VR vs 360-Degree Video
Featured image from http://www.themonitordaily.com/
Updated on February 10, 2020.
So you’ve decided to take your branded content to the next level by replacing the conventional video approach with VR and 360-video. After strategizing a careful video marketing plan, you have to choose between the two formats. But what’s the difference?
Although they may seem the same, VR and 360-video have stark differences. Their functionalities and features make them particularly effective for certain types of content. So forget your preconceived notions about VR –because you might be mixing it up with 360-video, anyway.
Perspective
When people watch a 360-video on a VR headset, it’s technically not a true VR experience. What they see in this format is footage taken from the 360-degree overview from the camera’s physical position. Viewers cannot explore beyond the setting that the filmmaker presents. But in VR, the headset tracks the movement and position of users. The users are in complete control. They can both walk and interact in their surroundings, activate certain functions with controllers and other motions, or even just abandon the narrative. In this way, VR imitates life through this freedom of choice within the simulated environment.
Image from youtube.com
Progression
360-videos are known for their natural progression from scene to scene. That means filmmakers handpick what they want to present their audience. Viewers consequently don’t have any power over their interactions.
By contrast, VR thoroughly immerses users into the environment and allows them to explore however and whatever they want. Unlike in 360-video, a VR story is not set in stone. It doesn’t follow any pre-determined timeline. Rather, users are able to create their own experiences in the VR simulation.
Context
Now that you know the difference between VR and 360-video, you might be wondering which format fits best for your next video marketing project.
If you want to create a large-scale experience that your audience will never forget, consider the VR approach. With the technology being so complex, it’s best to feature VR experiences at conferences or festivals. Consider the Gear VR Theater with 4D at the Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona. The experience transported the participants to a Six Flags roller coaster ride in California. The chairs they sat in had motors installed underneath, allowing the individual to feel the toss and turn of a roller coaster. With 4D elements in combination with the groundbreaking visuals, VR proved to be a perfect marketing platform for the company.
With this captivating VR, you are more likely to create an engaging experience for customers because you are already reaching out to an active audience. They either bought the ticket to your conference or came to your store, and agreed to have the experience in some way. All of these factors make VR a successful, engaging advertising tool.
But if you have video content that is documentary-style or from a live-event, 360-video is perfect for you. This format lets you broadcast to a larger audience quickly and easily. Your video can be uploaded onto compatible apps or mobile websites, like YouTube and the New York Times. Users can then watch 360-videos on Google Cardboard. This feature enables average viewers to access the content anywhere and anytime for their own enjoyment. Plus, there’s no intimidating, bulky equipment to put on!
But, with this easily accessible 360-video, you are sacrificing the fully immersive experience that is the essence of VR. Without a large VR production, you have the full responsibility to develop enticing strategies that will push users to voluntarily download and watch your video.
Whichever route you decide to take, VR and 360-video have the power to garner the attention of countless viewers! So the next time you’re trying to refresh your content, consider these two innovative options.
The Best Branded Documentaries
Updated on February 12, 2020.
Documentary. Just the sound of this word used to make people yawn. In the past, documentaries were widely considered to be elitist and overly artistic. Hours long, these videos went in depth into the nitty-gritty details of broad, heavy topics. Now, however, marketers have begun to take advantage of documentary’s unique and insightful way to tell authentic stories. Introducing: the branded documentary.
As the internet, smartphones, and social media have proliferated, this new format of documentary has evolved and conquered the market. Branded-docs continue documentaries’ authentic form of expression, using an artistic storytelling approach to resonate with their audience. However, by sticking to stories that are short and honest, brands have successfully adapted the documentary style to tell customer’s stories and inspire customer loyalty.
Branded documentary has been adopted by many brands such as Apple, L’Oréal and Vans, as a significant part of their content marketing. Here, we’ll break down some other successful approaches to branded documentary strategy.
Patagonia – aligning brand message with the consumer
Do you have the urge to buy dozens of clothes when you shopping, or do you usually only get one piece after careful consideration? For Patagonia customers, it’s absolutely the latter. Knowing this, Patagonia, the outdoor gear and clothing brand, made a video documentary marketing campaign that highlighted the stories of those resourceful customers. This short, branded documentary allowed their own customers to explain how they cherished their Patagonia gear throughout years of rugged adventures.
88% of customers say they trust online reviews as much as individual recommendations. That’s why this branded doc works – Patagonia allows their customers be their brand ambassadors. By focusing on the real accounts of the reuse of their products, the outdoor brand conveys a believable message of durability through powerful customer testimonial. It’s obvious that Patagonia knows their typical customer cares about minimizing their eco-footprint by buying quality products. The branded doc allowed Patagonia to take confident steps to align their brand message with the values of their customers.
Another strategic step Patagonia took was to release the video right before Black Friday. This continues to push the brand towards sustainability and quality, as Patagonia actively encourages its customers to celebrate the things they already have, instead of participating in unnecessary over-consumption.
Make-A-Wish Foundation – exhibiting the impact on your customers
Branded documentary can be like virtual reality gear. It takes the audience right into the story, helping the viewer feel the same emotions as the main character. Make-A-Wish foundation and Green Buzz uses this characteristic to its advantage when telling the story of Nitin, and his wish to become a Washington Wizard for the Day.
In this branded documentary, the audience is brought along for the wish experience that Make-A-Wish tailored to Nitin’s dream. They get to to see, first-hand, every exciting moment Nitin feels during his dream come true. After hearing the teenager explain the tough journey his illness put him through, the viewer is left with no questions that Make-A-Wish is doing a great service for someone who truly deserves it. In the end, the impact Make-A-Wish has on Nitin is clear– it not only brings him happiness, but it also provides a sense of hope to him and his family.
By showing the impact their mission has on its clients, Make-A-Wish foundation makes the audience believes in its mission, and encourages them to use their power to change the world. The branded-documentary is a great success. At the gala, Make-A-Wish raised $700,000, compared to $420,000 the previous year.
Starbucks – Instantly Relatable
There seems to be a Starbucks on every street corner in every city in the world. How does a brand so big maintain its close relationship with its millions of customers? By elevating the customer story with a branded documentary!
“Meet me at Starbucks” gives a glimpse into the activities of coffee shop regulars, from the typical first date to a scrapbooking club meeting. It clearly demonstrates how Starbucks is shaped by its own community of consumers. That’s the key: rather than focusing on its products, the story is customer-centric and shows Starbucks patrons personalizing the coffee shop’s atmosphere.
Branded documentaries grant the perfect opportunity to remind customers what brand interaction really means. Watching the stories of other customers unlocks memories of the viewer’s own first date, tearful meetup, or other special moment that may have taken place at a Starbucks. The branded doc lets them connect with people just like them. That makes “Meet me at Starbucks” instantly relatable to any Starbucks customer. This video was a hit with their brand fans, racking up more than 170,000 views on Youtube, including media coverage such as AdWeek, AdAge, and Business Insider.
Branded documentary is an excellent content marketing strategy to connect your customers to each other, solidifying loyalty and brand excitement. Remember: In the end, your brand is built by the people who use it. Never underestimate the power of a customer story.
Emily Herman contributed to this post.
Great Editors Can Make Bad TV Look Good
Updated February 12, 2020.
Featured image sourced from the New York Times.
After rating the 22 promos for the TV networks’ new shows, we came up with two main conclusions. The first is that we have really bad taste in television. The second – and let’s be honest, far more likely – conclusion is that great video editors can sell even the worst of TV shows.
Mulaney (FOX)
Take “Mulaney,” for example. The promo for the FOX show starring Saturday Night Live actor and stand-up comedian John Mulaney, and co-starring SNL alums Martin Short and Nasim Pedrad wound up at number 4. But the show itself is struggling to remain relevant, premiering to a mere 2.3 million viewers and with a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49, a critical measure used by advertisers to determine the worth of the audience (and therefore show).
By comparison, “Scandal,” the ABC drama starring Kerry Washington, aired its season premiere to 11.9 million viewers and received a 3.8 rating with the younger adult demographic. Beyond the ratings, though, “Mulaney” isn’t gaining approval with audiences and critics, receiving a very rotten Rotten Tomatoes score of 25 among audiences, and worse yet, 15 among critics.
GBA Editor Andrew Parkison explained why he had high hopes for the show.
“I ranked ‘Mulaney’ high on my list of promos because the jokes had me laughing the entire time,” Parkison writes. “You take a bunch of very talented stand up comedians, put them on a show that is structured very similarly to Seinfeld, and you watch as your actor/writer/comedian cast builds chemistry. Martin Short is a comedic titan and Mulaney is climbing the ranks quickly through his successful stand up specials.”
But John Mulaney isn’t a household name, Parkison says. That may explain the poor showing for the premiere, but if Mulaney and his cast were putting out a strong show, the audience would start to come. They’re not. At only 2.25 million viewers in the last week of October – and still a 1.0 rating among adults under 50 – “Mulaney” is practically laying itself on the chopping block. Bad reviews suggest the two-minute promo was the best jokes of the first episode, with the other 28 minutes falling flat.
So the “Mulaney” editors sold us on what turned out to be a not-so-great show. But what about flipping the equation? What about a show that we thought looked terrible, but is actually really great?
Jane the Virgin (The CW)
There’s the CW’s wildly popular “Jane the Virgin” for this. Out of 22 promos, we ranked it 20. But the show itself received a shocking 100 score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 91 from audiences and is by far the freshman show with the most acclaim this fall.
Here’s what GBA Editor Lee Fanning had to say about the promo.
“[The promo] was a genuinely awful first impression, with embarrassing performance moments, a severe lack of information, and overbearing review quotations that clutter the experience and do nothing to add to my willingness to give the show more attention.”
What the Critics Say
What appears to be working for the show just didn’t come across in the promo. “Jane the Virgin” isn’t positioning itself as a show that takes its premise seriously, “both skewering and paying homage to telenovelas,” writes Sonia Saraiya for Salon.
“I’s a show that knows that it’s a show,” Saraiya explains. “The show is hilarious, mining the ridiculousness of its own plot machinations for humor.”
Instead what we saw was a promo for a show that was trying to convince high school girls to stay relevant by watching a show everyone else is glued to. And we didn’t get a sense for Gina Rodriguez’s performance, although we’re hearing that she is a big new star.
Clara Ritger, Assistant Producer at Green Buzz Agency. Emily Herman contributed to this post.