Unlike the producers of broadcast television those producing Corporate Videos don’t seem to realise that their audience is just as fickle and discerning as the average Friday night channel hopper.

For some inexplicable reason producers in this sector seem to believe that they have a captive audience who will view their client’s production purely out of a sense of duty.

Corporate videos, just like mainstream TV have about thirty seconds to hook the viewer. If they fail viewers simply switch off and just because they haven’t got control of the remote doesn’t mean they can’t switch off in other ways.

When a client is spending a vast chunk of money promoting his company or service it’s often difficult to persuade him that his production needs to be entertaining as well as pushing the hard sell.

In the UK, even though we take it for granted, we are nightly exposed to some of the best television in the world. The only time we realise this is when we are faced with watching something else, either when visiting another country or most likely when watching Corporate Videos. Even though we might not be able to identify exactly why this television is so poor, we instinctively know we’re watching something decidedly second rate.

There’s a very good reason why the BBC employs some of the best takent in the industry and spends hundreds of thousands of pounds honing even the simplest of TV programmes. The exact opposite also explains why Corporate Videos are usually so uninspiring and why you’ll never hear of anyone walking into the pub and saying to their mates, ‘I went to a meeting today and this company showed me the most amazing corporate video I’ve ever seen.

At some point in the life of every organisation someone is going to say, ‘we need a Promotional Video. A little while later and they will be faced with the reality of what this means in the terms of cost and something that started out as the epic to end all epic’s will usually be given a budget slightly less than a wedding video while still managing to retain all the complexity of a Ben Hur remake.

The very words Promotional Video often become the panacea for all ills with little consideration being given to just how this marvel of modern technology will overcome all problems both real and imagined.

I often tell prospective clients that anyone can produce them a video, the clever bit is making sure it does the job it is supposed to do. At the heart of this are two requirements vital to the success of any production. Ironically they are the two things most likely to be overlooked. They are the creative concept and the script.

The first battle is to explain to the client exactly what a creative concept is. In short it’s the entertainment factor – that little something that holds your interest and compels you to stick with it right to the very end. Watch CSI Miami and when the bride is mysteriously killed as she takes her wedding vows we want to know who did it, how they did it and why. Something we instinctively know will only be fully revealed right at the end of the programme

Apart from the concept the most vital thing of all is the script, the foundation and bedrock of everything your Promotional Video is supposed to achieve. If this part is wrong as is often the case then the whole edifice comes tumbling down and no amount of technological wizardry will save the day. Ironically it is the script that is usually given least thought and even less budget. It is a task usually left until the last minute and finally done by committee. The result can often be a grey shapeless mass that meanders in all directions and somehow manages to spectacularly miss most of the relevant points. Even a passable video script can often fail at the last hurdle by failing to provide a call to action i.e. when someone has viewed your Promotional Video what exactly do you want them to do? So before you embark on any production ask yourself three simple questions. Who is the video aimed at, what precisely is the message you want it to convey and exactly what do you want the viewer do as a result of seeing it. Answer those three and you are well on the road to a really effective production.

There can be fewer tasks more daunting than trying to find the best company to produce your next Corporate Video Production, particularly if like most people you have little or no experience in dealing with the weird world of visual media. Right from the start it’s a confusing world complete with a mysterious language all of it’s own. Have you got a concept? Will you provide the story boards? Is it VO or presenter led? What format will it be delivered in. Not to mention aspect ratios, progressive scan and HD and that’s all before you can even get a quote.

The first step in commissioning any Corporate Video Production is to find a production company whose style of work appeals to you. So how do you know? Well the simple answer to that is to get them to send you their show reel. This is a compilation of all their best work usually condensed down to a few minutes for ease of viewing. Take note of the various types of production they have been involved with and equally important, the various clients they have worked for. If you like what you see then the next step is to find out if you would feel comfortable working with them. As we said at the beginning this is probably a very unfamiliar world to you so what you are looking for are people who you can talk to who don’t try to blind you with technicalities and TV speak. Remember, the path to a successful Corporate Video Production is likely to be long and at times quite winding and for that reason you need to be guided by people you trust and feel comfortable with. Remember. That while these people may be the experts in television and visual media, you are the one with the specialised knowledge in your field and it is that knowledge that they will be commissioned to communication to the wider public. In television terms you are the all powerful commissioning editor and while he or she may not be able to focus a camera or manoeuvre a sound boom, they will have a very definite vision of what the programme must achieve. And woe betide the production company that fails to deliver. So with that in mind write your brief, pull up the folding canvas chair, and prepare to oversee your first Corporate Video Production. As long as you know what the final message should be let the production company do the worrying about how it should be achieved.