Last year we did an interesting A/B test at About Face when promoting a video series for a large brand client. For promotion A we put the brand?s name in the video title and the logo at the front of the video, as requested by the client. For promotion B nothing had changed except we used the title of the video series in the written description, not the brand name, with the brand name name appearing in the opening credits as ?presenting? the video. There was no logo, just the name of the client in a simple, sans serif font.
And then we measured the results. The difference was astonishing. The ?likes? went up three-fold when the brand name was removed for promotion B. And the cost to promote the video dropped in less than half. This is for a video that was otherwise absolutely identical in every way.
It was clear that the very presence of the brand name and logo prevented people from engaging in the content. They either didn?t watch it at all, or turned it off after only a few seconds. It was frustrating ? we could see that they didn?t ?like? the video, but we could also clearly tell that they hadn?t even watched the video they disliked.
Levi?s opens their series of videos on Braddock, PA, by ?presenting? the piece instead of using their logo or brand.
Perhaps being ?On Brand? is one of those accepted norms in producing marketing videos that needs to be reconsidered in the age of social video.
Historically, it was a logical choice ? a brand?s logo, colors, fonts and other brand signifiers would be tracked closely in marketing videos. In fact, it is rare that a large brand doesn?t maintain a lengthy document detailing, down to the finest detail, the required look and feel.
But if your goal is to create traction in social video, then it?s time to re-think this tradition.
Why? As we?ve often written about, social video is a wholly different animal then traditional corporate video. Your audience is no longer captive ? they are in charge, and they are watching your work with their finger hovering over their keyboard. One false step and it?s the hook for all of your hard work.
And your audience will quickly reject any content that smells fake ? anything that doesn?t look and feel authentic and entertaining. They want programming, not messaging. Your job is to create content that they will choose to watch, share and discuss. And there is no quicker way to send an audience fleeing then to look like a marketing video, brochure or powerpoint slide.
A good rule of thumb is to visually echo the genre of content that you are creating as if it was appearing on television or in a movie, not in a marketing presentation. If it?s ?reality TV? style, make it look like a reality TV. If it?s a comedy piece, a talk show format, a ?behind the scenes? piece, news ? all genres tend to make certain choices in look and feel ? echo those choices or you risk alienating your audience.
Here are some things to think about when you are creating your next social marketing video:
- Don?t start off a video with the company?s logo or shots of the sign outside of the corporate headquarters. Instead, start with the content, and get to the story or valuable bits quickly. Engage your audience, don?t alienate them before they can be engaged. If you must put in a logo, save it for the end of the piece.
- Don?t slavishly follow your brand?s style book when coming up with your graphics, such as lower thirds or title fonts. I am not suggesting you ignore your look and feel ? instead, why not ?riff? on your look and feel? Take your approved ?look? and stretch it a bit, striving to make your titles and graphics look like a TV show or movie in the appropriate genre. Make it look like programming, not marketing.
- When you do present your logo, use it in an unexpected manner. Switch it up. Put it over moving images. Change up the colors. Reverse it out. Make it smaller and let the title of your piece dominate over your logo.
- Consider ?presenting? the content with your brand?s name instead of stamping it with your logo. People are more likely to watch something presented by your brand in simple, unassuming type, as opposed to being visually signified as being ?of? or about your brand.
- Consider giving your content it?s own brand ? make it a ?show?. What?s the name of your program? Is there an episode ?coming up next?? Is it ?to be continued?? Does it ?star? anyone? Again, think about programming. What would you stop on to watch if you were sitting at home clicking channels from your remote?
People don?t typically choose to watch something that looks like a corporate video, a brochure or a powerpoint presentation. If you utilize visual signifiers that present your work as marketing, no amount of filmmaking talent, amazing stories, great editing or cool ideas can overcome a ?look and feel? that you are telegraphing to your audience. Being On Brand says that your brand image is more important than the viewer or the content you are creating.
And remember that this isn?t just an aesthetic choice ? it?s a financial one. If you choose to ignore this advice, there will probably be a cost, be it fewer views, likes and shares, or a shorter total viewing time. And that impacts ROI, as ignoring this advice will almost certainly cost you more to get your targeted results.
Be ?on brand? at your peril.
Source: http://www.business2community.com/branding/the-cost-of-being-on-brand-in-social-video-0316733
dallas fort worth tornado dallas tornadoes dallas weather nike nfl uniforms ben and jerrys free cone day tornado in dallas texas the island president
No comments:
Post a Comment