Real people = Memorable stories

We were very interested to see this triumphant headline sprawled across The Globe and Mail recently.  (As a rule, we read everything that has "storytelling" in the headline.)

As you fly through the first half of the piece, columnist Mia Pearson covers familiar ground -- this whole online marketing thing is big and going to get bigger.  Then we arrive at the reason why we clicked:  Coca-Cola and Nike are "evolving their storytelling style" and using social media to start conversations and engage their consumers (notice how we don't use that word anymore -- now they are called fans.)

Watch the videos here and here.

What makes it work, Pearson asks?  "Get real people involved.  Let the brand go.  Don't focus on the product.  Keep the objectives in mind."

So which did you like better and why?
As in our previous post, we're big believers in feelings and impressions as being the key takeaways of this visual medium -- so what feeling were you left with?

Coca-Cola wins points for social responsibility and overall heartstring-tugging, and Nike apparently wins points for lingering on bikini girls on the beach (according to the comments on this 4+ million views link.  Stay true to your target audience, non?)

But I wonder if it would have been more interesting if Nike filmmaker Casey Neistat instead took a poor kid from public housing on this trip around the world, rather than his (largely unseen) entourage...  or perhaps a Nike factory worker?

We'd like to add another story, brilliantly told, to the mix here -- "Grow your own way" by PwC.
This one wins on all counts -- it's beautifully shot, it engages our inner mensch, it runs less than 100 seconds and yet feels rich in detail and emotion.

Six months from now, you won't remember "lease accounting" or "Craig Jones"... but you will recall sunlit playgrounds and laughing children and the company, PwC.  You'll be able to recall the impression that PwC does good things, and that their people give back to the community.  With that, their goal is realized.

Depending on your message, your target audience and your desired takeaways, perhaps this brand of storytelling is the answer.  As Pearson says, Get real people involved.  Why not explore your values through the people in your company that live them?  

Message? Check. Target Audience? Defined. Budget? Approved. So what else do I need to know about making a video?

We’ve developed a few best practices we’ve learned along our 30-year journey in the business. Some of these ideas won’t be new to you as marketers, but they’re probably worth a mention nonetheless.

Video is a very powerful communication tool – it weaves images, sound, music, and graphics into an engaging, informative (and often emotional) experience that helps you connect deeply with your target audience. Audiences come away from the experience with a “feeling” about your people, your company, and your brand. Our goal as strategic communicators is to turn that feeling about your company into action.

Video is also a passive medium – complementary to, but distinctly different from mediums like print and web. Unlike a poster at a bus shelter, a video will not allow your audience to linger longer, re-read a headline, or consider content while they wait for their bus. For that reason, data-rich messages like names, dates, bullet lists, facts and figures are rarely recalled (or even absorbed) by your video audience.

Captive audiences, such as a group of people gathered for a meeting or event, have significantly longer attention spans than prospects that are casually surfing the Internet. In fact, viewer engagement by even the most committed Internet prospects drops dramatically after the first 20 or 30 seconds. Unless there is a compelling reason to stay and watch your video, most of your audience will simply move on to risk-free surfing activities they can control.

Web visitors also want to be in full control of their Internet experience – their time is precious. They dislike being held hostage by a slow loading splash page, a fancy banner ad that takes over their browser, or a video that takes too long to get to the point.

The most successful online environments are ones that provide a variety of mediums (text, still photos, videos, graphics) and endless of ways to absorb the content. Audiences can linger longer on the text and photos, explore interactive graphics, peruse customer quotes, and watch videos that engage and interest them - in any order they choose.

With that short primer to the world of video, we offer the following practices:

• Leverage the unique strengths of video …

• … And avoid its weaknesses.

• Resist the temptation to communicate too much.

• Break up your messages into small packets.

• Make each packet relevant to your audience.

• Allow your audience to chose the packets that interest them.

• Engage, surprise, and delight your audiences - reward them for watching.

• Focus most on “igniting a conversation” - not just delivering information.

Sometimes organizations feel pressured to develop a video (or series of videos) that “cover all bases”. They’ve secured the budget so now they want to pour all of the content into one project. In effect, however, they end up doing the exact opposite of the practices we’ve described above.

Storymasters works collaboratively with you and your team to map out an effective long-term video production strategy. And we ensure that the videos we produce dovetail nicely with parallel communications initiatives in print, web or live event.

Facts...

... versus Feelings.

So let’s recap.

Video is a powerful tool.

If you harness its strengths, your video will create impressions that last for years.

If you indulge in its weaknesses – your audience will tune out and click out.

Video’s immediate takeaway isn’t just information, it’s a feeling.

And much more than data and facts, feelings and impressions linger and last.