It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas … and already we’ve seen the likes of ASDA, Lidl and Iceland using video advertising to push out their seasonal marketing messages.
It’s hard not to get sucked into the Christmas advert debate of which is our favourite, but along the way we forget the impact using video advertising has on consumers, and why having a Christmas advert can be crucial to your sales over the festive season.
If you’re not a supermarket or a huge brand, the thought of having an advertisement at this time of year might be a daunting prospect, how does a smaller business tackle those big brands for a space in consumers eyes?
If you take inspiration from the brands and agencies taking advantage of the season, and position your video content correctly (which a corporate video production agency likes ours can help with) then you could end up generating a high return on investment at the biggest time of year for consumer spending.
So how do you take advantage of Christmas video advertising for your business or brand?
Capture attention quickly
The shift from TV to mobile is something to definitely consider this year in your Christmas video advertising.
TV is considered a ‘passive experience’, in which you typically buy a 30-second slot to sell your wares, but if you’re thinking of pushing a Christmas advert on social media, most people will view that on their mobile, and mobile moves at a very different pace, so for this you need to adapt your video advertising.
On social, you need to reveal your brand or product in the first three seconds…why?
Well, Facebook revealed that 65% of people who watch the first three seconds of a video will watch for at least ten seconds and 45% continue watching for thirty seconds. There is also evidence of brands who include their logo or product in the first 10 seconds seeing a positive impact on their campaigns.
So if you show your brand or product in those first three seconds, your Christmas advertising campaign should have better results, providing of course that the video has a strong creative and is beautifully produced, if you use a corporate video company.
Build an emotional connection
You’ll notice around Christmas a lot of adverts will include an animal or a child. This is a tactic used by marketers to engage the public on an emotive level and build a connection with the audience and the advert.
After all, who doesn’t love a penguin or a dog?
They’ll also often follow a problem, that gets resolved by the end of the advert by using their product or service.
By following a narrative, where the brand is the solution, your audience is more likely to buy.
For example: Craig Inglis, Customer Director and Marketing Chief at John Lewis says: “We make just over £8 [profit] for every pound we spend so the Christmas Ad campaigns are hugely profitable.”
John Lewis may spend a lot of money on their video advertising, but it pays off.
All of their adverts follow a pattern, they have a strong narrative and they create an emotional connection – and that may something you can take advantage of for your own campaign, whether it be shown on TV, in the cinema, or online.
Realise the aim of your video advertisement
We know that when it comes to Christmas content B2C brands are more likely to take advantage of the season for their marketing, but what about B2B?
B2B companies have told us that they don’t think Christmas adverts will work for them, that it doesn’t fit with their brand. But surely every brand has a story to tell?
The festive season is a great time to show the human side of your brand. It says “Yes! We’re also looking forward to Christmas, and we want to wish all of our clients a great one too if they celebrate.”
Sage, created a great Christmas advert and you can not get anymore B2B than an accountancy Software firm, so it can be done!
Views aren’t the only thing that matters in video advertising
It’s very easy to get caught up on numbers, especially with some advertisements from the big brands getting huge numbers of views of their videos in a short amount of time. You can pay for video Advertising and pretty much guarantee the number of views, if you have a big enough budget to do it and if you are not interested in targeting audiences.
Remember…views are nothing, if you can’t generate enquires or sales off the back of them. A video can get millions of views, but if no-one is purchasing your product or using your service after seeing it, it is not working.
That’s where a video content agency like TINKER TAYLOR comes in. We work with you to generate content that generates results, not just views.
Conclusion
With the holidays being a great time to start getting effective video content on front of a hungry audience (and I don’t mean for Turkey), consider your brands message and what your audience will be receptive too.
When you position your Christmas video advertising in the right way, you can join the big brands in using the festive season to generate a high ROI.
If you want to get a video production agency to create effective Christmas video advertising, Birmingham is where we’re based, although we have clients throughout the UK, in France, Italy and Spain.
Why don’t you find out how this video marketing agency can get you the most out of your video content and give us a call?