Communicating Effectively With A Corporate Video
There are many styles of corporate video, many approaches to making a good corporate video, and many tenants of video production that can lead to production of a good corporate video. One interesting approach is presented by Alan Howarth on his website www.alan-howarth.com .
Alan is a video producer with 25 years experience in journalism and broadcast production. His basic tenant is that if your video looks like a corporate video than it has failed. Alan is alluding to the traditional style of corporate video which is meant to overwhelm the viewer with its grand production style Alan’s approach, on the other hand, one that is increasingly in favor in the corporate video world, is to create corporate videos that look and feel like news reports and that engage the public.
One of Alan’s basic points, spelled out on his website, is that corporate videos should be made, first and foremost to communicate simply and effectively with the public, and not to self indulge corporate leaders, with a chance to see themselves on screen. Therefore, Alan finds that presentations containing public testimonials from satisfied clients, and words from the corporate workers, reach the public much more effectively than videos featuring a presentation by the company CEO.
Alan’s approach is not static but creative, and he is always looking for new ways to reach the public. In one shot for example, made for a perfume company, he went out to retail stores where the product is sold and talked with customers who were shopping for perfume. Live footage shot in retail department stores is believable, and engaging to the public. It allows viewers to see the product through the eyes of consumers like themselves and thus becomes more believable and less pompous.
In another shot for the same production, Alan interviewed people on the street in a retail shopping district. Alan was looking at the product through the eyes of a typical shopper, a character that will be most believable to the public.
While Alan’s approach does a lot to ensure that his videos will be presenting solid content and not mere glitz, in my experience, one doesn’t have to be so rigid in approach. Sometimes, for example, the boss of the company is the most engaging and photogenic member of the business. In that case, I believe he should be featured in the company corporate video. In another company, the office secretary might be the most photogenic and communicative member of the concern. Some videos do well with a professional moderator.
Whoever a company uses to communicate with the public, the effort should be down to earth and full of real content and not mere empty rhetoric. No one likes being talked down to or talked at.



