When I started in advertising in the 1990s, only Fortune 500 brands (or heavily funded brands) could afford to advertise on television. Television’s reach was astronomical, with no other distribution platform coming close. Around that time just a few smaller brands felt they needed TV commercials but apart from that, it was almost unheard of in business-to-business marketing.

In fact ‘video’ was mostly seen as a ‘dirty’ word, and was only appropriate for the recording and documentation of weddings, special occasions and some local news. At that time advertising agencies were making commercials for the well-known, big brands.

Shot on film, as a rule, these would have been made by feature film directors seeking high-paying, short-term side hustles. The best commercials emulated cinematic storytelling as a way of elevating brand stories. The entire endeavour used to be elite, expensive and inaccessible to most brands.

Fast forward to 2023 and every company is a brand, and every brand is a publisher in many forms. Storytelling as a necessity for elevating brand awareness and driving value has been accepted by CEOs and shareholders of every stripe in every category. Film is gone and video is king. The elite inaccessibility of TV commercials made on film by filmmakers, has given way to the ubiquity and authenticity of video and a fragmented, always-on media landscape.

The question is no longer ‘if a business will create and distribute video’ and should now only be ‘when, where, and how will a branded video be created.’ Video can be published everywhere and simultaneously; streaming platforms, linear TV, social channels, websites, digital billboards, bus stops, news portals and any other mobile channel available.

However, elevating awareness in modern business requires mastering the various forms of video storytelling that are appropriate for your brand. Here are some effective strategies for elevating your brand awareness with video:

- Define your brand’s unique story. Make it a compelling narrative that communicates your brand’s mission, values and competitive advantages.

- Make branding consistent. Various styles of videos achieve different goals. It’s important to maintain a consistent visual style in colours, fonts and logo placement to reinforce brand recognition.

- Make sure the messaging is consistent across all video distribution channels.

- Remember when focused on brand awareness vs. performance media, it is important to have high production values by investing in professional writers and video producers. High-quality visuals and audio really enhances viewer engagement.

- Have a diversified mix of video content. Explore different types of video content to find which ones are appropriate and drive the most engagement. Try testimonials, brand anthems, product demonstrations, behind-the-scenes footage and educational videos to name a few. Tailor it to match your target audience’s preferences.

-Don’t forget SEO. Use relevant keywords in video titles, descriptions and tags to improve the discoverability on search engines and video platforms like YouTube.

- Always include a clear call to action that encourages viewers to engage with your brand.

- Leverage social media and tie the storytelling to a pain-point that your brand is solving. Make it so that your brand videos are shared and distributed for free, from your enthusiast users: the ones that make them feel something.

- Empower your social media manager or team to authentically engage with your audience.

- Measure and analyse performance and invest in paid advertising, on relevant platforms including YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

-Harness user generated content (UGC). Encourage your customers to create their own videos highlighting their experiences with your products or services and share, to build trust and authenticity.

-Maintain consistency. Building brand awareness through video is a long-term endeavour. Consistently produce new video content to maintain audience engagement to see the full impact on your brand awareness over time.

Video trends to watch out for in 2024

The explosion of free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) presents a huge opportunity for marketers in 2024. Platforms such as Netflix free, Tubi, Pluto TV and Roku Channel are seeing rapid adoption amongst cord-cutters. As viewers continue shifting away from paid services, we can expect brands to continue increasing and allocating more video advertising spend towards FAST channels.

Digital capabilities allow for innovative distribution tactics. For example, clients can sponsor in-stream and channel takeover adverts aligned to their audience’s favourite channels. The commercial lives on, and gives clients the chance to tell compelling stories in 06, 10, 15, 30 and 60 second increments.

Such commercials are professionally produced by seasoned professionals; however, their aesthetic is more real-world, and less cinematic and less expensive to  produce than TV adverts. This is great news for agencies built for modern marketers. Storytellers can create and produce world-class work for less than half the costs of broadcast commercials.

The other thing to watch out for is the fact that video platforms are expanding shoppable advertisement capabilities that will turn passive viewers into direct purchasers. For example, YouTube is enhancing its integrated shopping features while TikTok continues expanding its Shopify partnership.

In the US last week, Wal Mart released its shoppable videos on social media which are brilliantly put together, innovative and already driving conversion. We should expect more brands to allocate budget towards this type of marketing which drive measurable conversions.

Brands that can integrate behind-the-scenes e-commerce investments like attribution tracking and inventory syncing to fully capitalise on the sales potential will be well served by these methods. So the brands which tell short-form, entertaining stories with transactional capabilities, will pull further away from the competition in 2024.

Matt Bijarchi is the Founder and Managing Partner of Blend, a boutique creative production agency based in Los Angeles, USA.