Turning Brand Activations and Stunts into Social Video
If a tree falls in a forest, how many views will the case study video get?
For brands looking to create content with an “authentic” feel and maximize their production budget, real-life stunts or innovative products that result in wrap-up videos are a perfect solution. You’ll find you’re in good company, too: a number of Cannes winners like DB Export’s Brewtroleum took a similar approach and TNT became famous for their Push Button to Add Drama.
Although brand activations or stunts have a relatively small in person audience, the resulting footage can make for a compelling story.
Examples of Brand Activations
Apologies for all the jargon. What are really talking about we talk about brand activations? By definition, these activations are any kind of brand interaction or experience. You can find a gigantic list on our blog, but these are some typical types:
- A pre-written scenario with an unsuspecting audience and hidden cameras (like Imagine the Possibilities for Barbie)
- A provocative physical set in a public space (like CVS setting up a beach in the middle of Philadelphia or a cigarette in the middle of Bryant Park)
- An innovative digital or physical product (like the Dolmio Pepper Hacker)
- An event put on by the brand (like Grey Goose hosting US Open after-parties)
Think of the Stunt as a Set
The most important thing to keep in mind is to plan not just for the live audience, but for the screen audience (or the people who will watch your recap video later).
This means planning ahead before the activation to ensure you outline the story, plan to capture the right footage and the correct rights.
After an event or shoot is over comes the part where you create the social video for your screen audience. Storytelling, of course, is key to getting your audience. Simply recounting the event won’t do. Frequently, recap videos will begin by revealing an insight or a surprising fact to hook the audience and then building a story from there. The resulting video should bring the brand’s values or core components to life in an interesting way.
Video distribution is the final step in the process of turning brand activations and stunts into social video. Like all social video, the success of the video relies both on the quality of the content and the paid support behind it. Ensure proper media weight supports the video- even if it is “just” an activation video, it still needs to be supported like any other piece of branded communications.
So to answer the first question above: if the tree falls in the forest and the case study video is bland or there’s insufficient media behind it, it won’t make a sound.
