A marketer's guide to brand video production in 2024

A whopping 89% of shoppers said that in 2024, they want to see more videos from brands.

But branded video production isn't about making ads. It's about creating a storytelling platform that connects deeply with your audience. And when you get it right, you significantly enhance brand awareness and customer engagement.

Do you have what it takes to leverage this powerful marketing tool?

Sean Downey, president of Americas & Global Partners at Google, believes that "In 2024, the biggest marketing trends will center around the possibilities of AI. [...] The AI opportunity is coming at a time of transformation for everyone, including marketers. In fact, in addition to connecting brands and products to people, more than ever before, marketers need to be growth drivers for their companies."

To be a growth driver for your company, you must create videos that don't just sell but make your brand's story unforgettable. Whether you experiment with AI or not, this guide will show you everything you need to start your branded corporate video production on the right foot.

What is brand video production?

Brand video production is the process of planning, creating, and distributing video content that shares brand stories and values, promotes company products or services, or displays products. The goal is to develop positive emotions associated with the brand and improve brand awareness and sales.

Most people can name at least one brand video they've seen and fondly remember. It could be Nike's famous Dream Crazy, Apple's Think Different, Volvo's Epic Split with Van Damme, or Dove's Real Beauty Sketches below:

What do they all have in common? A unique concept and a powerful demonstration that stops you in your tracks, making you think and feel. 

Why create a brand video? 

Brand videos leverage the power of video and storytelling. They make your content more impactful, giving you a higher ROI. In fact, 90% of video marketers say video has helped them increase brand awareness and 39% attribute ROI to brand awareness metrics.

A strong brand attracts more customers while reducing the cost per acquisition. These emotionally invested customers will buy more often and are happy to pay more.

Depending on your message and how you want to connect with your audience, you can create different types of brand videos:

• Explainer videos: Simplify how your product or service works and educate your audience on your value proposition, often using a bit of humor or animation.
• Company culture videos: Showcase your brand's personality, values, and people to appear more relatable and trustworthy.
• Product demo videos: Demonstrate a product's value by showing how it works and highlighting its features, benefits, and real-life applications.
• Testimonial videos: Feature customers sharing their experiences to build trust and credibility and showcase your impact on real people's lives.
• Brand films: Tell a good story that reflects your brand's ethos, mission, or impact on society to connect with the audience emotionally and leave a lasting impression.

What makes a good brand video?

A good brand video sets you apart from competitors. It uses powerful visuals that stir strong emotions and a timely, well-crafted message to make people remember you. And because it connects with the audience on a deeper level and stays in their minds, consumers will think of you first when they need something you offer.

Take Stanley's viral TikTok as an example. It starts with a customer-shared jarring sequence of what's left of their car after it caught fire. Their Stanley cup remained intact, with ice cubes still inside.

It wasn't a video production company that made this video after months of hard work. By creating a quick, short, and timely reply (along with the surprising promise to gift them a new car), Stanley took the spotlights, won 7M likes, and countless "I'm buying a Stanley Cup" public promises.

The secret to making a brand video stand out

Simon Sinek famously said audiences don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it.

To make your content stand out, your video production team should follow, at a minimum, the three steps below:

Step 1: Define your goal and wrap a big "why" around it. 

Want to increase brand awareness, launch a new product, or drive more sales? Whatever it is, make sure it has a strong enough reason to back it up.

Step 2: Explain your "why" using your audience's language.

Ask yourself, what does your target audience care about? What challenges are they facing? These insights will guide you to tailor your message in a compelling way that resonates and captures the audience's attention. 

Step 3: Create a compelling brand film with striking footage.

Only when you understand what makes your ideal buyers rejoice, feel inspired, and trust you can you move on to writing your story and illustrating it with powerful visuals.

Use high-quality, engaging animations or striking real-world footage to complement your narrative and keep viewers engaged until the CTA.

EcoWear's brand awareness video below, created with the AI video maker Synthesia, perfectly reflects this strategy:

The brand aims to increase awareness and drive sales with this video. Its big "why" is a commitment to creating a sustainable and ethical fashion that respects the environment and human rights. But it doesn't just tell them about the products; it speaks to their desires to make moral choices and contribute to a more sustainable world, with phrases like "from seed to style" or "join the EcoWear family," appealing visuals, and serene music.

What are the 4 stages of brand video production?

A brand video's journey from concept to screen involves careful planning, creative execution, rigorous editing, and strategic distribution. Here's a breakdown of the four essential stages to produce branded content.

Stage 1: Pre-production

Pre-production is the foundational phase where ideas take shape. It encompasses scriptwriting, storyboarding, scouting for locations, casting, and scheduling. 

For a brand film, aligning the message and story with your brand identity is super important. Every element, from the narrative to the talent and locations, should mirror your brand's ethos and appeal to your audience.

Stage 2: Production

In the production phase, concepts become a visual reality. To create high-quality video content, you need great attention to detail in lighting, sound, and composition. These elements help capture and convey the desired emotion and message of the video. 

Brand productions require a keen focus on ensuring all visuals, including the presenters' clothing, color schemes, and in-shot typography, align with your brand identity.

Stage 3: Post-production

Post-production involves refining the filmed content into a cohesive video through editing, color grading, and sound effects. The raw footage is polished and transformed, ensuring the pacing, transitions, and overall aesthetic align with the brand's style and the video's objectives.

For brand videos, this phase is crucial in maintaining the brand's consistency and enhancing the video's emotional impact. And the kicker? Anytime you get something wrong, for instance, brand clothing, you can fix it at this stage if you work closely with a VFX artist.

Stage 4: Distribution and promotion

The final stage involves using a cross-channel distribution plan to get your brand video in front of your target audience. 

Choosing the right platforms for distribution and having a solid promotional strategy are key. This includes SEO on the final product, leveraging social media, and engaging in paid advertising or influencer partnerships. 

Monitoring performance is essential for your content marketing. It helps you understand the impact of your story and refine future strategies to make the most of your video marketing efforts.

How to create brand video content that pops

Aside from a good idea, creating brand video content that captures attention requires visual branding, storytelling, and engineered engagement.

You don't need to wow your audience with virtual reality productions. As long as you keep the following expert tips in mind, there's a good chance you'll make your brand video production shine.

Tip 1: Brand your visuals

Every aspect of your video content, from the colors and fonts used in your graphics to the style of your visuals, must reflect your brand identity. 

Don't just focus on how you illustrate each scene and what color schemes you're using, but also on how you dress up your presenter. You could have your actors wear branded shirts or use an AI video editor to add your logo afterward.

Tip 2: Focus on teaching people something worthwhile 

Position yourself as an authority in your field by creating content that informs, answers questions, and solves problems. This approach sets the tone and purpose of your video and builds trust with your audience.

Tip 3: Think strategically about your Call-To-Actions 

Whether you're directing viewers to your website, inviting them to subscribe, or encouraging them to try a new product, you should plan your CTAs clearly from the script and storyboard phase. CTAs can be spoken by a presenter or shown on screen, but no matter their format, they must be short, catchy, and memorable. 

Make sure you phrase them to guide viewers to the next step. For example, instead of saying, "There's a free demo on our website," say, "Head over to our website and click 'Get started' to activate your free demo." 

Tip 4: Use humor (if it fits your brand)

Humor can make your video content more memorable and shareable. Decide if humor aligns with the message and tone of your video, as it significantly influences how your audience perceives your brand. Most brands can include a bit of humor in their scripts, but some need to prioritize trust and credibility over gags.

Tip 5: Showcase diversity

Consider diversity during casting and location scouting. We all find it easier to connect to people with similar physical appearances. But this similarity isn't just about gender, race, clothing, or makeup, as any manner of factors can have an impact. That's why featuring a range of people and settings can help you connect with a broader audience and demonstrate your brand's values and inclusivity. 

Remember that your presenter is one of the most powerful instruments to showcase diversity and inclusivity, like in this video below:

Tip 6: Include interactive elements

Whether it's clickable links, quizzes, or prompts for viewer responses, interactivity increases engagement and keeps viewers invested in your content.

Interactive elements are excellent for engaging people in learning something or creating a 'shareable' experience. Check out this brand video chatbot that Lays did in partnership with Messi, a famous Argentinian soccer player. Just type in the text, and you'll get a custom video to send to a buddy! 

Tip 7: Leverage user-generated content

Content created by your users, like testimonials or product reviews, can add authenticity to your brand video and foster a community feeling around your brand. 

Finding a brand ambassador that gives you credibility or your audience thinks highly of can also make a big difference. Take, for instance, this promotional video created by Synthesia in collaboration with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly:

Tip 8: Amplify your brand video reach

Use social media platforms to share your branded video content widely. Tailor your content for each platform to maximize engagement and ensure your target audience sees your video. Different types of video formats do well on various platforms. Do your research, create multiple brand video versions to suit each platform, and develop a cross-channel distribution plan.

Tip 9: Measure success metrics

Evaluate your video's impact by measuring key performance indicators. Link back to your initial goals and assess success through metrics like view count, engagement, and conversion rates to inform future video strategies.

Create professional branded content fast with AI

Corporate video production is a time-consuming, resource-intensive process. You work hard to produce engaging videos that shine the best light on your business. But why not also work smarter?

You can significantly speed up your brand video production process (without compromising quality!) by using AI tools.

Synthesia is an AI video maker that turns text into engaging brand videos like the one below. It comes with text-to-speech in 120+ languages, 160+ AI avatars (digital doubles of real actors), and professional video templates you can fully customize to reflect your brand.

Ready to click that CTA and try a free demo?

Want to speed up your brand video production? Would you like to create engaging video content without working with a video production agency and without equipment or significant technical knowledge?

Use this free AI video maker to see how easy it is to generate compelling video content with AI.