Advertising commercials and marketing videos used to be a very straightforward part of the film production industry – and one where budget and production realities often came a distant second to concept.

For the most part the reason for this was simple… there were very limited opportunities to place moving images, mostly TV and cinemas, and there were few production companies able to deliver the quality and technical sophistication demanded by agencies for national communications. Then came the explosion of cheaper and cheaper production equipment with ever greater capabilities that made access to talent and techniques much easier – matched to the growth of a video able Internet and many other viewing outlets.

Today advertising and marketing agencies have a mass of platforms to work with and options for production – as do their end clients, in-house and through “production agency” companies.

Options to carry these programs run all the way from trucks with large screens driving around town, massive screens at sports events and concerts, tiny screens at gas stations and in the back of cabs, cinemas, hotel networks, restaurants, and of course, every type of Internet and broadcast TV network globally. These are a few of the type of programs that fall under that ever spreading advertising and marketing umbrella… some of which cross over with those under the corporate banner as these boundaries blur.

Your brand video should be a perfect capsule of who you are and what you do and why you do it – a portrait of your brand. It should sit in pride of place on your website home page, play on a monitor in your reception area, be a link in the address on your email, seen by everyone you come in touch with.

It tells your brand story, defines your values and what you stand for, links to your heritage, or simply says what you do, and why and how you are different from the rest of the pack. It is your flagship piece of video content, relatively short, sharp and to the point, but has depth and a quality level synonymous with how you want your company to be seen.

It concisely and accurately replaces the 1000 variations chinese whisper explanation of who you are given by your people.

Social Media videos are those that spend much of their lives on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, YouTube and a million Blog sites. 69% of all global consumer internet traffic is video – and that was in 2017! Putting aside the cats and jumping off roofs in a wheelie bin videos Social Media programs are a key factor in a corporation being seen, and being able to tell a message of some sort to affect how viewers behave.  In fact viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to only 10% who read it.

What’s more they are an open playing field for your creativity – a Social Media video should be relatively short, can be factual or off the wall, can focus on an event, a program, a project, a product or just build some strange concept, and they are often most successful when they are emotive. They can be deliberately cheap or very well produced depending on the image you want to project. They can be single pieces or web series. But they should always offer branded content that has some sort of story value that the viewer wants to share with others. Social Media videos offer the greatest return when they use the pyramid concept of marketing – allowing every viewer to be your salesperson in spreading your message.

The Exhibition video is a very particular beastie, it acts like a visual grappling hook – designed to catch the attention of everyone who is passing by your booth or attending your live event, and stop them in their tracks, before dragging them on board.  It tends to be product or service specific, to not require a spoken word soundtrack, to be capable of looping, and to sizzle and excite. It is tailored to a specific audience, and so can be very targeted with a known level of understanding and knowledge and so can be in depth. It should be long enough to hold a viewer’s attention until they can be spoken to, and not to tell a complete story so the viewer doesn’t have questions.

In many cases a strong, impactful Exhibition video is the gateway to the event’s success for any company.  The Conference or Convention video is a slightly different product, usually with a high motivational value and a lot of sizzle, but again it is an open for a live presenter to complete the story, rather than a complete story in itself.

The Email Marketing video exists because of one simple statistic – an email with a video in it has a 200% to 300% increase in click through rate.  An email just with the word video in the subject line boosts open rates substantially. And an email with a photo and symbol link to play that video on a web page takes all of those viewers straight to where you can provide extra information, call to action or directly make a sale.

Email videos have to be story driven, they have to offer something that turns the reader into a viewer, something that they want to see, and to do this with subtlety they should be of as high a quality as a good commercial.  Get this right and they are forwarded to also become Social Media videos – a marketing double whammy!

Generally speaking testimonials are not the most exciting things to read in the world – but they provide a proof that the product works, the service has value, that you are honest and can be trusted that nothing else can do so easily. Many Testimonial videos are the same way – boring!  Often there is a perception that an effective testimonial should be an unedited clip shot by the new kid with the big hair on his DSLR camera… that no budget means real.

We see things a little differently to that – because we believe that the testimonial is a terrific thing, and has the ability to tell a perfect little story that is very engaging indeed. But to do that it has to tell the whole story, not just the “they are great” piece.  So we like to take several testimonial interviews, carefully direct and shoot them, and often edit them together as overlapping parts of a single success story… often including your own people in the telling. This turns that boring concept into a small documentary film that is even more believable but can also be entertaining to watch, and potentially forward to others.

79% of consumers have the same trust in online reviews as they do in personal recommendations. Combined with visual reinforcement, social proof can have a tremendous effect on potential customers. But it has to feel authentic. It can’t feel forced or scripted.

Most corporate websites have an FAQ section to answer the most asked queries about their brand, product or service. These are supposed to replace a face to face conversation with an expert, but often they are as frustrating and unintelligible as that tech support chat you have with the Stan in India which goes nowhere after the half hour wait. Often the reason why is because they have to use a small number of words to answer a complex question that can’t be achieved in a small number of words.

An FAQ or Information video provides a way to answer several aspects of a question in one short experience that has a human face, is always consistent and allows you to also see the product or service in action.  In fact these can often serve a double purpose as sales support videos on a web site because they do concisely explain what can be done and show how easily this can happen.

After watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online* so instead of crafting compelling but long-winded product descriptions why not use video to showcase the product or service and how it works? This is especially effective if you have a lot of different features that can be hard to explain. Videos of this type can feature an actor or employee showing the product, an animation or even a whiteboard animation style video.

Product videos tend to be a bit more in depth and technical than explainer videos. They are good for when your company sells multiple products or wants to demonstrate the product to potential purchasers. These videos should be detailed, and showcase exactly how the product or services work and how your customers can (or, in the case of the video below, cannot) use it. This doesn’t mean that they have to be overly complicated, though. Sometimes a simple demonstration works best, such as in Blendtec’s ongoing product video series, “Will it blend?”

Corporate Social Responsibility is a big part of many companies’ culture and ethos. Showing what initiatives your brand spearheads or takes part in is a great way to show potential clients and customers a little bit more about who you are and what you stand for. Many people take a companies’ ethics into account when choosing who to do business with, so showing what you do to make a difference in the world is a good way to build trust.

Samsung partner with a volunteer organisation to bring solar power to areas where electricity is scarce. This video shows the benefits that initiative brings.

Short docs can dig into authentic, true stories from your customers while connecting on an emotional level with your audience. These creative marketing videos shouldn’t be selling or entirely focused on your brand, but should tell a powerful, inspiring story. This type of video content is usually meant to promote brand awareness rather than to move customers down the funnel. No matter what tone you decide to take in them, branded short docs need to feel authentic and personal.

Audiences can pick and choose what to watch and when to watch it, so corporate videos can’t be stuffy. Produce creative marketing videos where you talk about your brand as a company without being boring or overly professional. In “Our Blades are F***ing Great,” Dollar Shave Club nails the corporate video with humor that borders on the absurd. Their growth skyrocketed after they started filming videos like this, so Unilever got in on the action and acquired the brand.

Let your creativity shine with these types of videos. Produced almost entirely for entertainment value and brand awareness, comedic creative marketing videos are only limited by your imagination (and budget). They can be pranks, such as Lyft’s video below, scripted narratives, humorous looks at your company, and more.

A case study is similar to a testimonial, but it should lay out your clients challenges and how you provided a solution. Case studies can be funny, serious, or light-hearted, but make sure to express your brand voice while remaining authentic to the client.

Like the comedy video, a drama or action film is a great way to catch your audience’s attention and provide entertainment value. RedBull perfected this in their simple, but effective, video “Creepers.”

BMW Short Films changed the perception from “proper” to “cool” with the series of short action videos directed by the very best young international directors

The web series takes drama further, into the realm of Netflix and Broadcast TV.

“From creating highly-popular Facebook videos to grabbing Youtube by its proverbial horns, RedBull has leveraged every video platform known to mankind successfully. One of it’s most popular Facebook videos “Red Bull Creepers,” has over 73 million views and 1.3 million engagements. It features two climbers racing to the top of a bridge.” — Wipster

Whether you need to promote or recap an event for your audiences, an event video is a great way to do it. These videos can be made to sell tickets, build anticipation, or show your viewers what they missed out on.

Whether you need to promote or recap an event for your audiences, an event video is a great way to do it. These videos can be made to sell tickets, build anticipation, or show your viewers what they missed out on.

Unless your product or brand is self-explanatory, an explainer video is one of the most important types of videos you can create. These creative marketing videos are high-quality productions explaining what your product is and how to use it. They are usually less than two or three minutes long.

Another important benefit of an explainer video that is rarely talked about is SEO. According to Small Business Trends, “Google loves video content and an effective video marketing campaign should have Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind. To ensure maximum SEO value from your videos, accompany the video with a well-written description that is tagged with relevant keywords to help boost the video’s SEO.” Since an explainer video is all about your company, it’s a great place to optimize for SEO.

Animated explainers are a category to themselves because they require a different mindset and production skills than a non-animated explainer. This type of video content is popular with tech companies because animation makes it easy to visualize software or other technologies. Plus, you can still be creative and playful with the animation.