Branded Video Content: The Complete Ideal Insight Guide
Whether you’re a content marketer or one of the billions of people browsing the web daily, you’ve likely heard of the term branded video content.
Branded video content is nothing new. But since the advent of the internet and how it’s evolved in recent years, this term is being thrown around and talked about more than ever. Why? Because we see branded video content every single day, often without realising it. Because it’s taking over the way brands and businesses advertise. And because the numbers are staggering.
Here at Ideal Insight, we live and breathe this stuff, delivering top video production in London every day. We stay up-to-date with the latest trends in marketing and branded video production. And this is our complete guide to branded video content.
What is branded video content?
In a nutshell, branded video content is a sponsored video that is not overtly promotional for the paying brand. It’s often the type of video you see that’s educational or narrative-driven. And there’s little reference to the fact that it is, in fact, a paid advertisement.
You may have heard the term native advertising. A brand film like this is made by a brand video agency to create a video so it comes off as natural as possible. It’s a type of ad that lies in the background. It can connect with the audience on an emotional level. The major goal of branded video content is to advertise without it looking like an advertisement.
It’s clever. It works and continues to work better. And the numbers back it up.
A massive 85% of businesses use video in their campaigns. Internet users, which now include most of the world, watch an incredible accumulated YouTube video time of 1 billion hours per day. This explains why the video streaming platform is now filled to the brim with advertisements.
And this trend in the rise in popularity of video across the web isn’t going to slow down any time soon. Cisco predicts that by the end of 2022, video content will account for 82% of all internet traffic. And this is precisely why marketers and brands have their sight set firmly on video for advertising.
For all these reasons and more, branded video content has surged in popularity. Businesses have clocked in on the fact that they work and they work well. People have become weary of the in-your-face ads of old. And this more natural way to advertise, through videos that hold sway with education and narrative, strikes a positive chord with consumers.
Different types of Brand Videos
To create the right brand film, it’s important to know the different types of brand videos available.
Branded video production done right looks at what you’re trying to sell, your image, company culture and other aspects and finds a suitable medium to create branded video content. It’s important the type of brand film chosen matches and makes sense with what you’re trying to accomplish. This is just one of the areas where a brand video agency can help.
Here’s a brief summary of 5 of the most prominent types of branded video.
1. Product explainer
The name doesn’t give this type of branded video justice. Product explainer content does more than simply explain a product. These types of brand film typically hit on a pain point before offering a solution.
70% of YouTube videos use this type of branded video content not only in paid ads but also in the videos themselves. This is why there are so many ‘how to’ videos on the platform. Product explainer videos work particularly well online because people have short attention spans and want the solution, fast.
2. Company culture
Company culture videos give people a behind-the-scenes look at your brand and business. This has the powerful effect of humanising a business.
The advantage of company culture videos is that it pulls back the curtain and helps people connect with a brand. It makes business feel more human. This in turn helps to increase trust. And this makes consumers more likely to favour that brand.
3. Testimonial
A testimonial type of brand video should draw on real-life reviews from customers who’ve used the product or service advertised.
We’ve all seen this kind of video. And they’re effective. The trick here people see a customer who’s already invested in the product or service talk about their successful outcomes using it. This is a powerful form of social proof.
In fact, branded video content that is based on testimonials generates 62% more revenue per customer per site visitor.
4. Product demo
Product demos are, as the name suggests, a demonstration of the product or service.
These videos are like explainer videos, except they go deeper. They’re typically more technically, making them perfect brands selling services like software. They’re particularly effective because they answer major queries potential buyers might have in a short period. It also allows them to visually try before they buy.
5. Case study
Case studies emphasise storytelling. They’re similar to testimonials but deeper. It’s a genuine type of endorsement of a product or service that can tug on the emotions of viewers.
For viewers, watching a case study can prove extremely motivating. They help potential customers pull the trigger. It’s real-world data that brings to light real-life examples of success using a brand’s product or service that helps increase leads.
What are the advantages of video content?
One of the reasons the data backs up the fact that video content, in general, is doing so well is because video content hits hard on our visual and auditory senses and is quick to digest.
While blog posts, pictures and other forms of content we see every day online are great sources of content that marketers and brands can and do use, they don’t have the influence that video has.
A major advantage of video content lies in the fact that an incredible amount of information can be absorbed by the audience in a small window of time. Unlike blog posts and images, video content can tell a story using hypnotic moving images, sound and text. And because video content hits on many fronts and can be both educational and entertaining, video is leading the content revolution.
Why is video content the future for brands?
The fact is that human beings are predominantly visual creatures. 90% of the information transferred from the world into our brains is visual.
Brands are becoming increasingly aware of the data. Branded video content is more effective than any other content medium. Consider how people remember 95% of a message channelled through video compared to only 10% through written content.
Brands and businesses who want to be successful understand that one of the major keys in their marketing strategy is brand recall—something that video content helps with very well.
As the data piles in and the world continues to watch copious amounts of video online, video content will surely continue to be the future for brands.
What’s the difference between branded video content and video advertising?
Branded video content and video advertising may seem like the same thing. While they’re similar, some distinct differences between the two are useful for marketers, brands and entrepreneurs to understand.
As we’ve already defined, branded video content is a form of advertising that’s made to be natural. In other words, it’s a soft sell approach to advertising. This type of brand film most often uses an educational or narrative approach as the front, keeping the marketing as a backdrop.
Video advertising, by contrast, could be called a hard sell. This is a form of video content marketing which is obvious in its ambition—to sell a product or service. They’re often short, typically lasting between 30-45 seconds, or long, lasting between 1:45-3:00 minutes. Video advertising is very often placed before, in between and after the main video. Such is the case on YouTube.
Because video advertising is part of something else, like television commercials, they aren’t as effective as branded video content in many respects. This is because the general public has become wary of them. And in terms of video advertisements being part and parcel of video streaming content such as on YouTube, a lot of consumers find them more of an annoyance and often won’t absorb as much of the targeted product in the way brands would like.
How do I make a video for my business?
Creating branded video productions for your business could prove one of the most lucrative steps you’ve taken in your business venture thus far.
You’ll need to take what you’ve learned already on branded video content. Be natural. Don’t be overzealous in promoting your product or service. You should know your target audience. Think about how you can be entertaining and educational. Perhaps weaving a story through the video would work well with what you’re selling.
Here’s our 5-step plan to help you make stunning branded video content.
Plan your video
Let’s start with the obvious. You’ll need to plan your video in detail.
A great place to start is to grab a sheet of paper or open your favourite notetaking app and jot down some ideas for questions you could answer for yourself. These can include:
What’s the product or service I’m trying to promote?
What type of brand video should I use?
What’s my budget?
How long will it be?
Should I work with a video brand agency?
You’ll also need to think about your target audience. You need to know what their needs are and how you can fulfil them. The type of brand film you choose to shoot needs to connect with them for you to get the positive results you desire.
In all these key areas to planning a successful branded video content shoot, a professional and well-equipped video production london agency can be of tremendous value to you. They can give you the necessary pointers from an outside perspective and steer you towards creating a brand film that truly speaks to consumers.
Why you need a brand video script
This might not come first to mind, but you need a brand video script. Why? One major reason is that, for example, a surprising 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound. This is true not only of social media platforms but video content across the internet as a whole.
People are multitaskers today. Think about all the people scrolling through their social media feeds on their mobiles on the train. They’re often doing so without sound. Without a brand video script, how’re they going to understand and connect with the context of your creation?
Where's the video going to live?
You should consider where you want the brand film to go live. In thinking about this aspect of the plan, your budget will come into play. Consider what you’re selling and your target audience, too. Using demographics data and your own knowledge, try to understand where your customers are. If they’re mostly social media users and if you use certain social media platforms to promote your brand, then perhaps posting your branded video content on social media is a great place to go live.
What's the goal?
This will be one of the first questions you’ll want to ask yourself when planning to create branded video content. What’s the goal?
Of course, you want the video to help you sell your product, service and brand. That’s not the entire question. Is the main goal of the video to increase brand awareness recall? Is it to improve your brand image? Perhaps it’s to send a specific message about what your brand does, what it can do and how it helps people. These are all valid considerations to make before shooting a brand video.
Who is your target audience?
Knowing who your target audience is before creating any brand video content is extremely important. You need to make a mark on the map and set sail in the right direction to reap the bounty.
One of the best things you can do is identify your target audience by demographics. Various online tools can help you do this using your social media platforms and the statistics from your business website. Go as deep as you can. Age ranges, where your customers come from in the world and other key metric data will give you a better understanding of who it is you should be targeting—who it is who will want to buy from you.
Brand video examples
The best branded video content touches the emotions of the consumer in some way. Whether that be through making them laugh, welcoming and warming or empathetic. It’s video that, after watching, will stick in the mind of the consumer.
Here are 3 great examples of brand film that works and why.
Ideal Insight Case studies
Starting off with a light, warm and amusing example, Google’s Look! Google is coming is a good example of brand video production done well.
Everyone knows Google Streetview and Maps and how they use cameras on anonymous vans to get the images they need. But they had a new challenge when they headed to the Faroe Islands, where this is filmed. They needed people (and animals) to help them get creative and get the shots they needed to put the islands on the map.
Watching this short brand film makes one realise just how personable even a behemoth of a corporation can get with the right attitude. The light comedic value, down-to-earth talking and beautiful scenery combine to make this likeable, sharable and helps to naturally increase brand awareness in a positive way.
IKEA were smart in that they capitalised on a trend and made it work for them.
ASMR videos were all the rage—and are still very popular. In typical ASMR fashion, the video is longform. What makes this a smart move on IKEA’s part is that in choosing this longform format they were able to make millions of watchers (and listeners) look at IKEA furniture for over 25 minutes.
They played well on consumer psychology. The video is relaxing, pleasant and would have made millions of viewers believe that by buying IKEA furniture, they could revisit the pleasant experience this unique ASMR video brought them again.
British Airways safety video - director's cut
Comic Relief teamed up with British Airways to create branded video content that made international coverage.
They were smart and got some of the world’s most recognisable faces to talk on the part of a comedic British Airways ad to help the Comic Relief fund campaign. The use of the celebrity favourites in a comical way is powerful. And the fact that an airline could be part of helping a charity is great marketing on their part.
Final thoughts
Gone are the days of pushy marketing content. Branded video production, with its natural style of marketing, continues to prove that it’s a superior way for brands to promote and sell their products and services and to increase brand awareness.
Whether you’re a large or small business, you can take advantage of the continuing trend. According to the plethora of date we cited in this article, video will continue to take over as the most consumed form of content.
This is the future for brands and business of all shapes and sizes and in any sphere. With this guide and the examples we included, you too can get creative. Creating branded video content can help you reach out to your target audience and beyond. It can be tailored to your specific goals and help alter public perception of your brand. And it can increase brand awareness and prove extremely lucrative.
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