2017: The Year Brands Embrace Vertical Video
Despite what our laptops, desktop computers, and flat screen TVs may think, the truth is that we’re living in a vertically-inclined digital world. The reason why is simple: just look at your phone.
It’s been a curious creative revolution of sorts to watch the past 15 years. As High-Definition became ubiquitous, hardware became more and more focused on width. Hundreds of inches of technological real-estate stretching across our living rooms, bedrooms, and offices for monitors to display as many pixels as possible. It all made sense, everything looks better on widescreen right? Not necessarily.
Yes, all video looks better that way, but it’s not the most natural feeling shot. Most, if not all, smartphones are vertical devices, and as such, most of our mobile pictures and videos are shot this way. This was something brands and companies battled, until Snapchat exploded.
For years, video sharing apps failed to gain mass traction, but what Snapchat did different was to make vertical video’s fun and accessible content through a lighthearted approach and POV-focus. Stickers, drawing, and face filters seem like silly accessories, but really they were intentional, habit-forming product decisions. All the while making our silly vertical pictures and videos to friends seem more and more normal.
Certainly the timing of Snapchat’s explosion helped, being fueled by an already selfie-inclined generation, one that had started viewing its world through images on Instagram. The intuitive act of simply recording something vertical, albeit with less real estate for framing, became accepted and more importantly, became cool.
Yet brands have been slow to realize this, continuing to invest millions in content filmed exactly how they’ve done TV spots for decades. When the content arms race began, high production got you noticed, but not as something accessible and relatable.
That is until recently. You might have seen a recent Starbucks commercial running on TV. It’s talking about all the coffee and great things they did as a company in 2016. Notice anything unique about it?
It’s a regular, mobile-shot video, being included in a TV spot that ran during the Golden Globes. The inclusion of vertical video has also been utilized in scenes for their new spots centered around specific Starbucks customers’ orders.
It’s not just the coffee giant jumping on the bandwagon — HelloFresh and Silk Almond Milk have created similar spots with the inclusion of vertical video.
In a marketplace that is constantly striving for “authenticity”, vertical video is a subtle creative device that makes the narrator’s story that much more believable and relatable. After all, this is footage anyone could shoot on the device they always have on hand.
In a weird and twisted way, it’s very punk rock.
But why does this matter?
For those of us working in the digital branding, marketing, and advertising space, this trend represents a liberation and the continued leveling of the creative playing field. High-production costs might not be necessary to create video content that captures the attention of your customers and followers. Meaning all of your post-production can be handled by an Art Director with an iPhone 7.
The revolution will now be televised, and looking exactly how it’s shot on your phone.
Looking to bring your brand ahead of the 2017 curve? Drop us a line at thinkmoncur.com.
