post

In this smart video post, Ixigo showcases some of the coolest and useful travel hacks for smart travelers while also subtly tying in the travel planning site. More than 208,000 people shared the tips with their friends making this the most-shared brand Facebook post in 2014.

13. Nescafe Singapore – Creating Friendships

Taking the insight that people living in urban apartments can be antisocial and disconnected from neighbours, this video proved how a simple cup of coffee can break the ice and create friendships. The video garnered over 200,000 views and was one of the top campaigns in the food and beverage industry.

14. KFC Malaysia - Most engaging post in Malaysia

All fans of KFC needed was a melt in the mouth dish to warm their hearts and show their love for the QSR brand. This was the most engaging post in all of Malaysia, garnering more than 187,000 Likes.

15. McDonald’s Japan - Most retweeted tweet

McDonald’s gave its followers a chance to win a lottery with an amazing prize. All they had to do was retweet the brand’s tweet. 91,000 people did so.

￥100マックは税込み☆ http://t.co/NrakGaYauy @Love_McDをフォロー＆このツイートをリツイートで、 抽選で10名様にチキンクリスプ1年分 相当のマックカードをプレゼント♪5/26まで pic.twitter.com/kuMunMCNb3

— マクドナルド (@Love_McD) May 21, 2014

16. Pringles Korea – Most Commented Facebook Post

Pringles engaged its social community in Korea with a post that was able to trigger over 77,000 Comments, making it the most commented Facebook post in all of Asia in 2014.

17. Indian Super League - #isltrumps

Indian Super League used the hashtag #isltrumps over 42,000 times in the year. This is the highest usage of a particular hashtag by a brand in Asia.

Congratulations to the lucky winners of #ISLTrumps. Cool merchandise coming your way. Please DM your details. pic.twitter.com/dQxYxclEKX

— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) December 27, 2014

18. BMW Singapore – Most Engaging Facebook Post in Singapore

BMW cars + an exciting driving circuit on an island = an amazing outdoor experience + high social engagement. This equation sums up the automotive brand’s campaign. Identified with #BMWxDriveisland, the post gave the brand over 42,000 Likes, 4,000 Comments and a full engagement score of 1,000. It impressed the social community so much that it became the most engaging Facebook post in all of Singapore.

19. Cleobella Indonesia - Brand with the highest Instagram follower growth

The retail chain from Indonesia grew its follower base on Instagram from 17,000 to over 50,000. This gave the brand a growth rate of 191 per cent and made it the fastest-growing brand on the image-based social network.

 

Guys! We're on SNAPCHAT now! Follow us @cleobellababes for a peek inside the lives of the #BellaTribe // #Bali & Beyond! ������

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀C L E O B E L L A (@cleobella) on Jun 2, 2015 at 12:54pm PDT

20. Starbucks Japan – Most favorited tweet

Starbucks invited followers to try the green tea cream Frappuchino in this tweet. The novel drink and the image-centric tweet attracted over 20,000 Favorites and became the most favorited tweet in Japan.

みなさまから多くいただいたプディングのカスタマイズは、抹茶 クリーム フラペチーノ®でした。抹茶パウダーを多めにすると、抹茶プリンのような味わいに。もしよろしければ試してみてくださいね。それではよい週末を！ pic.twitter.com/Wb7XRO86v4

— スターバックス コーヒー (@Starbucks_J) October 3, 2014

21. Marina Bay Sands Singapore – Crack the Vault

Contests are a sure-fire way of generating engagement. The brand gamified this contest and asked fans to attempt opening “the vault”. While fans won a chance to meet the resort’s ambassador (David Beckham) and a free stay at the property, the brand won tons of engagement in the form of Likes, Comments and Shares.

22. Delhi Airport India - Tweet with the most replies

It seems like all users need is that small nudge and encouragement to share and they willingly participate. Much like Maybelline on Instagram, Delhi Airport on Twitter simply asked fans to participate in a contest by replying to a tweet. And over 13,000 did, with plenty of enthusiasm. With this, the brand’s tweet now stands as the tweet with the most replies in Asia in 2014.

#Contest #Day14 Spend time with loved ones to spread #FestiveAir, Define the image in one word & win daily pic.twitter.com/JQz5cxUK4T

— Delhi Airport (@Delhi_Airport) December 28, 2014

23. Maybelline India - Most commented Instagram Post

In this Instagram post where Maybelline invited followers to comment and share a few inspirational reasons about who they were born to be, the personal care brand received a huge 10,688 comments. That made this picture the most commented brand content on Instagram in Asia.

 

As Maybelline girls, we are Born With It, so tell us who you are #BornTo be in the comments below and WIN the biggest giveaway yet! Remember to use #BornTo! #MaybellineIndia #Contest #Makeup

A photo posted by Maybelline New York India (@maybellineindia) on Nov 26, 2014 at 2:49am PST

24. Ben & Jerry’s Singapore – Free Cone Day

Simple, to the point and…free ice cream! Why wouldn’t this post do well? What’s more, this was the most engaging post for the brand in all of 2014.

25. Malaysia Airlines - Most favorited Instagram post

In this respectful post referring to the MH17 tragedy, Malaysian airlines expressed its grief and support for the travelers.

 

It's time to come home - #staystrong #flyinghigh

A photo posted by Malaysia Airlines (@malaysiaairlines) on Aug 21, 2014 at 1:21am PDT

Ranjani Raghupathi is marketing executive at Unmetric. You can follow her on Twitter @ranjanithinks. Also, check out Unmetric's weekly Campaignasia.com column on the week's most successful social-media efforts by brands in Asia, Engagement Meter.