Video Advertising - Then and Now

Back in 1941 the first-ever TV commercial was aired for clock and watch brand, Bulova, who paid $9 to run a nine-second clip with a simple and concise message, "America runs on Bulova time." Today, companies across all sectors around the world pay up to a million times what was paid for that first-of-its-kind airing in order to bring their brands and stories to a consumer base or audience infinitely more accessible thanks to the rise of the internet. However, with greater accessibility comes greater discernment, and today’s video audience is all too aware of the power and pervasiveness of brand communication. 

For the marketer, content creator, or CEO, determined to communicate their brand, this raises a simple and important question: What makes a good video?

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Why bother using video content?

Storytelling Underpins the Delivery of Information

To the modern viewer, video is a prime source of information and entertainment. Our brains process visual data 60,000 times faster than words, with one minute of video considered equivalent to roughly 1.8 million words. This offers brands an incredible amount of latitude when it comes to the information that can be communicated to a viewer in a minimum of time. However, unless a video resonates with its audience as a story worth telling, rather than a list of values, stats or achievements, the viewer will often disconnect from the material.

Award-Winning B2B Storytelling

TBD Media Group recently received two Brand Film Awards for its videos, “I Am Terry”, and “Dutjahn”. Both videos are documentary-style films with a corporate focus and B2B storytelling, and both videos showcase what is needed to make good video content.

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“I am Terry”, a small company with a big story

“I am Terry” centres around the personal story of Terry Nelson, former footballer, paratrooper, troubled kidney transplant patient, world champion runner and Managing Director of Aqua Running.

Aqua Running is a company which developed a floating suit for running in the water that has helped physically handicapped people and professional athletes alike. 

The suit’s concept and success would make a highly technical and likely very interesting video, but it is Terry’s story, unvarnished and deeply personal, that makes this video into something special. The film offers an account of a man driven by the need to help others and prove that physical limitations can be overcome; a great set of themes around which the company’s message can comfortably sit.

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“Dutjahn”, a film celebrating tradition in modern enterprise

The story of “Dutjahn” is the story of the Martu People of the Gibson Desert. A team from The Estée Lauder Companies reveals a key aspect of the company’s supply chain carried out in the Western Outback of Australia. The process of sandalwood oil creation is explored and defined, but it is the relationship forged between Dutjahn Sandalwood Oils and The Estée Lauder Companies which makes the heart of this video; allowing corporate messaging and genuine documentary style to fit together seamlessly.

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Teach your audience and move them

Both films show very different companies, with Aqua Running a mere fraction of the size of The Estée Lauder Companies. However, both tell their stories as documentaries, allowing a corporate focus that is communicated with high-quality filmmaking style. TBD Media Group’s Managing director, Andy Chan, believes he knows why both videos work exceptionally:

“A good video isn’t about the company or about how big the product is. If people watch your video, it’s because they want to learn something and be moved by emotional storytelling.”

A good video is made by a good team who remember the importance of storytelling when it comes to brand messaging and quality video production. Award-winning videos are not easy to create, and they can teach important lessons when it comes to creating effective and emotional content that balances corporate communication with innovative storytelling; showcasing that one cannot be done well without the other.

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