Under Armour

In their powerful new video, Under Armour poses the question, “What’s Beautiful?”. Along the same lines as Dove’s “Evolution” campaign, Under Armour is increasing brand awareness and rallying public opinion to take back the traditional media image of the female athlete and re-cast her as she should be: strong, motivated, and powerful. The video supports an entire social media competition, where everyday women sign up to set goals, receive support, and demonstrate their unshakable drive, competitive spirit, and influential attitude for the chance to represent Under Armour on their Women’s Advisor Group. Using a combination of online video and social media, this type of corporate social activism can be achieved by supporting a meaningful message or cause that matches your company’s core values.

The Art of the Title Sequence

Youtube statistics show that the amount of time a viewer uses to determine whether or not they will continue watching a particular is only 10 seconds. Similarly, the common thread between all viral videos is that they present their message in a way that sucks the viewer in. Like the title sequence to a movie or TV show, the beginning impression you give your audience will make or break your video. The morale of the story here is if you have something cool to demonstrate or something interesting to say, don’t dilly-dally!

The Fantastic Tale of Young Branson

Virgin Mobile has found an quick, simple, and interesting way of telling the story of their fabulously goatee’d founder. This video reinforces that it doesn’t matter what you do, make, develop, or provide, every company has a story and with a little creativity, you can share your story with the world.

Go Further

In order to combat what Ford calls “brand blindness” (when consumers no longer see the value of buying a particular brand), they have released a video where the absence of branding or logos allows the customer to focus more on the quality of their product: the innovative vehicles in their 2013 line up.

Procter & Gamble

Hands down, being a mother is the hardest and most rewarding job in the world, so the folks over at P&G are recognizing all the Mom’s behind the athletes for the upcoming 2012 London Olympics. The strategy of the video is quite clever allowing Procter & Gamble (the makers of Tide and Pampers among others) to give their largest customer base a big pat on the back whilst saluting their endless hard work and personal sacrifices. Not only is the delivery of the content both compelling and powerful, the message is universal and relates to mothers worldwide, making the video a perfect advertisement for the Olympics. Plus it’s just in time for Mother’s Day!

Zellers Memory Showcase

Since opening their doors in 1931, Zellers has been a nostalgic staple in the Canadian market. And what better way to showcase this connection than using a corporate exec to re-enact your customer’s favourite memories! Not only is this campaign hilarious and entertaining, it’s an interactive experience for the Zellers customer and allows the upper management team to make their mark on the brand. Watch other customer memories on the Zellers Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ZellersCanada/app_344498548929395

Real Riders

Giant Bicycles have been producing quality cycling products since 1972 and their recent video demonstrates the company’s forward-thinking mentality. Giant’s Australian branch developed a great grass-roots campaign that was launched last year called Real Riders. Rather than pay Lance Armstrong exorbitant amounts to market their products, Giant is sponsoring your everyday rider of any age or skill level and offering them free product demos, professional workshops, and social community support via their website: http://www.giantrealriders.com.au/

Make It With a Fireman

Gee, I wonder what demographic is targeted in this video? Sauza successfully fills the void left by the Old Spice guy and delivers a double entendre video on how to make… a great margarita.

Catvertising

In almost two weeks, the 2012 Webby Awards will be taking place in New York City to celebrate everything from cheeky banner ads to brilliant online video. Canadian companies have a healthy showing in all categories, however one of our favourite videos, released last November, stands above the rest. It’s a tongue-in-cheek branded entertainment masterpiece from john st. ad agency in Toronto entitled “Catvertising”. As their Creative Director, Stephen Jurisic explains “Nobody wants to see ads anymore. They want cat videos.” While the video offers compelling evidence in favour of this statement, it brilliantly takes advantage of every viral marketing strategy out there with its universally compelling content and excellent production quality, not to mention adorable clips of famous Youtube cats. Using this kind of out-of-the-box creativity in a video can definitely bring attention to your company brand especially when it’s used in such an honest, funny, and interesting way.

TimeScapes

From Tom Lowe, recipient of 2010’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year, comes truly mesmerizing, digital timelapse footage of the U.S. Southwest. His movie, TimeScapes is set for release this May and has taken Tom and his crew over 18 months to film, never mind to edit. In terms of video styles, Vimeo describes the process of timelapse as taking the viewer outside of their typical human frame of reference, allowing them to see everyday life in a new light. This makes timelapse a great choice for your video if for example, you wish to show the variety of work that is carried out on your job site in a typical day, demonstrate the architectural beauty of your building against its ever-changing surroundings, or just represent the everyday hustle and bustle in your office or workplace.

Burberry

Advancing their 156-year old brand into the 21st century seems no sweat, as British fashion house Burberry introduces yet another online video campaign. This time it’s based on their new eyewear and features the music of up and coming British musicians, like Marika Hackman. The brand has also continued to faithfully promote their branded entertainment content through their Facebook page, which now has roughly 12.2 million fans.

The Young Riders

An interesting promotional piece for Harley-Davidson was commissioned by a dealership in Raleigh, North Carolina. This part-testimonial, part-documentary follows the travels of two “young riders” as they speak about their experience with the legendary bikes and convince the all the other young ‘uns to trade four wheels for two.

Welcome to the Weekly Video Round-Up!

Every week we take a look at how companies are using video to communicate with customers, employees and investors.

Ford Social

Ford has recently launched a great campaign to support their new Ford Social program. The videos feature everything from simple, honest “love stories” by company executives to mini-documentaries following the recipients of Ford’s Community Green Grant to a behind-the-scenes featurette on Ford Social users at the 2012 North American International Auto Show. This type of online strategy is very effective in that it supports the larger vision of the company to have more consumer involvement by giving an accessible platform for Ford lovers to share their own stories, achievements and suggestions. In return Ford Social offers exclusive access to special events, contests, games, behind-the-scenes videos, vehicle reveals and more. In this way Ford is creating excitement for their brand and also gaining intimate access to their consumers’ social circles, which is probably not a bad thing.

Old Birds

Enlisting the help of two adorable grandmothers, Kraft is celebrating the 75th anniversary of their Mac n’ Cheese by handing their social media accounts over to the “old birds”, Dottie and Frankie. It’s a brilliant video strategy and their Facebook page is attracting attention from viewer’s of all ages!

Factory Landscapes

Sometimes the best way to showcase your company is to show the customer exactly what it is that you do. American Apparel has accomplished this in a very creative way. Using timelapse footage and relying on natural sound, the daily grind at their Los Angeles Knitting and Dyeing factory is documented.

Frame of Mind

This creative video pretty much ninja kicks the scrapbooking phenomena right in the face, as two friends demonstrate a pretty creative video-based way to share your vacation photos.

Welcome to the Weekly Video Round-Up!

Every week we take a look at how companies are using video to communicate with customers, employees and investors.

Nike – I Would Run to You

Everybody loves a good love story and this week, Nike has done a great job of marketing their new Nike Free Run+ 3 in the clever video, “I Would Run to You”. The mini-musical love story chronicles a couple’s long-distance running relationship featuring two types of runners that everyone can relate to: the effortless Natural (wearing hot pink Nikes) and the struggling Beginner (wearing beat-up no-names). In this way, the campaign appeals to the mixed feelings we all have about running while staying true to Nike’s core values of strength, determination, and the heart of the athlete. Aside from making us feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, this video is a great example of how effective content marketing can be used to retain viewer attention, improve brand loyalty and basically sell anything. From your company’s values in a recruitment video to your business’ newest product in a social media campaign to your CEO’s internal address in a corporate webcast, using video in this compelling manner is win-win.

Back to the Start

To promote their vision of a sustainable, healthful, and equitable food future, Chipotle Mexican Grill appealed to the consumer conscience in their video entitled “Back to the Start”. Through clever use of stop motion, incredible model work and a poignant redition of “The Scientist” by everyone’s favourite red headed stranger, the story of a simple farmer comes to life and the morality of the industrialized farm industry is called into question. The video does a great job of tugging on the viewer’s heartstrings and ultimately serves as an effective vessel for promoting Chipotle’s Cultivate Foundation, http://www.cultivatefoundation.org/ The video was released on the web last fall, but its television debut during the Grammys skyrocketed the part-activism, part-promotional piece to its current total of just over six million views.

Angry Birds Space

Using their own franchise as a pop culture example, Rovio has enlisted the help of NASA astronaut Don Pettit to explain the real world physics behind the company’s new game, Angry Birds Space. The video is another fascinating example of content marketing, especially knowing that it was filmed “240 nautical miles above the surface of the Earth”.

Bypass Lane

Like DollarShaveClub.com, here’s another company we’ve never heard of that sure know how to make a great viral video.