As a specialist branding agency, we at Threerooms spend a lot of time planning and creating brand videos, but we’re aware that many people may not think of brand videos as much as we do.
You might be wondering what a brand video is and why you need one. In this insight, I’ll talk through everything you need to know about brand videos and we’ll take a look at some really good examples.
What are brand videos?
As a Marketing Manager, Business owner or any role involved in a business’ brand, you probably already have a sense of the need for some way to show off your brand and marketing messages in a way that is accessible to all of your stakeholders.
This is where a brand video is really useful. Following a brand launch, rebrand or a simple brand refresh, a brand video is often created to tie everything together in a short and accessible package that sells the brand in a clear and considered way. Or if you want to promote your brand and raise awareness, even without a rebrand, a brand video is a great opportunity to encompass your values and passion to your target audience.
Read more: 5 steps to planning your brand launch
Why do we need a brand video?
Due to the broadly accessible nature of brand videos, they can serve your brand in a number of different ways. Generally, a brand video strengthens your brand and helps to reinforce your values and marketing messages. The specific results of this differ depending on who’s watching…
New potential customers
Reach more people – Video is one of the most effective marketing tools at the moment. Stats show that we’re much more likely to engage with social posts that include a video than text-only posts or even text and image posts.
(source: https://www.wyzowl.com/video-social-media-2019/)
Build rapport – Brand videos that focus on key marketing messages and values are great at making a connection with new audiences to your brand. They are a great first touchpoint because they present your business’ why. As humans, we’re constantly looking for this why. We’re more likely to be open to a business’ what if we first understand the why.
Demonstrate substance – As we become more conscious consumers we are becoming more aware of the products we use and the businesses behind them. We’re more careful to invest in businesses that are socially and environmentally responsible and a brand video is a great way to begin this conversation with customers.
Existing customers
Strengthen brand loyalty – As we’ve discussed, a brand video is effective at communicating the why of a business. For an existing customer, this can have the effect of reinforcing their already positive feelings towards the brand.
Encourage sharing – Word of mouth promotion is an extremely important marketing tactic to consider and a brand video gives existing customers something tangible to share with like-minded friends.
Retention through a rebrand – Rebrands can often be alienating for loyal customers and clients. A brand video is a great way to re-familiarise your customer base with you following a rebrand. A new look and feel can be introduced as you reassure the customer that you still hold the same core values.
Employees
Increased job satisfaction – It has been shown by psychologists that once certain pay needs are required, our job satisfaction largely comes down other more intangible needs such as how valued we feel and how much of an impact we feel we are having. One of these intangibles is ‘whether we feel that what we are doing is worthwhile’. This is where a brand video and an effectively communicated why can make a huge difference to your workforce’s job satisfaction.
(source: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/causes-job-satisfaction-workplace-21851.html)
Investors
Present a vision – Beyond the markers of financial performance, a large part of what dictates investment is intangibles such as the market trend and the vision of the business. A brand video can help you to attract investment by clarifying your vision and positioning yourself in the market. Your brand video can also highlight the people behind your brand, another important intangible for investors to consider. The wildly successful entrepreneur, investor and speaking personality Gary Vaynerchuk has said that his investments are dictated by the jockey and the horse (the person/people and the product) and the confidence he feels in them to deliver their vision.
(https://www.inc.com/gary-vaynerchuk/vaynerchuk-gary-playbook-angel-investments.html)
Justify marketing spend – Deciding to invest company profits in a brand or rebrand project can often be met with scepticism or mixed opinions and even after a brand has been implemented, much of the intangible work can go unnoticed. Brand videos communicate the work of the branding project in a tangible way and can help key leadership members to appreciate the work that has been done.
Read more: how to get business branding right
3 features of a great brand video
1 – Communicate a brand’s why
As we’ve uncovered, the real value of an effective brand video is to communicate the essence of a brand, the why of the business. To do this, your brand video needs a well-thought-out script that engages the viewer, and presents your key marketing messages and values in a way that utilises your tone of voice.
These are key elements in the branding process so a brand video should simply be extending the work that has already been done to figure out the why of the business.
Voiceover vs text
The script can either be spoken as a voiceover or communicated on-screen using typography. Each has its benefits and drawbacks and the method of delivery will inform the writing of the script. Using a voiceover will allow you to get through a lot more content in the same amount of time as text on screen and can have a more human connection. Text on screen allows the video to still communicate when muted (such as on social media) and can more easily be translated into foreign languages.
2 – Show the whole picture
Another important requirement for an effective brand video is that it communicates the brand visuals in an engaging way. A brand video is a great place to show other brand elements such as photography, videography, pattern, colour, typography. This really gives a visual sense of your brand in full and can prime your audience so that they know what to look out for and associate with you in the future.
In our insight on ‘Motion in Branding’, Zoe talked through the importance of bringing a brand to life through the use of motion techniques including logo animations, kinetic typography and character animation. Your brand video should tie together all of these motion elements to communicate the intended feeling of your brand in motion on a larger scale.
Sidenote: It’s important, therefore, that all of your brand’s motion graphics share a common motion style. This is something to consider in the early stages of your brand launch, rebrand or brand refresh process; how will your brand move? So that when your different motion elements are combined, they complement and play off each other.
3 – Leave a positive impression
The brand videos that we create can vary largely in their look and feel. Some are light-hearted, playful and colourful, others are more serious, formal and can feature a limited colour pallet. No matter the mood of the brand video, we always want to leave the viewer with a positive impression of the brand.
This is done largely with the use of language and the overall message of the brand video but there are some other less obviously considerations that leave a viewer with a positive impression…
Consider the music and sound design
Rarely will a brand video be accompanied by silence so look for a soundtrack that both matches the brand and the message of the video. Sound effects that accompany the motion should also be considered. Although you may not consciously notice sound effects while watching a video, they are present in almost all videos and enhance the viewing experience.
Consider the content
Make sure that a brand video shows off your brand in its very best light. This consideration should inform the photos and videos you choose to include. They should always be bright and clear and show happy people, clean and tidy offices, and inviting scenes.
Consider the length
A vital part of respecting an audience’s attention is considering the length of a video. Brand videos should be as concise as possible to pique the viewer’s interest without indulging in long, self-aggrandising sections of content. We usually stick to 60 seconds with the absolute max length of a brand video being 90 seconds. In some cases, you may want to give a more detailed look into your brand which will take greater screen-time, but these kinds of videos stray outside of our definition of a ‘brand video’ as they tend to have a different style of editing and animation.
Consider a call to action
You may think that a call to action (CTA) isn’t necessary for a brand video as it doesn’t fit into the category of a targeted marketing video and it’s not directly promoting your product or service, but you’ll find that effective brand videos usually end on some sort of request or ask, no matter how small. The CTA for a brand video is usually for the user to engage further with the brand. This can be something like ‘Visit our website’, ‘Discover more’, ‘Find us on social’ or ‘Visit us instore’.
For brands with more advanced marketing strategies or with multiple distinct marketing personas, we sometimes create brand videos with variations. We can use much of the same content and combine it with altered messaging and a different CTA to create a collection of brand videos which can then be targeted at the different marketing personas.
Some of our favourite brand videos
Miro
We like:
Feel-good soundtrack
Bright, colourful engaging motion graphics
Briefly explains the problem
Pitches the product as the solution
Makes the product look like fun to use
Clear messaging
Interactive Investor
We like:
Simple, easily accessible approach
Shows lots of brand elements
Awwwards
We like:
Strong script, engaging
Shows cohesive motion graphics elements
Justifies the brand project
Read more: What are marketing audience personas?
Trulia
We like:
Human connection
Clear communication of product and vision
Humorous
Some of our brand videos
Hallam
Our aims:
Present a cutting edge tech firm
Communicate the meaning of the brand
Tell the brand story
Give an insight into the company’s process
InXpress
Our aims:
Present the hard work that went into the rebrand
Show all aspects of the new brand
Briefly give the business some context in the market
Ready to start your brand video?
An award-winning branding agency, Threerooms has spent over 15 years making brands stronger and businesses more successful. Whether modernising brands with meaning or crafting effective marketing campaigns, our amazing team is focused on delivering brand transformation while providing exceptional customer service.
Want to work together? Get in touch today.
