The media landscape has changed. As brands respond to customers’ ever increasing demand for engaging video content, many are forgetting the basics of marketing – to ensure they constantly build on their brand, giving a positive brand experience no matter what the platform or medium the message is in.
Most companies have well-established print brand guidelines, but as soon as they start to create video content those guidelines leave big gaps in how the brand should work on screen. This is resulting in some of the largest brands publishing content that is inconsistent or poorly branded.
Building an on-screen brand presence can offer new opportunities beyond other media. It allows you to bring your brand to life and communicate your personality, injecting more emotion than is possible through print alone. It engages people through sound and vision, telling stories more effectively and allowing people to become more involved. All of this has great importance for marketers who are trying to achieve a higher level of engagement through their content.
One of the key advantages I have seen from establishing a brand on screen is the avoidance of the misinterpretation and inconsistency that often fills the void when this strategy isn’t thought through. Ultimately taking video branding seriously ensures every video you make reinforces your brand values instead of undermining them.
Here are eight fundamentals for creating world-class video brand guidelines:
1. Think like a broadcaster
You will have noticed that ITV re-branded earlier this year. Whether you like the new branding or not, the fact is you probably have an opinion on it, and more importantly, that you remember it. Broadcasters create strong channel branding to constantly reinforce their brand around the video content they produce.
You should ensure that when you are creating content you are thinking like a broadcaster and reinforcing your brand at every opportunity.
2. Take control
Video branding allows you to lift your brand off the page through motion. But many brands and businesses allow production companies to make their own interpretation of your brand when making a film, using your logo and identity in many different ways. This results in a confusing and inconsistent brand presence, which may even damage your brand.
3. Think in three dimensions
Most companies have solid and well thought out print brand guidelines, however as soon as these are moved into the world of film your brand will take on other attributes of time, space and sound. Have you ever thought about what your logo looks like from the side? Or how it should move? Well conceived video branding will give your brand another dimension.
4. Don’t forget audio
If I say Intel, what sound comes to mind? Don’t underestimate the sound of your brand. As well as the visual attributes, moving your brand on-screen opens up the possibilities of audio branding. The sound of your brand should be composed in a way that is unique to your identity. Your audio signature will create a sound-based identification through which people will recognize you. It doesn’t just have to work on-screen, it can be adopted in the real world at your events or even on your telephone hold music.
5. Tell your overarching story
Creating on-screen branding is a great opportunity to articulate your brand personality and reinforce the overarching brand narrative and the values you hold dear. Think of video branding as the cover of a book about your business, with each chapter being the individual films you make.
6. Ensure consistency
By extending your current print brand guidelines with a video branding supplement and packaging it all up as an easy-to-use ‘toolkit’, production companies will be able to implement the new branding seamlessly. This will ensure each video you make is consistent and reinforces your brand. It will also leave your production companies to focus their efforts on film making rather than branding.
7. Be creative
In creating a ‘walled garden’ for your brand to play, you open up lots of opportunities to take the brand into new areas. One great example is to use your logo animations as a projection on the walls at an event. Or even make your new 3D logo into a physical model for your reception.
8. Use the right people
The capability to create video branding assets and guidelines sits between a production company, a broadcaster and a design agency. However, this mix of capabilities is hard to find. The type of companies best suited to this type of work typically have experience of channel branding for broadcasters, which is directly applicable to creating an effective video brand for you. To position you correctly it’s important that some consultation is carried out so that they understand your brand, the market you operate within and your product.