Have you ever had one of those moments where you’re watching a brand’s web video and felt that the makers went a little too far with creative inputs? Chances are that you also felt unsure of what the brand was trying to convey. From the brand’s perspective, the entire purpose behind producing that video is lost with no real impact except for confused audiences.

The unfortunate truth is that with all the competition that brands are facing, the need to stand out is a little too critical to ignore. When that need becomes pressing, they end up going over to the dark side and bulking up on the ‘oomph’ factor in the videos rather than actually communicating effectively.

At what point do brands say enough is enough when it comes to creativity in videos? How can functionality become an intrinsic part of every video without losing out on unique treatments or approaches? Here are some of our thoughts on this.

The ideal way to decide where to draw the line between functionality and creativity would be to base it on the marketing specific outcomes that the video is expected to bring. Let’s consider for a second, the journey that a customer undertakes when making purchase decisions. This is a loop which indicates a repetitive process rather than the traditional sales funnel. Mapping these stages against the types of videos can help one clearly demarcate between where functionality should trump over creativity.

1. Consider

At the consideration stage, the potential buyer is considering his or her options. This is when awareness building is at its peak. Marketers should take the opportunity here to create videos that build awareness about the brand. Teasers or promo films can do wonders. Creativity can be higher at this stage because the point is to break through the existing clutter, stand out and grab attention.

2. Evaluate

Once the prospective customer has gained an idea of the brands on his consideration list, he begins to evaluate which option is better. At this stage, it is important to ply the individual with details about the product or service. Explainer videos work brilliantly here. Typically explainer videos should have a split of 75% functionality and 25% creative treatment. This is mainly because the individual is seeking information at this point and not fancy attention seeking gimmicks.

3. Purchase

At the purchase stage, the prospect has all the information and is almost convinced of his choice. The final prompt decides the purchase. This is where sales videos can shine. Sales videos need to typically be a combination of functionality and creativity. They need to reinforce information as well as provide a compelling call-to action. Unique ways of addressing why audiences should invest in the brand needs to be conveyed.

4. Experience

Once the customer has made a purchase, his positive experience needs to be maximized. At this point, marketers can choose to reach out to their customers and provide them videos such as tutorials and how-to so that they can learn to make best use of their purchase. Here again, the videos should feature maximum information and keep creative treatments to a minimum since the audience seeks information here. Marketers can also choose to advertise through videos for upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

5. Advocate

Once a positive experience has been reinforced, customers are usually willing to provide testimonials for the brand. Product review videos or testimonial videos are a logical option at this point. Not only is the customer willing to advocate at this stage, they also feel respected when their opinions are heard. Reviews and testimonial videos need to feature maximum information with minimal creative treatment. This is because reviews usually fare higher on credibility levels when other prospects are considering a purchase. Being too promotional and flashy would hurt the brand rather than help it.

6. Bond

When customer move beyond the advocacy stage, they seek to bond deeper with the brand. At this stage, they are receptive to knowing what makes the brand work, who are the people behind it, what does the organization believe in and so on. Organizational videos are exactly what customers want to see at this point. About us videos, interviews with senior management or board members, organizational culture videos and employee testimonials are options that can be explored.

While creativity is important in order to be heard amidst all the noise, random implementation of the same is never a good idea. Getting a good understanding of the intended marketing outcome as well as gaining a feel of industry and audience preferences will go a long way in helping video marketing professionals decide the levels of creative treatment to be incorporated.

The Balancing Act: While creativity is important in order to be heard amidst all the noise, random implementation of the same is never a good idea. Getting a good understanding of the intended marketing outcome and catering to audience preferences will go a long way in helping video marketing professionals decide the levels of creative treatment to be incorporated.

In the last few years, creative briefs all over the world for marketing video requirements have probably featured one common word – viral. After witnessing the success of videos that have previously gone viral, every marketer wants the same effect for his or her own video.  Well, who can blame them for wanting astoundingly high views, shares and social buzz from the videos? But is going viral, the only way to achieve that? Absolutely not!

Viral videos are the mirage that every marketer is chasing, blinded by the haze of severe competition. There’s no reaching that goal, because quite frankly, going viral isn’t a goal in itself. The quality of going viral is an effect of meeting the intended objectives of the video rather than a goal in itself. That is a very important distinction that marketers everywhere need to understand and accept. Once that is cleared away, businesses can then begin to focus on meeting some of the real objectives that videos should work towards. Here are a few.

 

The next time you write out a creative brief to create a brand video, open your mind and think beyond going viral. Work towards meeting the video’s objectives instead and watch your video get the recognition it deserves.

Imagine this. A brand marketer is seeking to make online videos to promote his brand. What would you recommend? A video detailing the nitty-gritties of the brand? Stop right there! There’s more than one way to skin a cat. With innovations multiplying by the day, video marketing professionals are finding newer snazzier ways to make their audiences pay close attention.

The practice of video marketing is unfolding in very intriguing ways. From explanatory videos to teasers and corporate videos to promotions, video marketing is increasingly featuring in marketing budgets all around the world. However, creating videos once in a while just to stir things up isn’t the best way to maximize RoI from them. Here’s how you can create a video marketing strategy for your brand.

For those of you who are skeptical, here are some facts and figures that will change your mind:

• Half the online population is watching a video everyday

• Users will stay longer on your site to watch a video if it educates them well about your product

• Shoppers are twice more likely to purchase a product after watching the video because it makes them more confident with their purchase decision

• Mobile users are likely to spend time on a video than on the product’s website

• Video is the most preferred type of content for digital marketers because it has the best ROI

But how does one go about creating impressive product videos? Here’s a quick guide:

Bulletproof Planning

The crucial first step to create a great product video is flawless planning. Once this stage is a success the rest will flow effortlessly.

[icon type=”forbid-2″/]Research

The first step is thorough research. Identify your target group, define and understand their problem or need, formulate a solution and make a connect while delivering the solution. You generally do this evaluation while creating the product. It is the same underlying check that your product video has to have as well.

[icon type=”light-bulb”/]Keep it Simple

Creating the right briefing document is essential for you as well as the entire team that is working with you on the video. The ideal thing is to keep it simple. However complex the product or solution might be, brief your idea in a couple of sentences.

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. - Albert Einstein 

[icon type=”gallery”/]Perfect Positioning

Positioning the video aptly among your competitors is of crucial importance. Are you challenging a big brand, or are you giving them a better pricing model or better features?

Focus on the message that will position your product well within space that you are working in.

[icon type=”spinner”/]Budget Wisely

We are often asked how much a video costs at the very first discussion. Here’s a question that we suggest instead:

How much value does the video generate for your product internally, externally, to your investors, and your target audience?

Does it add a wow factor to your product? Is it showcasing your brand to the world? Will it create and impact that you desire?

[note]Create the budget purely based on the value that it will generate with your audience.[/note]

Create

[icon type=”users”/]Freelance artist or a team?

Based on your requirements, determine if a freelancer or company is apt for your video. Factors include budget, receptivity, nature of video to be shot, reputation and so on. The right person should be able to interpret your brief correctly and recommend the best course of action. Choose a team that best fits your team.

[icon type=”compose”/]Scripting

All good videos are backed by great scripts. Convert the features to clear and definite benefits. Scripts that focus on the benefits of the product go a long way in improving brand recall.

Embed them into a creative storyline based on your use cases – use your personas, before & after scenarios, demonstrate life in the day of your target person, or just simply showcase the experience that your product delivers to the audience.

[note]Try to work towards the unique selling proposition of the product. It works as a great finish line to the video.[/note]

[icon type=”clock”/] How Long?

Remember to keep it as short as possible. The audience’s attention span is terribly short and according to research, the first ten seconds of a video make the biggest impression on the viewers. The whole motive behind watching a video is to be able to consume content quickly rather than reading it up your website.

[note]Aim for 00:30 seconds and do not cross a duration of 01:30[/note]

[icon type=”feather”/]Treatments

One can use various treatments to make a video – a dialogue driven script, narrative or just a musical. Similarly, there are numerous visual treatments to choose from – Character Animation, Stop-motion, Illustrative, Infographic, Art and Craft, Live Footage, Stock Footage, VFX, Compositing, 3D and the list is endless. Keep in mind that some treatments will require a bigger production team, equipment or specialists which will eat into your budgets. Choose a treatment wisely.

[note]Yes, unique treatments also help in getting your video viral. But focus on your message and don’t get dangled much with the treatment, leave it to the professionals.[/note]

Measure

Once the right channels have been identified, the video uploaded and shared across relevant social media channels, one needs to check how it is faring. The ideal way to do this is through effective analytics tools. Before that, it is important to define what success would mean to you – number of views, likes, shares, comments or clicks on links? Using this as a yardstick, you can measure the effectiveness of the video.

Yay! I have a great video that is doing well, what next? 

The lifetime of a video is closely linked to your product’s lifecycle and releases. If you have new features, a newer audience, a fresh campaign and set of newer goals for your product, your product has evolved. It’s time for a new video.

[note]

Product videos have stopped being an option, they have become a necessity. With target audiences who are constantly distracted with multitudes of messages, an effective product video will break the clutter and make the difference you need.

[/note]