March 12, 2017 • News
If you know anything about Lemieux Company, you know we’re all about the time-honored craft of storytelling. Our palette of choice: high quality video production. But for the next several Wednesdays we’ll be going old school. Back to the written word to pull back the curtain on why we do what we do. Along the way, we’ll be answering some questions we get from our clients, sharing industry trends we think you need to know about and maybe even doing a little shameless self-promotion along the way. Join in the conversation by posting your feedback. It’s always more fun to build something better together.
Photo courtesy of Circles Co.
Wilson Lemieux and Cole Holloway interview Allan Peters, former Creative director at Target.
VIDEO IS NO LONGER A LUXURY
I know, I know. We’re still coming to terms with a “Video First” company using words to write about why video is the superior communication platform. But hey, we’d like to think we can craft a good story, regardless of the medium.
Ever since the first TV crackled to life with moving images in 1928, we’ve been enamored with visual storytelling. Gone are the days of gathering around a physical television for appointment viewing. Today’s market expects high quality video content accessible when and where they want it. The technical ability to deliver such branded content is one of the reasons 2016 has been called the year of video marketing.
According to industry expert Boaz Amidor, “Creating a video that embodies your product is the new standard in creating good content.”
And, evidently, market decision makers agree.
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According to Forbes, 59% of executives would rather watch video than read text.
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A Forrester Marketing report revealed that including a video in an email, increased click-through rates a whopping 200% to 300%.
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96% of B2B organizations use video in some capacity in their marketing campaigns.
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And, Nielsen claims 64% of marketers expect video to dominate their strategies in the near future.
If that doesn’t convince you that video has become a staple of the modern marketing mix, check out this snazzy infographic created by our friends at Explainify. This well-researched chart gives compelling reasons why video must be a part of your marketing budget.
VIDEO JUST DOES IT BETTER
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then video is worth almost two million. Seriously. Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research reports the value of a well-produced one-minute video is equal to almost 1.8 million written words. We have no idea how he arrived at this number, but the good doctor is highly respected in his field so we’ll trust he’s done the math.
But wait. There’s more.
According to data from Hubspot, the brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text. Video goes one step further, creating a multi-dimensional experience, which helps your brand be experienced as a personality and not just a company.
BIG BRANDS MAKING THE CONNECTION
So, there ya have it – the left-brain analytical support for video content . . . the ROI reasons of why we need it. But let’s put our right-brain creative goggles on for a minute and see what brand storytelling actually looks like from some of the big brands that are doing it right.
A good place to start is with two product categories that inherently pose a communication challenge: technology and feminine products. (You gotta admit, if you can make these topics engaging, you’ve hit marketing pay dirt.)
Take technology. You can’t really see it. Most of us can’t understand it. And, we certainly don’t get emotionally involved with our computer hardware. Intel changes all that with their five-part “Meet the Makers” series. Each video profiles a person around the world who uses Intel products to create amazing experiences and new technology.
This video tells the story of 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee who used Intel’s technology to prototype and build an affordable braille printer to help more people who are blind read. Not suitable for work if you tend to tear up at inspirational messages.
Intel’s series garnered industry praise and consumer engagement. It’s a brilliant example of the power of inspired storytelling over traditional product-centric advertising.
Feminine products. There, we said it. Again. If you think you’ve got a tough category to create an inspirational message around, take a page from Always’ playbook. Much like Dove, Always approaches their marketing messages with equal parts realism and self-empowerment. In this video piece, they use the famous insult to grab your attention — and then change the conversation about what it means to run, throw, and fight “like a girl.”
In addition to winning an Emmy, a Cannes and a Clio Award, this video shows what’s possible when you empower the consumer by speaking to the authenticity of their emotions.
SMALL DOESN’T MEAN MEDIOCRE
Some folks have the idea that if you’re a smaller company, a regional enterprise or a non-profit, the power of such compelling video storytelling is out of reach. Lemieux Company begs to differ.
In fact, we make it our mission to create content with conviction for every client we partner with.
Take a look at these examples of work we’ve been able to do with our friends at Evocation Coffee, Leal’s, and The Work Boot here in Amarillo.
BUILDING LEGACIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
Successful brands of all sizes are expanding their use of video throughout the entire customer journey to help them build better relationships, educate and convert buyers, and improve customer satisfaction.
Brand storytelling is not all that different from the stories we’ve passed down throughout the ages. Whether it’s around a campfire, a child’s bedside or elsewhere, the good stories, the ones we connect with, are called upon to be told over and over again. And the best stories? Well, they leave something of a legacy for the teller.
The Lemieux team sees it as an honored trust to be a part of creating the story that becomes the legacy for small business owners.
Time-honored craftsmanship is part of the Lemieux DNA. It’s what makes us work a little harder and a little longer. It’s what helps us transform the mundane into the memorable through a full range of video marketing tools, including:
- Commercial production
- Promotional films
- Educational & training videos
- Sales & marketing tools
If it’s time to start building a legacy for your business (big OR small), give us a call (806.502.8383) or shoot us an email (wilson@lemieux.company).
Let’s build something better.
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/video/#1ccac5647305
http://www.brafton.com/news/survey-says-marketers-increase-social-video-content-budgets/
http://visual.ly/5-reasons-2016-year-video-marketing
