Joining the dots… with video

CPL’s Ciprian Cucuruz shares his tips on why video should be at the heart of clients’ content marketing strategies

What’s your role at CPL?

Officially, Senior Associate – Video and Technology.

I lead the video team here at CPL Towers.

I joined the company in 2010 and since then we’ve expanded our video offering and our client base. We film, edit and animate. Essentially, we tell visual stories.

My other role means I’m the guy who helps CPLers with any technical queries. But, because we have outsourced our IT support, mostly it’s about making decisions about the best technology solutions for now – and the future.

What’s been your most memorable project in the past few months?

AB InBev, the world’s biggest beer brewer, asked us to create a video as part of a larger internal comms campaign to promote its employee engagement survey.

It was a fun project to work on because we were given free rein with our ideas.  

We produced an intriguing and funny animation that was enjoyable to put together and, most importantly, it worked well for the client.

We always enjoy visiting a Darley stud farm or Godolphin training operation to film beautiful slow-mo footage of their horses. I’m looking forward to the spring weather so we can get out filming more.

What big industry trends should we be looking out for now?

There is a clear shift in the way people watch videos and the delivery channels they prefer. And this will continue, I think. As consumers, we no longer just sit back on a sofa and take whatever the big broadcasters throw at us. We now watch videos from vloggers and smaller content creators on a variety of devices.

With better 4G coverage comes even greater demand for videos on mobile devices, and with that comes a change in the way these videos are being watched – autoplaying within the context of a social feed, a swipe away from being dismissed, often without sound – so how we grab the viewer’s attention in those first few seconds and the use of subtitles is very important.

The actions of some of these independent content creators have resulted in a few recent scandals, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we soon see the intervention of regulators in this space.

Any predictions for the rest of 2018?

There are always new technologies that promise to revolutionise the video industry. Some live up to their promise, others not so much. We’ve seen 3D glasses pretty much come and go, for example.

Similarly, now we have 360-degree videos alongside VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality). They too, I think, will find their niche use, probably in gaming, but will not make it to the mainstream stage.

However, there’s a broad consensus that 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range) is here to stay. It’s definitely not just a fad.

More and more content will be made in 4K HDR to satisfy demand from clients who have just bought a new TV with this feature.

And the future for video in today’s content mix?

It is a global trend – consumers demand video.

Every year we get improving and truly impressive stats about the use of video (it accounts for 73% of all web traffic; 55% of people watch videos online every day) and the power it has over consumers (68% of users have watched YouTube to help make a purchase decision).

As a marketer you cannot ignore video. Whether you make cheap and cheerful video in-house, or you’re lucky enough to be backed by big budgets, you can’t not use video in your marketing strategy. Not in this day and age.

This article was first published on cpl.co.uk/news/joining-dots-video