Video is everywhere these days – all over social media, on websites, on phones and tablets and TVs. And it’s something that every client should consider as an effective communications tool.
At Gard, we’ve been creating videos for our clients for years. Recently, we added Video Storyteller Daniel Thoennessen to our team. He brings more than a decade of experience in video production and creative storytelling and has been putting it to work since day one on the Gard team. In his first six months here, Dan and the creative team have created videos for everything from TV and Facebook ads to company announcements, news stories, webinars and more.
We talked to Dan about Gard’s video department, why video is so effective in sharing stories and why it pays to work with a full-service agency like Gard when it comes to using videos as part of an overall communications strategy.
What makes video such an effective approach to storytelling or sharing messages?
I think video really adds personality. It lets people share personality and communicates emotion really well. There’s an immediacy to video, and it really puts a face on your company in a way that written or other forms of communication can’t. The other thing is that, certainly with younger people, across Instagram, TikTok and all the most popular social media platforms, they are consuming content via video. That means people expect to engage with companies through video.
Are there other ways people are using video to communicate?
There are lots of ways. It’s also great for internal communications. It can be a really good way for people to connect with their coworkers who they may not see if they work in different locations. And even video testimonials on career or HR pages to assist with talent acquisition. Video really has the ability to communicate the humanity behind a company. I think that’s something that companies are looking for, to not be a faceless entity.
How has Gard expanded its video capabilities and what kinds of videos can it produce?
We’ve created a mobile studio for video and audio production. We can come to our clients and produce any kind of high-quality creative video or documentary-style productions, commercials or webinars. We can film a set of interviews and edit those together, even add in b-roll, to tell a story. We can do little clips for Instagram or Facebook, we can film press conferences and make short clips to send to media, and we can do a single camera webinar to stream live online. We can also do scripted announcements for customers or employees using teleprompters and multiple cameras. We have the capabilities for clients to reach their customers or the general public in lots of different ways.
Gard does a lot more than create videos. What’s the advantage of partnering with an agency like Gard on a video project?
I think the main thing is that Gard has the ability to weave video into all these different parts of a bigger strategy. Video works best when it works in tandem with all these other parts, and Gard is great at making video part of a larger whole to amplify and multiply its effects. For example, we did a video for Portland State University that not only lives on their Youtube page, but it also became part of an article about PSU by the Portland Business Journal, an announcement to alumni and donors, part of a website with more project information and presentations to community groups. So, if you work with Gard, we have experts in every area of creative, public affairs, social media and public relations who know how to work with video, integrate it into other efforts and get the most out of it.
To find out more about Gard’s video services, visit our Vimeo page or contact Daniel Thoennessen