A word about the power of video

We often build sites, microsite and specials for our clients. And often, they want video on it.

One of the most important things we always say is: if you want a great brand experience, you can’t use stock imagery or footage. You need to come up with a content strategy, and take the time to develop a story, script, story, cast it, shoot it: the works for a whole TV production, in fact. Also, dare to leave the boundaries of the CD/CI and delve into graphic and animation design in favor of the story you’re trying to tell, as opposed to always telling a brand story. This is because as soon as users smell boxed in, rehashed, repurposed video/animation content, they leave; they smell the marketing because they don’t receive anything in return for the attention. If you as a brand don’t try harder, why should I consume your (badly designed) messaging?

Not sure how long this has been up already, but we found a great example of a brand known for taking their time to develop the right style and really lets their agency push the creative envelope. As part of the “Here I am” Nike Women campaign, the site features amazingly animated video, including amazing effects, each story with its own style. Apart from it being insight-driven, it also uses a visual language women ought to find appealing.

If you can’t go to this level of committment in creating work, it is often
better to try something else instead. Because in these cases, badly
shot, designed, and produced video and animation work has a way of
quickly working against you.

3D Visualization Case: Grand Palais Paris

As far as interactive 3D visualization goes, this animated tour of the restored Grand Palais in Paris in one of the best I’ve seen lately. It features a super-realistic flythrough with call-outs, an easy movable timeline and on-demand narratives. On The Favorite Website Award, it made Site of the day.

Grand Palais

http://www.grandpalais.fr/visite/en/#/the-exploration/