Today, demonstration videos are as essential as websites. Consumers searching for a product or service online expect a more interactive experience. They want to know how a product works and what its major benefits are for them. And they want to know quickly, and without wading through a whole heap of written explanations.
Demonstration videos give you a chance to show off your new product or service, and reach a wider audience at the same time. After all, you may think your new product is brilliant, but not all products are as intuitive as the iPhone. And while your enthusiasm for it may be infectious when you’re talking to customers, you don’t have the time to talk to everybody, and anyway you don’t want to limit your reach.
That’s the beauty of demonstration video. It gives you the opportunity to capture the best features of your product or service, while entertaining and engaging your audience at the same time.
But in an increasingly crowded online space, you need to inject some creativity into your video to ensure that it stands out.
In order to inspire and entertain you, we’ve put together a selection of some of the world’s most creative demonstration videos.
This fun animated video manages to be both informative and humorous. With its jaunty French narrator and awesome tagline – making apartment hunting more fun – the video gives a clear, concise overview of the product, and demonstrates its main benefits to those looking for a new place to live. Using simply drawn stick figures.
Animated videos can be a cost-effective way for startups to launch their new product or service, but they are by no means limited to those just starting out…
OK, we’re cheating here slightly, as this next video wasn’t actually commissioned by Google, but was made by Epipheo Studios to explain their take on Google+.
This simple, yet creative video was made when Google+ was first released in an attempt to make sense of the confusion surrounding how it worked and how it differed from other social networks. Its effectiveness didn’t go unnoticed and it helped take Epipheo from a small, unknown company to a major name in video – who now call Google a paying customer. Along with Facebook, Microsoft, Intel, NBC…
Back in 2011, Spotify was the largest and fastest growing music streaming service in Europe, and it needed an eye-catching way to introduce itself to the American market. It did so with this catchy little animated number.
Spotify has broken with tradition by omitting a voiceover, and simply letting the music do the talking. Which, after all, is what it’s all about. Using fun visuals and a great soundtrack, it’s managed to demonstrate the simplicity and brilliance of its product in just over a minute.
You will have seen this one, but if you’ve been reading our blog for a while you’ll already know how much we love Dollar Shave Club, but it deserves another mention here.
Filmed on an impressively low budget of $4,500, this product demonstration video skyrocketed Dollar Shave Club to overnight stardom. Although professionally produced, the company kept costs low by filming on site using real employees. But the real genius lies in the cleverly worded script which uses edgy humour to describe what the service is, and why you should care.
Racking up almost 13 million views to date, this demonstration video quickly went viral. It shows the personality and sense of fun behind the brand, and ensured its message spread far and wide.
If there was a dictionary entry for ‘creative demonstration video’, then Blendtec’s ‘Will It Blend?’ series would probably appear under the definition.
This simple idea began back in 2007 when George Wright, Blendtec’s Vice President of Marketing and Sales, witnessed the CEO, Tom Dickson, feeding a wooden board into a commercial blender as part of a destruction test. Thinking that other people may find the testing process interesting, he dreamt up the ‘Will It Blend?’ series, on a budget of a mere $50 (although they already had a studio and video equipment).
In the initial two years of the product series, the company saw a 700 per cent increase in retail sales. Now, they’re a household name with over 700,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel.
The series is a success because it demonstrates the product’s unique selling point to the extreme, blending a series of Apple products as well as golf clubs, video-game consoles, music CDs, and much more.
Their success can be attributed to consistently putting out quality videos that are entertaining, shareable and topical. To date their most popular video remains the blending of the original iPad.
Finally, how do Volvo Trucks demonstrate the stability of their Volvo Dynamic Steering? By hiring Jean-Claude Van Damme and asking him to perform his amazing ‘epic splits’ – while straddling the wing mirrors of two reversing Volvo trucks which are moving away from each other.
With over 68 million views to date, it’s again unlikely you haven’t seen this video yet, but just in case…
This is probably the most incredible vehicle commercial you’ll ever see, and the high number of views are possibly because it’s impossible to watch just the once. It’s simple, precise and utterly unique. And a masterful demonstration of the stability of Volvo’s Dynamic Steering.
Product demonstration videos are an excellent way to introduce your product or service, improve your conversion rates, and engage and entertain your audience. It’s essential to make your product the focal point of the video, but don’t simply tell your audience that it’s great, show them why. Focus on its unique selling proposition and show people how it will solve any problems or issues in their lives, and make their lives better.
To make your video stand out in the crowded internet high street, inject some creativity and show your brand or businesses’ personality. The majority of our examples use a mixture of interesting visuals and humour to engage and entertain their audience. Except Volvo, who leave you simply awestruck.
Video has totally changed the way that consumers evaluate and purchase products. How could you use video to demonstrate your product or service?
Thanks to Neil Davidson for sharing his advice and opinions in this post. Neil Davidson is the Founder of MWP Digital Media, a leading Corporate Video Production Company. He also runs My Web Presenters who specialise in creating video spokesperson videos. They work with businesses of all sizes to create and market compelling and emotive videos that get specific and clear results. If you would like to have a conversation about how to create video for the web then please contact Neil here. You can also follow him on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.
By Neil Davidson
Neil Davidson is the Founder of MWP Digital Media, a leading Corporate Video Production Company. He also runs My Web Presenters who specialise in creating video spokesperson videos. They work with businesses of all sizes to create and market compelling and emotive videos that get specific and clear results. If you would like to have a conversation about how to create video for the web then please contact Neil here.
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