1. Branded Informational Videos Any video whose primary purpose is to convey valuable knowledge or information, that is not brand focussed to the viewer and is supported by subtle branding. 2. Branded Mini-Docs Any video that provides a non-brand, focussed, factual story or report that is supported in some way by modest product placement or subtle branding. 3. Branded Entertainment Any video, whose primary purpose is to entertain, that is supported in some way by modest product placement or subtle branding. The difference in all three of these high priority video formats is that the branding is subtle. The message isn’t about the brand, the video stands on its own and your brand is associated with that information.

1.Product (or Service) Marketing Videos Product promotions are the most common type of marketing video. The majority of broadcast television commercials and web-based product promotions focus on the key benefit(s) or attribute(s) of a product or service. As broadcast television (bundled programs) is quickly being replaced by streaming and on-demand content, the nature and format of product videos is evolving quickly. 2. Product Demonstrations A Product Demonstration Video differs from Product Promotional video in one important way. Product demos take a deep dive into the features and benefits for those who are seriously considering purchasing the product. These videos are targeted to those who are further along the buying cycle and are seriously considering a purchase. These videos are more common where the purchase decision is more complex, the timeframes are longer and the product price is high – typically in B2B offerings. 6. Launch Videos A launch video is a unique and specific form of product promotional video. They are the ‘main event’ videos that start-ups and relatively young companies use to showcase their new offering. They may be proceeded by other, smaller videos, but ‘launch videos’ are the high profile videos intended to set the tone for the new product or service. Established businesses also create these videos to reset a product or launch an important new category. Launch videos are becoming more important today because the window of opportunity for new tech products is very narrow and you don’t have the luxury of time to test different approaches and positioning. Getting these ‘big splash’ videos right is really important as you never get a second chance to make a first impression. 7. Crowd-Funding Videos Crowd funding videos are a very specific type of video employed to raise money to help develop and launch a new product. These videos are standard fair on sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Business founders are usually featured in these videos. The presence of the founder is important because you aren’t just buying a product, you are also investing in the owner’s vision. What makes these videos different from launch videos is that the viewer is thinking ‘do I want to help this person?’ as much as they are thinking ‘do I want to risk buying this untested product?’

1. Customer Testimonials Nothing is more powerful than hearing one of your customers explaining how your product or service solved their problems and helped them achieve their business or personal goals. Some testimonial videos run as 10 second snippets and some can run 2 minutes or longer, depending on how and where they are being used. These types of videos are often best delivered later in the buying cycle – during the consideration phase where a potential customer is making up their mind about your product or service. 2. Customer Success Story Customer success videos are structured stories that you create in collaboration with your customer. The point of the video is to tell a complete story that highlights how your customer succeeded in some way. Some CSS’s are very product or brand-focussed and some are almost exclusively focussed on the clients journey with only a passing reference to your brand. These often follow the case-study (problem/solution/outcome) format. They differ from testimonial videos typically in their length and complexity and are more often employed in B2B applications that have longer buying cycles. 3. Un-Boxing and ‘Haul’ Videos Box Opening Videos are created by customers of your product. The videos capture the un-boxing of your product as the customer shows-off the new product, puts it together (if necessary) and tries it out for the first time. Another form of this type of video is ‘Haul’ videos where customers (typically woman) shows off the cool stuff they’ve just purchased. ‘Pick-Up’ videos are the same type of video but typically created by men. Businesses should find ways to proactively incentivize happy customers and known influencers to try-out their products and create these videos. As well, brands should be sharing these positive reviews through their social media channels. Monitoring and responding to any negative feedback through these videos is a smart way to gain trust.

1. Company Overview Videos These videos have served as the standard ‘corporate video’ for over 50 years. These type of videos typically begin with the silky baritone voice of a narrator waxing poetic: ‘Since 1876…” or ‘We pride ourselves on…” or “Passion, Commitment and Pickles,” these are the values we hold dear…” blah, blah, blah. While these videos still have a place in marketing, that place is getting a lot smaller. Talking about yourself just doesn’t have the cache it did a generation ago. 2. Recruitment Videos Recruitment videos are purpose-built to show prospective employees what it’s like to work at your company. Great care is taken to showcase the business culture and business values as these factors are now the most important consideration in choosing a place to work (more so than pay or benefits). The challenge here is to identify unique and valuable aspects of your culture that you can highlight. Working at home options may just be the new game changer for business. 3. Behind-the-Scenes Video If you’re doing something interesting like launching a new product, completing a really cool project, or building the world’s coolest office building, an engaging way to tell people your story is to create a BTS video. These types of videos are a great way to open up the cultural veil and let customers and prospects understand who you really are and to add a more human element to your brand. Authenticity is critical here. 4. Corporate Event Promo Video Corporate event promo videos are different from regular event videos in one important way – CEPV’s are videos created to promote your own event. If you own the event then you’ll likely want to create a promotional video to convince your audience to attend your event the next time. The best time to plan for these videos is before your event starts. 5. Corporate Interviews These videos can take on many forms but two of the most common formats are interviews and corporate talk shows. You find a location to film and you invite experts, thought leaders and other interesting people to come in and talk about things that are relevant to your customer base. Your interviewer is typically an articulate employee with broad knowledge and good on-camera skills. These types of marketing videos are typically employed in B2B applications where there is complexity in the buying process and long buying cycles.

1. Customer Support Video Remember the last time you opened a new product and couldn’t figure out how to put it together, or get it to work, or fix it if something went wrong? Ever have a product stop working that you could probably fix yourself if only there were support / service videos available. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to click on a link to a video that clearly explains everything you need to know about you new product or service. Why doesn’t every business do this! Provide a link to support videos that show you how to set-up, fix, make the best use of, or… just stay happy using their product or service. 2. FAQ Videos Every product or service has a finite number of questions that customers are likely to ask at some point in their buying journey. Why not help them out along the way?