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How To Construct A Web-Video Advertisement That Works
By Jerry Bader (c) 2007
Motivate and Persuade Your Audience

More money is wasted on advertising than any other business
function. Small and mid-sized businesses in particular throw
money at advertising in a vain attempt to establish themselves
in the marketplace. However, there is hope that the
democratizing nature of the Web environment can even the
playing field and allow smaller companies to deliver their
marketing messages effectively. But before that can happen, the
potential advertiser must understand what the big boys have
spent a considerable amount of time and effort to find out: how
to create an advertising campaign that motivates and persuades
customers to do business with you.

Take Advantage of What Major Advertisers Already Know

Chuck Young, founder and CEO of Ameritest, an advertising and
brand research firm and John Kastenholz, Vice President of
Consumer and Market Insight at Unilever have done extensive
research into how story telling, emotions, and ideas are linked
in creating effective commercial advertising. Since their
research was based on television advertising it holds immediate
relevance to any company that intends on using the Web as a
significant presentation tool for delivering their marketing
message.

The cost of producing and airing broadcast television
commercials is exorbitant, and that cost necessitates the kind
of research done by Young and Kastenholz. Web-based marketers
can benefit from the psychological insights provided from these
studies and implement the findings in cost effective Web-video
and audio presentations on websites, Google Video, Google Video
Ads, YouTube, MySpace, and the countless other video
presentation vehicles popping up on the Web daily.

In Chuck Young's article, "A Film Director's Guide To Ad
Effectiveness" he states that audiences don't just watch a
commercial, video, or film, but rather they actively
participate emotionally in them. By paying attention to an
audience's emotional response to short-form storytelling
(commercials) the advertiser can turn mere information into a
memorable experience.

There are two ways to persuade an audience: tap into their
existing belief system or change their existing belief system,
a much harder challenge, but not impossible if you understand
what makes people believe what they believe. We can communicate
to an audience on three levels: the objective, the subjective,
and the conceptual.

The Objective

Many advertisements fail because they present a rational
objective argument in their presentation. Unfortunately or
fortunately depending on your point-of-view, most purchases are
based on emotion not objective rational decision-making.

People may justify a purchase on some rational fabrication but
if truth-be-told the decision was founded on a far more
emotional subjective level. Purchasing decisions based on a
rational model really only work for companies who are the
dominant low price leader in a commodity based marketplace -
not a place most businesses want to be as margins are low and
volume must be extremely high in order to make any money.

The Subjective

By tapping into the subjective level of an audience's common
experiences, experiences that form the basis of an emotional
response, advertisers can present a far more powerful
case than one based on mere features and specifications.
Commercials or Web-based video presentations that reach an
audience on this subjective level can be extremely effective in
aligning a product, service or brand with an audience's
pre-existing set of beliefs - they will be comfortable in
buying your wares because they see how it fits their vision of
themselves.

The Conceptual

In order to actually change people's minds rather than just
convince them that you fit their pre-existing set of values and
beliefs, you must reach them on a conceptual level. To achieve
this level of persuasion the experience presented must not only
be memorable and comprehensible; it must also be enlightening or
perspective altering. This epiphany or 'seeing-the light' will
then be incorporated into the audience's values and belief
system and used as a cognitive decision-making reference.

The Four Types of Video-Based Commercial Constructs

In their article, 'Emotions In TV Ads,' Young and Kastenholz
identified four visual storytelling constructs for creating
video commercials that appeal to an audience on an emotional
level.

The Emotional Pivot or Brand as Star

The Emotional Pivot storytelling construct presents the
product, service or brand as hero, solving the problem
presented in the video and abruptly turning a negative
situation into a positive one.

A recent Nicoderm television commercial showing an ill-tempered
flight attendant berating passengers for a variety of common
passenger behaviors due to her attempt to stop smoking is a
good example of this format. The nerve-rattled, flight
attendant is abruptly converted into a pleasant
customer-oriented person because she starts using Nicoderm.
This commercial story line illustrates how an initial negative
behavior is changed into a positive one with the introduction
of the product or service being advertised. The moment of
change, called the 'emotional pivot,' is when the product is
introduced as hero.

The Positive Transition or Brand as Co-Star

The Positive Transition story starts with a low level of
positive behavior that abruptly turns into a higher level of
positive behavior with the brand acting as the co-star, leaving
the starring role for the audience. This technique often uses
misdirection to hide the brand until it is suddenly revealed as
the catalyst for increased positive change.

Sports car ads where the target audience is hero and the car is
catalyst for getting the girl or the new job is an example of
this type of commercial storytelling.

The Build or Brand as Director

The Build story technique presents a smooth flow of positive
energy to the audience culminating with a strong visual payoff
at the emotional climax of the commercial. In this storytelling
scenario the brand is often held back and only revealed at the
very end of the presentation. The brand is the director or
unseen guiding hand responsible for the positive experience
promised to the audience.

Cosmetic commercials where admiring males are attracted to a
beautiful woman who ultimately reveals her secret as the brand,
is a variation of this type of commercial storytelling.

The Sustained Emotion or Brand as Producer

The Sustained Emotion commercial is your typical 'feel good'
advertisement that maintains a strong positive emotional
presentation throughout the production. This type of commercial
often uses a montage of images or video clips with an emotional
or stimulating musical score. In this case the brand is acting
as the producer presenting the exciting experience you could be
enjoying if only you bought into the brand. The Royal Caribbean
'Get Out There' series of commercials is a good example of this
kind of commercial.

Conclusion

The Web is evolving into the go-to vehicle for presenting video
commercial presentations at a cost that is sustainable by any
serious business. As more and more companies begin to use the
Web venue as a multimedia presentation platform, those that
learn how to use the medium properly by constructing
compelling, memorable story-based messages that appeal to their
audiences on an emotional level will benefit the most.
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Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a website design
firm that specializes in Web-audio and Web-video. Visit
http://www.mrpwebmedia.com, http://www.mrpwebmedia.com/ads,
http://www.136words.com, and http://www.sonicpersonality.com.
Contact at info@mrpwebmedia.com or telephone (905) 764-1246.
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