In order to create an effective video for marketing or advertising purposes, the first box to tick is brand identity. This is because you want your company’s identity to be distinct and prevalent across all marketing platforms: social media, poster, TV or whatever else.
Consistency in this regard helps to distinguish your brand from others but also strengthen its image (and popularity) by making it immediately recognizable. How this is accomplished takes time, effort and close attention, but if you’re spending big bucks on a campaign, of course you want to get it right the first time.
Depending on the nature of your business, finding the right tone to use that best fits the character and ethos of your brand should be the first task before even putting down any content ideas.
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Video that reflects the nature of your brand
For example, would humor be appropriate? Or maybe you can be emotive within your field; or maybe not, it could be that the subject matter is serious and requires something to reflect that. For content that contains lots of facts and figures or that’s information-heavy, animation can simplify the message to make it more digestible.
So, really think about the nature of your business and then how you can use that to inform the brand’s ‘tone of voice.’ Missing this mark will lead to a confused and weak video ad.
However, once you’ve identified the correct template it can then be applied to all future brand promotion. The template encompasses a multitude of factors, such as a color palette, which is a simple but effective reinforcer of a brand’s identity.
For example, choosing a gradient for your video content is as important as the content itself, you want it to stand out and be a positive reminder of your brand. Coloring your film correctly is an easy way to link brand to message and can be utilized on the company’s website, social media, email newsletters and anywhere else.
With social media being the dominant marketing tool of today, creating video content means engaging with your audience; encouraging comments, likes etc. Engagement is the ultimate goal of any marketing or advertising campaign – creating viral content in varying degrees.
In this regard, the marketing has a two-phase process, first is the initial awareness created by the brand film (in this instance) and second is the life it takes as it’s shared and commented on and becomes a part of public consciousness. And this, in a very simplified way, explains the power and scope of video marketing/ advertising and why it’s so important to get this right.
Video content creation considerations
So, in order to achieve success and engagement the first time, consider the following when creating your video content:
Film Gradient
I touched on this briefly, but color affects our psychology whether we’re aware of it or not. It can be very obvious if we just think of a horror or thriller film, it will usually be darker colors to hide and obscure details; give a general sense of gloom and uncertainty.
But there’s of course much more to consider when coloring; things like warm and cool colors; complementary and contrasting can create appeal or shock respectively. Fortunately, a good video production company will understand the influence of color and will be able to bring out the correct palette for your video.
Cohesion
This ties in all other aspects when considering brand identity on film. Let’s use an example to illustrate this:
The Dollar Shave Club, which is frequently cited as an example of successful video marketing, and for good reason as it’s a fantastic example of a simplistic no frills message that ties in perfectly with the simple no frills product.
While the video production is straightforward as all the effects are done on set, a lot of consideration has been put in to creating an effective and immediately understandable message. The ‘identity’ and ‘tone’ of the brand and company has been translated perfectly to video which is in part why this became such a viral hit.
Creativity
Somewhat of a catch-all word, but what I mean with this point is that in order to achieve the best results, you need to think creatively and consider the intent of the content and message.
Producing valuable video content is an understandably expensive process and in order for the project to be successful, getting it right the first time is quite important. Working within the budget, time constraints and realms of reality – certain projects have had Hollywood-style expectations! – all require creative thinking, and this is where the video production agency should shine. Once you’ve outlined your brand’s identity and tone, trust the production company to carry the vision over to film.
These are the first steps to consider when realizing your brand’s identity as moving pictures. It’s not a clear path but as with most things, detailed preparation and careful thought and consideration will go a long way to getting your idea off the ground and onto screens!
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- What Does Your Brand Identity Look Like On Film? - July 16, 2020
Knowing how to effectively brand your videos is an essential skill in marketing. Interesting advice. Thank you!
It’s definitely important. Every marketing piece should be consistent with elements of your brand to increase recognition, awareness and other critical factors. You can certainly get creative with it, but ultimately your content should be recognizable as your own.