Sometimes in life, things get unfairly maligned.
The post-Clarkson/Hammond/May Top Gear episodes. The works of Ben Elton. British weather. ABBA. Corporate videos.
If you’re in the wide awake club, you’ll probably have already guessed that it’s the latter of these we want to focus on in this blog post*.
Yes, “corporate videos”. Now there’s two words which, when put next to each other, have the capability to make even Jack Frost shudder.
If you trust us on anything, however, trust us on this – corporate videos don’t have to be the pits of the Earth. They don’t have to have cheesy music, terrible acting, and piss-poor animations. They don’t have to have the reputation they do.
In this blog post, we want to show you 6 corporate videos which we think are really good and which shatter the stigma around the concept of creating a video for your business – and, more importantly, tell you why we think they’re good.
None of these videos have been made by us. We’re very proud of the videos we make for businesses and organisations across the country (have you checked out our Portfolio page lately, by the way?) but there’s only so many times we can trying blowing our own trumpet – as our Oli found out when he was a teenager.
Humour always plays well in videos – particularly when it’s unexpected. This effort from the IT consultants Risual initially took us by surprise but has since gone on to become one of our absolute favourite videos.
Take two minutes to enjoy how they take the tried and tested format and have a lot of fun with it!
No matter the size, sector, or location, every company has one thing in common – it lives and dies by its workforce, something Swiss International Airlines shows in this fantastic effort.
Entitled ‘The People Behind Swiss’, this 5 minute video (yes, we know it’s 5 minutes long, but it’s worth it) aims to “conveys the diversity of SWISS’s employees and their wide range of responsibilities” – and we think it does that superbly.
Let’s be honest, jobs at McDonald’s don’t come with the best reputation – particularly recently when the company’s staff in the UK went on strike over pay and conditions.
When there’s negative perceptions swirling around, recruitment videos can be very tricky, but we have to give the fast food goliath credit for this strong effort.
We like how this video highlights the benefits and future opportunities working at the company can bring, and that it does it in a lively, fast-paced style perfect for an online audience too!
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that corporate videos have to be traditional video productions!
This animation is for the social action initiative ‘Care to Click’, and does a really great job in explaining the programme and the impact it can have on the world.
There’s no bogging down with stats or numbers here. Instead, this video hits the main points and lets the visuals bolster them.
Against our better judgement, we feel that we have to include this video in our list solely because it’s one of Mike’s favourites.
As juvenile as this ‘Ship My Pants’ advert may be, it manages to achieve something which is genuinely tricky to do by turning something relatively boring into something engaging and humorous.
As Mike himself says: “If you’ve got a funny line, use it. People will remember you.”
OK, we’re stretching a little bit here by including this one underneath the heading “corporate”, but this video for the New Zealand police force is SO good we feel we have to mention it.
Without wishing to sound too much like Jeremy Clarkson talking about The Stig, SOME people say that this is the best recruitment video of all time.
We’ll let you decide whether that’s the case or not, but, regardless, this one is well worth watching.
Recruitment videos can be challenging – particularly when they’re for high-pressure, demanding jobs such as those in the police force.
To counter this, NZ Police have created a video that’s funny, engaging and doesn’t take itself too seriously, and one crammed with officers, helicopters, dogs….and even a police cat.
So there’s six examples of great corporate videos. But how do you make one of your own?
Firstly, identify a problem. Just one, that is, and one relevant to your business. The amount of plastic in the Indian Ocean is a problem, but if you sell fruit it’s not #1 on your company’s list of priorities.
Once you’ve identified the relevant problem, think about a way you can deal with it through the creation of a video.
How is your video going to solve the problem? What is your approach going to be?
Can you make people laugh? Can you inspire them? Can you show, rather than tell? Can you stomach one more rhetorical question?
If you can answer those posers, you’re well on your way to creating a corporate video that is going to blow people’s minds. Not literally.
Which example above is your favourite? Do you know of any others we’ve missed? Should we really stop with these rhetorical questions immediately?
Feel free to drop us your thoughts!**
* Despite the overwhelming temptation to write 300 words on the Elton sitcom ‘The Thin Blue Line’ – the most underrated sitcom of the past 30 years
** On this subject. Please don’t tweet us your thoughts on the third season of ‘Desperate Housewives’, with all due respect to Teri Hatcher we’re not interested