Vine has thrust the frontier of possibility in the online video realm further than anyone could have imagined. Pundits predicted death knells for the app as soon as Instagram announced its competitive video feature. However, the platform has not only maintained its relevance to consumers, but is emerging as the preferred video platform for brands.

Seamless video playback on both web and mobile versions of the platform and the platform’s distinctive loop feature seem to be Vine’s major selling points. The platform also allows for low production costs and a quick turnaround of content, making it ideal for producing current, relevant, digestible video-bites. The rigid six-second format could have proved to have a limiting effect on branded content, but instead we’ve seen brands get uber creative in incorporating vine-tech into their marketing strategies.

Watch how VISA stayed relevant with their Sochi Vine:

Intel also kept it current and managed to encapsulate the entire essence of its “Look Inside” campaign with this clip.

Vine’s ability to generate earned media on platforms outside of its own has also proved to be a major plus for the platform. Whether it’s YouTube compilations or individual posts shared on Twitter or Facebook, Vines are seldom shared purely on Vine. Brands also seem to be converging on the platform due to its focus on the mobile sector, which is set to escalate by 16-fold this year according to Search Engine Watch.

What is perhaps most interesting about brands on Vine is their insistence on being categorized more as publishers than advertisers. They’re positioning themselves as friends, influencers and trendsetters rather than companies selling something. While this could be said about brands on a variety of social media platforms, Vine seems to be an extremely potent manifestation of this trend. AmEx has branded itself as the “curator of cool” with its well-timed Vine updates on both restaurant week and fashion week, for instance. Check out this “activity-generator” Vine from Target.

Target

This Vine below from Intel puts its brand firmly on the consumer end of the market. It doesn’t advertise some swanky tech-cessory, but instead embraces the DIY trend. As the popularity of user-generated beauty content on YouTube demonstrates – user hacks and testimonials are extremely popular with consumers. Beauty brands are losing out to the Michelle Phans of the digi-verse because a model flaunting expertly applied eye-shadow is far less useful than a video walking you through how to make the look on your own. Intel demonstrates its astute understanding of consumer mentality by lending a distinct user-generated content feel to its Vine.

Intel

Vine content is also fast becoming multi-platform relevant. This Dunkin Donut spot was repurposed from Vine and aired on TV, due to its immense popularity. Brands like Trident and Nissan are also reportedly planning to chart a similar advertising path.

Dunkin Donuts

Vine is also proving to be an extremely popular platform in the 1.5 trillion dollar global fashion industry. Capturing movement in a photograph has long been a pillar of fashion photography. Whether it’s the draping of a gown or the swing of a trapeze hem, movement is considered essential to capturing the beauty of couture.

America’s Next Top Model incorporated movement into still photography with its use of the “flixel” last season and Vogue recently published an editorial about Vine’s industry-wide relevance: “Vine gives the fashion moment a frantic six-second-long burst of energy—approximately the time it takes for most designers to bow at the end of the runway, for example,” claims Chioma Nnadi, in her article for the magazine.

The applicability of the platform is endless (imagine Vines playing on loop on the video billboards in Times Square, for instance). The only way is up for this versatile app.