Earlier this year in the United States, hundreds of millions of Americans were glued to their screens, watching the Super Bowl. And while they were doing that, they were watching all those Super Bowl commercials, which have pretty much become almost as big of a part of the event as the game itself.
Immediately following this, there’s typically a flurry of conversation about the amazing results these video campaigns yield, and when I talk to small businesses about video marketing, they shrug it off. Sure, they think, it worked for them, but I could never do that.
I’m here to tell you right now that this is a big misconception. You don’t need millions of dollars to throw at a single thirty second ad in order to make a big, brand-defining, business-changing impact. Shakr was built partially on this principle, making high quality video creation and scaling accessible to businesses ready to use it.
In this post, we’re going to take a look at 8 amazing brand videos. Some come from bigger brands, and some come from relatively small brands, but each have a lot to teach us. We’ll look at what brand videos should accomplish, and how you can adapt the strategies used here to create successful campaigns all of your own.
What Brand Videos Should Accomplish
When you’re creating your brand videos, you should keep in mind that they should be accomplishing the following criteria:
Leaves an impression. Even if you’re going for humor or just sharing an interview with your CEO, the video should emphasize your branding instead of hiding it behind an information dump.
Motivates people. Viewers in your target audience should either want to learn more or be ready to dive in and do business with you, and not exclusively just because of how great the product is, but what your brand is, too.
Provides some sort of emotional value. Having an emotional payoff from watching can help create that long-lasting impression.
Have clear call outs to your business. Even if the video doesn’t talk about your business much because you’re focused on causes or your mission, make sure that you tie your business into the video, explaining how it relates to you. This is an important step that a shocking number of brands leave out.
Let’s take a look at 8 incredible examples of branded videos in depth and discuss how they accomplish each of these tasks in unique ways.
1. Code.org
Code.org’s video starts with a quote about the importance of kids learning to code, and then interviews big names in the tech field who have created software like Facebook, Twitter, and Drop Box. It’s motivational, and it shows the importance of teaching coding young… and then highlighting that most schools don’t teach it. They show how important something is and make it appealing with the goals you can reach and even touching on the “humanity” of coding. The video is finished with a CTA at the end telling people to learn more at their site, and share the video.
I want to note that this video is longer than most brand videos should be, and I’d even argue that it goes on longer than it needs to. The motivational content, the influencers, and the catch, almost-twist-ending showing that coding isn’t taught are all good strategies… just keep your video to two minutes at the absolute max.
2. Coca Cola
Coke is just a soda, in theory, but it’s also a cultural icon. Their Share a Coke campaign has helped solidify that feeling, making the act of sharing this drink an act of love. They’re capitalizing on the feeling of nostalgia that people likely have with childhood family moments and inserting themselves into those sentiments. It’s all about going for the emotion here, and positioning that feeling as part of their brand.
Because emotions are so important in video marketing, this is an outstanding strategy. People won’t remember abstract facts, but they remember things that make them feel emotions.
3. Bark Box
Bark Box does a lot of their marketing well, and that includes their video marketing. This video showcases the best Bark Box toys ever, showcasing hilarious videos of dogs going to town on their favorite picks. It’s adorable, and it hits home for the target audience: people like me who love our dogs too gosh darn much. They kept their audience in mind when creating this video while showing the variety of what they send.
The upbeat, fun music and stacked video clips used to make a fun, engaging video could easily be recreated by any brand with content of their own. This one, again, is targeting a feeling: it’s just one of joy and excitement.
4. Dove
Dove has consistently defined their brand with their “Real Beauty” campaign, and they continue to find new ways to share that message. We’re all too hard on ourselves and how we look, and the world doesn’t see us the same way, and this ad showcases that in a powerful, almost heart-wrenching way.
This is another example of a video that doesn’t just center around the specific benefits of a product, but that feeling and brand mission that will make people flock to you. Right now, having a cause and a belief can be a selling point for businesses, and it can help set you apart, but remember that it must come across as authentic.
5. 23andMe
This video, unlike some of the others on the list, does focus on what a brand can do for you and the impact it can have on your life. It’s short, at only 26 seconds, but shows long-last family being reunited. You can have this, the video promises. Don’t you want to feel that your family is complete. You can give the gift of family.
It’s short and sweet, and the “gift the gift of family” is a powerful and well-written tagline at the end. Most of Shakr’s video templates come with the option to end with an all-text slide and a CTA exactly for this reason; it lets you go for the big power punch to leave that big impression.
6. Athleta
Another short video, this one is hyper-focused on its target audience of women who want to do more, particularly when it comes to fitness. You can be both soft and powerful, like water, the commercial promises as a young girl moves through the ocean like a spear. The imagery is smart, and the voiceover text reminds you that you can do everything.
This video, which is explaining their #powerofshe campaign, sets the stage for their current marketing strategy and encourages people to watch specific stories at the end. It’s a great way to funnel people into the campaign and get them engaged while framing Athleta’s brand and mission in a great light. How can you choose to buy from another and more overpriced company, after all, when this is what they’re working towards?
7. NordicTrack
This brand video goes hard for a single emotion– motivation– and they start right from the first frame. A woman walks determined, stepping up onto exercise equipment while get-you-pumped music plays in the background. This is how you set the tone for your video.
Showcasing that you don’t just need the best equipment to get results, but the best coaches too, they’re featuring something that makes their equipment different: the virtual, recorded coaching that comes with it. It’s a smart value proposition because there’s plenty of cheaper equipment out there, and they use the right combination of emotion, lighting, and video clips to get their point across.
One thing that I do want to highlight here is that most of these videos use a combination of video clips organized together to tell a cohesive story, joined by emotion and some music in the background. We can help you create something similar with Shakr, as you can see here.
7. Microsoft
Accessibility has been a core part of Microsoft’s recent business efforts and branding efforts, and since this is a big topic of conversation in 2019, that’s a smart call. They’ve created several video campaigns focusing on new accessibility options for those with disabilities, including the video above that looks at how AI can help.
This is, undeniably, a feel-good video, and while it’s about the brand, it’s focusing more on brand impact and how the product can change the world than what the product is directly. To really hone in on that feeling, there’s inspiring music in the background.
Microsoft also does a great job at making sure that their name is front and center here; they add their logo in the bottom right corner, their name in the video title, and a logo and brand name on the end screen. Keep your brand visible throughout all branded videos for maximum brand lift and awareness.
Conclusion
Brand videos can help you to better define and explain your brand in a potentially viral way, and they’re a little like explainer videos designed to help you stand apart from all the competition. They offer exceptional opportunities to make a lasting impression on your target audience, so take the lessons from these 8 examples of brand videos that did this well and apply them to your own campaigns. You might even be surprised at how successful your campaigns become.
Looking for new ways to create unique, branded videos or to scale your campaigns? Learn more about Shakr today.
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Ana Gotter is a business writer specializing in social media and content marketing, though she writes on a variety of other niches and subjects. She can be contacted at anagotter.com.
