If you were to create a meme-worthy, celebrity endorsed B2B video – yes it would be eye catching, but would the audience immediately associate that video with your brand? Or if you were to create a branded video all about your product and solution with only words on a screen, would your audience stay interested past the 15 second mark? Chances are, probably not.
Branded B2B videos are a science and an art. It’s a balance between grabbing the audience’s attention, while making your brand memorable. Well, how do you achieve that? By using a combination of different video elements – but be sure to utilize them to your advantage.
Let’s start with the basics:
Let’s start with the basics:
What are Creative Elements?
Creative elements keep your audiences’ attention. Anything from characters, such as animated characters or celebrities, to the mood of the video, which can be reflected by the setting and music chosen.
But there are also some creative techniques that are altered by editing or choice of scenes, such as fast cut scenes, angled shots, voiceovers, or talking head videos. For example, Adobe’s Creativity for All video is one of the most beautiful and creative videos I’ve ever seen.. and possibly leaving me on the verge of tears every time. 🥲🥹
Creative elements and techniques are meant to evoke emotions and create emotional connections with your viewers. More specifically, positive emotions such as nostalgia, excitement, joy, and even FOMO — which 69% of people experience.
Effective Creative Element Examples
In a B2B study that was conducted by The B2B Institute, some creative elements that are most effective in evoking positive emotions are:
- Everyday settings as the audience can easily picture themselves in the video and relate easier to the character. Brands who make their customers the hero of your story hit the nail right on the head. These videos usually identify pain points and everyday struggles, while showing a viable solution. MailChimp does a great job with their B2B video:
- Fast cut scenes that are stylized or shot at different angles are also another great technique. They create a sense of urgency and hype, getting audience’s adrenaline and excitement up. This is perfect for any branded explainer or product demo video. Who does it best? Apple, of course!
What are Brand Elements?
Brand elements are what make just another video and a branded video different. These elements bring the brand to the forefront of audience’s attention and give the recognition a brand deserves – if your audience didn’t know already.
Some brand elements are as subtle as watermarks or jingles, or some as eye-catching as open and end cards or repeating characters/mascots. However, early branding matters. The earlier you can make your brand known in your video (of course in an organic way), the better. When comparing branded B2B videos to B2C videos, B2B videos took 3 times longer than B2C videos to say or show the brand.
Brand Recognition
Making a brand presence earlier in a B2B video has a significant positive effect on brand recognition, as any positive emotions evoked and connections created with the audience are associated immediately with the brand. “Early branders” are recognized and remembered 30-40% more than other brands who delay their brand recognition. And most likely, will lead to a purchasing if and when they’re ready – 70% of people who experience an emotional response are very likely to purchase the product.
For example, GEICO and their gecko. Though you may not know what GEICO does or offers, you know the gecko. This is brand recognition at its finest.
Effective Brand Element Examples
In the same B2B study, some brand elements they found most effective for brand recognition:
- Watermarks and open cards are as loud as they come, however are the most effective technique to creating a brand association. Not only do these present the brand early on, but they also does no harm – meaning that, audiences do not have a negative emotion towards early branding. However, the frequency and chosen brand elements used can negatively effect their emotions altogether. (More to come of this in Chapter 2 🫢👀)
- Voiceovers and text on screen are common elements added to branded B2B videos as they have a positive effect on branding and memorability. Through a voice or even the typography and colour of text, brands are easily recognizable. Listen to the voice below, you may not recognize his name but you know this soothing and impactful voice.
Creative vs. Brand Elements
However, though an element may have a creative positive effect, it may have a brand negative effect – and vice versa. Understanding their relationship and how each element affects the other are crucial in creating a balanced and effective B2B video.
For example, although voiceovers are great for brand recognition, voiceovers and very text heavy scenes evoke the least amount of positive emotion – and even, turn away audiences sometimes. Why? Well, almost 70% of consumers watch video content with the sound OFF. And unfortunately, unless you’re Denzil Washington or David Attenborough, just having voiceovers alone won’t cut it.
Or creating a B2B video that purely evokes emotion. Yes, the feeling of greatness or inspiration may be there.. and yes, they may feel amazing after watching that video – but that leaves the question: Who is making me feel this way? Your brand is lost and you know what they say.. outta sight, outta mind.
The integration and execution between the two elements is of utmost importance. If an emotional response is not linked to the brand, then the branded video will not be remembered. And if there is no brand recognition or association despite a creative B2B video, how will audiences identify the rightful brand?
So what is the right balance? How do we execute this? That’ll be coming in…
How to Make an Effective Branded B2B Video – Chapter 2: The Creative Branding Balance (with Examples)
