The answer to company's branding quest lives within your company
“We’re really excited to get started, here’s our brochure and a link to our website–when do you think the brand film will be finished?”
Wait, wait, hold your horses. Brand films serve various purposes: they can tell your company’s story, introduce a new product or service, announce a merger . . . but all of them have one thing in common–their content: the selection of the images, words, and sounds needs to very focused on creating a distinct impression and communcate a precise and often enduring message for your brand. To gain the maximum value from your film you need to think deeply through this content.
We call the process of uncovering your key messaging, “Discovery”, and it remains one of the most critical phases in the development of great branding assets, particularly films.
A typical Discovery Session involves answering the following questions:
1. Who are we?/Where are we going? Quite often brands express themselves as reflections of where they were. Where are you now? Relative to your competitors, are you expressing a unique voice, offering, and viewpoint in the marketplace? If not, brand films can be an excellent cornerstone asset that defines your brand in the here and now.
2. Who are we talking to? Define with as much precision as possible who your audience is: their roles, their needs and wants, their sense of your brand, and critically: “Why should they care about what we’re communicating to them in our brand film?”
3. What do we want them to remember? Rather than focusing on all the things you want to tell your audience, begin by asking what three things you’d like them to remember once the film is over. What are the three things you’d like the viewer to tell someone else about your company and its offering? Remember, keep it simple–that’s the way human memory works, and more money has been wasted on films trying to tell everything than those that focus on only the most important things.
There are many other questions to ask, but these are at the top of the list–they’re a great place to begin digging for the content that will drive your film’s script and production concept. We often have to sift through lots or extraneous information to find the gold nuggets that exist within your company, but once they’ve been revealed, you’ll find your film will embody a messaging focus that is compelling and memorable–one that drives sales and revenue.
Be bold and prosper.
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