subject: The Stakes are higher for Corporate Video [print this page] The Stakes are higher for Corporate Video
Video has always been a powerful medium for presenting corporate information and in recent years it continues to grow. The landscape of corporate video has rapidly changed in a number of ways, not the least of which is the availability of a wide range of increasingly less expensive video equipment. Today, nearly professional quality video can be shot with relatively affordable cameras at the high end, all the way down to "Flip" camera types for around a hundred dollars. You can, in a pinch, even record video with many types of cell phones.
Editing has also been made so much easier with digital files that require no processing, just simple uploading. Yet, perhaps the most exciting aspect of today's corporate video scene is a free distribution system called YouTube. Once your corporate video is complete, you simply put it up on YouTube and then tell everyone it is there. Not long ago, distribution meant making copies and shipping discs all about. This is a huge improvement.
The challenge for corporate video is much more profound these days, however. First, you are competing for mind share with all of other amusements on the Internet from virtually all movies ever made, millions of funny and amazing videos, and so on. This means that your video must be compelling and entertaining, which has always been difficult for corporations. Which would you prefer to watch, a movie clip featuring some actor/actress you greatly enjoy, or a nice corporate video about annuities and life insurance?
Not only must your video compete with the best and most popular stuff in the world, it must be as short as possible. As measured in seconds, not minutes. Brevity was never corporate video's strong suit, but today it is more important than ever. So, all you have to do is make it amazingly entertaining and astonishingly quick.
Two approaches suggest themselves in light of the challenges corporate video must face. One way is to use real people, such as real customers, speaking about your product honestly and unscripted. The other best practice is to boil down your corporate value proposition or message to its essence, explaining (from the customer's point of view) how your solution meets their needs both their own perceived and underlying needs.
Corporate video producers have always had to be brief, compelling, and hard-hitting. These days, there is a lot of great inexpensive technology to help, but the stakes are higher and the level of difficulty continues to increase.
