As Internet speeds keep increasing, phone storage gets better, and streaming becomes the new norm, more people are tuning into their phones and smart TVs instead of cable. Online is almost synonymous with “watching something” and that trend is only growing.
Shoppers spend a third of their time online watching video content and 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week. And where the views go, ad dollars follow: video advertising is increasing 40% year-over-year. Cisco forecasts that in two years’ time, more than 80% of internet traffic will be video-based.
For retailers and brands especially, videos ads have become a way to build awareness and drive interest. But how can you create an ad that customers actually want to see?
Here are three brands that did video marketing right:
1. Nike: “Choose Go”
When the world stops turning in a “Stopapocalypse”, runners all over the world unite to run to keep the world turning. What are they wearing? Nikes, of course. In Nike’s 60-second spot, released on March 1st across TV and social media channels, the athletic apparel brand recruited celebrities including Kobe Bryant, Kevin Hart and Bill Nye to help keep the world turning.
Created by Portland agency Must Be Something and directed by Edgar Wright of “Baby Driver” fame, the spot is action-packed and humorous, and reinforces both the brand’s products – running shoes – and values, that ordinary people can come together (and inspire celebrity star-power) to do great things in the name of sports. The successful formula of tense storyline, celebrities, triumphant ending and short and punchy tagline #ChooseGo meant it was easily shared across social media channels.
To date, the video has been shared 4.6k times on Facebook with over 1.2 million views, and 4.6 million views on YouTube.
2. REI: “What’s your ‘But'” and “Video Weekend Project”
https://www.facebook.com/REI/videos/10156019564876484/
Okay, so not every brand can afford to feature dozens of celebrities in a single spot. If you’re on a limited budget, the best source of video content can be from customers themselves.
And why not? User-generated content results in 29% more web conversions than campaigns or websites without UGC.
Outdoor gear retailer REI successfully built user-generated content (UGC) to roll out two campaigns. The first was called “What is your But,” a popular sweepstakes campaign that gathered responses from users that were turned into short videos .
For the “Video Weekend Project”, REI featured videos created by REI customers and members on YouTube. REI created a playlist on YouTube featuring videos that range from customers ice climbing to paddleboarding.
3. Glossier: “Wowder Featuring…”
Glossier, the fast-growing, millennial-approved makeup brand, is known for harnessing user generated content in powerful ways on both the brand’s blog and product site. When it comes to video, the team products video that doesn’t only feature their products – these videos also teach viewers how to use them.
When launching their Wowder makeup finishing powder, Glossier deployed three videos on the brand’s YouTube channel, website, and across social media, featuring three women with different skin tones applying Wowder.
The video teaches viewers how the product is used and presents an idea of what the product would look like on their skin, complete with before/after images. At the top corner of the video is a call-to-action that takes viewers directly to the Wowder product page for more information and the chance to check-out.
Rethinking Your Video Marketing Campaigns
Video marketing will only keep growing as users spend more and more time watching video online. That creates a big opportunity for brands, but only if your content actually stands out.
To make sure you’re grabbing and keeping their attention, here’s what you can learn from Nike, REI, and Glossier.
1. Learn from Hollywood.
If you have the budget – as Nike clearly does – why not take a cue from the silver screen and make a video ad that rivals any big budget thriller? With expert pacing, great music, an all-star cast and of course a big Hollywood director, your video could prove to be the vehicle that launches your brand into a next level of stardom.
Even without a camera crew and celebrities, you can record a fun, exciting video on your own. A good story can go a long way.
2. Let your customers speak for you.
To make your message resonate as authentically as possible, what better way than to recruit people who already use and love your products to speak on your brand’s behalf? By gathering questions from users in the brand’s “What is your But” campaign, REI encouraged users to be a part of the conversation and have their questions answered by REI’s marketing team.
And to show REI products out in the wild, the company asked users to make their own footage for the “Video Weekend Project.”
The result is nothing fancy – just real people doing real things out in the wild. Sure, they’re using REI products, but the campaign sought to capture an authentic feeling from authentic customers. And the result is a campaign that successfully generated the exact type of brand awareness REI wanted.
3. Teach something.
Sometimes, the key to getting someone to buy your product is letting them know how they can use it.
Glossier’s Wowder video campaign does exactly that in just thirty-three, millennial pink seconds. By showing three different women using the product and then showing before/after results at the end, Glossier makes the product look easy-to-use and establishes the brand itself as the go-to resource for how-to-use content.
A clear CTA doesn’t hurt either.
