Why Corporate Videos Work

How a corporate video can change your business.

In the course of our daily lives, we’re exposed to a lot of corporate communication. Being subjected to so much PR makes us media-savvy – or at least we like to think it does – and it runs the risk of making us cynical. With such a jaded audience, you’d think that a corporate video would be immediately dismissed as just another polished shill. And yet, corporate video is one of the most effective ways for companies to communicate their messages. What makes them such an effective tool?

The key to a successful company video – and the reason that video in general is such a potent way to build a brand – is good storytelling. People organise their thoughts and communicate their emotions by telling stories. We experience the world through stories, and our relationship with corporations is no different. When it comes to building a corporate reputation, you must never forget: people care about your product, but when it comes to your company they want a good story with compelling characters.

Corporate video has to communicate a small number of key points about a company. Some of these are uniquely suited to the video format. A video has to communicate the company’s values, the core principles that underlie its identity. Customers love to feel that they share the values of the companies that are important in their lives. The perception of these shared ideals turns a body of consumers into a community; supporting the company means supporting a set of values that the customer believes in.

Corporate identity becomes corporate story when a company uses video to communicate its history to potential customers. This point has to be handled with care; no one is interested in hearing that Amalgamated Rock and Gravel was formed in 1974 when United Rock and Gravel acquired debt-stricken Pioneer Aggregates. Small businesses, however, have a great advantage here. Every small business is an expression of an individual’s creativity, and every small business has had to overcome obstacles to get where it is. Explaining the company’s product in narrative terms draws the viewer in, making him or her a participant in the corporate story. Buying the company’s product gives viewers the chance to play a role in the realisation of the founder’s dream.

One aspect of the corporate story that corporate videos are particularly good at conveying is the personality of the company’s founders or leaders. A company can have a brand identity, but it can’t have a personality, and it’s personalities that customers relate to. An online video allows the company’s founder to explain the corporate story in his own words or showcase aspects of her personality that extend outside the usual corporate image.

Good production is important in this kind of story video, but good production doesn’t necessarily mean polish. A good corporate video should convey the company’s distinctive principles and personality; this extends to the style and feel of the video in addition to the narrative the video conveys. Slightly rough production can actually be more effective than very slick production as long as it conveys the authentic character of the company.

Corporate stories are like the stories we tell about ourselves – they represent our aspirations, our ideal selves. Sharing your story in the form of a company video helps bring others into that story, making them part of your dream.

If you’d like to produce a corporate video then speak to us. We’re experts in video production and would love to help you. Contact us on 01527 910050.