5 simple strategies to supercharge your video marketing

Eat enough protein, start a gratitude journal, reduce your carbon footprint, cut down your screen time. In 2020, the amount of advice we have to keep up with to live our best lives is exhausting.

And for those of us working in marketing, media and advertising – video marketing can feel the same. Juggling a never ending to do list, managing tighter budgets and putting out the odd fire leaves you very little time to stay on top of what’s working in video to reach our ever changing SINK/DINK, early adopter, tech enthusiast, grocery buyer.

Don’t worry – Genero has you covered with 5 very simple strategies to supercharge your video marketing.

1. Embrace the creative potential of video

If a picture is worth a thousand words, video must be worth a million. It’s a premium inventory capable of great things, but with so much content delivered to consumers every day now, their expectations have increased. 

The rise of digital marketing over the past ten years has led to a focus on performance and optimisation over creativity, but to really cut through you need good quality creative. Without it, your message is not capturing attention, your brand is not building equity and you’re not using your media dollars effectively.

An analysis of 500 FMCG campaigns revealed creative to be the highest driver of sales uplift, superior to both reach and targeting. Marketing is a fight for attention, give your communication every effort to compete on the cluttered stage.

If you’ve rolled your eyes and coughed ‘right, and where do i get even MORE $$ for that?’ – you should take a look at the work we did for Guinness to celebrate their iconic harp logo. An open brief, creative ideas from across the globe and a modest budget. Too easy.

2. Create content for a mobile-first world

If 50% of video consumption is on mobile, but you’re putting 90% of your budget into the TVC creative, you don’t have to be a mathlete to see this doesn’t quite add up. 

More than ever it’s SUPER important to think about how your video will act on mobile – is it too reliant on dialogue? Is your brand integration too small on a 9:16 screen? Is it too long and tempting to skip past? 

The quickest way to stress-test this is to actually preview this creative on mobile and see if it has impact. Too often we’re reviewing video creative on our desktops, in production suites and not in their final environment.

Creating original content for this format is your best bet to win over a mobile-first audience, but if you already have assets, it’s not too late. Genero’s community of digital-natives and best practice motion designers can literally take any brand assets and turn them into mobile-first creative. In fact, it’s a welcome challenge to them.

Check out this example where we took a Qatar Airlines TVC and created made for mobile video ads for Facebook and Instagram, and learn more about our tips for social and mobile here.

3. Global consistency, local authenticity

You only know what you know could never be more true when it comes to creating cross-continent campaigns for multiple cultural audiences. When planning this type of campaign, you must consider the cultural values of the region, their norms, etiquette, humour and slang.

Admittedly, to get it right and avoid alienating or straight up offending your audience can take some time and considerable research. This is where access to a global network of professional filmmakers can help. 

Genero can connect you with creatives who understand your consumers’ language, culture, and behaviours, and also have local networks to help you find great locations, talent and props that you might otherwise be unaware of. 

Check out our work for FitBit below as a great example of how to truly localise a campaign. We took an existing US campaign and reimagined every scene for the Japanese audience, considering casting, locations, music, sound, tone, pace and of course, the script.  The full case study can be seen here.

4. The consumer context can inspire creativity

Don’t look at all the spots and moments on a media plan, look at them as creative opportunities to insert your brand into the consumer’s mindset. What are they thinking, what else are they doing at the same time, what would they want to know about you and your brand and how would they get what they need – are all questions you should be asking every time you translate your creative idea to a specific media platform or placement. 

Marketers who mix in relevant context strategies can bolster sales lift and further increase ROI by up to 30%.

When Kleenex a’plyd this to their YouTube brand campaign, they saw brand uplift breaking their norms.

5. Values matter. Be culturally relevant. 

Being culturally relevant as a brand is no mean feat, but research shows that 25% of product purchase decisions are led by cultural relevance and 89% of consumers are likely to switch to brands they associate with causes.

Understanding what your consumer believes in and relating your brand to their values, is good for your bottom line, so by staying neutral you’re missing a trick. Try and align your brand with cultural events, promote trends that define today’s culture, and support social issues that benefit everyone. 

Tapping into a diverse network of creators who understand (and who are!) your audience, can surface topics, issues and stories that connect with consumers on a deeper level in an authentic and meaningful way. 

See how Uber welcomed women to the driver’s seat in Saudi Arabia, with a multi-market campaign that was a huge success for the brand.

If you need a hand with your video strategy or would like to learn more about how Genero can help, get in touch.