Twas the month before Christmas and all through the shop, every teammate was panicked and working nonstop. The tizzy was caused by a lack of a plan, their big Christmas video not yet began.
Avoid the last-minute panic (and questionable rhymes) by planning your corporate Christmas video early. As video creators, we’ve seen, and helped make, all kinds of videos. This guide is our Christmas in July gift to you. It walks you through everything you need to plan, make, and distribute a holiday video your whole team will be proud to share.
Step 1: Start Planning Your Corporate Christmas Video Early
Creating a quality video takes longer than you might think. That’s one reason so many businesses produce boring, low-quality holiday videos. Or don’t make one at all. They wait until December to even think about it, yet a high-quality animated video can take three months to produce.
If you hope to work with a skilled video production company, it’s best to get on their calendar early. Even if you don’t start production in July, you can at least have the project scheduled and start brainstorming.
Step 2: Identify an Idea that Stays On-Brand
Some brands seem to undergo a Grinch-like transformation over the holidays. A brand that delivers serious, authoritative content the other 11 months of the year suddenly drops a silly holiday message. The audience is left wondering “who was that?”
While a corporate christmas video is usually not the place for a hard sell, it should support brand awareness. A winning holiday video idea is one that gets into the holiday spirit while enhancing your overall brand image. Measure each idea against your branding guidelines.
Ask yourself:
- What does this video say about our brand?
- How does it affirm our brand values?
- Does the message and presentation sound like us?
Step 3: Consider Distribution
You might be surprised to see distribution so early in this list. Actually, the best time to think about how you’ll share your video is during the early development stage. When, where, and how you’ll share your video can influence the design and timeline. At least, it should if you want to get the most out of your video.
Think about:
- Timeline – If you’re a B2B company, you probably don’t want to send your video on Christmas week. Get it out early enough that people are still in the office. Even in B2C your video should be circulating several weeks before Christmas.
- Campaign – Will this video stand alone, or will it be part of a broader marketing campaign? Consider how your video fits into your overall holiday marketing strategy and what that means for when and how it should be distributed.
- Platform – Most social media platforms prefer short, vertical videos. Youtube, email, or your website can accommodate longer, horizontal content. Plan for how you might adjust or cut down the video to fit each platform.
Step 3: Script and Character Design Give Them a Reason to Watch
A video that is nothing more than a long-form ecard doesn’t give viewers a reason to watch. If you want them to press play and then stay engaged, you need to give them a reason to watch. As you draft your script (we have a free template) and design your characters, aim for a story and design that will resonate with your audience.
The best holiday videos include:
- An engaging storyline
- Relatable characters
- A pinch of nostalgia or a dash of humor
- Music and sound design that brings it all together
If that sounds like a lot to cram into one script, don’t worry. We’ve given you a few examples below so you can see how other brands brought it all together.
Types of Corporate Christmas Videos
Every brand puts its own spin on the holiday video, but they tend to cluster into a few key categories. Which one you choose depends on your brand voice, goals, and audience.
The Heart Warmer
Videos like this one from Apple deliver an emotional message that goes right for the heart. It’s an ideal style for consumer brands or nonprofits that want to create emotional resonance with their audience. This video succeeds because it brings a tear to the eye and shows how the iPhone can be a part of your family holiday experience.
Behind the Scenes
Exactly what they sound like, behind-the-scenes videos like this one from WonderWeb take your audience into your workspace to show them the real people behind your product or service. This is a good choice for B2B brands with a more formal communication style, because it humanizes the brand.
Nostalgia with Bells On
The holidays are all about nostalgia for many people. Videos like this one from Kroger tap into the memory of holidays gone by. The hope is that your brand becomes linked with positive memories in the viewers mind. If done well, this style can work for almost any brand.
Thank You
Many brands take the holidays as an opportunity to thank customers or employees. If you choose to make a thank-you video, be sure that you have enough substance to make the video worth watching. This is a great choice for nonprofits and mission-driven organizations. Honestly the sheer commitment it took to shoot this multi-season, full-campus video for Johns Hopkins is pretty impressive.
Fun and Festive
Videos like this iconic animation from hershey are just plain fun. They embrace the joy of the holiday. This type of video is ideal for a brand that already has a fun and playful tone. Hershey’s found a winning formula and stuck with it for decades.
We Can Help Produce Your Corporate Christmas Video
If you’re ready to start planning your corporate Christmas video, reach out. The video and animation experts at IdeaRocket are ready to help. We’ve created high quality animated commercials, HR videos, and explainer videos for healthcare, SaaS, startups and corporations. Let us help you tell your story this holiday season. Contact us today to get started.
