The 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the prestigious awards ceremony honoring creativity in marketing communications, just ended a few weeks ago, but the award-winning, buzz-worthy ads have still been circulating the internet among impressed ad agencies and inspired brands alike.
One of the top winners was a spot for Burger King called the “Whopper Detour,” taking home three of the festival’s top Grand Prix awards. In the video, presented below, you’ll see a case study summarizing the company’s direct promotional campaign, where they encouraged their customers to earn a free (well, one cent) whopper by downloading the app and redeeming a special code… by visiting a neighboring McDonalds store.
No, you did read that right; get a free whopper by going to McDonalds.
Not only did the video win awards for the best direct and best mobile campaigns, it won the festival’s Titanium award, which honors the most innovative and ambitious campaigns. In this instance, the agency running the campaign, FCB New York, combined mobile, print, PR, and out-of-home marketing to generate a million and a half app downloads, and push the Burger King app to the top of the Android and Apple app stores – pretty impressive stuff.
For us here at Lemonlight, though, the most impressive aspect of the campaign was the case study video presenting the campaign to first-time audiences. It was the first time I heard about the promotion, and was so impressed with the presentation (as well as the awards) I knew I had to talk about it here on the blog. Plus, it kind of made me want to eat a whopper… which would be the first time that’s happened since I was ten. That feat alone is mind-blowing.
Watch the video below, and then we’ll dive into some of our key takeaways:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlOJXVnDqnc
Here’s what we think you should be taking away from this:
1. Consider a case study video for your own non-video promotional campaigns
You do plenty of advertising and marketing that has nothing to do with video. In fact, if you read this blog regularly or have worked with us in the past, you are probably still getting used to incorporating video into your overall marketing strategy. That’s exactly why you should be tracking your marketing successes, and consider turning them into your own case study video. It’s a lot easier to do than you think.
For example, maybe you’ve already created a case study on a successful promotion for your brand to share with other clients. What about turning that into a video? The work is all there, it’s just a matter of creating some animated infographics or testimonial-style interviews to go along with the data.
You don’t even need to animate anything, technically. You could share a case study in a webinar style live video where you share what you learned directly to the camera, then take a few questions from your followers to wrap up.
2. Case studies that educate the audience work, even for smaller brands
You don’t have to generate millions of app downloads or national news coverage in order to create a buzz-worthy case study video. Small, simple, and succinct successes can make just as effective case study videos as massive ones from massive brands, especially if it’s inspiring or insightful enough for others to learn from.
Let’s say you come up with a creative referral campaign that works wonders for your latest hair-care product. Or you launch an influencer marketing partnership that’s doubled your sales and got your brand name out there. Maybe you just had a good weekend-promotion by thinking outside of the box with the way you discounted your goods.
By sharing these wins in an educational style case study video intended to teach the audience how to apply similar tactics to their own marketing, you’ll get more shares and more views by inspiring others.
Plus, you’ll be establishing yourself as a thought leader and expert in your industry, even if your success wasn’t all that crazy to pull off. When you establish yourself as a trust-worthy source, you are nurturing new prospective clients and potential industry partners to look to you as a resource or a future collaboration.
3. Creating case study videos for your clients works too
A case study video doesn’t have to be for your company. You can create a case study on a client that used your product or service to great success, too. This way, you aren’t just sharing how great you are, but showing how your product or service works in action to help people just like your target audience solve their problems, once again establishing your credibility as a potential partner or purchase.
By inviting the client in question into the process, you will be able to tell a more well-rounded story that brings in a third party perspective other than your own. Everyone can toot their own horn, but when you get that third party validation into the mix, you unlock something else: social proof.
Plus, by interviewing your client, your case study will become part testimonial video, which is one of the best video-types for nurturing prospects, and if it’s successful enough for viewers to feel compelled to share it, it can be good for attracting new customers to your brand as well.
Case Studies Create New Opportunities
Whether it’s a matter of turning a current case study into a video format, documenting a recent success to create a case study video to educate others, or working with a client to turn a victory for both parties into a testimonial case study hybrid, case study videos create new opportunities for your brand. Don’t miss out on one of the best ways of establishing credibility, building trust, and showing off your successes in a way that also educates an audience.
If you are looking for a video production partner to help you turn a recent success into an impressive video case study, reach out! We have video packages and video production services to help companies of all sizes create high quality, affordable video content. Schedule your call today.