Death to the Corporate Video

Show Notes:

1. Introduction to Chris LeClerc and his company, Territory6 (0:00)
2. The meaning behind the name "Territory6" and its connection to storytelling (1:30)
3. Discussion on the simplicity and power of storytelling in marketing (3:45)
4. The importance of visual storytelling and showing vs. telling (9:00)
5. Trends in brand storytelling: from mini-documentaries to narrative films (11:30)
6. The "barbell approach" to marketing: balancing entertainment and brand messaging (14:15)
7. Challenges of long-form content vs. traditional commercials (16:00)
8. The risk and reward of storytelling in advertising (18:30)
9. Analysis of the famous Eminem Chrysler commercial (22:00)
10. Defining story: the importance of conflict in narratives (24:00)
11. South Park creators' approach to storytelling: "This happens, but then this happens" (26:00)
12. 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

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