Video agencies. These are mysterious entities that seem to have appeared almost out of nowhere in the last decade or so, so it is not surprising that there is confusion about what they are exactly. What do they do? How do they work? Why do I need to work with one?
Let’s clear things up while we’re at the start of a new decade.
Finding a solid definition is hard. Whoever you turn to, be it a scholar, an industry veteran, or simply a media fan, every single person will have different ideas about how to actually conceptualise a video agency. But put as neutrally as possible, a video agency is a business that bridges the gap between the creative and business spheres by producing video content used to advertise and market excellent brands and ideas. A video agency combines marketing with first-class video production.
Still unclear? Look at Simply Thrilled as an example! Simply Thrilled creates content-films, short videos, and advertisements-for companies including the BBC, all with the aim of sending a message, selling a brand, and ultimately bewitching the audience. Combining the creativity of the film and television industry with some business savvy, Simply Thrilled ensures that promotional videos are sophisticated in their creativity.
Marketing Agencies
Marketing agencies cover all sorts of products and activities. Primarily, these agencies will handle promotional content, creating ideas and concepts that may be developed into the ad content seen in magazines, on billboards, and on TV. They will handle various forms of promotional material, regardless of format, though of course some will specialise in print or radio and more. Such agencies will work hard to conduct an ad campaign, ensuring a message is communicated, a product or service sold, and a potential client enticed.
Marketing agencies may work independently of a company, providing a fresh outside perspective which can objectively assess what should or should not be used in advertisements. However, other agencies will be an internal department, allowing all the work to be done in one place, where the ethos of a company can be channelled into the final product.
Commercial Video Production Companies
Now these companies are similar to marketing agencies in a multitude of ways; they are chiefly centered around commercial content that will engage and sell to potential or existing customers. However, there are some key differences. Firstly, and the hint is in the name, commercial video production companies are all about video. Instead of utilising a wide variety of formats like posters, these companies have a workforce, vision, and output centred on video content.
A company like this will have a production team with all kinds of experiences and interests, ranging from those with a strong marketing background (perhaps even starting out in a marketing agency!) to staff with creative skills, like writing, or technical skills like visual effects and camera operation. Look at our team as a great case study! In some ways, a commercial video production company is like a film studio, albeit generally focused on smaller-scale projects. These projects might include things like corporate training videos all the way to commercials for big brands.
Video Agencies
But what about video agencies? They can be summed up as a perfect blend between a standard marketing agency and a commercial video production company. They combine the strengths of each field to develop and create content that is refreshing, fun, and most importantly, able to tell a story. Marketing brands or products in this sense is about more than just telling a viewer about why they should subscribe to or buy something--it is about communicating something more, eliciting a reaction that can trigger a strong memory or association with a concept.
Video agencies will take the tricks of the marketing trade and meld them with digital content, providing video that might not even feel like an advertisement at all! Digital content truly is at the centre of these kinds of operations. Digital media is the newest and fastest-growing form of advertising out there, and for a good reason. People want to see high-quality video, whether it is a short and snappy thirty second clip to a longer, five-minute exploration of a venue or a company. In the digital age, video is the way forward.
And that brings us to… well… us!
Simply Thrilled is a great example of a video agency in this regard. As both a creative video production company and a video agency, Simply Thrilled brings together a passion for the artistic potential of the video form with a strong understanding of what needs to be communicated in a piece of advertising, Simply Thrilled makes sure its video content tells a story as much as it sells a story.
This does not mean that video is all a video agency can do. Simply Thrilled has a focus on video, whether it be advertising for TV, cinema, or online, production of event video, or social media content, but also excels in animation and motion graphics and communications. With clients ranging from the Universal Music Group to the Department for Work & Pensions, it is easy to see how video agencies like Simply Thrilled are highly skilled and creatively flexible, bringing only the best video content to the table.
But where on earth did all of this come from?
There’s plenty of history to advertising. The Ancient Egyptians used papyrus sheets to advertise sales to prospective customers, and at the site of Pompeii, evidence of commercial posters and even political campaigns have been discovered! It really is amazing how long the advertising sector has been around. What makes Simply Thrilled special, however, is that it is leading the way into the future of video production. The Egyptians would be blown away by the possibilities we have today!
While the genius advertisers of thousands of years ago didn’t have digital technology, it has been used to reach audiences ever since it was developed. The arrival of analogue film as a medium not only opened the world up to a whole new variety of art and entertainment, but allowed for experiments in how brands could be marketed to audiences.
Video agencies emerged as a cousin of the film and television industry, propelled to great heights by the introduction of digital media in the 1990s. The sudden availability of technology meant that even the average Joe could film whatever they liked. And then the Internet dawned circa 1992, and the possibilities have been endless ever since. Video agencies have emerged from this as a combination of creative talent and enterprising verve.
Today, when people want content that is engaging and companies must fight off a crowded market filled with advertising, video is the way forward. This is how video agencies have emerged, by filling in the gaps created by the arrival of the digital age. Whether it’s a punchy ad or a more slow-paced short film, having a strong video presence is vital. Video can convey more information, emotion, and entertainment than any other advertising medium and no business should miss out on having a great commercial video about their services.
A great video, whether it’s to sell a product or communicate the ethos of a company, is key to making clear your brand identity. In today’s busy digital world, it’s more important than ever to have videos that grab hold of people and make them remember you.
Simply Thrilled is a video agency that can do this. With a diverse range of services and skills, we can link a business to an audience through thrilling video content. Whether it’s through traditional film or animation or social media content, Simply Thrilled can tailor your video so that it works to its fullest potential. No matter the device or platform, no matter the product, the magical films created by our team will make an impact no one can forget.
Video advertising does make an impact. You would be lying if you said you haven’t cried or laughed or cheered at an ad well done!
Of course, video agencies are not without their challenges.
The market is becoming very crowded as different agencies fight to specialise their output and make a name for themselves as reliable, effective, and creative. Agencies also have to try to figure out what marketers have always found impossible-knowing what audiences really want. Collecting data on how many people viewed your video might be useful in terms of exposure, but these numbers won’t tell you whether people were truly touched by your advert or short film, whether they were inspired to search for the company simply because of a video they saw about it. Marketing is difficult, but having media content that is genuine and unique is a sure-fire way to stand out.
Standing out is very important, especially in the advertising and video world. But despite this, it might seem that taking risks doesn’t happen as often, although the most memorable advertisements have been risks, taking brands and ideas in directions no one expected. You have to appeal to the left brain, addressing logic as you inform people about your company ethos, but cannot forget about the right brain, appealing to emotions that will make an audience understand your ethos.
Video agencies must also tackle ‘fragmentation’. Industry experts and academics are always talking about this buzzword, and it essentially means that in the ‘olden days’ of 3-channel TV and print-only advertising, audiences were seen as much easier to advertise to because they had few devices to receive content through. But now, with most people owning a phone, a laptop, a tablet, and maybe more (lucky you!), advertising has to figure out which device to aim for, which demographics are going to use which device, and whether people are going to just press ‘skip’ on their ad instead of watching it.
Audiences have also become more fragmented in terms of what they are interested in. Now, instead of swathes of people tuning in to watch one of three channels, audiences are looking for content that they want to watch. This means there are lots of platforms for different kinds of content, and lots of groups of people who are all after something a little bit different. Generic advertising isn’t as effective as it once was.
It can all get very complicated… so let’s move on.
Is there any hope out there?
All these challenges don’t mean that video agencies are without ambition and optimism. The possibilities of the future are exciting and enticing. Audiences are looking for originality, and video agencies like Simply Thrilled are definitely the ones to call.
Video agencies have new technology to look forward to. It might seem difficult to imagine what will come next after so much of it has erupted into our everyday lives, but that’s what they said when they introduced magical technologies like the pen, the CD, and the iPhone! I bet you can’t imagine life without the Internet now, and it was only founded thirty years ago.
Time flies and technology develops quicker than you can blink, so video agencies have to be adaptive and also excited about what they do. Bringing together a keen eye for advertising and a passion for the beauty of film, agencies like Simply Thrilled are the ones to work with to bewitch your audience in the modern age.
