We were pitching a large food client our best idea for a brand video. About 10 minutes into it, the Marketing Director interjected, “I don’t need a video, I need an ecosystem.” A moment of silence fell as I scrambled for a reply. She stared out the window, imagining a world of content circling in front of her mind’s eye like a model of the cosmos in motion. We left that meeting feeling deflated, knowing we had lost the pitch because we hadn't understood the client's needs. She was seeing the universe of marketing platforms and audiences available and wanted to plug video content into each without hassle, confusion or crippling expense. We were offering her a sandwich. She wanted a banquet.
After this I became hyper focused on how we could deliver more value to our clients. They didn't need one video, they needed a collection of video assets that flow from the same source but serve different marketing purposes.
But damn, making video is hard. It is labor intensive and expensive. It requires planning and skill and lots of people to make something worth watching. It can be an intense undertaking. Not only that, but more than half of what you shoot goes unused. That's expensive footage that never gets seen!
I looked at these shadowy assets and discovered a golden opportunity. Not only can you can repurpose footage from the cutting room floor, you can repurpose your entire production. Think about your shoot day - the day where everyone shows up with tons of gear to make that thing you’ve been planning for weeks, maybe months. This is your opportunity to make the most out of every minute. If you take the proper steps to maximize your production, you can come away with an ecosystem of video content that will make your investment an entire album vs. one song.
Here is a list of five types of content you can pull from your shoot day and be more purposeful with what might normally end up unused. The project below was for our client Racktop Systems. Our shoot generated 3 ads, 3 teasers, high-quality photos and behind-the-scenes photos and footage. Here is how they used it:
1. Long form video for company website and video channels (YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram etc.) with Calls-To-Action that lead to landing pages.
2. Sharable short-form Instagram teaser videos of the longer version grab attention and generate brand-lift.
3. Facebook and Instagram Ads with text overlays for targeted audiences. We also created text overlay ads for bus promos at a popular tech trade show.
4. High-quality photos for print, web promos, trade show booth and PR hits.
5. Behind-the-scenes photos on Twitter to tease upcoming content and engagement.
These are just a few suggestions. The content is limitless if you plan properly. What works best for you will depend on your marketing goals. And it requires clear communication between the client and the production team. Once everyone is on the same page, you will economize your production and generate an ecosystem of complex but interconnected messages using the most powerful medium available.
To read more about our Ecosystem Method, go here. To learn more about how we can help your brand tell better stories and build a content ecosystem, email us: hello@shinecreative.tv