There’s huge power in video … just ask Fred!

It would be fascinating to know what Frederick R. Barnard would make of the power of video as a marketing tool.

When the Street Railways Advertising Company executive wrote about an illustrated ad’ for Royal Baking Powder in a 1927 edition of US trade journal Printers’ Ink, he informed readers of his view that ‘one picture is worth ten thousand words’.

His phrase, although often sightly misquoted, has since become part of everyday language.

So, if, in his assessment, a single image is equal to so many words, how much text would dear old Fred think a bunch of moving pictures could replace?

Sadly, he’s no longer around to ask but there is plenty of research which supports our view that video is now one of the most powerful assets in the modern marketer’s kitbag.

Scientists at MIT, for instance, found that 90 per cent of information transmitted to the human brain is visual and there are a whole host of studies demonstrating how images are much more easily remembered than words.

The science is borne out by the experience of those of us working in the marketing sector.

A survey by Brightcove and Ascend2 of business decision-makers in the US and UK showed:

• 93 per cent thought video was important to building trust in a company.
• 97 per cent would be receptive to receiving sales communications from a business after watching their video content.
• 83 per cent of B2B buyers would rather learn about a product by video than via text.

Results are equally positive in the B2C world, where research by Wyzowl found:

• 96 per cent of consumers had watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
• 89 per cent said the video had helped convince them to make a purchase.
• 91 per cent wanted to see more online videos from brands.

At Purpose Media, we have enjoyed huge success in utilising video to help clients achieve their business goals. As part of a well-considered marketing strategy, we have used the medium to:

1. Develop reach and increase engagement: Video is a strong driver of traffic and promotes content sharing and interaction.
2. Improve SEO: Search engines love video content, helping us to increase the visibility of our clients.
3. Enhance brand personality and encourage trust: Videos allow us to showcase a brand’s personality and create stronger emotional connections with their target audiences.
4. Create better understanding: Complex ideas or messages can often be conveyed more effectively through video, helping an audience to fully appreciate our clients’ offerings.
5. Boost competitiveness: High-quality videos help our customers get discovered first and encourage confidence in their products.
6. Demonstrate results: Our analytics help clients understand their audiences’ behaviours and track the success of their content.

But, while video is a powerful tool, on its own it is no marketing silver bullet and has to be considered as part of a joined-up strategy.

Our team will help a client consider factors such as the personas of the audience they are trying to reach, the channels that audience ‘hangs out’ on, the precise objectives of any campaign, the goals to track and, of course, which type of content will generate the best results.

Brand films, explainers, case studies, 2D and 3D animation or motion graphics, we’ll make sure our expertise is deployed to maximum effect.

We’ll then agree a three-step process:

• Pre-production – covering elements such as storyboarding, scripting, location-scouting and music choices.
• Production – setting up lighting, carrying out interviews and shooting the footage.
• Post-production – editing, adding voice-overs and music or text overlays and gaining client sign-off.

Our team has filmed big-budget productions, such as flying helicopters over the Swiss mountains for an international refrigeration company.

We’ve helped English Football League club Rotherham United FC to chronicle its work in the community on film.

And we’ve used video to reveal the human faces behind dozens of SME and high street businesses.

We’re pretty sure Frederick R. Barnard would have approved.