Published by Makovsky Volume 27 / Number 4

Issues and insights from Makovsky

Lights! Camera! Authenticity!Best Practices for Creating Corporate Videos

strategies

The corporate video is becoming an increasingly

ubiquitous part of the marketing communications

arsenal. You see them on company websites; you find

them on YouTube. They’re shown in town hall meetings

and training sessions. They’re used to kick off

presentations and wrap up recruiting interviews.

These videos can be as simple as an interview at an

executive’s desk, or as elaborate as any Super Bowl

spot. The level of production, however, is less important

than you might think. While a slickly-produced cinematic

paean to the company’s history can be exciting and

uplifting, it can actually have the opposite effect on

outside viewers. In today’s video-driven world, simple

digital production is usually seen not as a sign of a

lack of money, but as a symbol of honesty, authenticity

and transparency.

A corporate video can be used for any number of different

functions: Brand or product introductions. Company

announcements. Client updates. Issues commentary. But no

matter what its purpose, nearly every corporate video has

one thing in common: Nonprofessional on-camera “talent.”

In other words, you’ll be working with regular people.

Executives. Employees. Salesmen. Customers. People

whose only experience with acting is sitting in a Cineplex.

People who at best are natural hams, and at worst, break

out in hives when confronted by the business end of a

camera (don’t laugh; this happens regularly).

Nonprofessional on-camera “talent” is the corporate

video’s greatest charm – and its greatest challenge. For

your video to be a success, you’re going to have to figure

out how to make rank amateurs look confident, intelligent

and interesting.

Contact: Timothy KaneExecutive Vice PresidentDigital Branding212.508.9699tkane@makovsky.com16 East 34th StreetNew York. NY 10012www.makovsky.com

To that end, a few best practices to keep in mind:

1. Everybody’s beautiful. Everyone, from the most

beautiful young women to the most wizened old toads,

has the same overriding concern: “Am I going to look

good?” The fact is, how physically attractive you are

has exactly zero to do with how well you come off

on camera (there’s only one Megan Fox and only one

George Clooney, and I guarantee that neither one works

for your company). Relaxed is attractive. Confident is

attractive. Thoughtful is attractive. Funny is attractive.

And all of these will be more powerful than mere

physical beauty.

Confident is attractive. Thoughtful is attractive. Funny is attractive.

2. Nobody’s perfect. By the same token, people want

to hold themselves to an unnaturally high standard of

articulateness. But as above, being able to deliver lines

with the error-free smoothness of a Fox newsreader only

makes you seem as deep as … well, a Fox newsreader.

The occasional “ah” or “um” or minor stumble actually

proves that you’re measured and thoughtful and normal.

Besides, any truly egregious error can be edited out.

3. Look directly into the camera. This, more than

anything else, will make your “talent” look good on

camera. If you’ve ever seen one of those ambush

interviews on Sixty Minutes, you know the effect of

a wandering, shifty gaze. Unfortunately, regular

people are uncomfortable confronting the lens.

So you’ve got to help them get used to it. And you’ll

probably have to constantly remind them. If you’re

working with someone who’s particularly reluctant,

take a moment and show them the difference.

4. It’s not a performance; it’s an interview. Even

experienced actors have a hard time delivering

someone else’s words; for your co-workers, it will be

practically impossible. So instead of writing a script,

come armed with a set of prepared questions.

Come armed with a set of prepared questions.

Start with something easy (“How long have you been with

the company?”); try something goofy (“Jets or Giants?”). If

they say something particularly pithy, ask them to repeat it.

5. Make the piece fast-paced. Videos work best

when there’s a lot to look at. So cut together several people,

if you can. Use lots of short comments, intercut it with shots

of charts, other people working, hallways, laboratories,

technology platforms, whatever. The more you keep it

moving, the less chance the viewer (and the “actors”)

will have to obsess over the performances.

One final note. The citizens of the Web enjoy nothing

better than mocking corporate cant and exposing deceit.

So while your video may not be held to the same standards

of production value as a television commercial, it will

be held to much higher standards of honesty, authenticity

and sincerity.

About Makovsky

Founded in 1979, Makovsky (www.makovsky.com) is today one of

the nation’s leading independent global integrated communications

firms. The firm attributes its success to its original vision: that the

Power of Specialized Thinking™ is the best way to build reputation,

sales and fair valuation for a client. With offices in New York City

and Washington D.C., the firm has agency partners in more than 30

countries and in 40 U.S. cities through IPREX, the second largest

worldwide public relations agency partnership.