From classic short-form commercials to unique and creative long-form content, video marketing is a wide and highly impactful aspect of modern marketing strategies.
Blog Post
10 minute read
Aug 21, 2024
Think about the amount of time you spend scrolling through Instagram reels, or TikTok videos. How many of them can you recall off-hand? That little 15-second exercise demonstrates the power of video marketing and video content in general.
Video marketing is so powerful, in fact, that it’s become a fundamental pillar of strong marketing strategies as it’s unparalleled in fostering audience engagement and brand awareness. Plus the potential to go viral means your brand could balloon beyond your wildest dreams overnight.
Join us below as we work through the fundamentals of video marketing by analyzing some of the most iconic campaigns from household brands over the past two decades! Even though Impact did not work on these campaigns, they teach us a lot about the elements of successful (and sometimes not-so-successful) video marketing.
To learn more about how your organization can stand out with your ideal consumers, watch Impact’s webinar, Brand Awareness Strategies Blueprint.
The Importance of Video Marketing
Video marketing has become a cornerstone of modern business strategies. In an era where digital consumption is at an all-time high, videos provide a dynamic and compelling way to capture attention.
Unlike text or static images, videos combine visuals, sound, and motion to create an immersive experience that can convey complex messages quickly and effectively. This layered engagement leads to higher retention rates, as viewers remember content more often.
Additionally, videos are highly shareable, amplifying a brand’s reach through social media platforms where visual content is prioritized by algorithms.
Moreover, video marketing significantly enhances conversion rates and sales. Studies have shown that including a video on a landing page can increase conversion rates by up to 88%. Videos can demonstrate product functionality, provide customer testimonials, and tell a brand’s story in a way that resonates emotionally with the audience.
This emotional connection is crucial, as it builds trust and loyalty, encouraging viewers to take action, whether it's making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or sharing the content with others.
Lastly, with the rise of mobile usage, video content is easily consumable on the go, meeting consumers where they are and fitting seamlessly into their daily routines. For businesses, leveraging video marketing is not just an option but a necessity to stay competitive and relevant.
The Role of Unique Authenticity and Storytelling in Video
Authenticity and storytelling are pivotal elements in video marketing, as they help brands connect with their audiences on a deeper level. Authenticity in video content fosters trust and credibility. When brands present genuine, transparent messages and showcase real-life experiences or customer stories, they resonate more effectively with viewers.
This authenticity helps build a more relatable and trustworthy brand image. For instance, user-generated content, behind-the-scenes footage, or unscripted testimonials often feel more sincere and engaging compared to polished, overly produced videos.
Storytelling amplifies this effect by providing context and emotional depth to the content. A well-crafted story captivates viewers and makes the message more memorable. Through storytelling, brands can communicate their values, mission, and the human side of their business in a compelling narrative that engages and resonates with their audience.
For example, a video that tells the story of a customer’s journey with a product not only highlights the product's benefits but also evokes an emotional connection by illustrating how it positively impacted someone’s life. This emotional engagement can drive viewers to act, whether by making a purchase, sharing the video, or forming a stronger bond with the brand.
All-in-all, combining authenticity with storytelling in video marketing allows brands to build genuine relationships with their audience, making their messages more impactful and their brand more memorable.
3 Video Marketing Examples
Video is so popular with consumers that it has become a necessary aspect of a comprehensive marketing strategy. The potential of audience reach, resonance, and engagement for video is unmatched when it comes to content.
However, there are a variety of ways to use video in a strategic way. From traditional short-form commercials to new content that leans more toward entertainment than sales, businesses are leveraging videos in a wide array of interesting ways, all to foster engagement and brand awareness.
Below we walk through three different video marketing examples and dive into what works (or doesn’t work) about them.
1. Google: "Parisian Love"
Google ran a Super Bowl ad back in 2009 titled "Parisian Love" that showcases a love story playing out entirely through Google searches. The commercial opens with someone searching for study abroad opportunities in France and then quickly transitions to a series of Google searches around impressing a crush, working abroad, and wedding venues.
This short-form commercial is incredibly effective at pulling an emotional response from the audience, hitting a tone of relatability, and showcasing the value of the product itself. On top of detailing a compelling love story, the commercial was also released to air during the Super Bowl, which only added to its reach.
Not only that, but in addition to having a wider reach, by striking a significantly different tone than traditional Super Bowl ads, Google’s "Parisian Love" stood out against the tapestry of over-produced and comedic commercials.
The "Parisian Love" campaign was created in a collaboration between Google Creative Lab and 1stAveMachine.
2. Dramamine: "The Last Barf Bag: A Tribute to a Cultural Icon"
Classic short-form commercials are far from the only way that brands use video marketing today. Spend a few minutes on your favorite social media platform, for example, and you’ll be bombarded with a variety of video content vying for your attention.
This is what makes campaigns and video marketing initiatives like Dramamine’s "The Last Barf Bag: A Tribute to a Cultural Icon," so engaging and interesting. Rather than a 30 or 60-second commercial, "The Last Barf Bag: A Tribute to a Cultural Icon" is over 13 minutes long, and features interviews with several legitimate barf bag collectors.
With Dramamine’s mission revolving around eliminating nausea, this first may seem like disparate communities with contrasting goals, but what’s really beautiful and extraordinarily effective about this video is the collaboration and mutual solutions found between barf bag collectors and Dramamine.
Dramamine not only took the time to interview barf bag collectors, but they also started a website, thelastbarfbag.com, which aims to repurpose barf bags in new ways to preserve the iconic travel companion.
Not only that, but they even went out of their way to acquire one of the impressive barf bag collections for display at their headquarters. The thoughtfulness, sensitive collaboration, and sustainable forward-thinking on display in this campaign all work together to create a piece of video marketing that is memorable and powerful.
"The Last Barf Bag: A Tribute to a Cultural Icon" campaign was created by FCB and FCB Chicago.
3. Apple: "Crush!"
The last video marketing example we’re going to review in this blog is one of Apple’s more recent commercials: "Crush!"
Unfortunately, not all video advertisements strike the intended chord. In fact, some just miss the mark entirely. This was the case with a recent Apple iPad ad that featured a variety of creative tools, like instruments, paint supplies, speakers, hand-sculpted statues, cameras, and even an old-school arcade machine being crushed under an industrial compressor. Y’know, the thing they crush cars with.
After metaphorically crushing creativity, the compressor lifts, revealing a single iPad.
While the messaging was supposed to suggest that an iPad brought all the creative tools a person could ask for to their fingertips, that’s not quite how it landed. Instead, the main message that viewers actually received was a confirmation of their greatest fears: technology replacing human creativity.
The commercial was such a flop, in fact, that Apple pulled it from the air and issued a full-on apology for the ad.
This demonstrates the importance of using video marketing strategically and with the consumer in mind so you don’t end up putting your foot in your mouth.
Apple's "Crush!" campaign was created in-house with production by Iconoclast and directors Vania and Mugg.
Calling Wrap on Videography and Video Marketing Examples
Video marketing is a wide umbrella that is chock-full of potential for brands to leverage in interesting ways. From traditional short-form commercials that deeply resonate on an emotional level to unexpected connections and collaborations, video marketing can be your playground, as long as you keep the fundamentals of storytelling in mind.
By working with a team of video marketing experts, your organization can focus on refining "the big idea" knowing you have the support of industry professionals to bring your visions to life.
Video marketing brings a world of possibilities to your doorstep. For more ideas on how you can use video marketing and other marketing strategies to stand out from the crowd and win a larger market share, watch Impact’s webinar, Brand Awareness Strategies Blueprint.
