The Hallmarks Of An Effective Commercial Video

Commercial videos are a great way to tell your brand’s story in an engaging format, convey information in a short time and encourage viewers to share it to reach more people. In fact, the benefits are endless.

But you may also be wondering what makes these commercial videos effective so that your brand reaps the benefits mentioned? Well, here are the hallmarks of every successful commercial video you need to know.

1. Capture your audience’s attention by telling a story

It is easy to fall prey to a boring commercial video with one wrong step, such as trying to overload it with all the features and benefits of your brand or product. While we understand it is the brand’s priority to get information out there, it may actually do more harm than good.

Instead, go for the storytelling route where you bring your audience along on a journey, rather than overwhelm them with information that they may not necessarily be receptive to. A relatable storyline that is either comedic or heartwarming is a good example and viewers may find themselves wanting to know more about your brand after having a good watch.

2. Keep it short and sweet

A general rule of thumb for commercial videos is to keep it to 30 seconds as this is the sweet spot to capture attention by allowing your audience to make emotional and intellectual connections without losing interest. It is also enough time to make it creative and engaging, while still permitting the inclusion of important information so as to entice viewers to find out more about your brand or product after watching.

That is not to say that longer videos will not be able to achieve the same results. Some commercial videos may require a buildup to tell stories, so it is only natural that the end product is longer. However, this also brings us back to point 1 - having a captivating storyline is vital.

3. Include a call-to-action

The aim of every commercial video is to achieve something for the brand at the end of the day. It could be to increase sales, acquire new customers or improve social media presence - these are all call-to-actions that have to be included in the video so that viewers know what to do.

For instance, if your brand wants viewers to purchase something, then including the company’s website and contact information is necessary. If viewers have to take the extra step of researching for your company’s contact information because it was not included in the video, chances are they may find it troublesome to do so and your brand ends up losing a potential customer.

4. Hire a talent

Some companies may prefer to feature their own employees in the commercial video, in hopes of cutting costs. Unfortunately, someone who has not been trained will certainly not be as comfortable in front of the camera compared to a professional talent. Apart from compromising on the quality, your brand is also taking the risk of having to spend extra money and time on reshooting the entire video should it not be up to standard.

Hence, hiring a talent is exceptionally important to convey the right information, emotions or acting skills that your brand requires.

5. Work with a professional TVC production house

Last but not the least, working with a professional TVC production house in Singapore to assist you from pre- to post-production will help to save a lot of time, effort and money.

Production houses have their own equipment and editing tools that are included in the package so there is no need for your company to invest in these expensive items when videography is not your core business.

Most importantly, they are there to oversee the entire commercial videography process to ensure that it is not just a smooth-sailing project, but also provide advice on what will be the best way to execute it.

If your brand is ready to start on a commercial video project, reach out to Zeetrope. We are a TVC production house in Singapore with a team of talented individuals that are constantly challenging themselves to think out of the box for every brief we receive. We have also worked with a number of notable clients such as Nike, Google, Mediacorp and many more.

Get in touch with us to get started.