Every year, Sainsbury’s goes head-to-head with John Lewis to create the most tear-jerking, feel-good Christmas ad.
But they’re not the only ones, and this strategy certainly isn’t limited to the festive season.
Coca-Cola, Apple and even Heathrow Airport have all used video content to create powerful videos that help customers perceive their brand in the best possible, often sentimentally tear-stained, light.
There’s no denying that video packs a punch, unlike any other form of content marketing. Thoughtful storytelling and striking visual aesthetics, when creatively interlaced in video content, can stir up emotions and forge a cohesive brand identity that is both unmissable and unforgettable.
At Perspective Pictures, we craft video content that resonates with your target audience. Our branded content campaigns cause a stir wherever they land, reaching the people your brand wants to connect with and making sure that they genuinely like your brand and want to engage with it.
Now, while we can’t bottle up our team’s collective talents, we can show you how we use video to turn branded content into branded entertainment that will hype up your brand so it’s trending in all the right ways!
BRANDED CONTENT VS. BRAND VIDEOS
The difference between brand videos and branded video content is essentially the difference between traditional ads vs. branded content.
While brand videos such as TV ads and product promos are created to directly promote a brand and showcase its products and services, branded content takes a much subtler approach.
Instead of interrupting people’s viewing or scrolling experience, the branded content we create taps into their interests, telling stories that entertain or inform them in order to connect with audiences on an emotional level.
While both are important (which is why we offer both), we do hold a special place in our creative hearts for branded content.
HOW PERSPECTIVE PICTURES VIDEO CONTENT BUILDS UNFORGETTABLE BRANDS
Sure, an entire creative process goes into creating exceptional video content. But for right now, all you need to know are the essential ingredients that make branded content resonate with your target audience.
For us, all good content marketing that creates a lasting impression and turns viewers into fans has three key ingredients:
- Intense emotional connection
- Powerful storytelling
- Captivating, brand-consistent visuals
Intense Emotional Connection
Video content’s greatest power is its ability to evoke emotional responses and connect with the viewer.
We create branded content that strikes the right emotional chord – be it joy, excitement, nostalgia, or maybe even a little FOMO – to nurture meaningful connections and a brand story that is both relatable and memorable.
Just remember, you have to be genuine about it.
What sets our successful branded content apart is that we help you tell authentic stories. Our team of over 25 remarkably talented people know what your target audience knows: it’s obvious when a brand is trying to sell something without providing any real value, and we don’t like it.
Branded content marketing strategy is not the same as traditional advertising methods. To be effective, branded content campaigns need to feel honest, real, and, above all, human.
So, before we go anywhere near a film set, we sit down with you and flesh out the story you want to tell about your brand’s values and how to deliver this message in a genuine way. If need be, we do market research about your target customer so we can create content that speaks their language.
Collaboration is key in this content creation phase of a branded marketing campaign. The ideas we generate here will influence the entire creative direction of your production.
Powerful Storytelling
Video content allows brands to tell their stories in a compelling and engaging way. The incredible power of visual storytelling cannot be understated.
To tell a good story when creating branded content, you need to:
- Decide on a clear goal for your video content marketing. Do you want to educate or inform your audience? Or is it something else?
- Design your message’s plot (with a hook, problem, and resolution). Your video may only be 30 seconds long, but this is a story, not a public service announcement, so it needs to flow! Think of your branded video as a mini three-part documentary.
- Choose a video style that matches your goal, your brand’s values, and those of your audience. Your chosen style—be it cinematic, dramatic, or anything else—will determine the colours, lighting, editing, camera angles, mood, music, and even the casting of your video. Above all, your style needs to be consistent so you can reinforce a cohesive visual identity for your brand.
- Find ways to show rather than tell your story. You have a visual medium at your disposal, so use it! Viewers don’t like to be preached to, and your time window may be less than a minute, so use visual elements like body language, facial expressions, setting, and so forth to “show” your story.
- Use careful transitions in between shots to move the story along. The types of transitions—cross-fades, swipes, cuts, etc.—you use will depend on the mood you’re trying to create.
- Add text and graphics with care. Again, show, don’t tell. This is not a direct sales pitch. Every bit of text or additional graphics that you add should serve a purpose and enhance rather than cloud the story.
- Create a script and storyboard to make sure everything fits together seamlessly.
Collaborating with experts (that’s us!) can make a world of difference to your branded content efforts. Our production team is brimming with skilled storytellers, able to translate your brand values into a compelling narrative that resonates with audiences, which is why we have so many success stories.
Visual Aesthetics
Remember, your video content needs to do more than just entertain viewers. It needs to showcase your brand’s values, mission, and products, even if only in a subtle, indirect way. Your branded video needs to convey or reinforce a visual identity that resonates with the people you want to reach.
To do this, we carefully consider the visual aesthetics that best represent your brand values and what will most appeal to target consumers. Then, we weave these visual elements—such as colour schemes, typography, and imagery—into your story.
This is how clever content marketing in video can create a cohesive visual identity that is both attention-grabbing and comfortingly familiar.
The right aesthetics in branded content marketing are also essential for showcasing your brand’s products and services in a visually appealing way. Your branded video can serve as a sort of subliminal message, where a subtle association is formed between the quality, creativity, or uniqueness of the video experience and that of your product or services.
WHAT BENEFITS CAN I EXPECT FROM BRANDED CONTENT VIDEO?
When you use branded content in video to cement and promote your brand’s visual identity, the results speak for themselves:
Viewer Engagement
Video content captures and retains viewer attention better than other forms of media. Stats from Statista, Insivia’s 2023 Marketing Report, LinkedIn, G2, and MarketSplash show that we’re not talking bollocks:
- Twice as much engagement than image-only posts on social media platforms.
- Almost 3x more time spent on web pages.
- 60% increase in likely engagement with social media content.
- 2x more engagement on Instagram.
- 48% more views on social media platforms.
- 3x more engagement on LinkedIn.
A Lasting Impression
By creating memorable video content, brands can increase brand awareness, recognition, and recall:
- 95% message retention (vs. 10% for text only).
- 10x more engagement with your Tweets.
- Boosted brand recall among 79% of customers.
Genuine Connections
Emotional storytelling through video content can elicit strong feelings and build a deeper bond with the audience. This emotional connection shows how branded content in video form plays a crucial role in shaping brand perceptions, influencing purchasing decisions, and boosting customer loyalty.
Social Sharing
Videos are highly shareable, particularly on social media platforms:
- 1200% more shares on social media
- 20x more shares on LinkedIn
- Access to the 47% of social media users who follow their favourite brands on YouTube
Low-key flex: Our video for the Red Bull Bullseye Landing stunt is a brilliant example of branded content going viral. It now has 2.3 million views and counting on the Red Bull YouTube channel.
Extensive Reach
You can reach a wider audience across multiple social networks with better video content than other brands.
- Worldwide audience reach of 92.3%
- Instagram Reels reach of 892% of users with up to 500 followers
- 50x more likely to rank on Google
More Sales!
Videos provide a more immersive experience, allowing customers to better understand the features and benefits of a product or service, leading to increased purchase intent:
- 500% increase in email conversions
- 34% higher conversion rates
- Up to 80% more conversions on landing pages
- 2.6x greater likelihood of purchase completion from Pinterest
- Access to the 90% of consumers who use videos to make purchase decisions
PICK PERSPECTIVE PICTURES FOR YOUR NEW BRANDED CONTENT CAMPAIGNS!
Video content plays a pivotal role in shaping and defining a brand’s visual identity. By focusing on storytelling, visual aesthetics, and emotional engagement, we craft video content that resonates with target audiences and leaves a lasting impression.
From a full Netflix doccie to TikToks and animated YouTube videos, our branded content will get you noticed.
By following the insights provided in this article or, better yet, partnering with us, your brand can enhance its market presence and build a cohesive brand identity with world-class video content.
Drop us a message or give us a ring to find out more about how we can create some digital alchemy for your business.
