With the power that videos hold in the marketing world, it’s not a surprise that every company is putting out stellar clips to boost their engagement and brand awareness. With over 50% of marketing professionals reporting excellent returns on videos, they’re an absolute no-brainer for anyone trying to expand their audience.
From Apple’s fast-paced iPhone ads to McDonalds’ colourful clips, even some of the biggest multinational companies are getting in on the video game.
But of course, making videos as a small or medium firm is very different from making one as a large, public enterprise. Between the numerous stakeholders to the potential legal issues, there are a lot of restrictions and factors to navigate. If you find yourself in that position and are wondering what to look out for when engaging in this process, here are a few tips on what to do and what type of video production firms to partner with.
Enterprise Video Production Purpose
Before engaging anyone, you must discern why you’re producing this video. Is this video to train, announce, or market? Whatever the reason, every frame should be aimed at that goal. And while intent is crucial, so is the metric of success.
You also need to meticulously lay out other factors such as the budget and the outline of the story. Underscore how you’ll measure the video’s success. This might be in views, shares, or more tangible outcomes like increased sales or enhanced employee morale. In a large company, a project like this will affect several departments at once, so you want to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
Brand Congruence
This is a video from your brand, so it has to feel like it. Every shade of colour, every font choice, and each narrative element should be in harmony with your corporate branding. Seek a production partner well-versed in maintaining brand consistency while infusing fresh creative touches. The right company will strike a balance between honouring your existing brand guidelines and suggesting innovative enhancements.
This, of course, doesn’t just apply to the visual elements. A larger corporation’s branding has likely been carefully curated and maintained over several years, so you have to make sure the content of the video falls in line too.
Look over the proposal and content and ensure that it reflects the brand’s values, goals, and characteristics accurately.
Accommodation For The Video Production Firm
While a good video production firm can produce any video in any style, they still need some help in bringing your vision to life. You should anticipate and accommodate the production firm’s needs for the best outcome. This could range from providing high-resolution brand assets to ensure visual consistency or granting timely access to facilities for filming.
You could also provide the firm with a brief on the enterprise’s values and history should they require that information to make a video that accurately reflects the brand identity.
Understanding Enterprise Dynamics
Engaging with a large enterprise is vastly different from working with a startup or a smaller organisation. Public enterprises often operate within a complex hierarchical matrix (as you’re likely all too familiar with). From department heads to C-suite executives, multiple stakeholders may have a say in the video’s content and direction, and you’ll need the OK from each and every single one of them before going ahead.
In addition to clearing this on your end, you’ll need to choose a video production firm that understands this to avoid any surprises or hiccups. The right production company will have experience managing these layers, ensuring that communication is streamlined and that the final product aligns with the vision of all key decision-makers.
Portfolio Scrutiny
Go beyond the glossy showreel. Dive into the company’s past projects. This isn’t just to gauge their technical and storytelling skill, but to get a feel for whether they’ll be able to execute your vision.
Aim for firms with past projects that parallel your sector; it’s a sign that they’ll be familiar with the needs of a company like yours.
Elicitation of Stakeholder Insights
As we’ve mentioned, a project like this from a larger company will likely require approval from various players. Whether it’s other departments or investors, you’ll need everyone to be on board before making and releasing any video. The best video production companies will seek input not just from your marketing team but from diverse enterprise stakeholders.
Their ability to centralise and collate these insights will determine the cohesiveness and relevance of the final product.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration
While marketing may lead an enterprise video project, insights from HR, Sales, R&D, and Finance can offer awesome perspectives. After all, these departments will put the video into good use, so they must have a say.
The best video production companies will actively seek out these cross-departmental insights, ensuring the video resonates on multiple levels.
Feedback Synthesis
Having lots of input is great but it can also be confusing to manage all the different opinions. The production company you pick should have an organized way to gather and combine feedback, so the video (or animation) project stays together. And any disagreements between departments are handled well.
Compliance and Legal Adherence
From regulatory and corporate compliance, as a large firm, you’ll be facing a lot of legal restrictions on any project. It’s important for you to make sure that your proposed video follows all these guidelines. Read through the pertinent documents and check in with your legal team. This will protect your enterprise from any potential and unexpected legal problems down the road.
You’ll want to partner with a firm that prioritizes compliance from the get-go. Their proactive engagement with your legal team, coupled with an up-to-date understanding of evolving regulations, will ensure that nothing goes wrong with the produced content. Of course, as a video production firm, they will likely not be as familiar with compliance issues in your specific industry as you are. For the smoothest and safest outcome, brief them on what to look out for and inform them as much as you can.
Here are a few good signs that the firm you’re working with knows their stuff.
Early Engagement
The right production firm will value early collaboration with your legal team, treating them as key project stakeholders. This ensures that every storyboard sketch and script draft is built on a foundation of compliance, averting the pitfalls of retrospective legal adjustments.
Industry-Specific Knowledge
Beyond general regulations, each industry has its own set of guidelines – from pharma to finance. It might be best to seek video production partners who have worked with other companies in the field before. This means that they will either have this expertise in-house or will proactively seek external consultation, ensuring every frame of the video adheres to industry norms.
Transparency In Budgeting and Timelines
Budgets, budgets, budgets. Budgeting is always an issue for video production, but it’s especially tricky with bigger companies as the allocation of funds affects all departments. You’ll need a clear, accurate estimate of the cost of this project in your proposal.
Opt for a video production company that offers clarity in their cost and timeline estimates (Check this page for more information about pricing). A team that accommodates unexpected developments. Their ability to maintain quality without overshooting constraints will be a testament to their professionalism and can make or break your project.
Structured Approval Flows
Given the number of stakeholders and the thorough approval process, the finalisation process should be systematic. You’ll likely have to go through a few revisions to get to an outcome that satisfies every need. Look for a firm that will understand the sequential nature of enterprise approvals and remain patient and adaptive, ensuring the content evolves in alignment with feedback.
At the same time, make sure to provide constant and coherent communication with the firm about your concerns. Believe me, the last thing you want is to work with a team that is rigid and doesn’t understand enterprise approval processes.
Commitment To Post-Production Analysis
Any video production company worth their salt knows that the work doesn’t just stop once the video is made. When your video graces screens worldwide, your chosen production company should also offer insights and analysis about its performance. Things that audiences liked, what the comments are saying… Their dedication to gauging viewer engagement and iterating based on feedback could be a sign that they’ll be worth engaging again in the future.
Conclusion
For big, public companies, making a simple video can be as complicated as a maze. The right video production firm can be the perfect guide. Juggling stakeholder concerns, legal compliance issues, and the need to send the right message is a tough process, but it can be done with great success. With a balance of creativity, strategy, and a keen understanding of corporate intricacies, the production process can be smooth sailing.
Need A Video Company to Produce Your Enterprise Videos?
In the past decade, Kasra Design© had the privilege of collaborating with over 50 enterprises. Our award-winning team can ensure a hassle-free experience for your enterprise management.
You may contact us to discuss your video project here: Kasradesign.com/Get-a-Quote