Video Marketing - Is it right for you?

You may be pondering one of the big decisions you’re going to make all year – do you decide to use video in your marketing mix to attract customers, inspire them to take action, explain what you do clearly... and will it add value?

Perhaps you decided to look at Rip Media Group (or bring us on board to create your corporate video…quick thanks to #Cisco #Ben&Jerry's #NetApp #Hypernet and #Globanet if you are reading.)

Let's start with a look at this video, which I put together to explain the vitality of video marketing in most businesses, as it lays out the facts 'by the numbers'...The data was pulled for independent industry research firms, and explains a pretty clear story.

Yup, video is vital in a marketers mix.

There are other clear reasons besides increased conversions, executive buy-in, and the fact that attention spans are shorter than goldfish today and visual content breaks through the noise.

So, if we assume video is a priority, it's time to share how you should start, and walk through the steps of a solid story and marketing video.

I am asked every day: 'What style of video is best for our brand?'

As we describe in our Creative Brief - its all about your audience, and what problem you solve for them that will determine the story. We also want to match your brand guidelines to the story, and then, we can determine, or create, the best style.

The most important part of your video is the story, which will guide how we convey your idea visually. Then, we can concept, design, and create the best story for your audience, then look for, or create, a unique and best style to fit your story.

It may be whiteboard animation, motion graphics, 3D animation, live action, or a combination of any of these styles . . . Your possibilities are virtually endless. But don’t feel overwhelmed; I created this short video for you to highlight some of the many styles we use to tell a powerful story and add some detail around each of the styles...

Rip Media Group: What Style of Video is Right for You? from Rip Media Group on Vimeo.

So, we start with the best story for you, for your customers, for your goals...then we determine the style.

'What Style?', you may ask. There are so many options and very few of them need to be a 'talking head video' or go to the extent of hiring a celebrity! Let's look at animation options and live action or 'commercial video' options below.

Whiteboard Animation

Most people have seen a whiteboard animation video online or in an ad. It’s a style of animation where an artist draws pictures on a whiteboard to demonstrate ideas, usually in an approachable, hand-drawn art technique. Skilled artists that are familiar with your brand palette is an essential step.

The video is filmed and animated to match the narration. and we usually speed up the footage considerably to hold viewers attention. Parts of the video may spring to life with animation, to further accentuate a point, add more interest to a certain story arc, or to make a moment more memorable.

Whiteboard animation is particularly useful for explainer videos. They are able to captivate an audience’s attention while using moving hand-drawn graphics to thoroughly explain or process or product.

Biotech companies benefit from using whiteboard animation videos because complicated language can be broken down to simply example a medical procedure to their patients.

It’s important to customize your script, art, and storyboards before you go into production, because your brand must be unique and stand apart for all your competitors. The last thing you want is to see a customer with a video that looks just like yours, but was made by your cheaper competition.

You'll want you to have a high-quality and unique production.

Character Animation

A great way to illustrate the “face of a company,” character-style animation can show a characterized version of key figures in your company, or better, at your customers’ company.

We want to match your ideal customer to the characters in this type of video. By having characters acting out the experience of working with you, you immediately can become relatable, when done well.

Please have a look at some character animation samples

2D Motion Graphic Animation and Design

The moving imagery in a solid motion graphic will capture people’s attention. Pie charts, graphs, and other types of visual statistics all benefit from 2D Modern Graphic Animation and Design when done creatively. Kinetic Typography, and more advanced 2.5D animation are effective by appealing to a broader audience, without any fear of characterizing your customer avatar. In Motion Graphic productions characters are less often seen, or typically are anonymized to be more universal.

(What is kinetic typography? Its visually-stimulating text and motion combined in part or an entire video.)

Please have a look at some 2D Motion Graphic Samples

3D Animation

3D animation and motion design adds a dimension of effectiveness by creating an immersive and interactive experience that other forms of visual content just can not match. 3D motion animation is attention grabbing, story based video. As a design-driven production company, our designers, artists, and storytellers, believe that true collaboration happens when working together with a common purpose.

Please have a look at some samples, below, and let us know what you think. 

We are thankful that these videos help raise traffic, conversions, and millions of dollars in new revenue for our customers.

Please have a look at some of our 3D Motion Graphic Samples

Live-Action Narrative / Commercial Video

A majority of commercials, films and television are considered “live-action narrative.”

That means that after the creative is set, and the script and storyboard are locked, a director collaborates with a production team (instead of animation artists) and film live actors in real time. After production, the footage is transferred to the editing room. An editor and director will work together to discover the best takes of the footage and chop the best pieces of filming together.

Then, it will go through sound-mixing, color correction, and final touch ups.

Please have a look at some of our Live Action Narrative or Commercial Video

Here some additional factors that go into determining whether your video production should be animated or live-action:

Branding

As I previously mentioned, color correction is part of the post-production process (completed during editing), but it’s also important to choose the color palette that goes into animation.

Consider your brand; what are the colors that people identify with your company? The University of Southern California is infamous for Red and Yellow. Walmart is known for using a combination of blue and white. If there’s a certain look and/or feel that you want in your video production, signing off on a palette before you start the animation process will help immensely.

Easy Explanations

Animation lends itself to explain more detailed services in a clearer and more simple manner. Instead of just seeing the product in a live-action video production, you can literally animate the explanation to be anything you want; helicopters, space ships, climb Mount Everest...everything is on the table. That’s why animation videos are great for metaphor based explainer videos.

Testimonials

Testimonials are best used in live-action corporate videos. Your audience likely want to watch real people will real experiences. When using real people in your testimonials, help them be expressive and conversational. The director must be great with people to help them open up and be authentic on camera. Some corporations will actually hold casting sessions to help decide which people will give the most authentic-seeming reactions to their products. For example, when Chevy creates a car advertisement, the production company they work with hires a casting director to find “Real People, Not Actors.” But, don't be fooled, it takes a long time to find the right mix of 'real people' that are great on camera!

Trying to figure out what style is the best for your corporate video? Rip Media Group will help you determine what approach is best for you.

Just comment below or contact me to ask any question you may have. We are here to help grow your brand through story.

Remember – your story starts here!

You can read more on our blog at https://ripmediagroup.com/blog