What Is A Brand Film?
(and does my company need one?)
A brand film is a compelling short video that expresses your company’s core value(s) without attempting to sell a specific product or service.
And, Yes, your business needs a brand film.
Brand films are story-driven rather than sales-driven. Don’t let that last fact mislead you - nothing is more critical to your organization’s bottom line than the way you are perceived by your customers - in other words, your brand.
A brand film is not a commercial, explainer, or mood piece - at least not in the strictest definition of those terms.
Typically running about 30 seconds to 3 minutes in length, your brand film should have an emotionally meaningful story-hook focused on your company’s values and how they relate to your customers’ values. A brand film uses entertainment, education, and inspiration to express your company’s mission in a way that will elicit an emotional connection with your audience.
It’s so easy to get lost in a thicket of figurative trees when conceiving a brand film. But brand films are not about the individual trees; they’re about the forest.
The bigger your organization is, the more stakeholders you will encounter that want to make sure that their particular messages are represented in a brand film. That’s OK; it’s just human nature. As content creators, we need to assure these stakeholders that a brand film is meant to represent only the very highest goals of your organization. There are other, better video tools (explainers, how-tos, customer testimonials, etc.) for addressing the more granular needs of your company.
A brand film will be about your organization’s purpose, but this should always be directly related to your customer’s needs and desires. Remember, at heart, we are all interested in this persistent question: What’s in it for me? When conceiving your brand film, your mission is to illustrate the ways that a customer’s goals align with your company’s goals.
Aesthetically, brand films are often ‘cinematic’ in style with wide aspect ratios, professional color-grading, moving cameras, dramatic scoring, etc. The production value of your brand film will be tangible evidence of the value that your company places on its perceived image in the marketplace.
Cheap-looking brand films say “Even we’re not sure how valuable our offerings are.”
Conversely, well-crafted brand films say “We believe in us. We believe in you.”
Effective brand films can be versatile, evergreen tools. Feature your brand film on your website. Share your brand film at conventions and trade shows. Play your brand film for prospective customers before online meetings.
You and your colleagues have likely invested so much in your organization. Be sure that pride is reflected in your brand film. As the old saying goes: No one will believe in you if you don't believe in yourself.