Towards a New Business Narrative: Going Beyond the Conventional Limits

As a professional voice-over artist, my role is to bring scripts to life. Typically, I focus on interpreting and delivering the script as it is written, without questioning its content.

However, there are instances when clients seek my input or request script revisions before recording. In these situations, I am honored to provide my expertise and contribute to script improvement.

This article represents an opportunity for me to express my ideas and share alternative narrative proposals. It allows me to offer a different perspective based on my experience reading hundreds of scripts annually.

Context

After noticing numerous companies on the web striving to innovate their offerings and formats for corporate videos, and witnessing an increasing demand for creativity from clients, it is surprising to observe that the narrative structure of corporate videos remains largely unchanged, despite significant advancements in visual creativity and originality.

Before taking up my first positions in FM radio and as a television editor, where I specialized in documentary filmmaking, I pursued university studies in literature and humanities, as well as social and cognitive psychology. This dual education has enriched my understanding and approach to storytelling.

Over the years, I have accumulated experience and developed a discerning eye for the dominant trends in corporate video production. Notably, one consistent observation is the persistence of a predominant narrative structure.

I firmly believe that creativity and originality have the power to transform the viewing experience of corporate videos and enable businesses to truly stand out. It is within this context that I share my reflections and perspectives in this article, hoping to inspire new ideas and encourage production companies to push the boundaries of traditional storytelling.

What if we reinvented the established model? What if we challenged the norm and proposed a fresh way to structure the stories we tell?

The Challenges

In this digital era, video plays a pivotal role in corporate communication. However, financial constraints and availability often hinder its widespread adoption. To overcome these obstacles, production companies need to rethink their approaches and methods.

Cost Reduction: The Role of AI

One of the primary financial challenges for businesses is the cost of technical equipment and specialized skills. However, AI can offer a solution to this problem. Video editing tools like Adobe Premiere Pro and Davinci Resolve, as well as AI-based audio mixing tools like iZotope, can automate certain post-production tasks, reducing time and costs.

In the context of using AI-based post-production solutions, it is possible to train internal staff on these technologies, enabling production companies to gain autonomy, perform more tasks in-house, and contribute to optimizing costs and production timelines.

Maximizing Availability: An Agile Production Model

Time is another valuable resource for businesses. By adopting a serial production approach that shares resources across multiple video projects, the process can be streamlined. Shorter content formats, or "shorts," accelerate production while being well-suited for social media platforms. Integrating stock resources and remote production solutions can also enhance flexibility and efficiency.

Study case: Teleshopping

In a teleshopping promotional video, the narration typically follows a specific structure designed to captivate viewers and encourage them to make a purchase. Here's an overview of the typical narrative structure found in teleshopping promotional videos:

1. Introduction: The video begins with an attention-grabbing introduction that quickly highlights the problem or need that the product aims to address. It presents a scenario that viewers can relate to in order to capture their interest.
2. Product Presentation: The product is then introduced, emphasizing its unique features, benefits, and how it addresses the identified problem or need. The video highlights the product's key selling points, demonstrating its effectiveness and value.
3. Demonstrations and Testimonials: To further convince viewers, the video includes demonstrations of the product in action, showcasing its functionality and the results it provides. Testimonials from satisfied customers may also be included to provide social proof and enhance credibility.
4. Offer Explanation: The video then goes into detail about the offer, including any special discounts, limited-time deals, or additional bonuses. This section emphasizes the value proposition and creates a sense of urgency to encourage immediate action.
5. Call to Action: The narration reaches its climax with a strong call to action, urging viewers to take the next step, such as making a purchase, calling a toll-free number, or visiting a website. It highlights the benefits and ease of acquiring the product and creates a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) to prompt a quick response.
6. Conclusion: The video concludes with a recap of the product's key features and benefits, reiterating the offer and highlighting any guarantees or satisfaction assurances. It provides a final push for viewers to take action and make the purchase.

It's important to note that while teleshopping promotional videos follow a specific structure, there is still room for creativity in terms of visuals, storytelling techniques, and engaging presentation styles to showcase the product and resonate with the target audience.

In the context of the inverted narrative, the solution can become evident to viewers right from the beginning of the video. By placing the solution at the forefront and highlighting it in the opening scenes, viewers are immediately exposed to the advantages and benefits of the proposed solution. This creates a positive impression and a clear understanding of the value of the solution from the start, making the decision to take action or make a move much more apparent for viewers.

How Reinventing the Narrative Structure?

The traditional narrative structure of corporate videos - problem, solution, call to action - is widely exploited and can lack freshness. So how can we inject originality into this structure? Here is my proposal for a reversed narrative scenario:

1. Start with the Solution: Begin by unveiling the solution, product, or service. Show it in action, illustrating its tangible benefits. This approach immediately captures the viewer's attention, surprises them, and creates an instant positive sentiment.

2. Introduce the Solved Problem: Next, introduce the problem that this solution resolves. This provides a surprising effect and reinforces the need and value of the initially presented solution. The focus is not on the problem itself but rather on highlighting how it has been effectively resolved.

3. Call to Action: Finally, conclude with a call to action, inviting the viewer to act now that the value of the solution has been demonstrated, and the solved problem is fresh in their mind.

You may question the effectiveness of such a narrative reversal, but it is based on solid psychological principles:

- For the consumer, the solution is presented first, creating an immediate positive impression before highlighting the problem with which the consumer can identify.

- For the business, it showcases their product or service from ?the start, focusing on the benefits rather than the problems.

By starting with the solution, we establish a positive first impression. This favorable image is then reinforced throughout the video, creating a stronger anchor. When the problem is eventually introduced, it is immediately associated with the already known and appreciated solution, establishing a connection between the problem and the solution, making the final call to action more persuasive.

Furthermore, by optimizing the video to focus on the solution from the very first frame, we create an entirely positive experience for the viewer. There is no wasted time on demonstrating a problem but rather a focus on the positive aspects of the solution from the beginning. This approach respectfully utilizes the viewer's time while conveying a positive message.

For businesses, this new narrative format showcases their product or service from the very first second. After all, if a company invests time and money into video production, they are entitled to a positive promotion of their services or products from the first to the last second. With this approach, the video does not begin with a negative point but remains focused on the positive aspects of the company's offering. This may well be the rejuvenation that corporate videos have been awaiting.

Let's delve into the psychological mechanisms:

- First Impression / Primacy Effect: Information presented first tends to be better remembered and has a greater impact. By starting with the solution, we leverage this effect to create a positive first impression.

- Anchoring: Anchoring is a cognitive bias referring to our tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information (the "anchor") when making decisions. By presenting the solution first, we establish a positive anchor.

- Problem-Solving Theory: By presenting the solution first and then the problem, we trigger the cognitive problem-solving process but with a twist - the problem is already solved. This can create cognitive satisfaction and motivation to take action.

- Positive Approach: This is a general communication and persuasion technique that focuses on the positive aspects and benefits rather than the problems or negatives. It has been shown to be more effective in motivating people to act.

Conclusion

Exploring narrative inversion in corporate video production promises to yield surprising results. To witness its effectiveness, one simply needs to revisit a previously produced video using this method.

For video editors, this offers an opportunity to explore new ways of organizing sequences, pacing transitions, and solely playing with the viewer's positive emotions. It is an opportunity to rethink and reinvent the editing process to create positive, captivating, original, and memorable corporate videos.

And what if we push the boundaries of the status quo? What if we explore new narrative horizons?