Costing out a story without any details is a bit like asking a contractor to ballpark a kitchen renovation without revealing the scope of his work. Stories can come in many forms - from a polished 30 or 60-second TV spot, to a spontaneous feeling Facebook video. If you have a specific budget in mind, the creative and production approach can be tailored to suit.
But what are some rough guidelines? An engaging, branded profile of a local customer or employee that can be taped in several hours and edited in one to three days can start around $5,000. More polished videos that require pre-production research, a specialized crew, or additional shoot days, can range $20,000 and up. One thing is for sure, the larger your potential audience, the more worthwhile the investment.
If you think your story can be repurposed or shared publicly, (on your website, Facebook, or YouTube, for example) it makes sense to invest a bit more to ensure your brand (and your message) is communicated effectively.
Depending on your communication objectives, and the audiences you wish to target, you may wish to consider a series of thematic corporate stories that celebrate different employees and customers from various regions or business units. The stories can be distributed using existing communication channels, via social networks, or through video sharing utilities. This long term, strategic approach to marketing and corporate communications can be remarkably cost-effective when compared to traditional tactics – especially ones that involve media buys.
At first glance, video profiles of employees and customers sound expensive, but it’s all in how you measure value. Consider the cost of a themed three-day offsite for 100 employees, including AV staging, travel, meals and accommodation. Consider a recruitment ad campaign, including creative, production and media buy. For roughly the same amount, your company can build an entire library of videos to be shared with every level of your organization, from senior executives to new recruits, for months and years to come.
