Corporate Video Production Is Now A Necessity

The following is an excerpt from a review of Tribe CEO Vern Oakley’s recent speaking engagement at the Corporate Responsibility’s COMMIT!Forum. You can read the entire article here.

“Almost every aspect of corporations have a way that videos are used, and I believe that CSR – as the conscience of the organization – needs to be woven into all of these things,” he said. “It can’t stand isolated and siloed. These thoughts have to be put out in all the work that your company is doing.”

Sharing video examples produced for Apple, energy company Hess, the accounting firm KPMG, and Avon’s breast cancer awareness campaign, Oakley based his position not only on IP traffic forecasts but also on research conducted about the human dimension of CSR and the emotional connection that video can generate.

“A well-crafted video is the quickest way of making an emotional connection,” Oakley explained. “A lot of science has come out in the last few years. Information leads to understanding, but emotion leads to action. If you want to change things in your company and change things in the world, we need action, not just understanding.”

Careful, though: It’s not just about generating emotion in a video; the emotion needs to feel authentic, and today’s binge-watching audiences are undoubtedly more sophisticated when it comes to spotting contrived storylines and emotional manipulation when they see it.

“Audiences know the difference between good and bad storytelling. They know authenticity, and they know when they’re being sold something,” he cautioned.

While there is no question that video is a compelling medium for sustainable storytelling, as the saying goes, execution is everything. If done right, said Oakley,

“There’s magic in those pixels.”