What is it?
The Commercial is your more traditional video ad or spot, designed to generate awareness and buzz around your brand, product or service, without giving too much away and many times without the use of voiceover. It can vary in runtime from 15-seconds to 60-seconds, depending on which social platform it’s being hosted. It also serves as great, attention-grabbing, branded content that conveys who you are in a more high-level approach.
When to use it?
A video ad should be used at the top of the funnel. They’re most useful for generating awareness and excitement for a product or service. We suggest foregoing television, and posting your ads on YouTube, Facebook, and other social media channels in the form of a digital ad campaign. Just keep in mind, to get traction, you’ll likely need to invest some marketing dollars to promote your spot. Don’t expect an overnight viral sensation.
The Benefits of an Explainer Video
Increased Adoption
When you create an “a-ha moment” in the mind of your prospect, you remove barriers. They move from skepticism to interest, making it easier for you to move them from interest to conversion.
Time on page
Studies have found that landing pages with Explainer Videos get an 88% increase in time on site and, more importantly, an 80% increase in conversion.
Multi-channel
An Explainer Video is useful just about everywhere. On your website as an always-on pitch machine. Centerstage in your email blasts. Part of the perfect sales presentation. Beside your booth at trade shows, and more. It’s a versatile asset designed for high mileage.
Selected Work
Amniscient AmniSphere
Mixam
Dexter Edward
HideMyAss VPN
Network Glue
Amniscient Mission
Characteristics of a commercial video
- 30 seconds or less
- High level branding content
- Generates buzz and excitement
- Motivating call-to-action
- Share-worthy
CASE STUDY: CLIENT
PROBLEM: LEAD GENERATION
Fifth Third Private Bank serves clients with $1 million or more in assets. Foot traffic in financial centers is down, so generating leads is harder than ever. They rely heavily on phone calls and email campaigns, but they needed something else to boost results.
SOLUTION: ANIMATED EXPLAINER VIDEO
Embedded in their email campaign, an Explainer Video clarified the importance of reviewing and recalibrating financial plans. The call to action: schedule an annual review with their Fifth Third financial advisor.
RESULT: OVER 750 $1M LEADS
The most successful campaign in the Private Bank’s history. More than 750 qualified leads poured into financial advisors for annual review appointments.
Results/Benefits
Unlike most video content, view count is one of the leading indicators of success when it comes to commercials. If no one is seeing it, the ad doesn’t have a chance to do it’s intended job. Like we mentioned earlier, getting a significant number of views may require allocating some budget towards promoting your spot. Once views are up, keep an eye on engagement to see how much of your ad people are watching. For a short 15-30 second spot, engagement rates should be around 80%-90%.
Cost
Because commercial ads are meant to grab attention, they often require additional time for production. For example, our spot for CertainTEED required 3D environments and characters, while ClubWPT had a live shoot plus 3D animation done in post. All of these things take time, but you can plan for 6-12 weeks.
Production Timeline
Depending on the style and complexity, a commercial video production typically costs between $25,00-$50,000. Budget factors include: style and complexity of the video, length of video, where you anticipate the spot airing, licensing fees for music and talent, etc. If you’re working on a series of videos for your commercial ad campaign, the per video price may be reduced as you increase the number of videos in that production cycle.
