Notes n Quotes
Director – Content & Communications at upGrad
I think video as a medium demands a lot of madness because I think if you’re sane, you will not be able to deliver justice to this whole medium. I believe in video emotes, and if you’re not genuine, you won’t resonate. And in order to get real, you have to delve into the depths of many things, which is why I call it art, science, that leads to commerce.
Art because storytelling is an art. Empathy is something that is so integral. Science because there is a lot of data to back up your decision of what kind of content to create for whom, what tone, length, price point, story, content, and so on. So there’s a lot of data behind the decisions you make. But there’s only so much you can do with data, right? You will never be able to do justice if you do not feel the need of your final consumer if you are not emotionally one with them with a high EQ and empathy to solve their problem, which will be very real and very deep.
As a result, I believe the real hero is user-generated content (UGC). If user-generated content is equally good, equally credible, or more, how do you as a content curator make a difference for you? And that requires a whole lot of madness.
This pandemic has also given us a new level of madness, because shooting, curating, and producing in post-production videos during the lockdown has been a great learning experience.
So, yeah, a lot of madness on various levels.
Snippets
Director, EMEA Marketing at UserTesting
Video Case Studies and Customer Success Stories
Customer success stories are excellent because they show you not only the customer in terms of the brand name but also the real customer. And that is adding the human element to it and showing what they’re doing, how they’re using your product, and using their own voice to convey the value.
And I believe that’s the secret; there’s only so far you can go if you keep shouting about how great your product is and how great your services are. However, if you have an outstanding customer who also happens to work for a great brand, then having something like that produced is an effective way because it speaks to the value of your brand and what it means to your customers and their brand.
And I believe that if you can see it from their perspective; if you’re in the research world and you’re thinking, Okay, I need to up our game, and you’re looking for solutions, and you see a customer success video where you see someone in a position similar to yours and can see that they’re having success with a product, it will resonate with you quicker. As a result, I think that bringing videos and accessories to give them more depth and engagement is critical.
Branding Marketing Manager at Amazon
I believe video marketing is a space of constant innovation.
I believe videos will evolve into more quantity from a brand marketing standpoint, and I believe it has already begun to do so over the last three years, with more frequency and quantity versus a single TV commercial landing a single message. When I say that it is only about quantity and not quality, I mean that the quality is in the production value. Previously, we discussed films with high production values and good storytelling; today, you only need good storytelling and a low production value to produce a lot of content.
I believe it has shifted to influencers as a result of this. I believe that this entire piece has become much more democratized, beginning with the content creator, who can now easily create a video without relying on a studio by simply purchasing a few gadgets and being able to do it themselves, to advertisers being able to use that content, because it’s usually not about going into that much detail of pixels, but rather about talking to your customer. And it’s fantastic if the customer is listening to a specific format. So this trend will undoubtedly continue; in fact, it will become larger and larger.
The second trend, I believe, is the shift from horizontal to vertical, which was one of the changes we noticed a few years ago. That simply demonstrated that you are finally consuming more on your phone. As a result, the format of the video shifted, and you should be open to it. But I don’t believe that a single change in format would result in enormous innovation. I believe that brands will innovate to build products that will provide them with that experience.
So, yes, I’m not just talking about video as a marketing asset; I’m just saying that you’re so familiar and comfortable as a person interacting in this way to absorb and feel connected that it’s the closest form to reality. In a way, it’s like adopting your customer habit. So, yes, videos will see a lot of creativity, and the trend of quantity over quality will undoubtedly continue. You’ll drop being perfect, and you’ll focus on relevance over perfection.
On the path to gender equality, financial independence and literacy have been an often overlooked step. As the world celebrates Women’s month, Paytm released a video highlighting a social experiment it conducted that highlights the stark disparities in financial literacy between men and women.
The campaign consisted of a number of questions starting very general and broad and getting more specific and focused. Individuals in a test group, which was made up of men and women of different ages and backgrounds, were asked to step forward if the answer was a yes or backward if it was a no. As soon as the questions touched upon issues of personal finance and financial independence, men took steps forward.
The gap was ghastly to look at! While modern Indian women do not lack ambition or ability when it comes to financial conversations, many are still surprisingly uncertain and unconfident.
Directed by Ruchi Narain, the campaign aimed to help viewers realize that empowering women in India to be financially literate and optimistic is a major and critical step in the right direction toward achieving gender equality.
On International women’s Day, this video campaign by Paytm definitely demands a view, not so much for its ideation, but for the simple points it raises.
On the Occasion of International Women’s Day, food tech giant Swiggy launched a campaign in an attempt to change the search results when one looks up for ‘desi masala’.
A quick ‘desi masala’ search on Google floods one’s screen with objectionable images of women with objectionable captions, instead of images of Indian spices. To change this narrative on International Women’s Day, Swiggy urged internet users to upload images of spices on their social media handles, adding ‘desi masala’ in the caption, in an attempt that search engines pick it up.
As the world celebrates Women’s month, having conversations around feminism, a simple web search can reveal a unique tale altogether. While this initiative by Swiggy is a positive start, there is still a long way to go before search outcomes and views change.
In a universe where a host of SaaS companies are aggressively flaunting more and more complex terms, services and features to enable digital transformation, Chennai based SaaS company Kissflow Digital Workplace discover the strength of a softer approach.
Drawing on the purest form of simple, childlike awe and creativity, Kissflow created a series of three films that lead viewers into the simple, uncomplicated world of a child solving everyday problems. These films depict a simple approach to problems that can be uncovered with lateral thinking.
It is Kissflow’s core belief that the easiest way to solve a problem is to uncomplicate it.
For their simple, awe-inspiring creativity, Kissflow’s – Less drama, more ease is definitely in our spotlight.
They’ve definitely got us mad over their videos!
Buzzmaker of the Month
Adam Harder has had an illustrious career in the world of video production and video marketing. Video has played a pivotal role since his first job as a broadcast journalist for the United State Air Force. It’s been quite a journey for him, working with a great mix of video educational, governmental and tech-driven production. He shares his nine years of video production experience with the Mad Over Videos community.
First things first, what makes you mad over videos?
The means through which video allows the creator, and audience, to connect with humans. I heard once that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million. There’s truth to that. Not to take away from photography, as it too is an incredible medium…but there’s a lot to be said for the moments that only video can truly capture, and the feelings that those moments evoke. You hear the laughs, you see the cries, you live the footage. While video can be a challenging medium to work with (and it usually is), the complexity of what you put into it, if done thoughtfully, almost always resonates with the audience. For me personally, that’s always what’s made me mad over videos – the ability to connect people.
How has a background in journalism given you an edge in the world of marketing?
I find that my colleagues who have made the transition from broadcast journalism to video marketing have a bit of an edge. The reason being, most of the time when you’re working with marketers, they tend to see every piece of content they create through a marketing lens (of course). That’s because most marketers only have experience creating messaging which is meant to sell something, or prove something. That’s not the point of journalism. The point of journalism is to tell a story, usually of a person or scenario. The journalists job is not to get anyone to buy anything or take any action, but simply to educate. Very often in video journalism, they’re educating you about the journey, plight, or mission of an individual. There is no ulterior motive. The journalist is the conduit whose words, images, and story structure help the audience care about, or be invested in, someone they’ve never met. That’s genuine.
Thus, when you come from that world of empathetic, authentic visual storytelling…you tend to value the inherent power of a human story, and recognize it when it’s there. You also recognize when it’s not. When asked, “How can we interest new customers with our brand?” the marketing and the journalist tend to answer in two different ways. The marketer says, “Our company offers products which can do A,B, and C.” The journalist says, “Meet this customer of ours. This is their real story. See how their life was changed with this product? Let us change yours too.” The thing is, you can’t fake that. Audiences know when you do. Let the product speak for itself, and let your customers’ stories speak for your brand. My journalist colleagues have an edge because this is the first place their mind goes when ideating for marketing content. The question isn’t “how can we get more people to buy our product?” It’s, “how can we make a statement through the lives of our existing customers.” The customer buying your product is a causation of this. You earn their trust with authentic video storytelling in marketing. Only after you earn their trust will you earn their business.
Why do you think video, as a medium, has a stronger impact on audiences?
It’s the complexity of the medium; which happens to be the same reason it takes longer and costs more to create than other forms of marketing. There are endless ways to impact your audience through video such as storytelling, captivating graphics, intentional coloring, speeds of cuts, music… the list is endless. However, I think this is exactly why it’s valuable for brands to experiment with it. You can truly stand out from your competitors, and create a unique brand identity, with video.
As video marketers, how do we bring authenticity to our work , while standing out to our audiences?
Learn about your audience, and learn about your current customers. The same reason we all check User Reviews before making a purchase is the same reason that you should be highlighting your inspiring customers. That is, to convince your audience to purchase your product. Video marketers should care less about the pitch and more about the demonstration. Let your current customers make the pitch for you. The audience is much more likely to believe a fellow user like themselves, than the employees of the company trying to take their money.
The best thing a video marketer can be is authentic. Nothing is more authentic than the real deal.
Although there isn’t a secret mantra to crack video marketing in an instant (we’re working on it shhh), what is one thing you always keep in mind when working on your projects?
This might sound sacrilegious to some, but as video marketers, we don’t know what we don’t know. We work in an ever-evolving creative space, and no one (regardless of what they say) is a professional at every aspect of our job. This is the same reason that gaffers, videographers, editors, and animators are all specific careers. You may know some of these things (perhaps well, even), but if you think you can do it all…you’re losing.
Your job as a video marketer is to be the messenger. The one who can translate the medium of video into the language of your company’s audience. You can visualize what will resonate with your audience, and tell a production company exactly what to create to make it happen. Many of us need to do our own edits sometimes (myself included), but an accomplished video marketer knows when to seek help in a production. Knowing this will not only help you in managing the expansive needs of productions but will also help your non-video colleagues realize that you are not, in fact, a full time video ‘swiss army knife,’ so to speak. We’ve all tried to be that before and it’s no way to live. The more you let production experts contribute to your video vision, the more successful your video is likely to be.
Jigyasa Kishore of Moglix joins us on the fifth episode of MOV LeadHERs to discuss her product management journey, how organizations can bridge the gender gap in this field, and how women in technology can choose it as a career path, with our host Scindia Balasingh!
Neha Lobo of IBM joins us on the sixth episode of MOV LeadHERs to share her insights and experiences in the field of performance marketing, navigating to leadership positions and sustaining them in the workplace, and much more with our host Scindia Balasingh!
Senior Director – Brand, Growth & Excellence at Moglix
MOV LeadHERs, as an initiative, creates a golden network of people by inspiring and encouraging other women leaders to think about things differently in their professional and personal lives. I believe, Mad Over Videos by guch, is setting up a platform that will not only benefit women leaders but will also help others understand their perspective. MOV LeadHERs is an incredible format, and I truly believe you guys have cracked it.
