Humanising the corporate video

The best cinema works because it’s created by people who are experts in their field who care deeply about the stories they tell and the audience they’re aimed at. This is a key truth that often goes missing in the world of the corporate video.

With some production companies you can tell that they’re churning out content just to pay the bills, they’re phoning it in. Just because you’re making a product-based video or company overview film it doesn’t mean you can’t still put a visual stamp on it or tell an engaging story – quite the opposite.

The key to creating award winning content is to approach everything like it’s your own personal work of art. For the day, week or month that you work on that project it needs to become your passion – something that you personally, as a filmmaker, can be proud of.

The filmmaker needs to be willing to fight the battles with contributors or clients to ensure that their expertise is properly used to make a film that can be more than just a marketing tool. People don’t want to be sold a product, they want to share ideas, learn and be entertained. If you can do that, the marketing benefits will come as a legitimate bonus, earned and not forced.

Whatever field or industry it is that a corporate film is being produced for, there are always human stories to be told and that is the way to best connect with an audience. There’s a lot of scepticism regarding marketing in the minds of consumers and even businesses and only a genuine and honest approach will ever remedy that.

If a film can put platitudes and slogans to one side and tell the story of why this product, person or service matters to each individual audience member, then some genuine engagement might be created and if that strengthens a brand or increases sales, it’s happened in a more organic way than forcing advertising slogans down the throats of your audience.

Sometimes it’s not easy to approach corporate work as a creative venture but it really is the only way to truthfully engage with an audience. Tell honest stories that don’t shy away from the negatives and focus on the human element of whatever your ‘brand message’ or ‘USP’ might be.

People don’t want marketing slogans and sound-bites; they want to hear about other people, interesting ideas and things that might actually provide a positive change to their life or business.

As a business looking to produce a video it’s vital that you collaborate with filmmakers who can get motivated and cultivate passion about your product or service. The best work is produced when it’s fuelled by enthusiasm and by pride. If your chosen filmmaker doesn’t care about how their work is viewed, no one is going to care about the film they make for your business.

The best filmmakers will find the stories you didn’t even know you wanted to tell.

If you want to know how we can tell your story, give us a call on 0113 230 4411.