7 tips for producing a corporate clip (and staying alive)

everyone agrees that Video is the future of digital marketing.

As part of my job as a marketing consultant, I’m often asked which are the most effective marketing materials companies should develop. 

My answer is that having a decent kit of documents (corporate presentation, executive summary, and some product pages) is a must. 

But besides that, the website is the centerpiece of their marketing activities.

And within the website, the first thing prospects look for is a video.

Not the “about” section.

Not the “products”.

Video.

This saves them time needed to understand "where they are" and if this is indeed the right place for them (This is also why the first seconds of the clip are so important).

So I advise my clients to produce this initial kit first documents and clip) and then focus on content creation and distribution.

And even companies that get content and SEO always want to add some video clip to their arsenal.

Here’s the latest video I was involved in the making:

This makes perfect sense- Video is far more engaging, it’s easy to share and can convey complex technical ideas in a very effective manner. But, video is unlike any other type of marketing media – it is designed to be easy to consume but it’s simplicity can be deceiving- it’s very difficult to produce a decent clip, and it requires much more work than most realize. But that’s only half of the problem. When producing a video clip, you (as the marketing professional) are required to work with others (few marketing people have the understanding and the means to shoot, edit, add after-effects or animated themselves). This in itself isn’t easy, as additional people add friction to the process and slow it down. But the real grunt is on the customer side. Contrary to many other pieces of content or collateral, everyone seems to have an opinion when it comes to video production. Few non-marketing people will interfere in the creation of written content, or even presentations and website. But because of the intuitive nature of this medium, everyone is very opinionated. Even the VP of R&D (which you are chasing for months for some feedback on the product page) vocally lets you know what he thinks of your script and visuals. Even worse, unlike any other marketing piece, videos are almost impossible to alter after their production, meaning that every “mistake” (or any counter-intuitive decision) cannot be reversed. This can lead to a very lengthy and painful internal process, even before the actual production of the clip.

Prepare for arguments about the Bug's color...

Endless discussions, heated arguments and inputs from every corner of the company can slow the process to a grinding halt (and that’s before the painful process of conveying the concept to the production people and working with them towards the final product). So here are some tips I’ve gathered from several such engagements:

1.      Assemble a small “cabinet” of decision makers

Make sure it includes the one of the senior managers (CEO are usually involved in the process) and the marketing and sales functions. Technical people are less vital and are usually not as conductive to the process. 

2.      Explain the process, let people deliver their inputs at a specific time frame

Let everyone of you “small council” know when and how their input is expected.

3.      Decide on the primary objective

When making a video start by "what is the objective and how you want to address it. Remember that the length is a real limitation and that no one clip can tell about the company, the product, the technology and the features. This is going to be a short clip, not a 45 minutes documentary on history channel… Determine the focus of the clip, list the main themes it needs to include and translated these to a roadmap (or plan) which will serve as the narrative of the clip.  

4.      Adhere to existing materials and brand language (both verbally and graphically)

This is from obvious caused of brand identity and commonality of all marketing materials, but also for easier digestion by the company- it’s easier to relate to graphics and narrative your familiar with.

5.      Receive the mandate to make decisions

Once the actual production process will commence, there will be many smaller decision points where you will serve as the focal point between the production team and the company. Make sure you have the authority to make most decisions, and escalate only when needed- otherwise you will be forever trapped in a ping pong motion of indecision.

6.      Remind everyone this is not the last video the company will produce

Yes, altering the finished product will be very expensive, so this is a “one shot” drill. However, producing quality videos is a learning process, and one should consider this to be the first of many iterations. All comments should be recorded for future use and improvement.

7.      Try to have fun, and remember this is actually for YOU

Remember, video is a great marketing and sales tool. Done right it will surely help to boost brand awareness and support all other sales and marketing activities. Once it’s over, you will be able to smile, kick back and watch the thing on YouTube over and over again…

These guys seem to be having a good time...

You can check the final result in the following link. I hope you enjoy watching this as much as we enjoyed making it.