Nick BuchheitWhen it comes to building strong brands that people fall in love with, no marketing format beats video. With their ability to visualize feelings, things and concepts, videos can help companies not only to showcase their products and services, but to convey their brand essence and brand story.
A great brand video can help you accomplish many things, such as:
- Generating demand for your products and services
- Increasing your audience and reaching new segments
- Strengthening your social media presence
- Increasing engagement in your social media channels
- Driving more traffic to your website and increase time spent on page
- Driving conversions and sales
- Increasing trust in your brand and products
- Strengthening your employer brand and start attracting top talent
- Building viral campaigns and drive word-of-mouth marketing
Related reading: Corporate Branding Video Production – A Complete Guide
What Is Brand Video Content
Brand video content can be defined as marketing video content created by a brand that does not directly promote or advertise the brand per se. You could say that brand video content aims to monetize the positive associations built by telling the brand story and conveying the brand values rather than hard-selling or self-promotion.
Benefits of Brand Video Content
- Highly engaging: We live in an age of information overload, and most of us have grown very good at filtering out and avoiding ads and marketing messages. However, when marketers create the kind of brand video content that their target audience actually wants and appreciates — which can mean funny, educational, or entertaining videos — they stand a much better chance of catching and retaining viewers’ attention.
- Non-disruptive: By offering engaging experiences and stories rather than selling, brand video content is less likely to annoy viewers. Instead, they can add value and contribute to the conversation while helping build interest and brand affinity.
- Emotive: The best-performing brand videos are driven by strong narratives. They leverage storytelling to inform, entertain, and communicate, which is the most effective way to build authentic and memorable connections with your audiences.
- Authentic: By not being overly-salesy, brand video content conveys a different level of authenticity. Brand video content offers companies a way to show that they are knowledgeable and trustworthy to be listened to.
- Highly shareable: Branded video content can help you flip the marketing dynamic and give your viewers a reason to help share your brand’s content with friends and colleagues.
Related reading: Build Brand Loyalty With Organic Youtube Video Promotion
Brand Video Content – Best Practices
Get clear on your goals and objectives
Start with the end in mind. What are you looking to achieve with your brand video? What do you want your audience to feel and do once they’ve seen it? Are you looking to increase brand awareness, build a viral social media campaign, or increase trust in your brand? Knowing your goals and objectives beforehand is essential.
Define your target audience
To create efficient brand video content, it’s essential to know who you’re making it for. Who will watch it, and what does your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) look like? When creating brand videos, it’s crucial to know this. Defining your target audience will also help your video agency understand what type of brand video content and storytelling will resonate with them.
Things to consider when describing your target audience include:
- Age
- Occupation
- Aspirations
- Challenges
- Pain points
- Budget
- Location
Pick what channels you will use for distribution
Across all digital platforms, videos are the most appreciated type of content. It’s also the most efficient format for turning viewers into customers and building brand affinity. But depending on your target audience, the different channels will be more or less relevant.
Knowing where you plan to distribute your content and where your target audience prefers to consume it is vital from the beginning. Even if your brand message may be the same regardless of the platform, the different channels have their own specific characteristics. The Tone of Voice and the type of storytelling you use will differ if you plan to publish it on TikTok, LinkedIn, or Youtube.
Related reading: Marketing Video Production – Ten Ways To Promote Your Videos
Focus on your core message – from the customer’s perspective
One of the most common mistakes when drafting brand video storylines is to include too much information. For your brand message to stick, you need to keep it short, clear, and concise.
Another common pitfall is to use an inside-out perspective instead of an outside-in approach. This means many brands are stuck talking about themselves and their product’s fantastic. When what they should be focusing on is telling customers about the value their brand brings. Not how great the product is, but how awesome it will make the buyer’s life.
Related reading: What To Include In Your Brand Video – And What To Leave Out
Write a clear and comprehensive creative brief
Your creative video brief summarizes all the things above and then some. This is where you describe what kind of video you want to create and communicate your objectives to your creative video production agency. The brief is then there to guide your team and your agency through the project and ensure everyone is on track and moving in the same direction.
The following things are helpful to include in the creative brief:
- Introduction
- Project Overview
- Project Objectives
- Target Audience
- Channels and Distribution
- Competitive Overview
- Message and Style
- Brand Guidelines
- Tone of Voice
- Budget
- Timeline and Deadlines
Related reading: Video Brief Template: How To Write a Winning Creative Brief for Video Production
Leverage Storytelling to Get The Attention of Your Audience
Every brand has a story to tell; you just need to find and articulate it. As humans, we relate to the world around us through.
- What do you want the viewer of your brand video to know?
- How can you help them understand who you are as a company?
- What story can you tell to get through to them?
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes to understand what will capture their interest and get your message across. Telling an engaging story that creates connections on an emotional level is always way more potent than listing features and USPs.
Related reading: Why Your Story Matters – And How To Tell It in a Brand Video
How Much Does Brand Video Content Cost?
So, you know you want brand video content. Now, how much does it cost? Of course, there’s no one easy answer to that question. The price of your brand video will depend on many factors, and the total cost includes things like:
- Production Fees
- Insurance
- Talent casting and fees
- Hair, makeup, and styling
- Catering for the crew and staff
- All technical equipment
- Art and props
- Post Production
However, you’re in luck! We’ve created a video production pricing sheet to allow you to understand better the different costs involved and how to invest in this medium: The Definitive Video Production Pricing Sheet for 2022
Creativity Is Key In Brand Video Production
Brand video production is perhaps the best marketing investment you can make when you’re looking to maximize your ROI. But some marketing teams are wary of video production, worrying it will be too expensive. Many people will, by default, associate video production with massive productions and giant sets.
And sure, slick productions and special effects are cool, but they’re not what will attract your audience’s attention. Before you start thinking about production styles, you need to understand what story it is you want to tell. And then find a new and inspired way to tell it that your audience has not seen already a million times.
The size of your budget is not your video’s most critical success factor. It’s the creative concept. Partnering with a creative and innovative video production agency, and letting them make something that truly stands out and gets noticed, is the best way to get the most bang for your buck.
Related reading: Invest In Creative to Optimize Your Video Production Budget
Best Brand Videos – Some Examples To Be Inspired By
At Covalent, we produce brand videos in a lot of different styles. From docu-style shoots and live-action videos to animated explainer videos and stop motion films. Every brand is unique and deserves a unique brand video. Let’s have a look at some of our favorites!
Dollar Bank – The Road of Life
For this project, we were brought in to create Dollar Bank’s new TV & Social Media videos for their “DO” campaign. This campaign targets millennials and centers around the question, “What are you going to DO with your Life?” The message is that whatever you desire, Dollar Bank can help you get there, whether you’re an individual, a small business, or a family.
We created a total of 5 brand videos for the DO campaign involving real small businesses, locations, and people. It was essential to create something authentic to make the stories resonate with the millennial audience, which is why we pushed for using real individuals from the geographical areas Dollar Bank is targeting. This campaign has been widely seen and well-received in the regions where it has aired on TV and social media.
World Trade Center – Animated Explainer
The World Trade Centers Association hired us to create this Brand Video with the purpose of increasing awareness of the benefits of being a WTCA member. Since they are a global brand with offices worldwide, the best option for this case was to create an animated explainer video, using visuals to explain all their unique benefits.
We also included testimonials from current WTCA members and developers, sharing their enthusiasm for the partnerships. The animated explainer format allowed us to bring the WTCA story to life in an accessible and branded way.
Techstars – Entrepreneurs
Here, we worked with TechStars to produce a series of brand videos for sales, recruitment, and brand awareness. This particular one is a Brand Video highlighting the experience of some of the entrepreneurs who were accepted into and joined the Techstars accelerator program.
Focusing on their personal experiences, we tell their story in an authentic and captivating docu-style format. TechStars has used this video to explain its mission and get more submissions for its accelerator program.
Related reading: Corporate Branding Video Production – A Complete Guide
Partner With An Award-Winning Creative Video Production Agency
Choosing the right brand video production agency will impact the effectiveness of your video marketing campaigns. Ideally, you should find a production agency that can be a long-term partner for all your marketing and brand video needs. This will ensure a coherent style and tone of voice and give your agency a chance to really get to know your business and objectives.
Related reading: 5 Steps To Choosing The Right Corporate Video Production Company
At Covalent, we combine extensive experience with a marketing mindset and business acumen. We’re happy to help you produce everything from advertising commercials and brand videos to explainer videos and docu-style shoots.
We work closely with you from ideation and all the way to execution to ensure you get the brand video content that will help you stand out from your competition. Combining many years of experience with cutting-edge creativity, we have received numerous awards and accolades over the years.
At Covalent, we can help you create a winning video marketing strategy. Get in touch to explore how we can make your brand come alive with authentic video content.