Breaking out of the Rectangular Video “Box”

14 Ways to Break Out of the Rectangular Video “Box”

Marketers, we’ve all been there. Tearing your hair out as your team goes in circles with the same old video ideas. Explainer videos are great. Product demos are fantastic. Broadcast commercials can blow your audience’s minds!

While they all have a very important purpose… they are not the reason for this blog. This year I was involved in the SXSW event Sony put on, “The Wow Factory,” trying out all their newest prototypes, including lots of VR.  This got me thinking.. why does the wow factor have to stop there? I know there are other marketers out there like me looking to break out of the box and are ready to take the leap.

If you’re dying for content that is fresh, new, exciting, engaging – then this blog is for you. As a production agency , we feel its our job to inspire you, tweak your creative side, and get you excited to jump on your next video project. Whether you’re working for a start-up and this is your fist video ever, or you’re a marketing veteran and you’ve already made just about every marketing video that exists, we think that this list will help get your creative juices flowing and get you excited to create the next video of your career.

Yes, I am serious. Break out of the traditional (and sometimes stale) marketing box and create something you actually want to watch. Reach your audience in new ways. The only way that the impossible becomes achievable is if you give it a try.

Above is an example of an “On Site Highlight Reel” filmed, edited, and played back to the subjects all at the same event! (See below for details). Our hope is that with these examples of a bit more nuanced video projects, new kinds of marketing ideas will begin to flow, so we can keep the conversation going! Here is an absolutely non-exhaustive list of some cool new approaches you and your marketing team might like to try.

Hype It Up

1. On Site Highlight Reel – Film it, edit it, show it by the end of your event.. your attendees will be shocked and thrilled to see themselves on the big screen in an already polished highlight reel! There’s no better send off than that.

2. Literally, make a Hype video. How better to get your customers and even your team excited for upcoming changes to your product or brand? Internal or external, excitement goes a long way.

3.  Behind the Scenes Teasers  – leave them wanting more, and more, and more, until your products launches. Generate Game of Thrones level hype for your own premiers by revealing juicy tid-bits along the way.

Flaunt It

4. Culture video– everyone says they’ve got great culture. Hell, it might even be legally required at this point. How to differentiate? Prove it. And don’t be afraid to make fun of yourselves as you do.

5. Lobby Reel – Don’t be afraid to show off! And where better to flaunt your best work than in a space where your prospects are waiting and probably bored? Whether with sound or silent, this can be a really effective and subtle way to build your credibility in your prospects’ and clients’ eyes.

6. Introduction Email – Welcome your newest clients to the awesome world of working with you! Show them the best ways to reach success and educate them on all the benefits they’ve just gained by signing on with you. Show them love, and they’ll show it back!

7. Video Wallpaper– Dress your website for success and inspire customers to envision your product in everyday settings and unique capacities, let them see it to believe it.

Go LIVE

8. Real time announcements– When better to inform your customers than the moment your update goes live? Going live can be a simple 20 second talking head, or a full blown live stream – either way you expand your audience and simultaneously generate marketing material for later.

9. Live Stream Events – There are a million reasons people don’t attend events. As marketers, that makes us sad. Live streaming can be the silver lining. A live stream makes engagement just that much easier and far reaching.

10. Live Video Blog– When you put yourself in front of your audience, edit free, bloopers included, it builds trust that scripted content just can’t replicate. Use these short engaging videos to get into the day to day “scroll” of your target audience to keep your brand top of mind.

Bring It In

11. Personalized Video Invitations – Everybody secretly wants to see their name in lights. Thanks to 2017 technology you can take each member of your audience and personally invite them to your conference or seminar within a video.  Let us show you how.

12. Recorded Video blog – connect in with your audience with the next best to a face to face conversation about topics they’re interested in. This can be achieved in a cost effective way by recording multiple, maybe even a month’s worth blogs all in one session. Say you rent the studio for a day, $500. With the right pre-planning and preparation of content, you realistically can produce 4 vlogs in that one studio day. Depending on your manpower and equipment, this form of engagement can be a relatively simple project with positive ROI that sets you apart from your competitors and positions your brand as a thought leader in your industry. Stay tuned for ours, its in the pipeline!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c12cnOojaPA&feature=youtu.be

13. Customized Video Templates– This is a cutting edge concept some of our clients are using to roll out the red carpet for their top clients and prospects. The basic concept is to identify a recurring need in your company and create a templatized video to achieve that goal. By Inserting individual prospects’ or clients’ branding graphics, you can make hundreds of induvidualized videos for a fraction of the cost.

14. Video Voicemail – leave your prospects with a better impression of what you’re all about by going the extra mile and sending them a quick clip – it could make all the difference

Got a video dream you’re not quite sure is logistically plausible? Let us help! We get creative for a living. We like to think we’re pretty good at it. Share your craziest ideas here or reach out to us, so we can help bring them to life!