Corporate videos often have the image of being boring and lacking substance. However, we continually want to prove this is not the case and that the corporate video genre is actually an area with plenty of creative potential. When Arrow ECS first came to us looking for corporate video content, many would think the scope for filming was limited. However, after just brief chats with a few of their team members we realised they operated in a very exciting area, AI.
Who are Arrow ECS?
Arrow are a Fortune 500 company that operate in the world of technology. With partnerships with the likes of IBM and Nvidia, they work with some of the latest technologies across many areas of the sector. With over 20,000 employees worldwide their scope is vast and as a result the maintenance of a strong brand image is of course vital. Operating in such a rapidly advancing space, it is key that Arrow are seen worldwide as a highly knowledgeable brand that can be steadfastly relied on.
Why did they come to Glace Media?
Arrow were hosting an event in Manchester to announce their latest partnership with Nvidia and what the future of that partnership entailed. In attendance were representatives from both companies, plus IBM and other partners of Arrow. For such a significant event, of course plenty of detailed content was produced to share with the attendees. Arrow came to us to ensure that the sharing of this valuable content wasn’t limited to the one day. They wanted us to create a video that incorporated the main elements of the day, whilst maintaining the strong brand image of the company.
The Shoot
The set up seemed simple, a full day of presentations and discussion, with a group of people interested in AI. However, simplicity isn’t always a good thing when it comes to a great video. The challenge we faced here wasn’t the content we were trying to communicate, it was keeping the production visually interesting.
The key shots we aimed to capture on the day on the day were, the key speakers presenting, discussion amongst attendees and a wider view of the venue that was hosting. This is all great, however, to achieve the aim of sharing the valuable content that was being presented took a little more ingenuity and extra filming once the event was finished.
The issue faced when filming a continuous day of presentations and discussion is that there is tons to film, with not many flashpoints. This leads to hours of unnecessary editing which may not even lead to what you are after. Therefore, in this situation the solution to such a problem was capturing an interview with two key figures from the event. What this allowed us to do was convey key information with more concision, whilst still keeping focus on the main figures at the event. The interview audio then provided fantastic content to bind the rest of the video together. The only element now lacking was specific product information, this is where the edit comes in.
The Edit
The key role of the edit in this video was taking the in-depth information delivered at the event and incorporating it into the production. To do this we chose to use motion graphics as a way of displaying specific statistics and pieces of information that otherwise would have gone lost merely through audio.
Motion graphics are a very effective way to break up the video and draw the viewer’s attention to important pieces of information. On top of this, a little bit of animation sprinkled in the right areas is visually impressive and gives the production that extra level of professionalism. In a production like this where maintaining an authoritative brand image was key, animation did the trick perfectly.
Using The Video
The primary delivery platform for Arrow was LinkedIn. As they operate in the B2B market, this is the social media platform that will benefit them most. Currently LinkedIn is giving a real boost to video content. As they are pretty new to the video game, they are trying to catch up with the competition. As a result we are seeing video content performing significantly better on the platform than other forms of content.
The beauty of such a video is that it can be repurposed and optimised for other social media platforms. Shorter teaser edits, portrait edit and subtitles all add to a video’s performance across such platforms and is something that can be used even more for businesses who operate across multiple social media platforms.
Conclusion
Arrow ECS are a huge player in the technology sphere and sell their services and products to other businesses. Yet, just because they have a very corporate operating structure doesn’t mean that their marketing content is restricted. As we realised when we dived into their brand, the business is associated with hugely exciting areas and produces loads of interesting content on a range of interesting subjects.
This video showed to us that there is scope beyond the usual corporate video. It gave the client something fresh to share with their clients and partners, showing to them just what they get up to and how knowledgeable the brand is. Such a video can be developed into a mini-series or further developed content that pushed the knowledge niche that the brand has hold of.
