Video content is the best way to engage your audience. Social channels are taking a video-first approach, video traffic is increasing and increasing, and the way we’re hardwired means moving images resonate with us in a way that the written word simply doesn’t. However, with more and more content online, planning and strategy become even more important.
In this blog, we’re using our client Sykes Cottages as a case study of how to create successful video content for your brand as an awareness-raising tool.
Sykes Cottages are the UK’s leading independent holiday rental agency. They realised that if they were to cut through in the highly competitive holiday and leisure market that they needed to look at how video marketing could help them position their brand and promote their offering.
The Brief
The brief was to create a video brand to raise awareness which would work across their owned online content channels (website, YouTube, Facebook) and showcase their various products.
Messaging workshop
We wanted to find the perfect brand story for Sykes, and the process began with a messaging workshop, where we were able to uncover the brand truths that would chime with their target audience.
In these sessions, the creative team is looking for the audience’s key emotional drivers. Here, the consumer motivation revolved around spending quality time with family and friends in a ‘home away from home’. Our video content, then needed to reflect that Sykes was the perfect get-away from busy, time-pressed lives to reconnect and spend time with loved ones.
We also identified the key USPs that differentiate Sykes from their competitors (their personalised inspection service and ‘pet-friendly’ policy) and developed messaging for the films. From this insight we created a tone of voice and look and feel for the video content.
Video Content
The campaign launched with two animated videos, targeted at Sykes’ rental customers and their holiday home owners respectively. The videos were seeded via Facebook and across Sykes YouTube channel, as paid placement and pre-roll adverts.
This initial content push was followed up with a 60 second video showcasing Sykes’ West Bay properties on the Isle of Wight as the perfect winter getaway.
There was also a highly targeted video aimed specifically at pet owners, promoting Sykes’ ‘Pet friendly’ rental policy (at the top of this post).
Throughout all the films from animation to live action, the Sykes identity and tone derived from our initial messaging sessions is consistent, reinforcing brand identity.
The results – meeting brand objectives
The campaign aimed to raise brand awareness achieving a sizeable increase in organic and paid search traffic. As a result of this successful campaign, Sykes are continuing to work with us on creating video content that reaches and engages potential customers.
Would you like to create video content that moves your audience and builds your brand? We’d love to set up an initial chat about how we could help. Get in touch today.