Think of your video as merely the vehicle for gaining the outcomes you want.
This moves the thinking away from a really rather common reason which is ‘We should have a video because everyone has one these days’. Instead it needs to be focused around a more nuanced question ‘what do I want to achieve with my video?’.
When writing a video brief you should include exactly what the objective of the video is, who you are trying to reach and the outcomes you expect it to deliver.
Here are some scenarios that, although might not be exactly your situation, will help to get you thinking along the right lines.
The Exhibition
You have a stand at a three-day manufacturing exhibition. Many of your competitors are there and you want your presence to be more impressive. You want to attract visitors’ attention so that they stop to watch the video. You anticipate busy times during the day and if all your staff are busy you want to hold their interest until someone is free to talk to them.
Outcomes: Brand positioning. Maximise lead generation. Education. Ability to catch people if all staff are busy and impart some information.
An example video style that could work for this kind of production – Go Reply
The Conference
Your UK annual conference is designed to be highly motivational and confirm the business as an exciting organisation to work for. Several videos are needed throughout the day to announce strategy for the coming year and new products. They need to be high energy, loud and rousing.
A message from the CEO based in the US needs to be pre-recorded.
Live streaming in the afternoon from the States for two keynote speeches.
Outcomes: Positive impact and wider employee engagement. Internal communications medium for sharing the vision. Cost reduction on travel. Elimination of confusion on what the vision and strategy is.
An example video style that could work for this kind of production – E20 Virtual Coach.
Recruitment
There is a skills shortage in your industry and you need to attract the very best employees. You’d like to create a video recruitment piece that explains the exciting career opportunities within your business. The video should include messages from directors of the business and interviews with staff explaining the reasons why they love working for the company.
Outcomes: Improve the caliber and number of CVs. Attract the best and brightest. Positive PR for customers as they see your ethos. Reduced recruitment fees through direct contact. Internal employee engagement.
An example video style that could work for this kind of production – Royal College of Surgeons.
The Corporate video
You would like a short video for the sales teams’ PowerPoint presentations to be used when pitching at a prospective client’s office. The video must ‘transport’ the viewers on a quick tour of your engineering site and leave the prospect with the sense that you are at the forefront of innovation in your industry.
Outcomes: Add an interesting and informative element to sales presentations that competitors aren’t yet doing. Consistency of messaging for customers. Innovative approach that puts you ahead of competitors. Reduction in cost of paper-based assets.
An example video style that could work for this kind of production – City Hire.
Product instructions
You wish to reduce the number of support calls about your products. You’ve created a FAQ section on your website and would like a series of ‘how to’ videos to supplement the answers.
Outcomes: Improve customer service. Reduce support calls. Cost reduction through ‘self service help’. Efficiency for the customer.
An example video style that could work for this kind of production – Shippo.
Simplifying the communications of a complex product
You are distributors for an enterprise software solution. The functionality of the software and what it can achieve for the businesses that use it can be complex. You need to give prospects a flavour of what can be achieved, but in a quick and easy to understand format. You believe that an animated video would be appropriate.
Outcomes: Simplify the communication of a complex solution so clients instantly understand the benefits and features.
An example video style that could work for this kind of production – Clear ERP – NetSuite.
Customer case studies
Your prosthetic products literally change lives. It’s incredibly powerful to hear how customers have benefited from using your products, therefore you would like to film a series of videos capturing the heart-warming stories.
Outcomes: Increase enquiries from people who have lost limbs. Generate trust in the brand through customer stories. Sell the outcome rather than the product.
An example video style that could work for this kind of production – Omron – Firmac.
Christmas event
A large percentage of annual revenue is generated in December. You would like a video that promotes your Christmas events and encourage companies to book their office party early. You would like to use this video for a number of years so reference to dates cannot appear.
Outcomes: Encourage early bookings in October. Stand out from brochures arriving in the post or lengthy e-mails. Tap into a Christmassy feeling with music and visuals to capture interest early.
An example video style that could work for this kind of production – Hartsfield Manor Hotel.
Social media
You have a social media campaign planned to extend your reach. You’d like a series of six videos targeting females age 23 – 30 who like to work out and keep fit. They need to be extremely short, quickly capture attention and encourage people to comment, like and share.
Outcomes: Increase reach by 500%, Likes by 200% and Shares by 100%
An example video style that could work for this kind of production – Square Daisy Easter Challenge.
How this helps the video agency
The style of video in all the examples above would be extremely different. So, this level of detail helps us respond to video briefs more accurately.
Thoroughly understanding your objective means you gain a video that’s created to deliver the outcomes you require. This also helps you to attribute a return on investment.
