“In my opinion, video ads are much more interesting to consumers than static formats. For marketers, they give us the opportunity to teach consumers more about our products or services. Whether you want to build brand awareness, test different messaging, or drive sales through showcasing products – video is the answer.”
Łukasz Wójcik, Marketing & PR Director, Mitsubishi Motors Poland
The anatomy of a great video ad
Consumers are becoming increasingly tired of static forms of advertising, preferring more engaging audiovisual content that tells a story. Łukasz notes that “consumers particularly like video content that evokes feelings of inspiration, provide entertainment, and communicate brand values as well as product benefits.”
There is no “golden solution” that will always guarantee a video ad is a success, says Łukasz, however, there are certain patterns that he points out consistently work well such as Google’s ABCD (attract, brand, connect, direct) principle. Łukasz recommends using surprise, a brisk pace, and sound to grab viewers’ attention and get them interested in learning more. “Featuring people early on in video ads works well as our eyes are naturally drawn to human faces and figures, and this is something we focus on a lot at Mitsubishi,” he says. Next up you want to make sure that viewers see your brand and messaging. Here you have a variety of tools at your disposal – logos, product imagery, company colors, and company jingles for example. Łukasz also suggests the use of a company mascot or brand ambassador.
In his role as Marketing and PR Director at Mitsubishi, Łukasz has grown the brand’s YouTube channel to be the second most subscribed to in the automotive industry in Poland. “Video can be an important tool for brand value communication” – he says. “Video ads such as “Holidays with Mitsubishi” are a great example of how to emphasize the importance of positive feelings during a pandemic and aim at building the image of a brand that is close and customer-friendly.” Innovative, effective and adapted to the difficult times of the pandemic, the “Holidays with Mitsubishi” campaign was awarded in the “Performance creativity in crisis” category in the Performance Marketing Diamonds CEE competition.
Mitsubishi is also trying to leverage cooperation with brand ambassadors – in this case, Polish actors Anna Cieślak and Bartłomiej Topa and created a series of videos.
Ania leads a series of films “Japanese Way” where she discovers the traces of Japanese culture in Poland. By this, she expresses the Japanese origin of the Mitsubishi brand. Bartłomiej presents values of ecological curiosities and ways of life. He draws attention to widely unknown, adverse effects of human activity on the environment, while presenting in the background an innovative, environmentally friendly vehicle – a plug-in hybrid model with 4-wheel electric drive – the new Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV SUV coupe. “The ads resonate particularly well with consumers as they create interest and inspiration in cultural issues as well as promote the car, leaving the viewer with a sense of intrigue and wanting to know more” – he says.
The later stages of video ads are all about maintaining the attention you’ve captured. This can be achieved by evoking specific emotions and thoughts that you want your audience to associate with your brand. “By the mid-point of your ad, pace, narrative, and storytelling are key to creating curiosity and anticipation and thus maximizing the likelihood of viewers watching to the end of your video,” says Łukasz. Finally, a clear call to action that uses a combination of audio and visual aspects will increase engagement with the ad and increase click-through rate (CTR).
Ads that pack a punch
Łukasz cites BMW’s The Hire video series as one of his favorites of all time. “These short films are one of the earliest examples of branded content efforts on the internet. I love the way the plot of each film varies, but all involve a hired motorist on assignment for various clients with the car cast as the protagonist which is what draws people in while still highlighting the performance benefits of the car”.
According to Łukasz, building a sense of intrigue ahead of pushing product features and benefits also works well in video advertising, as seen in this later example from BMW. “Good video advertisement builds community around our videos, strengthens our corporate image and builds our authenticity. It gives us a unique opportunity to develop a more direct relationship between the brand and the driver,” he says. “In 2021, we did just this with our series of films “Eco-Tropes of Bartek Topa” which won in The Best of Moto.pl Award, this is a great example of how we leveraged a different route to consumer engagement.” We recommend you check it out!
Making video work for you
“Even the best video will not achieve the right results if it is targeted at the wrong audience,” says Łukasz. This is why it’s essential to tailor each campaign to specific goals and the unique characteristics, nuances of each industry.
Video is perhaps most powerful when used at the beginning of the sales funnel to reach users across multiple channels, build brand awareness, and influence purchase decisions early on. However, video has also proven to be a powerful driver of sales later on in the funnel so it’s worth experimenting and finding the sweet spot for your brand. When it comes to measurement Łukasz encourages marketers to look at reach, brand lift, view rate, cost per view, cost per mille (CPM), and direct actions (such as the number of contact forms completed) to give a broad spectrum of metrics against which to measure success.
How to make video work even better
Video advertising is a huge opportunity for brands to engage with consumers and build meaningful, lasting relationships. It is also one of the most creative channels, where often “departing from the usual pattern creates viral content that builds brand awareness and recognition,” says Łukasz. “With video, we can achieve a wide variety of objectives and achieve a multi-channel approach that is accessible to the potential customer along the entire length of the purchase path,” he continues.
In order to make video advertising as effective as possible, it’s vital that brands and agencies partner with the best technology partners to ensure that the video content is pristine and maximize engagement and performance across all available channels. RTB House enables brands to create multiple personalized video ads tailored to specific target audiences. This optimizes the overall cost of a video advertising campaign by streamlining the video creation process and maximizes performance by ensuring that the creative is aligned with consumers’ interests, needs and emotions.
If you have any questions, comments or issues, or you’re interested in meeting with us, please get in touch.
