Marketing Archives - Demo Duck

The Mighty Many: Producing Effective Multi-Style Video Campaigns

Colin Hogan — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 14:44:39 +0000

I’d say I was a long-suffering Washington D.C. sports fan, but things have actually been pretty swell over the last decade or so. Maybe the midwestern optimism is rubbing off on me. Hey, my toddler doesn't know a world where my Washington Commanders aren’t a promising team with an exciting young QB.

Watching sports is great, but let’s be honest. Whether it’s football season, March Madness, you name it—there’s always that one commercial that quickly becomes the “get up and grab a salsa refill” spot of the season. It was a significant, single video investment that along with its cut-downs, quickly wore out its welcome. And now it’s going to be beamed countless times into groaning bars and living rooms from now until the season is over.

This can be the downside of a single video engagement, no matter what platform it’s shown on. Maybe the visual style or scripting approach fell out of fashion quickly. Or its strategy didn’t really resonate with an emerging audience for your brand. You can hear the “Skip Ad” button being clicked on the 30-second pre-roll version as we speak.

Something we’ve seen recently is clients circumventing these issues by wanting multiple videos, each produced in different styles (live action vs. animation, for example) and accompanying cut-downs—all within a single project engagement with us. We’ll always love a big-budget single explainer video, but this multiple “medium-cost, medium-quality” video approach can be enticing for brands looking to hedge their bets a little bit when launching their brand or product.

This is especially true for emerging organizations, new service lines or established companies releasing a new product. They might not have the marketing data or experience to know what style is going to be the most engaging and effective for their mission. Not only does this create a trepidation to bet all your budget on one style, it also increases the appetite to experiment. Having multiple videos to help with A/B testing, market research, data analyses and tracking social engagement can help you gain actionable insights on video marketing efforts moving forward.

Let’s just call it the “Mighty Many” approach. Here’s some reasons why it can be so helpful—and of course, some considerations too.

To give you a tangible example of what this approach looks like, here's an example of a two style approach we took with Rippling to create two short commercial productions a few months apart.

Rippling - Live Action Ad

Rippling - Animated Ad

The Benefits of a Multi-Style Production Approach

Broader Appeal - Multiple videos in different styles allow you to cater to various audience segments. For instance, a humorous video might appeal to a younger audience, while a more serious tone might resonate with professionals. Or, you can craft a short live action production featuring your friendly staff to help with recruiting, and also an animated video that helps promote the cool products that your growing team is making. This diversity of content can help you reach a wider audience, while increasing meaningful engagement with your specific target demographics. Trying to reach multiple audiences—all within a single video—can often water down your message and create a slightly unfocused piece of content.

Boost that Content Calendar - Creating several videos in different styles also helps you maintain a steady flow of new content. Now you have multiple unique core videos, and ideally some cutdown variations on them too. This can help your content marketing team out, giving them a steady flow of content to share across channels to keep you top-of-mind amongst your audiences. Also, if your target audiences see you continuously experimenting with different types of video content, they’re likely to imagine that your product teams are also cooking up cool stuff for customers too.

Budget Flexibility - Producing multiple medium-quality videos often requires a lower budget per video compared to a high-quality production. So let’s be clear—when I say “medium-quality,” it’s more in comparison to the high-end needs for a high-quality, high-budget production. High-end equipment, professional talent, post-production, etc. The “Mighty Many” approach will still get you the utmost of quality when it comes to the care and creativity of the Demo Duck team. With that said, the “Mighty Many” often use some nice cost-saving production solves based on what usually are specific tasks. Having staff on camera! Creating helpful software platform walkthroughs via screencast! This can be particularly advantageous for brands with limited marketing resources, allowing them to create diverse content that is still within their budget.

Creative Experimentation - With different video styles, you can experiment with various creative approaches to see what resonates best with your audience. This flexibility can lead to valuable insights to leverage for more effective future campaigns. If someone on social media sees two video thumbnails from your company that look different from one another, they might be more likely to watch them both. Also, some newer brands might not have full brand guidelines or an established visual or storytelling identity yet. A video engagement is a perfect way to help find your brand voice, and experimenting with what works is a great way to do that.

Potential Drawbacks of a Multi-Style Production Approach

Brand Cohesion Challenges - The flipside of the joy of experimentation is the risk of lacking cohesion. Using multiple styles and formats can lead to a fragmented message and a diluted brand identity. You don’t want one internal team feeling like the video for their product didn’t turn out as well as another team’s product video. Or perhaps worse, having a mixed “first impression” with your customers. This is something our team works to keep in mind at the start of a project—figuring out ways to extend consistent visual branding across different videos of different styles—to help them still feel uniform even when playing with different production styles.

Increased Production Effort - While each individual video might be less costly, producing multiple pieces of content still requires a substantial amount of time and resources—especially for the clients. Say you’re super busy and preparing for a huge product launch. Focusing on a single video might keep things streamlined internally and allow you to wrangle feedback easier, as opposed to reviewing multiple videos on multiple timelines.

Measurement Complexity - Analyzing the performance of multiple videos can be more challenging than evaluating a single high-quality piece. With different styles and formats, it might be harder to determine which approach is most effective, complicating ROI assessments. However for larger clients, who are working off a specific corporate video production roadmap and have a larger team infrastructure, it may be easier to track all of these analytics at once.

The Mighty Many vs. The Super Single

The decision between a high-quality, single-video campaign and a multi-style, medium-quality strategy depends largely on your brand's objectives, budget and target audience. Here's a few thoughts to help guide your choice:

Financial Investment: If you have the budget for a high-quality production, it can be a worthwhile investment for creating a lasting impression. However, if resources are limited, a series of medium-quality videos might provide more value for your money.
Time Investment: If you are looking to focus on other marketing efforts outside of video—and need the time to do so—maybe the higher fidelity, one-off approach is a better fit. If you're willing to invest the time to create a suite of videos in different styles, maybe give the "Mighty Many" a shot.
Message Confidence: If you've thought about a video for a while now, and have always generally known what type you want—feel free to leap off the deep end into the "Super Single" pool. If you're waffling a bit, maybe go the "Mighty Many" route and use the data you get back to inform a high-budget production further down the road.
Brand Identity: Consider how important a polished, professional image is to your band. If maintaining a high-level of quality is crucial, a high-quality video might be the better choice. On the other hand, if your brand is say, more casual and relatable, perhaps a varied approach could be more effective.
Audience Preferences: Think about your audience's tastes and behaviors. If they engage well with a variety of content, the "Mighty Many" might be a hit. Conversely, if they've reacted positively to videos with high-production values and a cohesive message, perhaps investing in a high-quality single style video could be beneficial.

Mighty Marketing

Honestly, both approaches have their merits and can be highly effective depending on your specific needs and goals. By carefully considering your investments, messaging confidence, brand identity and audience preferences, you can choose the video marketing campaign approach that best aligns with your objectives and maximizes your impact.

But you don't have to make that decision all by yourself. Get in touch with us! We're always happy to share our expertise over a quick call and provide our recommendations about a production style approach. Together, we can figure out a winner.

The post The Mighty Many: Producing Effective Multi-Style Video Campaigns appeared first on Demo Duck.

6 Tips for Creating Short Digital Ads Alongside an Explainer Video

Colin Hogan — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:11:23 +0000

In the complex world of digital video marketing, they say shorter is better. But is that always the case?

People like to speak in absolute terms. Hey, it’s punchier. But there’s no perfect answer when it comes to ideal length for a marketing video. Different topics, goals, formats audiences, you name it. That’s why at Demo Duck, we often strongly advocate that our clients create several videos of various lengths, as part of one video project.

Our usual suggestion is to create short digital ads when you already plan to produce a 90-second or 2-minute animated explainer video. This will allow you to have content for the top of the funnel (short ads) and for the middle of the funnel (explainer video), but in a more budget-friendly way than if you produced them all separately.

So, how does one craft effective digital ads from a longer explainer video? And how do you make sure you’re not sacrificing effectiveness of the longer explainer video, just to eventually create cutdowns?

It’s not as simple as selecting the blade tool and slicing and dicing. However, the process of editing 30-second and 15-second digital ads from a longer video doesn’t need to be overly complicated either. Here are six tips to help you succeed in doing so.

1. Craft Concepts With Duration Flexibility

When we jump into a brainstorm, we are thinking of the best way to tell the client’s specific story through video. When we know in the upfront that we’re not only creating the explainer video, but also some shorter versions are planned, and how those will be used, it makes for a more effective process. These are questions we typically ask our clients during our kickoff process. Sometimes they don’t even know cutdowns are a possibility, and we’re able to imagine how these could be potentially used and their value.

We often do a “stress test” exercise in the brainstorming process, where we take a look at our top concepts through a more skeptical lens and make sure it ladders back up to the brief, and is an effective way to tell the story. When we know about cut-downs, we can also discuss how each concept will work if the video is only 30-seconds or 15-seconds long, and if it still accomplishes the client's request.

For example, our concept for our AWeber production (one-page overview is below) worked for both their 60-second video but their 30-second cut-down as well.

2. Develop Scripts and Storyboards With Cut-Downs Identified

It can be easy to place the cut-downs on the back burner in favor of the “hero” explainer video, but the sooner you can start tagging content for those cut-downs the better.

For the script, we usually deliver cut-down scripts with the V2 explainer video script. The V1 script for the explainer gets us aligned on the story we’re telling, so we can get aligned as we then jump into cut-downs.

During storyboarding, we highlight the specific frames in the storyboard, often literally with border color or other visually identifiable methods, that we think would be best suited for the various cut-downs. This is a helpful way to get aligned on those cut-down visuals at the same time as the main explainer video.

Below is an example of how we created script cut-downs for a set of videos we crafted with Shipwell.

3. Prioritize Visuals Over Verbiage

But let’s stick with visuals for a moment. In shorter ads, visuals are your primary means of communication. Especially given these shorter videos are often used on social media or in ways that find a less captive audience than a homepage video, so the visuals need to be, and forgive the overused phrase, thumb stopping.

So, as you consider the visuals in the storyboard that would be a good fit for the cut-downs, be mindful to pare down lengthy explanations and focus on striking visuals that can convey your message quickly and effectively. Use high-impact imagery, animations, or graphics to grab your audience's attention. Save the lengthy sections showcasing your UI for the explainer video and get people excited by what your product or service can do versus how it does it (or looks when doing so). And don’t forget to consider that some cut-down friendly social channels often auto-mute videos, another reason why visuals (including captions) are so important.

4. Hone in on Specific Audiences

The other great thing about producing cut-downs, is that you can get more specific in the audience you’re speaking to. For example, let’s say you’re a tech company whose product appeals to both finance and HR, while your explainer video may speak to both audiences, at various points in the video, your cut-downs don’t have to.

So, maybe there’s two versions of a 30-second video that make sense for you, one for Audience A and one for Audience B. No sacrificing specific messaging points for the sake of being too niche—for cut-downs the more niche the better.

Venture Consumer Video Version

Venture Retailer Video Version

5. Test and Iterate

Creating shorter ads from longer content is an art that requires experimentation. Don't hesitate to create multiple versions of your 30-second and 15-second ads and test them with your target audience, or audiences.

You should analyze the performance metrics, such as engagement and click-through rates, to determine which version resonates the most. Use this feedback to iterate, reallocate budget, or even further refine your ads further.

We like to view our clients in terms of long-term partnerships, extending past the final project deliverables being sent out. We can help make sense of some of these performance metrics, helping update visuals—re-record voiceover with new script talking points—or get creative with solutions to better position the videos to hit those KPIs.

6. Craft a Strong Call-to-Action

Finally, don't forget to include a compelling call-to-action (CTA) in your shorter ads. If you’re posting something on social media, what you’re really looking for is a click. A click to your profile, to your website, somewhere.

By getting that click they’re expressing some interest in your product, and you can continue to move them down the funnel, either right then or in further digital experiences, to further increase their likelihood of becoming a customer. Place it strategically at the end of your ad, ensuring that viewers know what action to take next.

The Rundown on Cutdowns

In summary, turning a 90-second explainer video into 30-second and 15-second digital ads requires careful planning and editing. Start by identifying your core message and selecting the most critical segments of your video. Prioritize visuals over verbiage, trim the fat, and optimize for mobile viewing. Test and iterate to find the most effective version of your ads, and always craft a strong call-to-action.

By following these six tips, you'll be well on your way to creating attention-grabbing, shorter ads that captivate your audience in the blink of an eye.

The post 6 Tips for Creating Short Digital Ads Alongside an Explainer Video appeared first on Demo Duck.

9 Innovative Practices for Creating Video Courses for an LMS

Colin Hogan — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 16:36:00 +0000

I’ve written about it before, but when I was in high school, I was the first of my peers allowed to submit videos in place of written papers or live presentations for a few of my classes.

At the time, it felt groundbreaking, but it's now become a relatively standard practice.

The way we all learn is changing. And will continue to change.

Some of this is driven by shifts formed from the pandemic. Some of this is based on the evolution of learning technologies.

But no matter the cause, digital education is now a huge part of our lives. And whether you’re a marketing professional brushing up on SEO tactics or an educator getting more comfortable with classroom techniques, effective digital learning can have a profoundly positive impact.

At Demo Duck, creating video learning courses for Learning Management Systems (LMS) demands not only creativity but also a strong understanding of effective instructional design. As educators and course creators strive to enhance learner engagement and retention, there’s new practices rolling out all the time that push the boundaries of traditional video learning.

So, based on our experience creating training video content with our partners over the last several years, here are nine innovative practices various organizations and companies are using as they develop video learning courses, providing insights into both the "how" and the "why" behind each approach.

1. Utilize Microlearning Techniques

What It Is: Microlearning refers to the practice of delivering content in small, easily digestible segments. Typically, these segments last anywhere from a few seconds (~30s) to a few minutes.

How to Implement: Instead of lengthy videos that cover a wide range of topics, break down content into bite-sized lessons focused on specific skills or concepts. For instance, if you’re teaching software skills, you might create short videos that cover individual functions, like how to format text or insert images, rather than one long tutorial. This can also be done via effective chaptering of your content as it’s uploaded to your specific LMS. Either way, it’s important to keep it bite-sized, so you’re not giving the viewer too much to chew on.

Why It Works: Microlearning caters to the short attention spans common in today’s digital environment. It allows learners to engage with material in a way that fits their busy schedules, making it easier to integrate learning into their daily routines. Additionally, short bursts of content promote better retention and recall, as learners can focus on one concept at a time.

2. Incorporate Interactive Video Elements

What It Is: Interactive videos allow viewers to engage with the content actively. This can include quizzes, clickable links, and branching scenarios that adapt based on learner choices.

How to Implement: Most LMS platforms support interactive elements to create videos where viewers can answer questions, make decisions, or explore additional resources—so explore what’s at your disposal. For example, a video on customer service might include a scenario where the learner can choose how to respond to a customer complaint, leading to different outcomes based on their choice. For the production of the videos, make sure the edits are moving too quickly in the spots where you plan on putting these interactive elements, so it’s easier to add them in the LMS without clipping any of the content.

Why It Works: Interactive elements foster engagement by making learners active participants in their education. This interactivity encourages critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as learners must analyze situations and make decisions, rather than passively absorbing information. Studies show that interactive learning experiences lead to higher retention rates and greater satisfaction among learners.

3. Integrate Gamification Strategies

What It Is: Gamification involves applying game design elements in non-game contexts, such as education, to enhance engagement and motivation.

How to Implement: Incorporate elements like points, badges, leaderboards, and challenges into your video courses. For example, you could create a series of video challenges where learners earn points for completing modules, with additional rewards for those who achieve a high score on assessments. Perhaps, there’s some from video elements or animations that play once a new achievement is unlocked—making it clear the user has accomplished something fun and exciting.

Why It Works: Gamification taps into intrinsic motivators, making learning feel more like a game than a chore. It creates a sense of achievement and encourages healthy competition among peers. The incorporation of game elements can lead to increased participation, motivation, and a more enjoyable learning experience overall.

4. Apply the Flipped Classroom Model

What It Is: The flipped classroom model reverses the traditional learning structure by introducing new content through video before class time, allowing in-class time for discussion and application.

How to Implement: Create instructional videos that cover the foundational material learners need to know. Assign these videos as homework, freeing up class time for hands-on activities, discussions, and collaborative projects. For example, in a business course, students could watch videos about marketing principles at home and then work on developing a marketing campaign together in class.

Why It Works: The flipped classroom model empowers learners to take control of their learning pace and allows for deeper exploration of content during class time. It fosters a collaborative learning environment, where students can engage with one another and apply their knowledge in practical ways. This model has been shown to improve student engagement and comprehension.

5. Use Various Styles or Talent

What It Is: Instead of sticking with one animation style, or 1-2 on-camera talent, across your entire course—diversify the visuals in a way to make the various modules feel visually different.

How to Implement: Consider casting a larger range of on-camera talent to be used across the various video modules or lessons within your LMS. These are essentially your teachers, and it’s important to have a few educators used across the curriculum. Similarly, the design style of your animation could change, by a lot or a little, across the modules as well.

Why It Works: Everyone learns differently, and carries their own internal preferences as well, so this allows you to better appeal to your broad audience of learners. Think about Sesame Street, the visuals in a single episode spanned a large range of styles: puppets with actors, full animation, stop motion, etc. It’s much more difficult for a viewer to get bored if the visuals continue to serve them something that feels new.

6. Use Data Analytics for Personalization

What It Is: Data analytics involves using data to gain insights into learner behavior and performance, allowing for more tailored educational experiences.

How to Implement: Leverage the analytics tools within your LMS to track learner progress, engagement levels, and assessment results. Use this data to personalize content delivery, providing additional resources or targeted feedback based on individual learner needs. For example, if a learner struggles with a specific topic, offer supplementary videos or resources that address their weaknesses.

Why It Works: Similar to the point above, personalization caters to the unique needs and preferences of each learner, making the educational experience more relevant and effective. By using data to inform instruction, you can create a more adaptive learning environment that responds to learner challenges in real time. This tailored approach can lead to improved outcomes and increased satisfaction.

7. Embrace Storytelling Techniques

What It Is: Storytelling is the art of conveying information through narrative, making complex concepts more relatable and memorable.

How to Implement: Structure your video content around a narrative that relates to the subject matter. For instance, instead of simply explaining project management concepts, tell the story of a team navigating a complex project, highlighting challenges and successes along the way. Use real-life case studies or fictional scenarios to illustrate key points.

Why It Works: Storytelling creates an emotional connection that enhances engagement and retention. People are naturally drawn to stories, and when information is presented in a narrative format, it becomes easier to understand and remember. This technique can make even the most technical content feel accessible and relevant.

8. Optimize for Mobile Learning

What It Is: Mobile learning (m-learning) involves delivering educational content on mobile devices, enabling learners to access materials anytime, anywhere.

How to Implement: Ensure that your video content is optimized for mobile viewing. This includes using responsive design, ensuring quick load times, and keeping file sizes manageable. Consider creating shorter videos that are easily consumed on-the-go. For example, a language learning course might feature daily vocabulary videos that learners can watch during their commute.

Why It Works: With the rise of mobile device usage, optimizing for mobile learning meets learners where they are. This flexibility increases accessibility and allows learners to engage with content at their convenience, leading to higher completion rates and greater satisfaction.

9. Continuously Evolve Your Content

What It Is: The world of knowledge is always changing, and courses must evolve to remain relevant and effective.

How to Implement: Regularly review and update your video content based on learner feedback, industry developments, and emerging technologies. Stay informed about trends in your subject area and be willing to adapt your materials accordingly. For instance, a course on digital marketing should incorporate the latest trends in social media and SEO practices.

Why It Works: Continuous evolution ensures that your course remains valuable and relevant to learners. It also demonstrates a commitment to quality education and responsiveness to learner needs. Regular updates can reinvigorate interest in your course and encourage returning learners.

Conclusion

Innovative practices in video learning course creation can significantly enhance the educational experience for learners in an LMS. By incorporating microlearning, interactive elements, gamification, immersive technologies, and other cutting-edge strategies, course creators can engage learners more effectively and foster deeper understanding.

These approaches not only cater to diverse learning preferences but also create a more dynamic and inclusive learning environment. As the field of digital education continues to evolve, embracing these practices will ensure that your courses remain at the forefront of effective learning experiences.

Hopefully your audience is as receptive to your videos as my eighth grade teacher was to mine. Thanks Mrs. Brown!

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A Conversation About Digital Video Production & Promotion

Chris Reynolds — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 20:15:31 +0000

Earlier this year, Demo Duck teamed up with Digital Third Coast on a Video RFP. They impressed us with how they engaged with their clients in the paid media space, especially when it comes to online video ads. With more than 12 years of experience in SEO and paid media marketing, we knew their perspective on our digital video world be invaluable. So we thought, why not pay them a visit to learn more about digital video ad production and promotion? And we did. Check out the highlights of our conversation with Lyndsey Maddox, DTC’s Director of Business Development.

COLIN HOGAN: At Demo Duck, we focus on video production. Digital Third Coast helps businesses after production has wrapped. First thing we want to know—once a company has their finished video, how do they decide the best promo channel?

LYNDSEY MADDOX: The most important thing to consider is your goals for the video. Who do you want to see it? What do you want them to do once they have? Are they just watching or do you want them to click through to your website and take some sort of action?

Once you’ve defined these goals, you can start thinking about platforms, finding the audience you want to target, and how you want them to interact with your content. Good news is, video works across any number of search or social display platforms.

CH: There are so many different video promotion platforms out there. Let’s start with the two most popular platforms and their differences.

LM: There’s two major players when it comes to video advertising—YouTube and Facebook. Surprise! But there are some key questions to think about when choosing the right one for your business. What’s considered a view and how do they charge you? How will ads appear to users? And of course, how you define and target those users?

YouTube operates on a pay-per-view model. When a user watches 30 seconds of your video or takes any type of action, whichever comes first, it’s considered a view. Your video may feel like more of an interruption but if users watching your video with sound on is important to you, it’s much more likely to happen on YouTube. Then with targeting, you have to choose from predefined segments. For instance, you can target ages 25-34 but not anything more specific.

On Facebook, a view can range from two to ten seconds, or the whole video depending on what you select. The video will then be optimized to meet your set criteria. Videos appear directly in users’ feeds along with their other content for a more organic experience. And when it comes to targeting your audience, Facebook will let you select specific age ranges. Overall, Facebook let’s you get much more granular in how you serve your ad.

CH: At Demo Duck, we work with budgets of all sizes. We believe getting the most out of a video production budget means thinking long term but executing on the short term. Start with one video, invest in proper resources, and provide clients the most bang for their buck. On the video promotion side, how can someone make the most of their budget?

LM: To maximize your video promo budget, you need well-defined success metrics with the proper tracking in place to see if you’re reaching them. As the old saying goes—measure twice, cut once. You don’t have to waste money experimenting on ads that are already live. You can always opt for an A/B split test that lets you serve different video ads, or different CTAs on the video, within the same budget. Let the audience show you which one is resonating with them more. Then, you can continue to make changes and iterate over time to maximize your spend.

CH: On the production side, we work to figure out the common characteristics of a client’s most successful corporate video productions. When we’re creating a new video series or continuing to create more episodes within a series, we can tailor them around what already works. Since tracking is fundamental to getting the most out of your promotion, do you have any recommendations for tracking success and optimizing your plan?

LM: Like I said before, always define what metrics are most important to you. That could be views, click-throughs to your site, taking some sort of action on site or video shares. Define those metrics first. My favorite tools to use are Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. They let you track all of these different events and actions and measure them over time.

CH: Say you’re unsure about whether promotion will work for you. Speaking from experience, what’s the right amount to invest—whether it’s time, resources or money— to get quality results. Basically, how can you avoid feeling like you didn’t do enough?

LM: That’s a great question. To get statistically significant data, you often need to spend so much time and money that unless you have a huge audience and a huge budget, it’s just not worth it. But if you use A/B testing, you can use a minimum viable data model, and look at basic metrics like impressions, views and clicks of two different video options, helping you quickly understand what’s working best. This will help you accelerate the testing time, conclude tests more quickly, and make decisions in a more iterative way.

CH: That’s one way to make the most of a limited budget. Do you have any other paid video marketing hacks?

LM: Tons! I will say, your best bet will always be focusing on making sure you’re targeting the right audience, using the tools we’ve discussed to learn as much as possible and then building your plan around that. That said, let’s look at how YouTube charges for video promotions. For example, there’s plenty of hack and tricks about how long your video should be. Some say you should create a video that times out early so people are forced to press skip—then you won’t have to pay for the view. There’s plenty you can test and play with. But more important than hacking the system is understanding the content you have and who you want to get it in front of.

CH: When The Daily Show was switching hosts, they created SEO, Google, and YouTube ads around key phrases people were searching for. So, if you searched “Trevor Noah girlfriend”, you’d get paid video of Trevor at his desk asking, “Why are you looking about my personal life? By the way, check out our show at 11 o’clock.” We loved how it injected a dose of personality into the intro to the new brand. Do you have a favorite paid digital campaign?

LM: My favorite paid video ads have to be the GEICO commercials from a few years ago on YouTube. They made videos where the action was done within seconds and the actors would freeze with a voice over of “You can’t skip this ad because it’s already over.” Not only is it hilarious, it’s spot on for the channel and the brand. As an audience member, you know you’re being disrupted with an ad and you’re ready to click skip. Playing with that and being self-aware presents a really positive, honest brand image for GEICO.

CH: That’s one of the things we enjoy most about paid ad production, you can have a lot of fun with it. You can be self-aware like some of the favorites we just mentioned. Or, going back to the time constraints of YouTube, leaning into those barriers and letting creativity run wild creates concepts that play to the specific audience or medium. Which in the end is much more memorable.

LM: It’s digital marketing, it should be fun!

The post A Conversation About Digital Video Production & Promotion appeared first on Demo Duck.

The Past, Present, and Undecided Future of Explainer Videos

Colin Hogan — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 17:31:29 +0000

When Demo Duck officially became a company in 2011, the term “explainer video” wasn’t really a thing in the business world yet. Obviously, those two words existed and so did videos that explained things, but the term wasn’t widely used. If it was more popular back then, there’s a small chance our company would be named ‘Explainer Duck’. Trust us, we’re glad that is not the case.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long until explainer videos finally hit the big time. Take a look at the below Google Trends chart and you’ll see what I mean. This chart tracks the popularity of the term from when Demo Duck started through today.

Whoa…there is a lot to unpack here. The strong jump in growth speaks for itself. However, it’s a complex story—there’s a variety of factors that influenced the rise of explainer videos.

Since we’ve witnessed a lot of the happenings behind those numbers firsthand, we wanted to share our journey with the evolving concept of explainer videos. I should acknowledge that explainer videos have always meant a lot of different things to different people (and will continue to), but here’s our take on these helpful videos from over the past seven years.

The Beginning of Explainer Videos

At first, it was easy. An explainer video was a simple animation that gave people the rundown of the product or service in 60 – 90 seconds. Usually, startups would place it on their homepage (homepage video started trending around this time too). The mission was straightforward…explain your product or service with a video so people would be more likely to understand it and could skip the text. Check out our initial Demo Duck explainer video below!

Live-action explainer videos started to get into the mix quite early on as well. People also started to move away from just demo-ing their product and started to get into the storytelling game.

While these minor steps forward were cool to see, explainer videos were still relatively small potatoes. Those creating them didn’t experiment much, we were coming out of an economic recession so startups were less dominant, and even web video was mainly contained to YouTube (though Wistia was seeing some strong growth). So startup explainer videos were crafted on a regular basis but hadn't entered the lexicon yet.

Explainer Videos go Viral

2012 was when things started to really snowball in the explainer video world. A lot of people may remember the hyper-viral Dollar Shave Club explainer video first hitting their social feeds or inboxes this summer. At Demo Duck, this was also the same time our explainer video for CrazyEgg received quite a bit of traction, particularly when Neil Patel wrote a blog post about how it helped him generate $42K more in monthly revenue.

As with many things that go viral, this set off a chain of events where suddenly all types of startup businesses (B2C, B2C, tech, CPG, etc.) wanted their own explainer video…often something that resembled one of these viral hits. The conversations evolved from “Do I need an explainer video?” to “How do I make an explainer video that will go viral?” No one can guarantee what’s going to become wildly popular in the wild west of the internet, but by a handful of projects going mainstream so to did the explainer video industry.

Explaining More than Startups

It wasn’t long before some of the big players in the business world looked around and noticed that some upstarts were starting to get a bit more traction than expected (and maybe more than they’d like). Not only that, larger business learned about some of these cool new startups through their explainer videos.

So, the next logical thing was for these global organizations to get in on the explainer video game. Explainers were usually created when they released a new product or service or had updates to pre-existing ones. Even though these were huge brands, the videos still followed a lot of the tried-and-true explainer formula: problem/status quote, solution, how-it-works, benefits, and call-to-action.

Educating Through Explanation

From there an interesting transition took place. Explainer videos, which very much started in the startup business/sales space, expanded to entertainment. Companies like Vox started using explainer videos to educate their audiences about a wide-range of topics to keep people in the know (their YouTube channel was started in 2014). A connected, global world can also be a confused one. So shining a lot on some hot-button issues was a good way to get traction and rank well in search engines.

Soon enough, it became hip to be informed, and you’d be a thought leader if you were the one informing. So big companies started to explain a bunch of the more complicated aspects of their industries or policy shifts that were less about launching new products and more about informing the electorate…for lack of a better term.

In 2017, we produced quite a few explainer video series for various companies and enjoyed educating audiences over the long term. We imagine more of those popping up in the new year as a few of those explainer video series have over 1M hits already.

Where do Explainer Videos go From Here?

With explainer videos existing nearly everywhere these days, their future is a bit tough to pin down. In our eyes, it’ll be a merging of editorial and sponsored content because that’s the way that a lot of writing has gone (for better or worse). More organizations have dedicated themselves to educating people around the globe (think podcasts), and a bunch of them are creating video series to support that mission.

Beyond that, we believe that “explainer video” will wilt away and a new term will take its place as happens with nearly all things on the web. We have a few bets on what those may be but don’t want to tip our hand too soon. Until that time we look forward to educating people, helping companies of all types tell their story, and producing more great video content, whether it’s called an explainer video or not.

As mentioned, the above is our own experience with “explainer video” but what have you noticed over the years? What’s the first thing you think of when you hear that term?

Let us know in the comments below or mention us on Twitter.

The post The Past, Present, and Undecided Future of Explainer Videos appeared first on Demo Duck.

Stop that Scroll! 3 Ways to Optimize Your Marketing Video for Social Feeds

Jarrett Hothan — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 21:59:23 +0000

Video content is a powerful tool for connecting with audiences via social media. It’s an efficient way to communicate a great deal of information in a short time. And a large number of users engage with video on social platforms—especially on their mobile devices.

Also, the sky is blue. Tacos are delicious. Steph Curry can shoot a basketball.

Ok, so we’re not exactly breaking new ground here. Just know that it’s not just a good time to leverage video in your social strategy—it’s also the most competitive time. On Facebook, your post only has 1.7 seconds to catch a user’s attention before they scroll past. Getting your content into a user’s feed is half the battle. What good is producing a video for your business, be it an animated explainer or customer testimonial, if your target audience isn’t even compelled to engage with it?

Just remember that optimizing your video for your audience’s social feed begins during the concepting phase. Keep these three best practices in the mind to help “slow the scroll” and drive engagement with your social media video content.

Adapt Creative for Auto-Mute

On most social platforms, video content is automatically muted until the users manually adjust the volume setting. Chances are that this feature has actually come in handy a couple times. What would your mom think if she heard you watching those football highlights during dinner? But for branded content, it presents a large challenge. How do you convince your audience to stop and watch your video if they can’t even hear what you’re offering?

One way to combat auto-mute is to display a title card during the first few frames of your video. That way, your audience knows exactly what they’re in for from the jump, even when muted. It’s a tutorial video of how your new product works. It’s a customer testimonial about how delicious your new smoothies are. Also make sure to start with strong, captivating visuals to build intrigue. Something beautiful. Or delicious. Or hilarious. Or haunting. Something they can’t swipe past.

Another reality to consider is that a user might end up watching your entire video completely muted. They’re interested…but they’re stuck on a crowded subway car. To make things worse, they left their earbuds in a different coat (been there), so they can’t turn off auto-mute without being “that guy.” Motion graphics can help build a narrative in a visually captivating way, and closed captioning can emphasize any mandatory messaging.

Speaking of that must-have messaging…

Simplify Your Messaging

Your brand has a rich collection of stories to tell. But when it comes to developing a piece of video content for social, you need to make sure that it communicates a singular, strategic story. You’re battling short attention spans.You’re battling sponsored videos from other brands—including your competitors. The last thing you want to do is have multiple messages fighting against each other too.

Figure out your value proposition and get to it quickly. Ideally within the first five seconds. What problem are you solving? What specific benefit are you offering? How you express that benefit is where your creativity comes in. Then it’s very important to use an effective call-to-action later in your video. After a user watches it, chances are that they’ll keep on scrolling in their feed. You can’t assume that they’ll immediately click “follow” on your page and then get every update from your brand moving forward. Let them know where they can go to purchase your product or service or direct them to where they can further engage with your brand.

Also, keep in mind that your video will be shared on a social platform with accompanying copy. From the beginning, it’s important to consider how the social post copy can work in harmony with the video’s content. For example, by including the call-to-action in the social post you can have more time in the video to show the product in use.

Know the Power of Format

When it comes to video format, you have options. Just know that the format you choose does dictate how users engage with your content. Sure, landscape video gives you more space to tell your story. But 1:1 video takes up 78 percent more real estate in someone’s mobile newsfeed than landscape. And according to a study by the fine folks at Buffer Social, 1:1 format video outperformed landscape video when it came to average engagements, views, and completion rate percentage. That’s big time.

There’s nothing wrong with landscape video. In fact, we use it all the time. Sometimes it adds a necessary cinematic quality or gives us more space to fit in priority graphic elements for some of our explainer videos. But we’ve begun to embrace more 1:1 videos, including these short, energetic videos we created for a school here in Chicago. The key is to find what is right for the story you want to communicate and the platform where it will be shared.

Let’s not forget about the new(ish) kid on the video format block—vertical video! Does your brand have an Instagram account? By sharing vertical video in the platform’s “Stories” feature, you can bypass the traditional newsfeed entirely and get into the Stories preview bar. If you’re a verified user on Instagram, you can also include a hyperlink within your story—essentially a built-in video call to action! Snapchat’s Snap Ads allow you to use vertical video to connect with the app’s highly-engaged user base. With a max length of 10 seconds, it’s vital to make your Snap Ad creative simple with a clear message.

Until now, developing video for Instagram stories presented a quandary to marketers. Sure, you want to develop well-produced video to represent your brand well. But is it worth the investment if the videos just disappear in 24 hours? Fortunately, Instagram users can now archive their favorite stories as “memories” within the app. You can even group them by theme! So the next time you’re trying to sell your team on a producing a vertical-formatted video for Instagram, make sure they know about that valuable feature.

We hope you find some of our best practices helpful. Just remember that developing an engaging video for social starts during the creative brainstorm—not when you’re uploading it to the social platform. Sure, Facebook’s targeting capabilities are extremely powerful. But just getting the video in the right user’s feed doesn’t mean that they are going to watch it.

Do you have any tactics that you’ve found social video success with? Share them in the comments below!

The post Stop that Scroll! 3 Ways to Optimize Your Marketing Video for Social Feeds appeared first on Demo Duck.

2017 Survey Results: Video Production & Marketing Stats

Jarrett Hothan — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 19:32:16 +0000

Pour some hot cocoa, turn on that Mariah song and swathe yourself in a snuggie. It’s time to look back on the year that was.

Well, more specifically, the year in video production. We’ll leave the top albums list to Pitchfork.

To say that 2017 was a big year for online video is an understatement. For better or worse, “pivoting to video” became a catchphrase. Companies everywhere are looking to video to keep their audiences engaged over the long term.

We were interested in learning more about how professionals from all industries approached creating video for business. What kind of videos are they producing? How are they sharing them?

We developed an interactive survey via HapYak, which was super simple to do by the way, to explore these topics, and since the holidays are a time for togetherness, we sent the survey out to +6,500 of our closest friends. A diverse collection of clients and contacts from Demo Duck and our sister company Video Brewery.

Survey respondents came from a variety of backgrounds. However, 75 percent of respondents represented companies with between one and 50 employees. 40 percent of respondents were employed by companies under six years old. Since Demo Duck was founded, we’ve loved helping growing businesses tell their story through video. It’s a great way to introduce your company, its purpose and the people behind it.

Anyway, is that cocoa ready yet? Great. Let’s jump into what we found out…

*Indicates a survey question where respondents could select multiple answers

What is the Average Length of the Videos You Produce?

Stats

Less than 1 minute – 12%
1-2 minutes – 40%
2-3 minutes – 31%
3+ minutes – 18%

Significance

Even as attention spans shorten, longer-form video storytelling is still popular. Ok, when we say longer-form, we don’t exactly mean Infinite Jest. But over 70 percent of survey respondents created videos in 2017 that clocked in between one and three minutes. Captivating visuals and a concise message can convince users to ‘slow their scroll’ and engage with a piece of content.

What Types of Videos Did You Create?*

Stats

Explainer Video – 87%
Product Video – 73%
Branding Content – 60%
Tutorial/Support Video – 48%
Customer Testimonial Video – 46%
Internal Communications Video – 37%
Testimonial Video (Company) – 22%
Recruiting Video – 21%

Significance

Our respondents saw video as an effective way to show how a product or service works—and how to keep it working. Explainer videos were by far the most produced type of video, with product and tutorial videos following respectively. We’ve been in the explainer video production space for years, so we’ve learned a thing or two. The most effective explainer videos are both informative and engaging. Sure, you need to cover the nuts and bolts. But don’t forget to inject some personality too.

Speaking of personality, testimonial videos are a great way to showcase the people behind your brand or those who are helped by it. So we expect testimonial videos to continue to trend up in coming years.

How Many Videos Did You Make This Year?

Stats

1 video – 8%
2-3 videos – 8%
4-5 videos – 10%
6-10 videos – 17%
10+ videos – 54%
None – 3%

Significance

As we mentioned earlier, companies are using multiple videos to keep audiences engaged across an ever-growing variety of channels. It’s not surprising that 70 percent of respondents created 6 or more videos. Last year, we worked on a variety of business video series projects—a collection of informative videos developed with the goal in mind. A business video series can help connect with a wider audience, help them understand complex topics and encourage them to engage with your company.

What Style of Videos did you Create?*

Stats

Live Action – 78%
2D animated – 63%
Live Action (stock) – 37%
3D animated – 21%
Stop Motion – 10%

Significance

These results were probably dictated by both budget and timeline. Not only do companies want cost-effective productions, they often need to develop video content under a quick turnaround. Live action is inexpensive and traditionally has a low barrier of entry. And now modern technology allows animators to complete 2D projects with more efficiencies than in the past. Live action and animated styles of production aren’t mutually exclusive either.

Many clients have worked with us on mixed-media projects that combine them both! Stop motion is one of the most stunning styles of animation (time to revisit those gorgeous vintage holiday films) but it can be labor and time intensive, hence why it probably came in last.

How Did You Promote Your Video?*

Stats

Website – 87%
Facebook – 71%
YouTube – 68%
Email – 49%
Twitter – 30%
Instagram – 25%
Trade Show/Presentations – 32%

Significance

We are Instagram fans. I mean, don’t you follow us? But seriously, we’ve always believed in the visual storytelling capabilities that the platform provides. You can share videos up to 60 seconds! You can combine videos and static images within carousel posts! You can post portrait-orientated videos as a story! Oh, and you can also turn any of these into hyper-targeted ads! But alas, Instagram came in last in our survey. This is probably because most B2B and B2C companies use all of the other forms of promotion on the list, but IG is still more of a pure B2C platform.

What’s Your Biggest Struggle with Video?

Stats

Price – 30%
Promotion – 27%
Production – 23%
Tracking – 13%
Producing Another – 8%

Significance

We’ve talked about all of the exciting new channels for sharing video. But sometimes that freedom can be paralyzing. There’s so many options. What’s best to connect with your target audience? Finding the right way to promote your video takes research. It takes experimenting. We’ve found this out from working on a variety of projects for an even wider variety of clients. In 2018, Demo Duck is going to put this knowledge to work by also helping developing launch strategy for our clients video projects. Stay tuned—it’s going to be pretty cool.

Looking forward

What can we expect in 2018? That’s a question that a lot of people are wondering. We predict that businesses will not only continue to produce creative videos, but they’ll also develop their own unique ways of sharing them. Are we close to brands starting their own television networks? Social channels? Drive-in theatres? We expect the way companies publish and promote their content will continue to evolve, and we’ll be right there with them to help.

Drop us a line in the new year and say hello—have a safe and happy holiday season!

Survey based on 65 respondents

The post 2017 Survey Results: Video Production & Marketing Stats appeared first on Demo Duck.

5 Techniques (and Videos) That Spice Up Boring Subjects

Colin Hogan — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 18:25:19 +0000

I’ve watched a ton of online videos.

I’m not ashamed to admit that. After all, it’s a big part of my daily job responsibilities with Demo Duck, but it’s also something I’m passionate about. The content of these videos range from a new startup debuting their cool service with an explainer video production, to a product release for more established companies, or well known companies focused on furthering their mission through branded video production.

One thing to note, is that not all products or services are created equal when it comes to video. Some videos don’t need to rely on inventive techniques because the subject matter is already interesting enough. While others are more reliant on creative methods to engage the audience because the content may lack the pop or pizazz needed to intrigue viewers.

However, I’ve realized that there isn’t an exact correlation between an exciting product and a great video. Some of the best videos are for seemingly mundane products or services.

So how do you create an exciting video for a boring subject? Here are five techniques (and videos that use them) to engage viewers for a yawn-inducing topic.

1. Use A Storyteller

Book your doctor's appointments online—whenever you want. Not exactly the toughest concept to comprehend so it's important to make it memorable. So Demo Duck leveraged a storyteller to keep the audience interested. They want to hear the rhymes that harken back to their childhood. Like all good storyboards, the narrator adds a sense of charm and the visuals create a dash of whimsy.

2. Try Some Unique Visuals

Fiberglass window may not seem super rad, but they really are. So while the building improvement space can often feel pretty stale, we took a 3D approach to this video for Pella to dive further into the materials that make their product so unique.

3. Make the Stock Sing

What's that? Stock? You might ask to yourself. Look, we get it. But stock gets a bad rep primarily because it's often used in a very straightforward way—full frame, one clip at a time, and without bulding a cohesive narrative. For this Appfolio explainer video, we put the stock in some containers, paired it with punchy UI, worked in some custom footage, and create a zippy rundown of what their technology can do.

4. Use a Metaphor

Not many cyber security videos feature wolves on the prowl, but our animated explainer video for Bitdefender features some howls and more. By using a metaphorical approach to cyber threats and protection with our visuals, we were able to get outside the box with our designs while still clearly communicating their offering in a very clear manner with our narration.

5. Add Some Humor

Jondo is a global printing and fulfillment company. Perhaps not the most exciting industry, but their owner John Doe (yup) is a really charismatic guy and fun personality—so we put him in the animation. Don't worry he wasn't harmed, but he does give us a fun tour of what his company can do.

Those are just a few videos that utilize different creative techniques to engage the audience on topics that may normally be avoided or tuned out. Keep these five strategies in mind while working on your next project, exciting or not.

There are plenty of other videos out there that spice up boring subjects. What are some of your favorites?

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6 Scientific Reasons Online Video Connects With Viewers

Colin Hogan — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 21:07:01 +0000

You probably don’t realize it, but when you watch business videos you’re triggering all types of chemical reactions in your brain and body. From when those animations first hit your retina to the animated call-to-action at the end, you’re experiencing the content in a way that text cannot compare to.

We already know that video is more exciting than text, but let’s talk about what’s going on in the noggin when you’re watching video. So go ahead and watch the video above if you haven’t already, orif you don’t want to kickstart those visual reactions in your head, read on below for 6 scientific reasons why video is the best way to connect with your audience.

1. MEMORY STORAGE

First off, visuals are stored in your “long term memory bank”, which has more space than your short term one. This makes a video for your business more likely to stick with the viewer down the line.

So, if a prospective customer is weighing you against the competition, a homepage video may work better when they’re making a final decision or proposing different options to their boss. There are a lot of ways to stand out, but corporate video tucks itself away better than the written word.

2. PROCESSING SPEED

Not only do visuals last longer in the brain, they’re processed a lot faster on the front end too. In fact, visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text is. That means you can pack a lot more content into video than text, because your viewer’s brain can handle the workload.

Although that processing speed is impressive, don’t try to push the human brain too much in your explainer video. People shouldn’t feel like they’re working hard when watching your video.

3. PROCESSING LOCATION

So, visuals are processed faster but how will that better connect with the audience’s feelings? Well, visual memory is encoded in the brain’s medial temporal lobe, the same place where emotions are processed. That makes it easier to strike a nerve…literally.

While people are processing your video at such high speeds, they’re also connecting with the material on a human level and attaching emotions to what they’re seeing on screen. So, use that to your advantage. At Demo Duck, we’re always thinking about the story we’re trying to tell and the emotion we’re looking to evoke from our audience, since we know viewers will always have a visceral reaction to business video.

4. GREAT CONNECTIVITY

Speaking of which, 40 percent of nerve fibers to the brain are connected to the retina. It’s like an expressway of info from your eyeballs to your brain cells. Considering that our brain essentially powers our entire body, that’s a lot of nerve fiber real estate dedicated to our eyes.

5. VISUAL LEARNING

That connectivity is a big reason why 90 percent of all information that comes to the brain is visual. That leaves a pretty small amount for non-visual info. This is a big reason why it’s estimated that 65% of people are considered “visual learners.”

If the majority of people prefer to learn through visuals, why not produce an explainer video to connect with them. Whether your video has narration or not, these visual learners will appreciate a well executed video to help them better understand your message.

6. KEEPING FOCUS

Video doesn’t mean you can just pile any visuals into your 60 second project and make a meaningful connection with your audience. For example, when off-topic graphics appear on screen learners will subconsciously try to figure out the message and reason for the image – getting distracted without really knowing it.

Try to craft visuals that make sense to the narration or core content, so that viewers stay keen to what you’re saying. It’s okay to have viewer’s connect some of the dots, but don’t just throw in a random character because you think it’s cute or force viewers to do too much. You’re no Stanley Kubrick.

CONCLUSION

Given the above facts and figures, it’s obvious that video needs to be an essential part of your business. This shouldn’t be limited to your homepage, you can use video across your customer’s entire buying journey.

So, if you haven’t yet, maybe now’s the time to experiment with some video for your busines whether it is a customer testimonial video or educational video.

REFERENCES

https://www.eyeqinsights.com/power-visual-content-images-vs-text/

http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/350326/Studies-Confirm-the-Power-of-Visuals-in-eLearning

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The 6 Best (Fake) Corporate Videos Ever

Colin Hogan — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 19:36:50 +0000

With another April Fools Day behind us, I wanted to take some time and talk about one of my favorite types of online video.

Not explainer videos. Not customer stories. Not even gassy baby videos.

I'm talking about fake business videos.

And at Demo Duck, we love them so much that we even created our own a few years ago. Are you ready to try out...The Beak?

That was some good acting on my part. We actually still have The Beak around the office somewhere...

Why do I get such a kick out of these videos? Well, first off—they're usually pretty darn funny. But also, they create an opportunity to poke fun at some tired tropes or cliches within the industry—which mean mean its time to avoid them in your own projects. After all, even the freshest design or editing styles eventually become a little oversaturated. For example, "The Beak" was a reaction to how prevalent slightly twee top-down shot videos had become during a certain time, especially amongst social media influencers. Having a sense of humor about the work we do—and the ability to do some self-reflection—is important to our team at Demo Duck. Oh, this genre of video is also great because the production quality is usually pretty slick. If you want to pull off a perfect parody, you need to have that attention for detail.

Looking for some more examples? Here are six of my favorite fake corporate video productions ever from some of our industry peers. There's an animated explainer video for a “new startup”, a product launch video from a tech giant, and a bunch of laughs throughout.

WellDeserved Pitch Video

As part of Comedy Hack Day 2015, which is an event that pairs makers and comedians, this explainer video shines a bright, satirical light on the tech culture of San Francisco. The execution and on-the-nose concept behind the platform would even make Mike Judge proud. Speaking of…

Pied Piper Explainer Video

This animated video by Wezank was uploaded right after the second season of Silicon Valley aired, soon after the made up company, Pied Piper, seemed to be getting their footing (despite Richard being pushed out), so even the timing of this video is inline with the narrative arc of the series.

If you have never seen the show, it’s understandable to think this animation was for an actual, complicated startup because it follows the explainer video scripting formula so closely. We love metaphors in explainer videos and the “moving apartments metaphor” works very well in expressing the value in Pied Piper’s unique algorithm for data storage.

Generic Brand Video

When you’re crafting a branding video as a relatively new company, it can be tough to find the right balance between saying too much and not saying enough. This video by Dissolve, pokes fun at the latter, and says a whole lot of nothing.

The main reason we’re fans of this video? Most entries on this list were made purely for fun, without any real purpose of promoting an actual product or service. But, Dissolve is a stock video company and this video helps them encourage viewers to move away from the generic clips we’ve seen a million times, and towards some of the more unique footage they have available.

Exploozy Explainer Video

We have to be honest, this may be our favorite fake explainer video because it hits so close to home. As a video agency that creates handcrafted animated and live action business videos, Demo Duck often hears about other companies who are a “cheaper option”, to which we always wonder about the drop in quality this involves. Luckily, the good people at Planet Nutshell use Exploozy to cheekily demonstrate an age old concept: you get what you pay for.

Even though this was an April Fool’s joke, their commitment to promoting Exploozy in the comments and the balance between those that “got it” and those that didn’t (we don’t blame them by the way!) shows how well they struck a chord with their audience. This is just a gem of satire that, while a bit inside baseball, makes us smile from ear to ear.

Gmail Tap Product Video

There is a new April Fools Day video rolled out each year by these search engine pranksters but this one seems the most plausible and real… until LL Cool J makes an appearance towards the end. But it doesn’t seem that far fetched does it? Morse code is a form of communication after all, right? Maybe we’re hoping we weren’t the only ones fooled upon first watching this…

The tone, pacing, and style are all spot on for a product launch testimonial and given all the inventive things they are doing out there in Mountain View, we don’t blame the commenters who were excited to get their hands on this new technology.

LIVR Testimonial Video

“If you’re inebriated enough, we’ll let you into the app” is just one of many lines that are delivered flawlessly by the actors portraying the founders of this app that infuses getting sauced with getting social. Kudos to these two guys who perfectly matched the tone and cadence of app creators who are excited about their revolutionary product.

The Perfect Parody

At Demo Duck, we take our video projects seriously, but we try not to take ourselves too seriously, and it’s good to see that other people feel the same way. The fake corporate video is an art form, and honestly, a great creative exercise too. It's an opportunity for some industry self-reflection and examine some of the tropes that we're all guilty of from time to time.

A sense of humor goes a long way. Besides a video production parody, we love adding humor to our videos with playful scripts, visual gags and more. If you're looking to inject some funny into your business video, drop us a line. We hope a few of these videos brightened your day and maybe inform how you approach your next video project.

Itching to learn more about video? Here are other great posts:

5 Inspiring Marketing Videos that Will Warm Your Soul

7 Simple Steps to Online Video Success

3 Reasons Storytelling is Key for Your Company

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