5 Sub-genres of Corporate Video Production and How To Make Them

So you want to make a corporate video for your company do ya?

But do you even know what a corporate video is? In all honesty, I struggle with this definition as well because it's actually more nuanced than that and my company does corporate video production!

So I looked up the definition of 'corporate video' and here is what I found on Wikipedia:

Corporate video refers to any type of non-advertisement based video content created for and commissioned by a business, company, corporation, or organization. Today, the vast majority of corporate video content is hosted online and is published on the company’s website page and distributed through social media or email marketing.

Corporate video content is targeted towards that company’s core selling demographics or internal employees. Corporate video production is frequently the responsibility of a marketing director or corporate communications manager. Examples of corporate video include corporate overview videos, staff training and safety videos, promotional/brand films, investor relations and shareholder videos, market updates, product videos, event videos, onboarding videos, employer branding videos, CEO statements, executive proposal videos, and customer testimonial videos.

As video becomes a more integral part of a company’s communication strategy, often companies will release corporate videos with press release announcements, newsletters and other forms of communication to bolster the message reach and effectiveness.

Corporate Video Production companies leverage a company’s marketing material, guidance from their communication director, and content specific copy to produce a corporate video. The time and scale of a corporate video production can vary greatly based on complexity and messaging. Some corporate videos may use only minimal crew and basic equipment, while others elect for higher quality content and contract with corporate video production specialists whose core focus is on creating B2B corporate video content.

Video content has become a significant ranking factor for search engine optimization from search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing and as a result more companies are electing to create corporate video content for their websites.[1]

You can see the official page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_video

So I don't think I was wrong in saying that the genre is more nuanced than 'corporate video' and people have a right to be confused. Within that banner there are many different video avenues you can go down and according to Wikipedia the number is 15. 15 types of videos! And those were just their examples.

So I think it's safe to say that the term 'corporate video' is just a blanket term as it seems to have everything to do with any video made for a corporation, which, other than movies, entertainment videos or home videos for posterity, is every other video made on the planet!

Okay, enough of that. Now that we've established that corporate video is more than one type of video, let's look at the top 5 types of videos you can make for your business that won't break the bank. I'll be focusing on videos that are public facing and used for some sort of marketing or client relation purpose.

1. Corporate Overview Video

I think when most people think of producing a corporate video they think of a Corporate Overview Video, which could also be known as an Introduction Video.

In this style of video it's generally about the culture and history of a company, what it's mission is, who works there, what services they provide and how they go about operating.

I wouldn't say it's so much a sales tool as it is a 'get-to-know-you' tool, where customers are looking to go a bit deeper into the heart of a company and see how they tick and learn about them when looking to buy from them or even work there.

Corporate overview videos are generally highly produced with a production company, small crew, writers and producers to get the story line clear and elicit some emotion from the viewer.

You don't have to do it that way though. As long as you follow a few simple rules you can take the reigns yourself and wear the producer/writer hat and simply hire a local videographer to take care of the technical aspects. You'll have to spend some money to get the video looking good, but you know your company the best, so it's okay to do it yourself.

Some things you want to keep in mind when putting your video together are:

• Don't make it too long. Make sure all the information is there for a good reason

• Include interviews with top executives, but also have some from all different levels of staff. Show the inclusive culture and happiness of your staff.

• Speak from the heart and try to not to read a teleprompter, everyone can tell

• Include your values, mission and purpose

• Capture B-roll (extra footage) of the offices, people working, having fun, etc.

• Make sure all your messaging is clear

• Include history and stories to engage the audience and let them into your world

• Be funny, creative and think outside the box

So there are a gazillion examples I could give, but I thought this one by Coorstek is appropriate as it's relatively basic and can be done similarly at a low cost. It's light on emotion, but tells a story and they've used some fun graphics to keep it engaging and the story clear. They use people from within the company to help tell the story who appear natural and easy going giving a sense of the company culture.

2. VSL (Video Sales Letter)

A VSL is a great tool to sell your product or service that communicates what your product is, how it works and how it helps customers alleviate their pain.

There's a pretty specific formula for this one and it goes something like this:

• Start with a hook - something scroll stopping to get attention

• Customer pain point is demonstrated

• What life can be like without that pain

• Obstacles to getting from pain to salvation state

• Hero solution is revealed (yes that's your product or service)

• How it works, why it works, etc.

• Show salvation state (yes again - bridging the gap)

• Show proof (testimonials, case studies)

• Call to Action/how to buy - can create scarcity situation to invoke buyer desperation

If you can really bring the pain vs. solution component to a strong emotional level and really demonstrate how easily your product or service bridges that gap you're in a great position to sell a whole lotta stuff!

You can also go big or small with this depending on your budget. You really can go as simple as having a spokesperson speaking onscreen to the above points, while cutting to some images and powerpoint slides or as big as a multi country shoot in remote locations hanging out with baboons...

Here's one you may have seen before - and yes, it's a VSL! It follows the points written above. They just take it to the next level of ridiculous comedy and silliness. Gets attention though doesn't it? It probably cost $400K ('cause that's what that production company charges, I believe), but I'm sure they made more than their money back with 40M views and massive awareness.

It would have been an investment, to say the least, but if they had simply had a regular add with a corporate CEO standing in front of a white board talking the same points... sure they would have made some sales, but most people wouldn't know Squatty Potty in the same way...

3. Brand Videos

Creating a brand video can be pretty exciting as you can really look at story here. Customers really connect to brands through stories, so the more emotion you can push with amazing visuals, music, voice over and strong narrative the more impact it will have on the viewer and the more likely they will be to remember you.

This isn't about going for the sale in the short term, but playing the long game by creating a unique identity in the marketplace.

So how do you go about creating a great brand story? Well you have to dig deep. Really think about the history, culture and driving force behind what makes the company tick. You're getting into some serious filmmaking territory here where you're blending the story together with metaphorical imagery and sounds, music and voice over, history and current processes.

It's not an easy task and the creative can take some time as you can really think outside the box on this one if you want to. That being said, there are many animated Brand Videos that are less emotional and simply tell the story of how they came to be, how they work, etc.

The choice is yours, but ultimately what you decide on is going to affect how you're perceived by customers and even new recruits. It's... hopefully... going to leave a lasting impression on everyone that experiences your brand video.

I like this brand video below as an example. It's fun, fast, has some history, shows off their success, demonstrates how it works and is engaging all at the same time. It checks a bunch of boxes including company overview. It probably wasn't over expensive either as it looks like they used a lot of repurposed footage from UGCs and past commercials and video campaigns. Enjoy!

4. Product Videos

Product videos, also seen as a 'corporate video' according to Wikipedia, is another genre of video that can have more sub-genres within it.

You can have a very basic product video where you only see the product on screen with maybe text and voice over talking about its benefits.

You can also have a product video where you don't see the product all that much, but you see the lifestyle around and maybe only see the product used a bit.

Unboxing videos, UGC (User Generated Content), commercials, and even testimonials could all fall under the product video heading.

Choosing which one is best for you is based on your audience, product and desired outcome.

We produced this one on a budget and thought it was good to include as it's a pretty clean and straight forward 'product video'. No actors, voice over or extra frills. Right to the point showing off the product.

5. Promotional Videos

A promotional video is basically a marketing tool to promote a product or service. Not unlike the other corporate videos mentioned above, but I like to think of a promotional video as a more specific initiative for a specific offering.

I would say it's a more time sensitive situation where you are using video to promote a sale on a product launch, or a new service you just created and want to draw more attention to that. Kind of like how a grocery store has a coupon for that week.

A good example could be a massage parlor (not that kind!) who have just hired a hot stone masseuse. They've never had this service before, so they create a short video explaining the benefits of hot stone massage, how it works and even who the new practitioner is and what their credentials are. Then a call to action with a time limited, discounted offering to bring in new and old clients quickly.

I believe this is a good example of a promotional video in accordance with my definition above. It's the demonstration of the release of a smaller product within a large company - ever heard of Google?

In Conclusion

Creating a corporate video can take many, many forms. Just be sure you're picking the right type of corporate video that reflects your end goal, who you're targeting and what your product is. And please be sure to have fun in the process. Having fun while creating your video is always reflected in the final product.

If you're looking for a professional video production company to help create your videos feel free to contact us at One Inch Punch Productions Inc.