By 
By Pete Fergusson
Founder and CEO of Nemorin Creative Film & Media
London, UK
Connect
Brands all over the world are having fantastic success with video content. While some brands are pulling out all the stops and playing with enormous budgets (did you see Apple’s Siri ad with Dwayne Johnson?), not every successful video needs to be a huge, complex production.
Concept and execution is everything. If the content is engaging and compelling - a good story, well told - it shouldn’t matter how much it costs to make or how detailed the direction and choreography is. To prove it, here are three great quality branded videos that nail the ‘simple but smart’ formula.
A kitchen, some ingredients, and a cocktail maker is it all took.
1. KFC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jn8TXoPQTg
A kitchen, some ingredients, and a cocktail maker are all it took to put this series together for KFC.
Of course, nothing is ever as simple as it appears to be - there’s plenty of logistics required in getting everything set up and lit nicely in a great location - but it’s a straightforward concept for a series of films that can be shot in a day or so.
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It’s a deceptively simple way to tell a complete story.
2. Take Note
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63ytBiQx3EU
This is a short film for stationery company Take Note.
The product sits front and center for the entire video, in a frame that changes only slightly over the three and a half minutes.
It’s a deceptively simple way to tell a complete story, relying a lot more on the concept and the execution of the editing than a major, complex production.
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You don’t need three months’ work of visual effects to tell your story
3. Always
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=24&v=XjJQBjWYDTs
A stage, a camera crew, and a clever idea is all it takes to get the message of this film across. This video from Always regularly appears in the lists of top branded content, and for good reason.
You don’t need three months’ work of visual effects to tell your story - just some confident direction and a clear vision of what you want to achieve.
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While a higher budget might open some doors in terms of possibilities, it’s meaningless without a good strong concept at the core of it.
The important learnings
From Instagram videos shot in the office to Facebook Live streams straight from a mobile, the production of good content doesn’t need to be restricted.
While a higher budget might open some doors in terms of possibilities, it’s meaningless without a good strong concept at the core of it. Focus on the story: everything else comes afterward.
Need more inspiration? Download "32 Award-Winning Native Advertising Examples 2017"
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