Top Rated Worldwide Corporate Video Production

Corporate Video Production Company

• Sales Video / Marketing Video / Branding Video / PR Video
• Training Video / Instructional Video / Educational Video
• Investor Video / Fundraising Video
• Employee Orientation / Recruitment Video
• Sizzle Reel
• Corporate Documentary

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Corporate video production can take on many forms, and serve many purposes depending on your core message, intended audience, and creative approach. A well produced corporate video can have legs well beyond its primary strategic purpose as well. Video content can serve as a pure marketing tool, promote organizational key messaging platforms to increase investor relations, communicate your corporate mission / culture, helping to build your brand, introduce a new product or service to other businesses, the general public or both. Maybe there’s more of a public relations angle whereby your corporate video content can help serve in a more promotional capacity to build consumer trust, assist in damage control, or work as a component of your social media outreach efforts. Whatever your primary objectives/goals, the applications of corporate video are near endless.

We always work closely with our clients to best understand their primary, and secondary, target audiences and their specific agendas. Examples of some ‘typical’ corporate video presentations are outlined below.

Sales Video / Marketing Video / Branding Video / PR Video

Probably one of the most popular uses of corporate video production, the ability to promote your service, product, cause or simply your ‘brand’, can be dynamically accomplished through a carefully crafted sales / marketing / branding or PR video. These shows provide a number of effective ‘angles’ for communicating your message through the use of client testimonials, messaging delivered directly from Executive Leadership, a narrator, or any combination of these tactics. Products, people, facilities, and processes can be artfully displayed through a number of video production techniques and can take any tone of ‘voice’ and approach from very buttoned-up traditional, to humorous, cutting edge, hip, dramatic, etc. Messaging can be conveyed through originally shot live-action video, existing stock footage, animation, graphics, effects, or any combination of these techniques. Key to the equation, regardless of your desired approach, is making sure that your video aligns with your overall brand. This means that your video should incorporate seemlessly with the overall look and 'feel' of any existing advertising / marketing / PR communications assets including matching font styles, color palates and overall tone of any complimentary materials. This can include anything from associated direct mail or print pieces, to website design, corporate identity products and any other ‘branded’ collateral material. The more your various communication products all 'feel' part of a larger, cohesive plan, the better your audience will be able to make the association between your various outreach tactics and your overall brand - in short, the 'stickier', or more memorable, your production will be. The point is to NOT simply produce your video in a vacuum, but to take into account all of the related content surrounding your video and it’s message, thus further reinforcing it.

Sales / Marketing / Branding / PR video productions are fantastic tools for websites, events, trade shows, social media, sales teams, media inquires, public outreach, B2B communications and more.

There is no magic template for producing a good sales or marketing video. Every client has their own unique proposition to be communicated, their own internal politics to be addressed, their own specific audiences to be catered to, etc. By carefully crafting your video while taking all of these various elements into account, you will best create the most impact for your message.

Training Video / Instructional Video / Educational Video

Training videos are frequently considered the most ‘boring’ of the corporate video production products. Frequently taking the form of a very straight-forward ‘step-by-step’ tutorial, or a ‘talking head’ delivering rules and regulations, the challenge with training videos / instructional videos / educational videos is always commanding and maintaining audience attention. The reason it’s such a challenge is that the nature of the content for these videos is frequently bland or dry. Further complicating this challenge, is that rarely is there room to allow for tremendous style, drama or fun in the context of these shows - content is king. However, this is not to say your video needs to be a complete 'snooze-fest'.

While, as is often the case with video production, budget will frequently dictate the level of final production value, there are certainly some affordable ‘upgrades’ that can be implemented in a training video to help give it a little more punch. For example, the typical ‘talking head’ style video can quickly lose steam by virtue of having the viewer watch a speaker talking to a single camera for an extended period of time. It’s a visually monotonous way to provide information, and depending on the communication skills of the on-camera subject, can be downright unwatchable. However, small adjustments, such as adding a 2nd or 3rd camera can deliver a more energized viewing experience and imbue a more active feel to the video. When possible, cutaway footage that can help illustrate your information will also bolster the viewing experience. With many training / instructional / educational videos, the overuse of text on screen (e.g., bullet points, graphs / charts, etc.) can make the video feel like a glorified PowerPoint presentation. By implementing more ‘video friendly’ graphics, such as kinetic text treatments or animated reveals, your training video can exhibit a bit more aesthetic style.

Also, while many training videos require a company ‘insider’ or Subject Matter Expert (SME) to convey the information, it’s sometimes worth considering the use of professional talent. By using an experienced actor or host, your content can be conveyed in a stylized, professional manner rather than the often stilted delivery that happens when using on-camera subjects who have not been media trained, or who are simply uncomfortable in front of the camera.

All of this being said, it’s worth pointing out that not all training / instructional / educational videos are exercises in the lackluster delivery of content. Depending on your audience, the culture of your organization, and of course the material that is being conveyed, there are plenty of options to employ more visually interesting approaches. Dramatic re-enactments (while significantly more expensive) can help your material be more viewer friendly and create a more engaging viewing experience. Additionally, the use of humor or other non-traditional instructional video techniques can definitely be part of this discussion and become real attention-getters with an audience who is bracing for another boring ‘how-to’ or ‘step-by-step’ instructional exercise.

It is often the case that some combination of these tactics can be engaged to help elevate your training video presentation. There’s no 'one-way' of producing these shows, so to use a professional host, in-house testimonials, stylized graphics, re-enactments, etc. can all be considered as a means to help retain audience attention.

An additional important element of training / instructional / educational video production is the understanding of exactly the context of use / how the video will be seen. If, for example, your video is used to complement an instructional booklet or some other collateral written material that your staff is receiving, than the video can take more broad strokes in its approach versus an example whereby the video is the MAIN delivery method of critical material. Like any effective video presentation, it is critical to carefully analyze audience, goals, context of use, and preferred outcomes for your video before even beginning to determine what tactics will work best.

Investor Video / Fundraising Video

We are often asked to produce videos that help companies secure a round of funding, present a company overview for a road show, or simply appeal to possible strategic partners in an effort to increase resources. In all of these scenarios, it’s obviously critical to put your best foot forward and hope to create some excitement around your cause in an effort to entice these parties. To effectively accomplish this, a good ‘ask’ video will quickly address features / benefits of a partnership while also quickly addressing any common objections or answering common questions you are used to encountering when asking for funds. Knowing ahead of time the most persistent hurdles you face in trying to recruit investors enables us to address those issues early in your video before your viewer even has a chance to ask the question. It essentially erases lingering questions that viewers may have while watching your video (or prior) so that they can come away from the show more completely focused on the messaging platform we want them to notice.

These videos need to create 'buzz', make the viewer feel as if they are part of a special opportunity, and of course instill a sense of confidence in one’s decision to invest with your organization. Fundraising videos are tricky by nature as the viewer is usually well aware ahead of time that they are being asked to open their wallets. It’s human nature to be somewhat guarded in this capacity, even skeptical at times, and therefore the video needs to walk a fine line while being honest, direct and appealing to the sensibilities of your target audience. Which brings us to another important point – as with any video production, the more we know about your intended audience, the better we can employ production techniques that will ‘speak’ directly to them. This information informs everything from our music selections and graphics approach, to choice of narrator and editorial style, etc. Different audience segments will react to production styles differently based on a number of variables including age, sex, job position, and other demographic and psychographic data.

A good fundraising video will instill confidence, paint a clear picture of what the payoff is, and get the viewer excited about the opportunity. Easier said than done, of course, but that’s exactly why a well thought out and well produced fundraising video / recruitment video is so vital.

Employee Orientation / Recruitment Video

When looking to recruit new talent, or welcoming new talent to your organization, our feeling is always that it’s best to hear about the experience from those individuals who are currently a part of your company - audience 'peers', essentially. Building a video that features real perspectives, insights and thoughts, from those who are currently a part of your team, builds a far more credible and effective production than simply having a narrator state all the great things that make working at Corporation XYZ such a wonderful experience. There are a few factors at work here.

While it is easy to write great copy for a professional voice-over to read, you are essentially just feeding the audience the ‘company line’, as crafted by the organization. In contrast, employing a peer-to-peer style narrative, enables audiences to see themselves, to see their co-workers, colleagues and managers in a realistic light. They are able to literally 'put a face' on the organization, which helps humanize your message and enhance its reliability. Ideally, viewers see themselves, as in, “I can see myself as part of this group.” Typically, we recommend NOT just featuring management and executive leadership (though there is certainly a role for them in these videos), but to also include the people in the trenches, the middle-managers and other workers. This also serves to visually illustrate an organization’s diversity of workforce. ‘Real people' testimonials convey honesty and emotion that are more difficult to communicate with narrator-delivered scripts, no matter how well written.

Of course, there’s also an element of ‘sales’ in these productions, in that we want to sell the audience on why they should join your team. As different people react to different motivating factors, it’s always helpful for us to understand just what the appeal is for most workers. Is it the funky culture that is your signature? Is it the potential for monetary gain? Is it about doing work that is meaningful for the community or the world at large? Maybe it’s all of these. Maybe it’s more esoteric. The point is that understanding the appeal is critical to effectively crafting the message.

Orientation video / Recruitment video also borrow many production tactics from Sales and Marketing video in that we’re still essentially selling the business. Therefore, it’s important to maintain brand continuity with the video in terms of fonts, colors, design elements, etc. that all align with your larger brand. And similar to how a sales video aims to entice viewers to buy a product, here aim to create that same sense of intrigue, excitement and motivation for viewers to feel drawn to the company. To that end, we employ many techniques similar to those used for a general sales video, but with the focus on concepts that are a bit more intangible than selling a product - themes such as opportunity, being part of a team, contributing to the greater good, etc.

As with all corporate video production, there is no single approach that always works. Every organization will have its own pitch to employ, its own story to tell, and our job is to help you craft that message in a way that will resonate loudly and clearly with your intended audience.

Sizzle Reel

A corporate sizzle reel falls into a category we affectionately refer to as ‘eye candy’, as does any short, dynamic, fast-paced video intended to present a taste of your company or brand. These typically do not include any dialogue or narration and are more focused on utilizing innovative video editing techniques and compelling music to quickly whet the viewer’s appetite to learn more.

A sizzle reel can incorporate a wide array of visual assets, typically creatively edited in under a minute or so and intended to not necessarily 'tell a complete story' so much as 'leave an impression’. These visuals may be any combination of originally shot footage, existing footage from previous productions, stock footage, photography, newspaper / magazine headlines, print ads, originally created motion graphics / animations and text treatments, quick sound bites, logos and web screen grabs, etc. It's an entertaining and 'sexy' way to introduce people unfamiliar with your company to what you’re all about, or to simply reinforce your company ethos to those already in the know. These programs can take on many looks and different attitudes, but they all strive to leave the viewer with an impression of, ‘Wow! That was cool.’

A recent agency client of ours wanted to produce a sizzle reel for an established insurance company client of theirs who was celebrating a centennial anniversary.

The concept they came up with was “100 Years in 100 seconds”. Through an extensive, deep dive research expedition into the company archives, along with relevant archival photos, film and video relevant to the different eras of this company’s existence, newspaper headlines highlighting key historical events of the last century and random other visual elements that were uncovered, we designed a compelling 100 second long, chronologically accurate experience that transported the viewer from day 1 to the present day in the life of this organization - over 100 years. The entire montage of footage was cut to a fast-paced percussive (drums only) piece of music creating an almost visceral experience for the viewer. While the content of the video was not written to expressly ‘say’ anything about the company, the impression viewing it made said a LOT. Specifically, that they are a legacy insurance company that’s been a trusted partner to many of the top brands in the world, that they’ve ridden out major historical events including wars, depressions and disasters, that they’ve stood by their clients, adapted and grown with the times, and that they are a forward thinking company poised for the next 100 years. Of course, not every sizzle reel follows this formula, and obviously not every company can draw on the concept of celebrating 100 years, but the point is that an awful lot can be conveyed in a very short time span with style, polish and attitude.

Sizzle reels are great videos for conferences and events, trade shows and lobby loops. They’re short, fun for the viewer and make easily shareable video files through social media channels or featured on websites, direct mail links and other electronic platforms.

Corporate Documentary

One marketing strategy we’ve had a lot of success with is the corporate documentary. Constructed and executed much like a typical broadcast documentary you might see on PBS or Discovery Channel, the Corporate Documentary is an engaging way to share your organizational story, promote your brand, and create a program that has legs across many different platforms including screening at special events, showing at orientation sessions for new employees, being featured on your website and social media channels, or running on a loop in your lobby, etc. A corporate history / corporate documentary can serve as kind of an all-purpose video tool.

These programs take on many forms, but often include a combination of scripted narration, employee and customer testimonials, and frequently even retired employees who can speak to recollections of days past and sharing some of your cultural heritage. It’s an opportunity to showcase success stories from the past, spotlight company high points and bring attention to key product rollouts from your history, sharing recollections from legacy employees, speaking to obstacles overcome, etc. A documentary style video allows for messaging to go in any number of different directions and to also speak to the future.

Many clients think that they need a 50 year history to 'qualify' for a corporate documentary, however, just about any milestone in your lifespan is ripe for this treatment. Have a 10 year anniversary coming up? That’s a great launching point to celebrate “Our First Decade”. Have a 25 year anniversary coming up? How about a documentary celebrating “A Quarter Century of Service”? The point is that you control your story and we can help you position that story in a celebratory fashion that will bring meaning and gravitas to your organization, your people, your products and services.