Death to the Corporate Video: Recent Episodes
Guy Bauer, Hope Morley
Tools and advice to make B2B videos people actually want to watch. Hosted by Guy Bauer and Hope Morley of Umault, a boutique video marketing agency that helps B2B businesses create captivating content, engage the right people, and drive sales. Learn more about us at umault.com.
Brand isn't just a marketing expense. It's one of the best long-term investments you can make as a business owner.In this episode, Guy Bauer steps away from filmmaking and creative direction to talk owner-to-owner about why Umault has invested more than half a million dollars into building its brand over the past seven years. Drawing from his own experience of putting marketing on pause while making his feature film Ana the Cleaner, he explains why strong brands continue generating results long after campaigns end.If you're focused entirely on short-term lead generation, this episode is a reminder that the strongest businesses are built by investing in something people remember long after they've seen it.
If you've ever wished you could flip a switch and instantly generate more leads, this episode is for you.Guy Bauer explains why "getting leads" is the wrong goal, and why leads are actually the byproduct of a disciplined, long-term marketing system. Using Umault's own experience, he shares why it took more than a year to generate the agency's first inbound lead, introduces David C. Baker's water pump analogy for building marketing momentum, and explains why consistency beats quick fixes every time.Then, Guy delivers on the promise with two practical ways to generate leads faster: targeting the 5% of buyers who are already in-market through bottom-of-funnel marketing, and creating one bold, opinionated video that earns attention and fills your pipeline.If you're tired of "get leads fast" marketing promises and want a more realistic framework for building demand, this episode is for you.
A year after Veo 3 changed the video world, what’s actually happened?In this episode of Death to the Corporate Video, Guy Bauer breaks down where AI video stands today - from rapidly improving quality to why AI performances still feel strangely “non-human.”Guy shares his thoughts on:Why AI video is becoming its own category of animationWhy great ideas are still the hardest partWhy the novelty phase is already overWhy taste and storytelling matter more than everThe tools got better. The real question is: does anyone have something worth saying?
Most marketers think they have a creative problem.They don’t.They have a clarity problem.In this episode of Death to the Corporate Video, Guy talks about why clarity is the single most important - and most overlooked - ingredient in effective video ads.Borrowing from Dave Ramsey (“to be unclear is to be unkind”) and filmmaker Errol Morris (“subtlety is for amateurs”), Guy breaks down why confusing ads fail… and why clarity isn’t something you can fix in post - it has to be baked in from the very beginning.If your audience is only giving you half their attention (and they are), your job isn’t to be clever. It’s to be understood.Clear visuals. Clear concepts. Clear dialogue.Or don’t bother.
In this episode of Death to the Corporate Video, Guy Bauer breaks down four major B2B video trends shaping 2026, and what they actually mean for marketers trying to stand out.From the rise of AI-written scripts (and why they’re making everything feel painfully average) to the explosion of Apple-style product launch videos, Guy unpacks how sameness is creeping back into B2B, and how you can use that to your advantage. He also dives into why vertical video is no longer optional and why every company is rapidly becoming a media company, whether they like it or not.Finally, he tackles a surprising shift: creativity in B2B has officially gone mainstream. That’s the good news. The bad news? You can’t win just by being “different” anymore.If you’re trying to punch above your weight, capture attention, and avoid blending into a sea of safe, forgettable content—this episode is your playbook.
Guy Bauer shares why he stepped away from client work to make his first feature film - and how breaking big projects into small tasks makes the impossible doable.
For our 100th episode, host Guy Bauer shares the real secret behind Umault’s best work - a lesson sparked by a surprising message from Ann Handley.Instead of starting with strategy or “what works,” great B2B creative begins with three things: joy, experimentation, and fearless truth-telling. In this episode, Guy breaks down why most brands get this backwards, how honesty creates connection, and why taking creative risks pays off more than playing it safe.If you’re tired of corporate white noise and want your ideas to actually stand out, this one’s for you.
Takeaways
- Defining a clear, specific “enemy” sharpens your brand, your briefs, and your creative.
- Don’t fight the generic category problem; fight the quality or approach that sets you apart.
- Your chosen enemy naturally filters in the right customers and filters out the wrong ones.
Try it now
Write one sentence: “Our brand fights against ________ by ________.” Then sanity-check your site, sales deck, and ads against that sentence.
In this episode, Guy Bauer, founder and creative director of Umault, shares the single biggest lesson he’s learned about marketing: never stop. Through analogies ranging from hand-pumped water wells to Top Gun, Guy explains why consistency matters more than perfection, why most marketing efforts will fail before they succeed, and why hitting pause is the most dangerous move a brand can make.If you’ve ever been tempted to cut spend or stop campaigns because results look flat, this short, punchy episode will remind you why momentum is everything.
AI video ads are here, but are they ready for prime time? In this episode of Death to the Corporate Video, Umault founder and creative director Guy Bauer shares the five things you need to know before diving in. From the murky legal landscape, to the limits of what AI actually solves, to the backlash (and wasted credits) you should expect - Guy breaks down the realities of making AI-generated ads after producing four of them himself.Whether you’re curious about the potential of AI in video marketing or wondering how to avoid the biggest pitfalls, this episode will help you understand where the magic is—and where the hype ends.
In this episode, Guy Bauer — founder and creative director of Umault — breaks down the three essential ingredients that make B2B video ads actually work. Guy kicks things off with an exciting personal update: he’s making his first feature film, documenting the journey on YouTube under the playlist Guy Makes a Movie.Then, he dives into the core topic:#1 - Characters with a Point of ViewGuy explains how memorable B2B ads feature characters who stand for something - with a strong belief, purpose, or perspective that drives the story. Whether they’re representing the old way or the new way, their convictions fuel engagement.#2 - One MessageForget packing in 42 “key” messages. The best ads have a single, clear takeaway - one idea, powerfully expressed. Guy uses the Palms Casino’s “From Dust to Gold” campaign as a brilliant example of sticking to a singular message.#3 - ConflictCompelling stories need friction. Conflict - whether it’s character versus character, versus nature, or even an outdated system - gives the audience a reason to keep watching. Without conflict, you’re basically selling paper towels, and nobody cares.
In this episode of Death to the Corporate Video, Guy Bauer, founder and creative director of Umault, breaks down the three biggest shifts shaping B2B video marketing in 2025:-The Liquid Death-ification of B2B – Everyone wants to be the next Jester Brand like Liquid Death or Duolingo, but should your brand be funny? Guy explores why brand honesty matters more than trend-chasing.-The Death of the Corporate LinkedIn Profile – Organic reach is dead, and your carefully built follower count might be meaningless. Discover what this means for distribution and how to adapt your video strategy.-The Rise (and Slop) of AI Video – AI tools promise viral content at scale, but at what cost to your brand? Learn how to use AI without losing your identity in a sea of soulless content.Tune in for a candid and practical look at how to stay smart and sane as B2B video enters a new era.
AI-powered video tools have made glossy production values a commodity, so what’s left to set your brand apart? In this punchy episode, host Guy Bauer (founder & creative director of Umault) serves up a hard truth: entertaining your audience is now non-negotiable.Guy unpacks how next-gen platforms like Veo 3, Kling 2.1, and a flood of other text-to-video engines have leveled the playing field. Anybody can crank out a slick 30-second spot with “people laughing at sinks” (listen to the episode for this to make sense), holographic dashboards, and a generic voice-over. The result? Those once-premium visuals are just table stakes.Drawing on a tongue-in-cheek cybersecurity ad he generated in seconds, Guy illustrates why story, and genuine viewer delight, are the new differentiators. Whether you’re an in-house B2B marketer, agency lead, or brand storyteller, you’ll leave with a clear mandate: stop blending in and start delivering value within the ad itself.Listen for a dose of reality, a spark of inspiration, and a challenge to make your next video ad impossible to ignore.
Is there a formula for creativity? Should you be A/B testing your way to brilliance? Or should you… just trust your gut?In this episode, Guy Bauer, founder and creative director of Umault, takes us on a winding (and delightfully unfiltered) journey through the unpredictable world of creativity. From Reddit deep-dives on The Godfather to JFK conspiracy theories to rejected scripts that went viral, Guy makes the case that in B2B marketing—and all creative work, really—your instincts are smarter than you think.Whether you're a CMO, a VP of Brand, a fellow agency dweller, or yes, even a cobbler, this one's for you.🎯 Why following the "rules" can kill your best ideas🎬 What Mario Puzo can teach us about creative confidence🧠 Why your gut might be the most underrated framework in marketingListen in and rediscover the weird magic of trusting yourself (or at least your agency's gut).
1. Introduction (00:00 – 00:00:22)
- Guy welcomes listeners back to the podcast, “Death to the Corporate Video.”
- A quick note on Chicago’s unpredictable spring weather, jumping from 70° to snow in a week.
2. The “like” challenge (00:00:23 – 00:00:50)
- Guy shares his personal goal to reduce the filler word “like” in his speech.
- Emphasizes taking a brief pause instead of using verbal crutches.
3. Why invest in creative B2B video ads? (00:00:51 – 00:02:23)
- The main topic of this episode: exploring the value of creative vs. uncreative ads.
- Acknowledges the inherent risk in creativity and why many brands shy away from it.
4. Risk vs. reward: the carnival mallet analogy (00:02:24 – 00:06:30)
- Introduces a scale from 0 to 10 to assess advertising outcomes.
- Uncreative Ads: Low floor (potentially ineffective) and a low ceiling (moderately effective).
- Creative Ads: Same low floor (could flop), but a much higher ceiling (could be a big win).
- Explanation of how the downside risk is the same, but the upside is vastly greater with creativity.
5. Distilling the key takeaway (00:06:31 – 00:07:44)
- Highlights that being in the “98%” who play it safe means missing out on maximum impact.
- Encourages advertisers to be in the “2%” that leverage creative risk for greater reward.
Focus Your Attention on One Channel
- Pick the platform where you already have the highest engagement (LinkedIn, YouTube, X, etc.).
- Funnel all traffic—emails, social shares—through that single post for maximum algorithm impact.
Mention or Message Influencers
- Research a list of relevant influencers ahead of your launch.
- Tag them or send them direct messages when you go live.
- Even if they don’t respond, the algorithm may push your content to related influencers.
Find a Press Angle & Use PR
- A solid press hook (beyond “look at this video”) can spark media interest.
- Working with a PR professional ensures your press release is compelling and angled for coverage.
Optimize Your YouTube Title & Thumbnail
- Use titles that match what people are searching for—avoid clever or abstract titles no one will type in.
- Thumbnails should feature people or images that reflect the core idea of the video.
- YouTube’s algorithm often rewards strong click-through rates and clear metadata.
Choose Your Launch Day Wisely
- Guy’s rule of thumb is Tuesday—people are settled in from Monday and more likely to engage midweek.
- Avoid launching on days when major news events could overshadow your video.
Encourage Employees & Advocates to Share
- Ask team members and loyal customers to like, comment, and share on launch day.
- Avoid giving them identical copy to post; personalize messages to keep social platforms happy.
The Golden Rule Create Something Worth Going Viral* + The best “hack” is genuine, resonant content. If it’s not engaging, none of the above tactics will matter. + Don’t chase virality—focus on delivering real value and entertainment.
Key Takeaways Originality over “safe jokes.” Recycled humor feels stale and won’t get shared. * Take risks to stand out. Uncertainty is a part of creativity—lean into it for bigger payoffs. * Avoid forced funny faces and clichés. True comedic impact comes from authenticity and fresh perspectives. * Embrace your doubt.* Sometimes, your biggest second guess might be the thing that resonates most with an audience.
Key TakeawaysIncremental Creativity
- You can’t jump from a “zero-risk” corporate video to an ultra-creative ad overnight.
- Start with small creative experiments to help your stakeholders get comfortable with new ideas.
Big Brand vs. Challenger Mindset
- Larger organizations often have more to lose, making them more risk-averse.
- Challenger brands with fewer constraints can take bigger leaps faster—but still benefit from a gradual approach.
Learning to Read and Approve Creative
- Many teams and stakeholders aren’t used to evaluating scripts or bold ideas.
- Introduce them to the concept of “creative risk” in small doses so they can learn how to give productive feedback.
Nitrogen Metaphor & Boiling the Frog
- Guy uses a story about alien life forms adapting to nitrogen as a metaphor for acclimating stakeholders to creativity.
- Slowly turning up the heat (or adding “nitrogen”) ensures your ideas can survive without being killed off prematurely.
Practical Next Steps
- Try smaller, in-house projects that push creativity just a bit further than usual.
- Gradually build trust and familiarity among internal teams before bringing in bigger, bolder campaigns.
Show Notes:
- Opening & New Year's Resolution (0:00)
- Guy's resolution to be more socially proactive with friends
- Choosing achievable resolutions over typical ones
- Main Topic: The B2B Marketing Mistake (1:36)
- Why focusing solely on product differentiation falls short
- The reality of product similarity across competitors
- Examples of AI companies (ChatGPT, Sora, Google's Vo2)
- The Solution: Prioritizing Audience Connection (5:05)
- Moving beyond product features
- Using emotion as your "trump card"
- The importance of entertainment and relatability
- Case Studies & Examples (6:37)
- Australian Lamb's "Generation Gap" viral campaign
- Note-taking apps comparison (Fathom, Otter)
- Apple's approach to emotional marketing
Key Quotes:
- "Your trump card is not your product, your trump card is emotion."
- "Your customers, your prospects don't care about your product."
- "When they go to buy, because all products are the same, they're going to pick by who they have an emotional connection with."
Key Takeaways:
- Storytelling is King: A compelling narrative with conflict keeps viewers engaged.
- Authentic Performances: Great acting brings the story to life and makes it believable.
- Realistic Dialogue: Writing that mimics natural speech enhances relatability.
- Visual Excellence: Aesthetically pleasing visuals attract and retain audience attention.
- Quality Audio Matters: Good sound design is essential for a professional ad.
Show Notes:
- Introduction to Chris LeClerc and his company, Territory6 (0:00)
- The meaning behind the name "Territory6" and its connection to storytelling (1:30)
- Discussion on the simplicity and power of storytelling in marketing (3:45)
- The importance of visual storytelling and showing vs. telling (9:00)
- Trends in brand storytelling: from mini-documentaries to narrative films (11:30)
- The "barbell approach" to marketing: balancing entertainment and brand messaging (14:15)
- Challenges of long-form content vs. traditional commercials (16:00)
- The risk and reward of storytelling in advertising (18:30)
- Analysis of the famous Eminem Chrysler commercial (22:00)
- Defining story: the importance of conflict in narratives (24:00)
- South Park creators' approach to storytelling: "This happens, but then this happens" (26:00)
- Final thoughts on why conflict makes stories compelling (27:30)
Key Quotes:
- "Stories have been around since the beginning of the earth, and they always take you to a different place." - Chris LeClerc
- "Would you rather have people wanting to watch a thing that only shows your logo once, but they watch it five times because they love it, or people watching 5% of your ad only once because they hate it?" - Guy Bauer
- "Are you able to stop the world for just a moment and make them remember?" - Chris LeClerc
- "Good is boring." - Guy Bauer
References:
- Territory6
- Don Hewitt and 60 Minutes
- Googleheimer project
- Apple's "Apple at Work" series
- Eminem Chrysler "Imported from Detroit" commercial
- South Park creators on storytelling
- Spaceballs quote
Here are the 5 tips for making an obligatory corporate video feel less cringeworthy:
Get out of the office for interviews
- Shoot outside or in interesting locations, not just stale office settings
- Frame shots creatively, not typical corporate talking heads=
Never use stock footage
- Plan ahead and storyboard to avoid relying on generic stock clips
- Get creative with illustrations, animations, or recreating scenes yourselves
Keep it super short
- 2.5 minutes max, no exceptions
- If you need more time, make it a series instead of one long video
Find the music first before shooting
- Let the soundtrack inspire shots, edits, pacing
- Build in natural transitions around musical cues
Pay for color grading
- Adds a premium, polished look that elevates it beyond typical "video"
- Differentiates it from amateur productions
In this episode, Guy breaks down what he believes is the single most critical step in producing an effective B2B video ad campaign. He reveals it's not the initial concept, scriptwriting, storyboards, production, or editing - but rather successfully getting buy-in on the script draft itself.
Guy likens this script review phase to the "max q" moment during a rocket launch - the point of maximum dynamic pressure where if not handled perfectly, the entire mission could fail. Similarly, the first script draft is where a video ad concept transitions from abstract idea to concrete reality, making it extremely fragile and vulnerable.
Guy provides tips for expertly navigating this make-or-break script approval process, including:
- Never just send the raw script draft - "prime" it first by recapping the strategy/goals
- Consider reading/acting out the script instead of just circulating text
- Intentionally including some "playground areas" that stakeholders can tweak
- Making the case for why this step requires careful handling
He stresses that once you get through this maximum pressure point of script approval, the remaining production steps become much smoother since everyone is firmly aligned on the creative direction.
Link: "Freddy reads script" opening scene from Mad Men
Learn more about Guy and Umault at umault.com
Don't get bored or try to be too creative if your current formula is driving results.
Key Points:
- Umault received a comment pointing out their frequent use of movie trailer parody videos, suggesting they had become formulaic
- Initially, Guy wondered if they were overusing that concept, but realized the flaw in that thinking
- The goal of marketing is to deliver your message effectively to the audience—if you've cracked that code, why change it?
- Guy draws a parallel to working at a radio station playing the same 50 songs on repeat - seems repetitive internally but not to the audience
- Even if some audience overlap, most people don't critique using the same shtick twice if it's impactful
- The bigger risk is deviating from what works and missing with an untested new gimmick
- Jerry Seinfeld: "The rule in Hollywood is when you have a hit, don't touch it because no one knows why it's a hit"
- Breakthroughs in marketing are so rare - changing things up on a whim is irresponsible
- You have to milk a proven winner until interest naturally declines before moving on
Quotes:
"Who cares if insiders perceive a pattern when your audience doesn't?"
"When it works, keep doing it. Do not move on from it."
Episode Links:
Teamwork.com "The Client" movie trailer parody video
Umault's past Halloween video promos
Tired of chasing trends that quickly become irrelevant? This episode offers a contrarian blueprint for crafting marketing that resonates with fundamental human truths that never go out of style. See why enduring creative work like Monty Python connects by satirizing eternal experiences, while topical trend-focused content often dates itself rapidly.
Learn more about Guy and Umault at umault.com
In this episode, we expose a deceptive B2B marketing tactic that's on the rise - the "fake podcast interview." Discover why we believe this practice is damaging to brands and explore a better, more genuine approach to connecting with prospects. Join us as we take a stand against this marketing ruse.
Learn more about Guy and Umault at Umault.com
We unveil the cornerstone of any successful project: the unsung hero who battles internal pressures to safeguard creativity. Discover why without this champion, your endeavors may falter, and learn how to identify and empower this key figure within your team.
Learn more about Guy at umault.com
Discover how embracing fundamentals over trends, and choosing intuition over complexity, can transform your marketing strategies. We share our adventures, misadventures, and the profound realization that sometimes, the best ideas come from just feeling it.
Learn more about Umault at umault.com
We don't believe in stifling creativity; instead, we understand that stakeholders often lack frequent creative experience.
Like nurturing houseplants, it's a skill developed over time.
This episode is not just about getting approval but strategically guiding choices, redefining risks, and smartly navigating the approval process.
Our approach at Umault isn't about dazzling with wild ideas, but setting up success with strategic thinking.
Tune in as we reveal how to limit creative options without limiting imagination, turning potential 'no's into enthusiastic 'yes's.
Discover how to transform perceived risks into opportunities for standout marketing.
Learn more about Guy and Umault at umault.com
Join Guy Bauer in 'Death to the Corporate Video' as he explores how creativity fuels growth at Umault. Dive into a candid discussion on breaking traditional marketing mathematics, leveraging creativity for brand recognition, and the power of storytelling.
Discover how unconventional ideas can transform your business strategy and elevate your brand beyond the norm.
This insightful episode offers a unique peek into Umault's year-end reflections and forward-thinking marketing tactics. Tune in for an inspiring journey into creative marketing alchemy!
Learn more at Umault.com
Guy Bauer unveils an innovative approach to getting more leads: mind-reading your clients. Learn how to delve deep into your clients' thoughts and pinpoint their exact needs and frustrations. Guy guides you through the process of crafting marketing messages that resonate so profoundly, they feel personalized. If you're seeking a groundbreaking strategy to transform prospects into leads, this episode is a game-changer for marketers and business owners alike!
Links we mentioned:
Kids in Space – Parts I-IV
Apple – The Lost Voice
Matomo – Googleheimer
Learn more about Guy and Umault at umault.com
Guy Bauer unveils the unconventional approach that powers Umault's marketing success. It's a tale of bold trials, numerous failures, and unexpected triumphs.
Discover why an 85% failure rate isn't just acceptable, it's the secret ingredient. Hear about their hit-and-miss adventures, from the unexpected viral success of a parody trailer to the deafening silence of well-crafted campaigns.
Guy demystifies the art of marketing with real-world examples, proving that sometimes, the most profound insights come from what doesn't work.
This episode isn't just about marketing strategies; it's a masterclass in resilience, analysis, and the art of learning from failure.
Learn more about Guy and Umault at umault.com
Guy Bauer uses personal stories to illustrate the complexity of clients, showing they're more than their professional façade. From his love for news shows to viral TikTok trends, he reveals the diverse interests people hold beyond the boardroom. This episode is a must-listen for content creators, offering a fresh, humorous perspective on engaging with multifaceted audiences. Tune in for an entertaining and eye-opening discussion that will transform how you view and interact with your clients!
Learn more about Guy and Umault at umault.com
This week on "Death to the Corporate Video," host Guy Bauer throws the rule book out the window! Tired of tick-box creativity? So are we. Dive into an episode that challenges everything you thought you knew about being "strategic" in the B2B video world.
Guy dissects the unexpected viral success of their Halloween parody, "Possessed," and exposes the truth behind creativity: there's no secret formula, no checklist, and certainly no predicting what will hit the jackpot in the B2B marketing space.
From breaking his own rules to recognizing the magic in irrational choices, Guy argues that true creativity is about experimentation, understanding human irrationality, and most importantly, trusting your gut.
Learn more about Guy and Umault at umault.com
If you've ever found yourself impatiently tapping the "Skip Ad" button on YouTube or zoning out during a commercial break, you're embodying the title of this article.
No matter how many millions are poured into producing that Acura ad, we are inclined to skip it if it interrupts our favorite YouTuber. Even if a commercial is of GEICO quality – a brand known for its entertaining commercials – it doesn't change the underlying reality: most of the time, we'd rather not watch it.
However, does this mean the art of creating ads is futile? Not at all. There's a workaround. By understanding that 99.9% of viewers don't want to see advertisements, brands can craft more effective strategies.
Learn more about Guy and Umault at umault.com
What’s the big idea? It can seem there are endless decisions to make when starting a B2B video marketing project. In this episode, Guy and Hope discuss what the single most important thing you need to invest in to get the most effective video ad possible.
Additional discussions include what to look for when choosing a video ad agency. (We know a good one, but they’re not right for everyone.) And listen to the end of the episode for a special announcement.
For more, listen to the episode or read the transcript below.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
A lot of B2B marketers worry about the wrong things when making a B2B video ad. They focus on the little things but ignore some of the major issues that will make a video ad successful.
6 things that B2B marketers should start worrying about
- How much money you have budgeted for paid media.
- The video ad length. It’s probably too long!
- What your customers think of your ads, not what your coworkers or friends think of your ad.
- Millennials are becoming (or already are) your B2B buyer, and they have different buying habits than previous generations.
- The long game. Video ads may take a long time to see results.
- Everything after the video. What’s the video title, description, distribution plan, landing page, customer offer (and more)?
We’re going to come out and say it: All B2B videos have the potential to be cool. Yes, every one. All testimonials, all explainers, all B2B ads — they can all be cool if you put in a little extra effort.
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope share six tips for how to make your B2B videos cool.
How to make a B2B video cool
- Get rid of details.
- Make it shorter.
- Production design. Make it look cool.
- Embrace weirdness.
- Be aware of your creative immune system. Don't let it reject things that are new.
- Elevate with texture and cool accessories.
For more on each tip, listen to the full episode or read the transcript below.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
Today we are taking an idea from a listener and breaking down a recent project. We’ll get into the good, the bad, and the lunch recommendation.
Before listening, please watch our spot “It’s time for Slingshot.”
In this episode, we’ll unpack:
- Who the client is and what they came to us for
- What our strategy was
- How we came up with the project creative
- Wins and challenges across pre-production, production, and post
Like this episode? Hated it? It’s your last chance to complete our podcast survey! Let us know what you think about the show and enter for a chance to win either an Amazon gift card or a donation to your local food bank.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
The Super Bowl commercials for 2023 had a lot of themes seen in previous years: nostalgic callbacks, fun dance moves, and celebrity faces (literally, in one spot this year).
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope discuss the B2B entries in the 2023 Super Bowl: Squarespace, Workday, and Crowdstrike.
We also break down the favorite ads across these categories:
Most beautiful
Funniest
Made us cry
Best use of a celebrity
Most cringe
Most meh
Worst
Favorite
Miss any of the commercials we discussed?
Watch all of this year’s spots.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
There are certain marketing myths that we hear over and over that make our blood boil. Believing in these myths holds back your company and your marketing efforts. As we enter 2023, we want to leave these myths in the past.
5 B2B marketing myths (that need to die)
- In order to be relevant, you have to be trendy.
- Marketing is a faucet for leads you can just turn on and off.
- If you make a good ad, people will share it.
- My business or industry needs to be professional and boring.
- The perfect marketing framework exists.
And bonus: mountain climbing is a great metaphor for business.
For more on each marketing myth and why it’s untrue, listen to the episode or read the transcript below.
One more thing: Please take 5 minutes to fill out our listener survey and tell us what you think of the show. One lucky respondent will win either a $50 Amazon gift card or a donation to their local food bank.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
As you are planning how to use your video marketing budget for 2023, you likely want to get as much value out of your dollars as possible. In this episode, Guy and Hope share six tips for getting the most out of your B2B video marketing budget
How to get the most out of your B2B video marketing budget
- Keep in mind the 60/40 split. Spend 60% of your budget on branding activities, 40% of your budget on activation.
- Find budget efficiencies by batching your video production projects. If you have limited budget, don't just make one video. De-risk yourself by making several different spots that you can use, test, and find what works best.
- Have your strategy and messaging finalized before you start creating video or any other expensive creative assets.
- Align your budget proportionally along the sales funnel for video production. Spend the most on awareness/top-of-funnel spots and less as you go down.
- Identify one channel that generates the most leads. Create content that works specifically on that channel, instead of trying to make content for every channel.
- Invest your budget in creative, not production.
For more on each tip, listen to the episode or read the transcript.
(Hey listeners: Please take 5 minutes to fill out our listener survey and tell us what you think of the show. One lucky respondent will win either a $50 Amazon gift card or a donation to their local food bank.)
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
Top B2B video marketing trends for 2023
- Corporate video will continue to die.
- B2B companies will launch their own streaming networks for video content distribution.
- B2B marketers will embrace more humor in their video ads.
- B2B companies will explore new channels for distributing video ads, including TV and OTT.
- Disruptors are coming, and they're using B2C marketing tactics, not classic B2B tactics.
- B2B video is getting shorter. It's time to start making more video ads.
For more on each trend, listen to the episode or read the transcript below.
PS: Are you a regular listener? Please take 3 minutes to fill out our listener survey and tell us what you think of the show. One lucky respondent will win either a $50 Amazon gift card or a donation to their local food bank.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
When starting a new project of any kind, unrealistic expectations are the quickest way to guarantee failure. Since many B2B companies are new to creating video ads, this episode will provide the realistic expectations that you should have going into a new video ad project.
Top 5 realistic expectations to have of your B2B video ad project
- It can take a while to start working.
- It’s expensive.
- Producing the ads takes time.
- Attribution is difficult.
- You need a distribution plan and budget for paid media.
For more on each one, listen to the episode or read the transcript below. Plus: all these expectations sound like a real bummer. Why should you make a B2B video ad anyway?
Listen to part one of this series: 5 realistic expectations to have of your audience
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” we’re spilling our biggest secret: how to make a game-changing video ad for your B2B brand.
The process doesn’t start with a video shoot, and it doesn’t even start with coming up with an idea. The way to make a video ad that will be most effective for your brand is to start with a detailed strategy. Once you have that, you can move into concepting.
Throughout the episode, Guy and Hope give advice for marketers on everything from:
- How to run an effective brainstorming session
- The important of hiring the right copywriter for your video script
- Why you shouldn’t skip the storyboarding step
- The best places in the process for a snack break
Recommended resources include Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
When releasing marketing videos, especially in B2B, we all need to have realistic expectations of our audience. They are generally not approaching your video with the same mindset that you are. Keeping these realistic expectations in the back of your mind as you create content will help you make videos that are more likely to be watched and thus more effective.
The 5 realistic expectations to have of your B2B audience
- They don’t care about you or your competition as much as you do.
- They don’t pick up on subtlety or nuance
- They’re satisficing. They are not on a journey for ultimate truth or knowledge.
- In the absence of your marketing, they will default to safety.
- The odds of them watching a whole video are low.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
The website needs to be updated. The product isn’t ready. Leadership wants to wait until Q2.
What excuses have you heard or made for why a video or marketing campaign wasn’t launched? In this episode we discuss the root of why many marketers hold on to completed projects (hint: it’s fear of failure), how to identify the problem, and what you can do to overcome it.
Correction: In this episode we talk about a controversial Pepsi ad and say it starred Kylie Jenner. It was actually Kendall Jenner. We were correct to say it should never have been released.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
When starting a new creative project, marketers may worry about making a mistake by overpaying or choosing the wrong agency.
However, the biggest mistake that we see clients making has nothing to do with the RFP. The biggest mistake is when clients start a new creative project with the final idea and creative solve already baked in their minds.
What are some issues that arise when you’ve already settled on your creative idea before the project even starts?
- If you already have the idea finalized in your head, you may be resistant to the agency’s suggestions.
- You may contort a strategy to fit the creative idea, rather than going where the strategy takes you. You end up using a flawed strategy to justify what you were going to do anyway (which defeats the point of a strategy!).
- If you got project approval based on an idea rather than an outcome, you may have trouble with stakeholders. They may be resistant to the agency’s suggestions, or they may blame you if the result is ineffective.
- If the idea is good, then skip the creative agency entirely! Go to a production company or a designer to execute your vision. It’ll save you time and money.
For more on each side effect, listen to the episode or read the transcript below.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
One of the most common requests we get as a B2B video agency is: We need a video that explains what we do. Great! But then too many of these videos become two and a half minutes of software screens with droning voiceover. And at the end of it, viewers still don’t know exactly what it is you do.
On this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope discuss the problems with the way most B2B companies explain what they do in video, and provide two alternate frameworks for creating something helpful and engaging for your audience.
Resources and videos mentioned in this episode
HPE IT monster ad
Umault’s “What we do” spot
Synchronized Planning & Fulfillment use case video
Previous episode: Using video throughout the sales funnel
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
New platforms like MNTN are making it easier than ever to advertise on streaming TV networks like Hulu. With competitive pricing and supposed precise targeting, is now the time for B2B companies to join in?
Advertising on streaming platforms, known as OTT advertising, could be the perfect way for B2B companies to increase brand awareness. Or it could result in a lot of wasted views on the wrong audience.
On this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope discuss what B2B companies should consider when weighing the pros and cons of OTT advertising.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
We recently declared the end of the one-size-fits-all video in B2B marketing. What should B2B companies do instead?
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” we break down the three videos every B2B company needs to create a full video marketing funnel.
These three videos are perfect for brands just starting out with video marketing, or those looking to refresh that brand film from 2014.
The three videos every B2B company needs
- An awareness ad for social and paid media that introduces the problem you solve.
- A consideration video that explains what the product or service is and how it benefits the customer.
- A decision video that reassures buyers that your product is a safe bet.
Resources
How to video throughout the sales funnel
Our testimonial video episode
Why you shouldn’t make just one video
How to allocate your video marketing budget
Why you should consider a “year of ads” strategy
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
We’re just over halfway through the year, and we’ve been noticing some common trends in B2B ads in 2022. Guy and Hope sat down to discuss four trends that you can jump on for 2022, and one that’s played out.
Top 5 B2B ad trends for 2022
- “Not boring” B2B advertising is the new normal.
- B2B brands are starting to use more celebrities in their ads.
- The word of the year for B2B ads in 2022 is “brand.”
- The one-size-fits-all B2B video is dead. RIP.
- Using history to explain web3 and Industry 4.0 products is played out.
To learn more about each trend, listen to the episode or read the transcript. The “2030 B2B Trends: Contrarian Ideas For The Next Decade” report from the B2B Institute is available here.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
In a recent LinkedIn poll, 64% of respondents said their favorite commercials were funny. So why are so few B2B video ads funny?
Some people are scared. Others don’t want to take the risk. But lots of marketers likely don’t know where to start.
On this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope share six tips for using humor in B2B advertising. Read the tips below and listen to the episode to hear more.
How to use humor in B2B advertising
- Understand that humor is fugu — poisonous in the wrong hands.
- If you want to make something funny, work with people (writers, directors, agencies) who know how to do humor.
- Don’t try to be funny.
- A funny premise isn’t enough.
- Avoid jumping on bandwagons or memes.
- Keep it short.
Examples of funny B2B ads
PremiumBeat - The voice of PremiumBeat
Umault - The Stalking
Gong.io - Super Bowl commercial
Dissolve - This is a generic brand video
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
When the Umault team is preparing to pitch creative to a client, one of the questions we have to answer is “What’s pizza about this?” Answering this question will help you create better and more effective B2B content.
The pizza question was inspired by a revelation years ago about what content most resonated with readers of a company intranet. The answer, unsurprisingly, was pizza. Turns out everyone loves pizza.
In this episode, Guy and Hope break down why your B2B content needs to be more like pizza, and how you can get there.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
Last week Guy and Hope attended the B2B Marketing Ignite USA conference in Chicago. The sessions followed several common themes, which illuminate the state of B2B marketing in 2022:
- You need to build a brand. Now.
- Building a brand is about more than revenue. It’s essential to attract the best talent.
- Brand building is your moat to protect yourself from competitors copying your features and benefits.
- B2B buying decisions are emotional, and brands that deliver can generate more loyalty than even the best B2C brands.
For more on each theme, listen to the full episode or read the transcript below.
(Bonus: See any familiar names among the Elevation Awards winners?)
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
As B2B brands focus more and more on brand awareness activities, we’ve noticed that many of them do not have an established or consistent brand voice. They want to make more content, but lack the framework needed to ensure all the content has the same voice.
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope discuss:
- What a brand voice is
- Why it’s essential for building B2B brand awareness
- How to create one (or check if you have one)
Before you think, “But wait, we have a brand voice. It’s definitely a line in our brand book” and skip this episode, ask anyone who creates content for your brand what it is. If they don’t all give you the same answer, you don’t have a brand voice.
Oh, and listen all the way to the end for a surprise announcement.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
You know you’re an agency founder when you go to Disney World for spring break with your family and return with a deeper understanding of effective B2B marketing.
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope discuss what B2B marketers can learn from Disney World, including:
- Get people in the right mindset to buy your product.
- There’s nothing wrong with giving people what they want.
- Prospects should leave every interaction with your brand in a better mood than they entered with.
Here’s the Hubspot spot we talk about in the episode, which was also named one of the best B2B ads of 2022!
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
One of the most common requests we get from prospects seems harmless. “Here’s a video ad my competitor has,” they say. “We want to make one of these for our brand.” This simple request has the potential to start the whole video engagement off on the wrong track.
The most effective video ads do not have a lot of comps out there. It’s scary to make something new or to put your own spin on an ad format, but game-changing campaigns only come from original creative.
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope discuss why it’s harmful to start your project by trying to copy someone else, and how you should start your project to improve your chances of success.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
Much like the laws of physics, video ads are all subject to a handful of immutable laws. In our experience, all successful video ads have followed these laws. Break any one of them, and you set yourself up for failure.
The 7 immutable laws of video ads
- You can't edit a bad idea to be good. And you can't edit a good idea to be bad.
- All videos need to have a distribution strategy and a release plan.
- Subtlety is for amateurs.
- Video is just a medium for a message.
- No one will notice the things you notice.
- The success or failure of your video ad is not based on the production day. It's all what happens on paper beforehand.
- There are no asterisks or pharmaceutical disclaimers at the end of a spot. People will only judge based on what’s on the screen.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
Ah, a plain potato. Full of nutrients and yet so boring. In his book Alchemy, Rory Sutherland uses the potato as an analogy for hiring practices: It’s better to hire several people with complementary skills instead of one jack of all trades.
While reading the book, Guy was struck by how the same analogy applied to B2B marketing videos. Too many B2B brands are still making one video and hoping it will do everything. And they’re about as satisfying as a plain baked potato.
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope break down:
- The problem with potato videos
- How to tell if your B2B marketing videos are potatoes
- How to fix them if they are, and how to make sure you don’t make potatoes moving forward
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
In Wistia’s State of Video 2022 report, survey respondents were asked what new types of video content they planned to create this year. The number one answer was Original Branded Series.
Interestingly, only 7% of respondents had made an original branded series in the past. That made us start thinking: Why are B2B marketers suddenly interested in original branded content? And how does someone even get started with it?
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope dive into branded content for B2B video marketers. Listen to the episode to learn:
- The difference between original branded content and ads
- What types of original branded content are available for B2B brands
- How to get started with original branded content
- Possible pitfalls to avoid
Branded Content examples
Apple at Work - Escape from the Office
Salesforce - The Story of Sales
Umault - Trapped in a Corporate Video
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
Yes, we know we’re already two months into 2022, but we have high hopes for this year. In this episode, we discuss our 22 wishes for B2B marketing in 2022. Read the quick list below, and listen to the episode for more details.
Interested in our wishes for 2021? Revisit last year’s episode.
Umault’s 22 wishes for B2B marketing in 2022
- Stop thinking of making a video as a goal in and of itself.
- Everyone should read B2B Institute's 2030 B2B Trends: Contrarian Ideas For The Next Decade report.
- More asynchronous video messaging and fewer camera-on meetings.
- Morph your marketing KPIs to allow you to have more time to do brand-building marketing.
- Bosses, start to give marketers more time to make things good instead of pushing quick returns.
- “Not boring” B2B is soon going to be standard. This year is the time to invest in creative marketing.
- B2B brands stop seeing emotion as a four-letter word.
- Develop confidence in marketing's role in the company. You are important!
- Make distribution a clear part of your B2B brand's video strategy.
- Make some smart work.
- Attend in-person conferences again.
- Make everything shorter.
- Stop using that stock footage of a robotic human hand to represent the future.
- Rethink gated content. Give away your content for free. (And check out our video “The Stalking.”)
- Social media marketing isn’t free. Start investing in it properly.
- Use creativity as your secret weapon in B2B marketing.
- Focus more marketing efforts on wide and out of market prospects.
- You need to ask yourself, does anyone care about this? Don’t be a “no one” meme.
- Think about ads and marketing as a strategic asset.
- Every ad can be a Super Bowl ad. Make some Super Bowl ads this year.
- Hug more people this year (with their consent, of course).
- Stay healthy and have boundaries.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
Super Bowl LVI was about the Rams, the Bengals… and the commercials. In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” Guy and Hope discuss the best and worst Super Bowl ads in 2022, and what B2B marketers should learn from them.
A few key takeaways:
- Keep it simple, stupid. You only have 30 or 60 seconds. Make sure you aren’t trying to cram too much in there.
- Say your brand name. Integrate your product into your spot. Make sure your product couldn’t easily be swapped out for another. If I can swap the logo out at the end for a competitor, chances are people aren’t going to remember which crypto company made it (for example).
- Make sure the audience knows what your category is and, ideally, your value proposition. Especially in B2B, don’t assume that everyone knows what you do, or that anyone will take the time to find out. Make sure you tell them during your slot!
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
Our plan for 2021 was to release a new video ad for Umault every month. We met the goal, but how did our campaign do?
In short, spectacularly.
In this episode of the podcast, Hope and Guy discuss our 5 key takeaways from a year of monthly video ads.
- Don’t make ads focusing on your competitors. Focus on your client’s competitors.
- Plan for the year of video ads upfront, but leave room to improvise.
- We saw no correlation between production cost and effectiveness.
- Distribution plans are everything.
- You can make effective ads that don’t hit on your RTBs (reasons-to-believe).
Here are some of the video ads we released this year:
Disparate silos of cereal - Corporate jargon parody
We can't make your kids listen to you
The Stalking
Cookieless
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
Ideas are elusive. Where do great ideas come from? A bolt of lightning? A passing thought in the shower? Years of being immersed in advertising? When you work in marketing, you don’t have time to wait for inspiration to strike for every campaign. You need great ideas now.
In this episode of Death to the Corporate Video, Guy and Hope walk through the Idea Generator 1.0, a distillation of our actual process for coming up with killer ideas for B2B video ads. The purpose of the Idea Generator is to help you narrow down the possible creative avenues until you find one that makes sense for your campaign.
We’d love to hear any feedback on the Idea Generator. Email the show at hello@umault.com.
Additional resources to help you use the Idea Generator
Guide to using video across the B2B customer journey
How to develop a B2B video marketing strategy
Using the “pizza test” for marketing ideas
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
We talk a lot on Death to the Corporate Video about the importance of starting any video advertising project with a strategy. That strategy step works out your key messaging, target audience, video uses, and more. Unfortunately, we’ve seen a disappointing trend in B2B video marketing emerging. Brands are skipping doing their own strategy in favor of copying a competitor.
To be clear, we encourage B2B brands to do a competitive analysis as part of a wider strategy project. However, the purpose of the competitive analysis is to determine what not to do and how to stand out. The purpose is certainly not to say, “Hey, I love this spot Competitor A made. Let’s make our own version of it!”
On this episode, Guy and Hope discuss the problem with copying your competitor’s creative, and what you should do instead.
Learn more about Guy, Hope and Umault at umault.com
It’s a running joke in the production world that if something goes wrong on set, we’ll fix it in post. In other words, we can use editing or VFX magic to get rid of that plastic bag that blew behind a person’s head, or cut that take when your talent flubbed. But there’s one thing we can never fix in post, and that’s authenticity. If it wasn’t captured on the day, it won’t be in the final video.
When creating a video featuring real people, authenticity comes from letting them be themselves. It’s key in testimonials, recruiting videos, or CEO interviews. But so many brands make decisions that actively work against authenticity.
Factors that work against authenticity:
- Scripting or using teleprompters
- Forcing people to restate answers to fit brand guidelines
- Overediting to remove filler words like “um,” “ah,” or “like”
On this episode of
Death to the Corporate Video,
Guy and Hope discuss why authenticity is key in videos featuring real people, and how to make sure you capture it.
After many years working in video, we’ve found that almost all effective video ads fit into one of three basic categories. They are either funny, beautiful, or make you cry. It may sound simple, but take a moment to think about your favorite commercial of all time. I bet it was funny, beautiful, or made you cry (or it may have checked multiple boxes, like one of my favorite ads).
The thing is, there are real psychological reasons why the most memorable and effective ads are funny, beautiful, or make you cry. In this episode of Death to the Corporate Video, Guy explains how he formed this theory, and Hope shares psychological research on the relationship between emotions and decision making and what that means for B2B marketers.
For anyone who wants to read more about the research linking emotions and decision making, we recommend these articles:
Why emotion plays a critical role in decision making
Emotion and Decision Making
Most marketers, especially in B2B, want to get the most out of their video production budget. One of the most common questions we get when a client has a limited budget is, “Can we just write it?”
In this episode of Death to the Corporate Video, Guy and Hope break down why that is the absolute wrong question, and what brands should do when they need to trim video production budgets. The answer is think like Danny Boyle when he made 28 Days Later. (Hire Cillian Murphy? Listen to find out.)
For more on choosing the right video production company for your project, read our buyer’s guide to hiring a video production company.
Paul Cash, co-author of Humanizing B2B, believes that B2B marketing has lost its humanity. We can say “lost,” because, yes, it used to have humanity. In the early days, B2B marketing was done by knowledgeable, expert salespeople who made real connections with their customers. Then came the internet, minimizing the role of the salesperson, and over time the humanity leaked out of B2B. What we’re left with is the B2B marketing that many of us know today: product-centric, bland, corporate, and forgettable.
What can we do to bring it back? On this episode of Death to the Corporate Video, we talk to Paul Cash about how we got to where we are today, the state of the B2B buyer, and what we can all do to convince the C suite that things need to change.
Note this episode contains some explicit language.
B2B marketers are often dealing with tight budgets. To stretch their marketing dollars, they decide to make one video that can be used across the sales cycle. One video for the home page. Use it again for social media. Use it again in sales presentations.
The problem with this approach is that it completely ignores the fact that prospects at different stages of the customer journey need different things. Early stage buyers need to be inspired. Late stage buyers need to be reassured. You can’t do both at once without ending up with a mullet video.
Tailoring your video content to each stage of the customer journey allows you to support your prospects where they are, and to maintain control of your narrative.
For more on using video throughout the B2B customer journey, check out our complete guide.
Recently, we posted a new video on our LinkedIn page called “We need to talk.” It tells B2B marketers to be bold with their creative advertising. A viewer left a comment: "The challenge is convincing your executive team."
He’s right. Many marketers and agencies can come up with amazing ideas, but then can’t get the boss on board. We’ve found that one of the biggest challenges that B2B marketers face is push back or conservatism from executive teams. On this week’s episode of “Death to the corporate video,” Guy and Hope sit down to talk about our silver bullet for convincing executives to take a risk.
We’ll give you a hint: It has nothing to do with an amazing, knock-their-socks-off creative idea. It starts back in the strategy phase with the competitive analysis.
Everyone always wants to know the secret or the top 4 steps to getting the best work out of your agency. As we planned this podcast episode, we originally wanted to give tips or tricks to get great creative work. But as we sat down to talk about what we’ve learned from our best work and our best clients, there was only one common denominator: Trust.
The only way to get the best work out of your agency is for you to trust them and for them to trust you back. Trust leads to more creative work, more on brand work, and more effective work. When there’s trust in the relationship, your agency feels safe and motivated to push the creative envelope.
In this episode of “Death to the Corporate Video,” we discuss why trust is essential in the agency-client relationship, how to find an agency you can trust, and how to develop trust as you work together. Metaphors include airline pilots and those death traps known as hot air balloons.
Most B2B marketers love to draw a solid line between B2B and B2C marketing, and pretend that never the twain shall meet. Smart B2B marketers, on the other hand, peek over that wall to find practices that work and can be adapted for their marketing and advertising.
TV commercials are considered firmly in the realm of B2C, but there’s a lot that B2B marketers can learn from the best practices honed by TV advertisers over the past decades.
4 things B2B marketers should learn from TV commercials
- Stay short and sweet.
- Assume your audience is disinterested.
- Know you’re making an ad.
- Invest in good writing and original ideas.
Most B2B videos start with a marketing team saying, “We need a video!” There’s very little discussion in the early project stages about where you’re actually going to put the thing beyond “our website” and “YouTube.”
Making a video is only step one. Step two is distribution. You need to make sure that people see your beautiful new asset. These eight tips will help you develop a distribution plan for your B2B video.
Learn more: https://umault.com/podcast/b2b-video-distribution-plan/
A very common piece of feedback we get from our clients is to add more information, add details.
Usually it's coming from a very good place. It's coming from a place of not wanting the audience to feel left out and removing any ambiguity to make a very clear and comprehendible ad.
And while that sounds, and it can actually feel, like it's less risky, adding all those details is actually riskier and it's usually not a good idea.
Big news: We’ve changed the name of our podcast from “So You Need a Video” to “Death to the Corporate Video.” Regular listeners may recognize that as the name of Guy’s book. But in addition to some consistency there, we wanted to update the podcast name to clearly show what we stand for. Our goal is to rid the world of bad corporate video.
We want our listeners to generate growth with their video marketing, and to do that we must end the corporate video.
Join us on our crusade. Like the new name? Think we should change it back? Talk to us.
Marketing Week recently published a report claiming that 75% of B2B advertising is ineffective. In a study of 1,600 B2B ads watched by a whopping 6 million people, 75% of ads scored one star or lower on an emotional engagement scale. None of them reached the highest level of five stars.
In this episode of “So you need a video,” Guy and Hope break down what makes these B2B ads ineffective, why that matters, and what you can do about it. We’ll discuss mullet videos, judging wine by its label, and our favorite report from the B2B Institute.
Whenever you have a new or risky idea in marketing, there is going to be someone at your company who says no. Maybe they are risk-averse, maybe they just personally don’t like it. Either way, we all need strategies in our tool belt for how to defend great ideas, and how to push back on bad ones.
In this episode, Hope and Guy give overview of our recommended strategies on pushing back on bad video marketing feedback. Plus digressions on The Weeknd, Southwest Airlines, and mullets.
For full episode notes, visit us at umault.com
As we talked about how to wrap up 2020, we didn’t want to focus on the negative. While a lot of 2020 was an anxiety-fueled dumpster fire, it also was a year of empathy, innovation, and reevaluating priorities.
Looking into 2021, we decided to focus on our wishes and goals for the new year. Some of our wishes are things we’d like to see happen, and others are silver linings from 2020 that we’d like to see continue.
Like many marketing materials, the testimonial video appears deceptively simple. Go interview a happy customer, cut it together, boom, done, wonderful, slap it on the website!
But we’ve seen plenty of bad examples of this format. This episode will walk through 7 tips for how to create a testimonial video that works.
Read the tips and access all the resources on our website: How to create an effective testimonial video
Ready to shoot your own testimonial? Start with our buyer’s guide on hiring a video production company.
We here at Umault recently ran a video campaign for ourselves (yes, we practice what we preach). As our launch date approached, we made a checklist of all the things to do and check before hitting “go.” We found it very useful, and thought you might too.
We’d like to share our secrets.
Listen to the episode for a break down of the key steps you should take before your next campaign, or read the full checklist on our website.
Wondering what videos we ran to advertise ourselves?
The direct spot that performed best on paid: https://youtu.be/VCPGMjCW0is
The clever parody that performed best on organic:
https://youtu.be/I2SeBj6R-mc
When and how to restart video production safely is one of the biggest questions in marketing and advertising right now. In this episode, we share the biggest changes you can expect on a video production set during COVID-19 and how our industry is adapting.
For full details and a huge list of resources, read the guide on our website: Video production during COVID-19: How to restart safely
Not ready to shoot? Consider alternatives to live-action production or using stock footage.
Since the coronavirus pandemic started, it can feel like there is no good news out there for the economy or for marketers. However, we at Umault are inclined to look for the bright side. We figured that couldn’t be all bad, so we sent Tory out to gather up some good news. She came back with these five positive consumer trends for post COVID-19 that we hope will let a little sunshine back in your feed. They certainly cheered us up.
5 stats that should make marketers optimistic (despite COVID)
- According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence rose to 86.6 in May from 85.7 in April.
- While spending on some categories has sharply declined, spending in other areas has measurably increased.
- Food takeout and delivery
- Snacks
- Personal care
- Skin care
- Fitness and wellness
- Tech solutions like curbside pick-up for groceries, telemedicine, and videoconferencing
- Social distancing has forced accelerated business and digital transformation.
- Social media use has exploded with 47% of users (ages 16-64) saying they are spending more time on social media.
- The personal savings rate jumped from ~7% to ~13% between January 2020 and February 2020.
Sources: Stat 1, stat 2, stat 2, stat 3, stat 3, stat 4, stat 4, stat 5
Read more on our website: 5 positive consumer behavior trends post-COVID-19
We all know the sunken feeling of posting something to social and getting crickets in return. But if you’re a brand, especially in the B2B space, getting no engagement on your social media posts isn’t a sign that it’s just a bad joke. It’s a sign that you aren’t bringing value to your audience. And that means a missed opportunity to bring someone down the funnel.
In some ways, social media engagement is much easier for B2C brands to capture than B2B brands. They can post something funny or irreverent and suddenly it spreads around the internet. B2B brands by their very nature have a harder time getting those likes and shares. Their subject matter doesn’t lend itself as easily to jokes or posed shots of succulents. So what can you do to boost engagement? Start by thinking about what your audience values professionally.
In this episode, the Umault team is joined by Jason Patterson, a B2B content strategist whose article B2B vs. B2C: Apples, Oranges & Social Media inspired the episode. After reading the article, Guy wanted to continue the conversation.
For more on maximizing your B2B video content, check out our B2B video marketing guide.
Watch the episode on YouTube or read more on our website.
Before you hop over to google “video production [insert city name here]” to make a video for your business, there are several essential items you should have ready.
The 6 things you should do before hiring a video production company
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Identify your goals, objectives, and audience
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Know your budget
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Know your timeline or in-market timing
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Develop a distribution plan
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Have your script and storyboards ready
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Have your internal team lined up and ready for approval
Details from each of these six items will give you confidence in the process and inform decisions that you and your video production company will make every step of the way. The distribution plan, for example, tells the video production company if they need to shoot with vertical Instagram Stories in mind, or whether space should be left for baked-in closed captions. Without a detailed plan, you may be in for expensive changes after production.
You might be with me on items 1-4 in our list, but I wager that you raised your eyebrows at number 5: Have your script and storyboards ready.
Doesn’t a video production company do that? Maybe, but they probably shouldn’t.
For a full breakdown of each of our six items, listen to the podcast, watch the video, or read the transcript below. If you need help creating any of these things, consider engaging a creative agency. I know a good one that specializes in video.
Watch this episode on YouTube and read more on our website.
“Corporate video” was once a neutral descriptor for videos made by corporations. But now it’s become a dirty word. No one wants their video content described as “corporate” anymore. How did the phrase "corporate video" develop this negative connotation, and how can you make sure your content won’t get slapped with this label?
Listen to the podcast or watch us on YouTube to learn where we think the term “corporate video” originated and what the main tropes of corporate video are.
Fear not, there are a few things you can do when creating video content to make sure your videos are never labeled as corporate:
- Tell a story.
- Be authentic.
- Take a stand.
- And most importantly, empathize with your viewer.
Give us a listen to learn more about each one.
Resources
How to use stock footage effectively and avoid the corporate video trap
For more on developing a video strategy that is decidedly non-corporate, visit our B2B video marketing guide.
And visit our website at https://umault.com/insights/.
Sometimes it’s obvious when you need an outside opinion, like when you’re trying to decide if that sweater from Anthropologie is actually cute or just weird. Other times, the value of an outside opinion is less clear. If you have a strong marketing department with great ideas and clear goals, do you really need to engage with an outside agency? What are they going to contribute that you don’t already know about your industry and customers?
In this episode of the podcast, recorded under stay at home orders, the Umault team discusses the top 5 reasons why an outside opinion brings value, especially for marketers.
Listen to the podcast or check us out on YouTube to learn more about the top five reasons why you should get an outside opinion on your marketing ideas:
- You can't read the label on your own jar.
- You have the curse of knowledge.
- An outside opinion can bring new perspectives or validation to what you already know.
- The outsider doesn’t have your “boss filter.”
- Bringing in an outside opinion gets you out of the echo chamber.
While you’re in a podcast-listening mood, check out this very soothing Word of the Day podcast about panacea. Then listen to our podcast to learn why I’m sharing a podcast about panacea.
For more information, visit our website.
When Lady Gaga released her newest music video for Stupid Love “shot on iPhone,” the Umault team started thinking about the role of user-generated video in marketing. I personally live by the motto “If it’s good enough for Gaga, then it’s good enough for me,” but that’s probably not true for all brands as well.
However, user-generated and self-taped content does have a role in the current media landscape, especially in times when shooting a live-action production isn’t an option.
Listen to the episode or check us out on YouTube to learn:
- Why the camera — iPhone or film — is only one tool in the filmmaker’s toolkit, and how a professional can adjust to fit the limitations of the tool
- That every medium sends a message, and what messages you send by using iPhone, webcams or other self-taped options
- What considerations brands should make when thinking of both short and long-term content strategies in the current climate
- What the most important consideration for all content should be (Ok fine I’ll just tell you this one: It’s having a good message that’s worth saying, regardless of what medium you choose to present it.)
For more, visit our website at https://umault.com/insights/
During the holiday season, the high-end exercise company Peloton released an ad with a simple enough concept: Man buys his wife a Peloton. She works out all year and loves it. Thanks husband the next Christmas for the wonderful gift. And yet. The internet exploded with controversy over the spot.
When we watched it, we sensed an overreliance on audience personas. Audience personas are a valuable marketing tool that help brands focus their content and speak to the right people. Unfortunately, some brands forget that these personas are only a framework, not real people.
Listen to the podcast to learn:
• Why we think the Peloton ad was spoiled by oversimplifying, over relying on a persona, and maybe some mediocre acting
• What audience persona research may have told Peloton about their buyers, and how they applied it to their marketing
• How to avoid Peloton’s missteps by considering audience personas as just one marketing tool out of many
• Whether the Umault team can name all five Backstreet Boys. (It’s Nick, AJ, Howie, Brian, and Phil, right? Maybe?)
Watch the episode on YouTube and see more on our website.
Videos we discuss in this episode
Note: We always prioritize linking directly to a brand’s page when we discuss their work, but Peloton has taken this ad down as of March 2020.
The Peloton holiday 2019 spot
Misty Copeland for Under Armour
Kylie Jenner solves racism with Pepsi ad
Burger King’s Moldy Burger
Determining the right medium for your sales and marketing content is vital part of a robust communications strategy. It's like a balanced breakfast of content! Text and video can and should work together at different stages of your sales funnel to achieve different goals.
Is text dead? Should I just stop typing this introduction right now and let you skip straight to the podcast? Determining the right medium for your sales and marketing content is vital part of a robust communications strategy. It's like a balanced breakfast of content! Text and video can and should work together at different stages of your sales funnel to achieve different goals. When deciding what to use where, one thing is for sure: People like watching videos. And, last time I checked, your customers were people.
Listen to find out:
- What content marketing surveys for 2020 tell us about how marketers and consumers are using text, images, and video
- How a former English major turned video marketer finds herself using text and video as a consumer
- How video should be used differently in different parts of your sales funnel and customer journey,
- Which marketing videos need to be high budget and which can be made in-house
Convinced that video is the best medium? Check out the video version of the podcast on Umault's YouTube channel or visit our website.
What do you think of when you think of Super Bowl ads? Memorable spots? Your favorite celebrities? Big budgets?
At Umault, we think of all of these things, but we mostly think about the entertainment value. And then we wonder, why can't all marketing and advertising be as entertaining as Super Bowl ads? Why aren't we always trying to entertain?
Ah, entertainment. The key to capturing an audience's attention. But what if your company doesn't specialize in highly caffeinated beverages that allow you to pull off a "Puppymonkeybaby"-esque spot?
The thing is: you can pull off more than you may think. Super Bowl-level creative without the Super Bowl-level production budget is possible, even for B2B companies.
So many reference videos
Pepsi - Deprivation Tank - Cindy Crawford - Super Bowl 1994
Genesis - "Going Away Party" - Chrissy Teigen and John Legend - Super Bowl 2020
Snickers - "Fix the World" - Luis Guzman - Super Bowl 2020
Jeep - "Groundhog Day" - Bill Murray - Super Bowl 2020
Mountain Dew - "As Good as the Original" - Bryan Cranston and Tracee Ellis Ross - Super Bowl 2020
Rocket Mortgage - "Home" - Jason Mamoa - Super Bowl 2020
Hyundai - "Smaht Pahk" - John Krasinksi, Rachel Dratch, Chris Evans, David "Big Papi" Ortiz - Super Bowl 2020
Volkswagen - "The Force" - Super Bowl 2011
WeatherTech - "Lucky Dog" - Super Bowl 2020
Verizon - "The Amazing Things 5G Won't Do" - Super Bowl 2020
Microsoft - "Be The One" - Super Bowl 2020
If there's one thing the team at Umault would love to see left behind in 2019, it's the limits that the terms "B2B" and "B2C" marketing put on the creative process (and also vertical cell phone videos but that's not relevant to this post). Businesses don't market to businesses. We market to people. Real ones who thought The Rise of Skywalker was flawed but emotionally satisfying and that more people should watch Jane the Virgin. At the end of the day, both you and your clients go home and want to be entertained by the same movies and shows. So when it comes to video marketing, why do we forget about entertainment? That's why we propose that we all start using B2P marketing: business to people.
The Apple holiday spot that Guy reallywants you to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDeRyyDrS40
The Apple at Work spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9TdA8d5aaU
Our short film about Synchronized Planning and Fulfillment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKrbpecnV34
Domino's campaign that proved acknowledging faults can be a net positive: http://pizzaturnaround.com/
And see more on our website: https://umault.com/insights/
As people and as brands, we all desperately want to be liked by everyone. It's human nature. But when it comes to successful video marketing, you shouldn't be afraid of being disliked every once in a while. That's not to say that you should create content that offends people just to get the social media buzz. Well done video marketing content will be liked by the target audience and will elicit no reaction, or even sometimes confusion, from those outside that target audience.
When you create a video that's well-targeted to your potential prospects, it contains messages that speak to that audience. You want your prospects to watch the video and feel seen. That can mean, especially in B2B marketing, that viewers outside that target audience will be confused. We're here to reassure you: that's ok! Don't be afraid to speak directly to your prospects and ignore the general audiences.
A fun resource:
Audience Persona worksheet
And learn more on our website: https://umault.com/insights/
We often don't think about how we experience and find new content online, but it all comes from one place: shares. Shares are how content moves across social platforms like Facebook or Reddit, and shares dictate how we consume content. As video marketers, we are constantly fielding questions about how to promote your video online. It leads to the eternal question, "How do we get our video shared?"
Many marketers make the mistake of thinking that quality content shares itself. It isn't enough to make something great, post to YouTube, and wait for the view counts to roll in. Getting people to view and share your content requires a clear strategy, and a little elbow grease.
In this podcast, the Umault team discusses five strategies for getting your video shared.
Resources, links, and other fun goodies
About LinkedIn's new feature: Employee Notifications
PremiumBeat.com video
Chatbooks video
Source for TikTok's user retention
And see more on our website: https://umault.com/insights/
Our business and personal conversations are filled with phrases used to show that we belong and create a feeling of being "in the club." These are words weaved into our day-to-day vocabulary in conscious, or even subconscious, attempts to communicate our intelligence and "wokeness" to the world (think words and phrases like "hone in on," "derive actionable insights," and "impactful".)
What if went back to the building blocks of conversation? Using simple, direct language to communicate ideas and themes that created authentic feelings of empathy and belonging? Would we accomplish the goal of truly connecting with our customers, prospects, colleagues, and friends? Would we be able to communicate that we "get it" without using unnecessarily verbose (or "sausage") language? Would we even be able to share when we don't "get it" and try to learn more?
In this episode, the Umault team sits down with our copywriter, Steve Lindstrom, to explore:
• The current climate of buzzword overload and its impact on our language
• The value of using simple language in marketing and advertising
• Tactics for simplifying your language in a way that helps expand the reach and performance of your business
Visit https://umault.com/insights/ for full show notes and more thoughts about video, sales, and marketing.
A few resources and videos we discussed in this episode:
"Don't Talk Like A Sausage" blog article
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Mission Statement
Hemingway App
Depending on marketing objectives you may need additional support. Learn when to hire a marketing agency vs. utilizing your in-house marketing team.
Episode notes
When a new marketing project kicks off, it can be hard to pull together the right team for the job. Evaluating the current and potential talent within your organization can be time-consuming, political, and down-right difficult. And once you do have a good lay of the land, you may find you don't have the internal resources you need to get the job done right. At this point, you might find yourself asking, "Should I hire a marketing agency?"
As marketing budgets get smaller, the importance of appropriately managing your marketing dollars can add yet another layer to the project management process. With all of the data, information, people, and other variables to consider, how do you know which projects need more dollars? When does it make sense to keep a project in-house? When should you start looking at external creative or marketing firms? What are the pros and cons of each approach?
In this podcast, the Umault team discusses:
- How the sales funnel should inform your decision to keep a project in-house vs hiring an external marketing agency
- Why your branding video can benefit from an outside perspective
- How keeping your high volume and social media videos in-house can save you time and money
- The importance of finding an expert agency when you do decide to go out-of-house
Learn more: https://umault.com/insights/
How can you decide if rushing your marketing video timeline is worth it? What pitfalls should you watch out for if you do decide to rush? How can you make sure that your rush video stays on track and goes as smoothly as it can?
Rush marketing projects - when unforeseen circumstances force you to take the amount of time you know your project needs and condense it down to a timeline that's anything but ideal.
Maybe you've been there, done that. Maybe you thrive under the pressure of rush projects. Maybe you hate them. Maybe you've even paid someone extra to help you get a rush project done in time.
Sometimes, a heart-to-heart with colleagues or leaders can reveal that the "rush" is really more of a preference. Or a "nice-to-have" done before someone goes on vacation. And the benefits of having the video ready for a pre-established soft deadline are not worth compromising the process, and, potentially, the quality of the video.
Other times, a rush timeline is unavoidable. A deadline has moved up and the video has to be ready to go much sooner than planned (i.e. a key stakeholder needs the video for an unexpected "big meeting.") Whatever the reason, circumstances outside of your control have forced you to double-down and get your marketing video done. Fast.
How can you decide if rushing your marketing video timeline is worth it? What pitfalls should you watch out for if you do decide to rush? How can you make sure that your rush video stays on track and goes as smoothly as it can? In this episode, the Umault team talks:
- How to decipher if a rush video project is truly a rush
- The trade-offs involved in moving forward with a rush project
- Tips for ensuring your rush marketing video lives up to its potential
- The importance of collaborating with your video agency throughout the process via constant and effective communication
Learn more at our website: https://umault.com/insights/
When it comes to launching an internal initiative, it can be hard to know where to start. The standard intranet article, email blast, or templated PDF attachment are begging to be transformed into something more engaging. And more effective.
Often, internal communications teams don't seriously consider using video or don't think they can justify spending "that kind of money" for something that is "just going internal". External campaigns and initiatives focused on engagement and selling prospects and clients seem to take priority. Perhaps this is because internal videos have a reputation for being long, boring, and...boring.
But internal videos don't have to be dull and ineffective. In fact, they may have the highest potential for success because the target audience is one you know so well — your colleagues. Retaining engaged and happy employees is a major challenge across corporate America. So how can you use video to bring excitement and attention to internal initiatives and audiences?
In this podcast, the Umault team talks internal communications video strategy and the best ways to approach the "internal video" without resorting to executive talking heads reading off of teleprompters. We'll also get into...
- How to identify if video is the right medium for your message
- How to effectively communicate tough messages in times of change and chaos
- The importance of authenticity, transparency, and inclusion in video messaging
Learn more at our website: https://umault.com/insights/
Coming up with a great idea for a video can be daunting. How can you make sure it’s good? How do you know it’s going to work? The development of a strong strategy and creative concept can help allay some of those fears and make you more confident in your video marketing game plan. But what about after you’ve gotten over the hump of those initial challenges and fears yourself, and it’s time to sell your boss? What’s the best approach to ensure stakeholder alignment?
You may have the most openminded, creative, and trusting boss out there. This video pitch is going to be smoothing sailing for you. Fantastic. Go get ‘em!
But what if you don’t? What if your boss needs to be convinced that this video is worth the dollars? That the video doesn't need to explain every product or service? That it’s going to help achieve the marketing, sales, and organizational goals for the company? That’s ok, too.
In working with C-suite, marketing, and sales leaders across many industries, we’ve gathered a few tips and tricks to help make this conversation with your boss a good one. A conversation that is productive and results in an approval to move forward with the smart, effective video idea you’ve come up with.
Below are a few ideas to include as you pull together your pitch approach and game plan:
- Work with your key stakeholders and agency when developing a strategy and creative. Ask lots of questions. Jump in when you need to. This is your video.
- Be prepared with the answers to the questions you think your boss might ask throughout the process. And make sure you understand what you're presenting before you present it. Give yourself time to prepare.
- When pitching to your boss, develop a game plan that takes into account the type of person and leader they are. Are they looking for risky and bold? Are they more risk averse? How do they best absorb information? When can they provide you with their undivided attention? Use the answers to these questions to help deliver a successful presentation and discussion.
- Use case studies and examples to help defend bold ideas and new creative. Psychologically, we all want to hear about a time where taking a similar risk paid off. Have at least one of these in your back pocket.
- Don't be afraid of "no." If you've thought through your idea and are prepared to answer questions, all your boss can say is "I'd like to see some other options." Bringing new ideas that can move the needle will pay off in the long-run versus bringing the same old thing to the table. It's all about results. Safe isn't truly safe if it doesn't perform.
When your team is considering making a sales or marketing video, one idea that inevitably comes up is to film the CEO or another executive leader. You decide to call up a production company, ask them to interview the executive about your services, and film some shots around the office showing how collaborative your team is. It'll be great!
Or will it? In this episode, we discuss whether these types of videos are actually effective for your brand, and how to determine the best option for your video project. Listen to the full episode, or read the transcript below, to learn:
- Why brands love to interview their CEOs or other executives and why it shouldn't be your default video.
- How to develop a video approach based on your goals, objectives, and audience.
- Additional video ideas that can help you stand out.
Resources, videos, and other stuff we talked about
An effective mini doc, made by Apple
The Veteran - the patient experience initiative video
Learn more at our website: https://umault.com/insights/
Whether it's your first marketing video or your one-hundredth broadcast spot, video development and production can be exciting - the possibilities of a great story, the feeling of accomplishment when the final creative is a "go", and the rush of pre-production and the shoot. Not to mention the pride you feel when your video is shared or presented for the first time (and the EOY performance bonus you receive when the video has knocked the KPIs out of the park ain't too shabby either.)
These are the sexy parts of making a video. But let's flash back to the beginning of the process. What can you do to set your video up for success? How do you make sure that your video marketing dollars are put to good use? And that the video performs?
Learn more at our website: https://umault.com/insights/
As a salesperson, there can be nothing more intimidating than walking into a room full of strangers and kicking off the meeting. Will you connect with them? Are you confident that your product or service is the right fit for them? How will you break the ice?
One great way to break the ice and kick off a sales presentation is with a strong video. A video can work wonders in showing your prospect that you understand his or her problems and are there with solutions. An effective video is like your wingman — setting you up to look good so you can close the deal.
Visit https://umault.com/insights/ for full show notes and more thoughts about video, sales, and marketing.
A few resources and videos we discussed in this episode:
"Make the Logo Bigger" song
Office Space - the infamous printer scene
Steve Martin's plumber joke
In this episode, Guy and Hope talk about the biggest mistake they see brands making when they make videos. Spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with the type of camera you use or how many crew members you had on set. In fact, the mistake happens usually months before the production date. The mistake happens when brands make that first phone call or email because they want a video — and they send it directly to a production company.
Visit https://umault.com/insights/ for full show notes and more thoughts about video, sales, and marketing (complete with plenty of movie references).
A few resources and videos we discussed in this episode:
The OK Go treadmill video: "Here It Goes Again"
TV coverage of the 1969 moon landing
As a brand, it seems like everyone is constantly talking about making and distributing video. The pressure is on to make more video and get it out in front of your customers. There's a reason for that: people simply like watching videos. What makes video so effective?
In this episode, Hope and Guy break down why your customers are watching more video than ever. Like, over a billion hours of video on YouTube every day more video. Turns out that the way humans process information means that any medium that can hit multiple senses at once, like video, will be more effective than media that only hit one. Understanding the power of video can help brands reach their customers more effectively.
Visit https://umault.com/insights/ for full show notes and more thoughts about video, sales, and marketing (and sometimes Star Wars).
A few resources and videos we discussed in this episode:
Clip from The Matrix - Morpheus explains the Matrix to Neo
Wyzowl's Video Marketing Survey - 2019