Corporate Video Production for PR

Highly produced, branded and with a focus on your key marketing messages, video is one of the most effective tools when it comes to corporate communication.

Whether it’s used on your website, internally, posted on YouTube or played at industry events, a corporate film is a powerful way to convey key messages.

Our in-house creative teams provide corporate video production services for government departments, household name brands, charities and many others. Our producers and crews have worked in national television so understand the ingredients required to keep an audience engaged.

Shout! Communications is constantly innovating. We use the latest production techniques and technologies to provide cutting-edge content, for a media savvy audience.

Sometimes, however, visuals are lacking. That’s when you can appreciate excellent editing techniques and graphics.

Unlike other PR video, corporate films are commissioned with longevity in mind, so you need to get it right. For us that means a strictly enforced approvals procedure and detailed planning in the pre-production stage. From creative concept to production logistics, we can help you very step of the way.

They say a picture tells a thousand words and, in our opinion as a video PR agency, video communicates even more. First of all, video is attention grabbing, easy to consume, content. Our eyes are attracted to movement, and we process visuals much quicker than the written word. So, if you only have a few seconds to engage someone, video is the way to do it.

Good video is about story-telling and we are all much more likely to remember a story than a list of facts. What might be quite dry as written text can come alive when you have sound and visuals to play with.

You feel the enthusiasm of a person featured in the video, hear their passion for their business – it’s emotion that can trigger a response. Read a text and you’re being told – watch a video and you see, hear and judge for yourself.

And why does this matter? Because research says customers and clients are much more likely to remember a video than something they’ve read, plus they’re more likely to share it. That’s hugely beneficial for SEO and brand awareness.

Obviously corporate video production is only part of a marketing and PR programme and each should complement the other. Key messaging should be reflected in both, albeit more subtly in any PR content.

Corporate video is a way of providing more detail, and the next step down from PR in the customer Having heard about your company on radio and television a potentially interested customer may turn to your corporate video for more information and detail.

You can also link your corporate video production into a PR programme, and get a better ROI too, by re-editing the video footage into B-roll. B-roll is six to eight minutes of roughly edited video material, which is distributed to broadcast news programmes free of charge and any copyright issues, with the purpose of illustrating a PR story. For more on B-roll click here.

Pictures. That’s what makes any video great. Corporate video, because it’s purpose is sales and marketing, has to work extra hard so visuals are particularly crucial.

By its nature a corporate video is about business and services, so it is going to be
commercial. But don’t be tempted to over-brand. You want your viewers to watch your corporate video in its entirety, not switch off part way through because they think it’s an advert. It’s a fine line.

Tell a story and like any story it needs a beginning, a middle and an end. The end is likely to be a call to action – probably how a potential customer can get in touch with you, or find out more information about your product or services.

This first example was for transport company Hoyer, who wanted to recruit more drivers. You see employees at work, looking professional but also like they’re enjoying what they do. The “sound-bites”, or interview clips, are short but they’re informative too. They communicate clear messages about things that clearly matter to the company, including safety, training and career development.

Unlike the Hoyer video, this second example is significantly less branded. In fact, you don’t see the product name until the very end of the corporate video. That’s because the purpose of the film is different. The video was commissioned by pharmaceutical giant MSD Animal Health. They wanted to engage with customers who were dog owners, to inform them about the dangers of tick-bourne diseases.

The video focuses on what the problem is, only alluding to a solution to the problem (their product Bravecto) at the end. Having a well-known presenter, Chris Packham, and including an expert, Professor Richard Wall, gives the corporate video credibility. A case study, a dog owner whose pet was made ill by a tick bite, would resonate and spark an emotional response from other dog owners.

The corporate video pre-production process begins with us asking what you hope the video will achieve. Is it about brand awareness or is there a call to action at the end? What are your key messages? Do you have a vision of the finished video or can we give you suggestions for the creative treatment? Who is to be filmed and where? Who needs to approve the video?

Based on your answers we will produce a storyboard – a minute by minute written description of what the end product could look and sound like.

Risk assessments, call sheets and shot lists then follow.

By the time the camera is turned on ready to shoot the first footage you should have a good idea of what you expect us to film. We hope you’ll enjoy your corporate video for a long time to come and that’s why we encourage you to come on any shoots, so you can see for yourself what’s being done. If you can’t, that’s no problem and we can film in your absence, having already discussed with you in detail the creative content.

You’re also invited to sit in on all or part of the edit. Alternatively, you can review the material at different stages of the process online.

This is your film, and we want you to feel in complete control of what you have commissioned us to do.

We allow for two rounds of changes of the finished video. This means you can tell us of any number of changes you would like made on two occasions.

At Shout! Communications we also have a wide range of equipment which adds high production value to your corporate video. Polished, highly produced and with more branding, corporate videos are by their nature a cut above any other PR video. We often make use of our video toys, such as jibs or sliders, to produce a glossy finish.

For example, have you ever wondered what can be achieved using a green screen? Have a look at our video which can show you what’s possible:

Or watch this video which showcases the kind of shots you can achieve with a jib.