This article was first published by Gorkana
During his keynote at Mobile World Congress (MWC), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicted that within just a few years, the vast majority of content people consume online will be video.
Zuckerberg’s prediction is supported by a 2015 report by networking tech giant Cisco which forecasts that consumer Internet video traffic will be 80% of all consumer traffic in 2019.
Although the upward trend in video is clear to see, the medium still faces resistance in the B2B sector. In a recent survey commissioned by the Web Video Marketing Council, B2B organisations cited budget limitations, time, ROI, and the lack of in-house expertise as challenges to producing video.
We asked Pete Fergusson, former head of commercial video at the Telegraph, now CEO at Nemorin Creative Film & Video, how agencies and brands can ride the video wave and deliver better communications.
The time for PRs to embrace video is now
Video is experiencing exponential growth as the technology used to create, support and deliver it becomes more accessible.
Pete says:
“Video is cheaper than ever to produce and super quick to turn around. For years, media organisations like Bloomberg have skilfully used the immediacy of video to deliver context and expert opinion around breaking news stories. This ability to react in the moment and to deliver engaging thought leadership style video content is now available to all brands. The role of PRs in helping brands to understand the value this adds to their overall communications strategy is key, especially in social media."
“Live streaming via Periscope or Meerkat is already with us but with 5G on the horizon and the rolling out of Facebook Live, live streaming is set to become the norm. Live Q&As around a product launch, for example, will be accessible to most brands and with a small amount of equipment/media training, PRs can help to deliver and measure this effectively," he adds.
A virtual future
Much of the hype around MWC concerned advances in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), with Facebook announcing the creation of a dedicated Social VR team.
Pete says:
“The opportunities for B2B brands with VR and AR are huge. The VR experience is totally immersive and will eventually offer forward-thinking brands a cost-effective way to deliver unique product experiences directly to their target market.”
“With sales of VR and AR headsets set to soar, distance and scale will cease to be major barriers. Be it scientists or architects collaborating on a project across continents, an overseas customer wanting to try before they buy, or an international event which can now be held virtually – VR/AR will soon be the cost-effective option," he adds.
During Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2016 event in Barcelona, anyone unable to attend in person was encouraged to join in using the 360 live streaming, which offered views from the auditorium, stage left, stage right or centre stage," he continues.
How PRs can help B2B brands
Creative endeavours start with a good idea. It is no different with video. Knowing that video is the future is one thing, knowing which type of video will work best for a brand is another.
Pete concludes:
“PRs are central to the creative process and can help B2B brands understand which video product will deliver the outcomes they want. Video will impact across the entire campaign, so it is important to plan the video strategy from day one. This could involve live streaming or VR, but equally it may be an animation designed specifically for an Instagram or Twitter campaign. In the B2B sector right now, how-to, show and tell, explainer and pitch videos are highly effective in creating engagement.”
About
Pete Fergusson is CEO at Nemorin Creative Film & Video.
Nemorin Creative is a branded video content production company, providing bespoke branded video content services to agencies, brands, media owners, publishers and SMEs in the UK and globally.
Click here to view Nemorin Creative’s 2016 showreel.
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