Filed under: Facilitation | Tags: creative, facilitating, meetings, NapoleonCreative, scripting, Video, workshop
Yesterday, I wrote a post about finding the right message. Then an hour later, I got a call from a client on a job we’d been asked to budget. Having read their brief, I really wasn’t clear exactly what they were trying to achieve. So I asked a few questions, and the client said they would call the stakeholders and get back to me. Then I got a series of emails, as three different stakeholders each had different ideas of what the focus of the video should be.
I then offered to facilitate one of our project kick off workshops. We started by letting the stakeholders explain what they wanted from the video, what they each wanted to communicate. We also did some competitor analysis for context. I then flipped the conversation around, and asked who was going to watch the video, what were they like, and how well did they know the subject matter.
It turned out the people watching the video didn’t want to know so much about the long list of detailed information the stakeholders had compiled in the first. In fact, it might overwhelm them. What they actually wanted to hear was how the company could reassure, educate and guide them through the whole implementation process of the client’s product. Suddenly ,the script took on a whole other structure and point of view.
By the end of the workshop, we had a combined both what they wanted to say, with what their viewers wanted to know, and had a solid structure in place. We’d also established what assets we’d need, who would be responsible for them, and next steps to making the video. In all, a very productive hour!
As Napoleon Creative has developed, we spend more and more time on strategic work. By this I mean spending longer with the client looking at what they’re trying to say, why they’re trying to say it, how their competitors are saying similar things, and how to say it for them.
It’s rewarding when we can really get to the heart of a brief, and help them discover for themselves what it is we’re actually trying to achieve. One recent case was for a product where the clients were telling us what excited them about it, but when we looked closer that feature wasn’t what the consumers were interested in. So we changed the focus of the video.
That particular project isn’t completed yet, but will be posted soon. In the meantime, if you want to talk to us about your communications challenge, get in touch.
Filed under: Branding and Visual Identity | Tags: agency, branding, London, NapoleonCreative, Youtube
We’ve recently won a joint pitch with the great branding agency Falcon to create branding and video visual identity for three new YouTube channel.
Branding is increasingly tough, creating a new name and visual identity that hasn’t been used by others, sometimes in the same subject, sometimes in a totally different one.
We decided to get away from computer screens, raiding a local W H Smith for magazines, and created mood boards on paper, before translating them into digital versions. It was really refreshing to be working on something tactile, and a great way for the Falcon and Napoleon teams to get to know each other.
Here is the lastest animation we’ve created for Capgemini. This time it’s all about understanding how your business is performing and using that insight to drive business decisions in real-time.
We really enjoyed putting this one together. We kept things clean and simple, but brought the subject to life with neat little illustrations and lots of transitions between the different sections.
Filed under: NC
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been working on a series of videos for the Toni&Guy HairMeetWardrobe campaign.
Our challenge, to film 5 bloggers explaining and demonstrating how to achieve their individual look. We had a great day filming each of the bloggers and it was nice challenge having to squeeze them all into 1 minute edits.
We learnt plenty of styling tips along the way too. Unfortunately I don’t have much hair to style though!
Filed under: NC
As video continues to spread through the Internet, a new form of video has emerged. Traditionally, short form video would be anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, the kind you are used to seeing on all manner of websites.
Now though, we have super short form videos!
A new app called Vine was launched this week allowing users to post videos of up to 6 seconds straight onto Twitter. It doesn’t seem like a long time but a lot of adverts, whether on TV or online, are a similar length, and you’ll be amazed how much you can fit in.
Another upcoming launch is the 1 second everyday app. It does exactly what it says on the tin, but the results can be stunning. With so little time, you are forced to use only those extra special moments. Check out the 1 second everyday site for a quick demo.
The need to tell stories and document events means that the longer short form video has little to worry about, but this super short form video certainly has legs and we’re sure it won’t take long for it to become another great promotional tool.
