Leveraging video as part of your brand experience
Film and animation used to be a big (yes, expensive) undertaking often reserved for larger, cashed up brands. With advances in how we create and consume video content, these opportunities are now far more accessible. And not only that, your audience is demanding it – 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every single day.
If your customers aren’t able to engage with you via video content it’s fair to assume soon they may be engaging with someone else’s. This is of course influenced by your product/service and target audience’s needs. But no matter what, there is no denying the compelling case for video.
High-quality production is still important, but it can be achieved for far less than it used to be. And the real beauty lies in effective planning so you can slice and dice content so it can be reused across channels to improve the overall return on investment.
Here are a few of the most popular types of video we create for our clients. How could they apply to your business?
1. FLAGSHIP BRAND FILMS, AND CAMPAIGN FILMS
People want to understand the brands they engage with, and it’s essential to build an emotional connection with your audience. There isn’t a more powerful or succinct way to tell your story – and why you matter to your audience – than in film. It should be professionally scripted in terms of the overall narrative and beautifully shot. Although on the higher end in terms of cost than some of the options below, a brand film is a long-term asset you can use across many applications such as on your website, in-store, in presentations, and on your social channels. It can also be repurposed into shorter segments so you can use it more often. For example, dropping those segments into your 6-month content plan for use across social. Brand and campaign films are all unique, from Argyle Pink Diamond’s stunning journey from the Kimberley’s to the world stage (below), to the cheeky Aussie K-ROO campaign, to the emotive TVC for Nikolovski Lawyers.
2. ‘HOW TO’ VIDEOS AND ANIMATIONS
In any business, there is often information that needs to be repeatedly delivered to your target audience (not just customer, but also employees!). Think about the time it takes for that information to be delivered, repeatedly by a staff member. Think about the inconsistencies that creates, the impacts of any confusion, and even if delivered effectively, the time that this wastes multiplied out across a year. The return on investment is clear with capturing repeated processes/information in a video or animated format also called a ‘how to’ or explainer video. This can be used for a range of applications including customer onboarding or support, and staff inductions and ongoing training. Below is an example we scripted and animated to create clarity around the Sydney Airport check-in process.
3. SOCIAL CONTENT
By the end of 2019 80% of content consumed online will be video. And it’s fair to say that a huge portion of that is consumed on social. Working to a content strategy and content plan means you can create social media videos that are aligned to your objectives and created in cost-effective batches. The applications are infinite – here is an example we created to promote safe sex as part of our social media management for the NSW Health Play Safe initiative.
4. TENDERS AND HIGH-VALUE PRESENTATIONS
There are certain times when you really need to make an impact and make yourself stand out from others and leave a lasting impression. Integrating videos and animations into presentations can help reinforce key takeaways in a very engaging way, and save everyone from that ‘death by PowerPoint’ feeling. It can help to communicate complex concepts, in a simple and effective way. While we can’t share any examples here (they are by nature highly confidential) we can tell you that this does get amazing feedback and really adds value to the audience’s experience.
5. CASE STUDIES
Getting your customers or employees to convey genuine, heartfelt stories about your business is another fantastic way to use video. First up there are no talent costs which is always a winner. But more importantly, the content is so genuine and relatable to your target audience. You can see this in action in our Aura-Soma real stories.
6. SOCIAL SERIES
People enjoy bite-size pieces of content, from people and brands they respect. Perhaps a YouTube series is the right format for you to engage with your audience with regularity? Production wise these can vary from a high-end aesthetic to talking to the camera on your iPhone. Again it depends on your audience and brand. The end result just needs to be cohesive with what with your audience expects from you, and you need to be prepared to keep up the momentum. We are excited to launch our own series Branding Before Breakfast in the coming weeks so watch this space. In the meantime here is an example from the stop motion recipe series we created for Beerenberg.
Written by: Jodie de Vries
Published: February 13, 2019