How to engage audiences in your brand video

by Brock Horning | October 2024

“Stornaway has really turned the way we think about video projects on its head. It gives us an incredible option to offer our customers, letting us design projects that focus on how their audience wants to engage with the content.”

Brand videos need to communicate a lot of information without overwhelming their audience. This often leads to lengthy videos that struggle to engage potential customers.

To avoid this, Bear House Media turned to interactive video for their recent client, a garden design business called Nina’s Garden.

Bear House Media was approached by Nina’s Garden to create brand video content to promote the garden design business. Nina wanted to highlight her expertise and services to drive more business-to-business traffic using a completed project as a case study.

How do you equip customers with a lot of detailed information without overwhelming them? How do you help future clients understand what they are looking for without a lengthy video?

The Bear House Media team felt that interactive video ticked all the boxes. As Dan Coomber, Creative Director, says:

“We felt that a single video wouldn’t adequately represent all that Nina offers, and it could end up being too lengthy. Interactive video would allow viewers to control the information they receive, making it less overwhelming. By allowing them to choose what to watch, they are more likely to engage with a greater amount of content.

With an interactive film, we were able to break down all the topics and areas that Nina wanted her potential clients to understand about her business. This approach created a fun, engaging experience that placed the viewers in charge of their own discovery process. Given how visual the product is, it was the perfect choice to meet her needs.”

Where to go next? A menu screen from Nina’s Garden brand video

The project proved a winner – and not just for the client:

“The client is thrilled with the results, and those who know her well agree that we have effectively captured her business. Her client, whose garden we featured, was also pleased with the outcome and felt it accurately reflected their design. 

Our team has been busy generating new and exciting ideas since we started using Stornaway, and we can’t wait to share some of the new projects we have in pre-production using this fantastic system!”

For Bear House Media, Stornaway has completely reshaped the way they approach a project:

“Stornaway has really turned the way we think about video projects on its head. It gives us an incredible option to offer our customers, letting us design projects that focus on how their audience wants to engage with the content. We love putting viewers in charge – it’s such a fun way to help them connect and get a better experience with the business they are engaging with.”

If you’re looking to create a similar project, Dan has kindly shared three tips to get you started:

“While it may not be the flashiest feature, the Story Map is undoubtedly Stornaway’s most powerful. Planning ahead is crucial, and we utilised the excellent Stornaway mapping system to outline the entire brand video before shooting any footage. This approach simplifies the entire process, as it allows us to see how the project will flow. We can add draft scripts and test the overall concept before any video content is incorporated. It really is an amazing tool!”

A still from Nina’s Garden’s brand video

“With this kind of interactive video, there is a real risk of leading viewers down a rabbit hole, leaving them feeling trapped with no way to return to content that may interest them. Our goal was to ensure the experience felt engaging rather than overwhelming, providing a journey that was intuitive and logical. We also wanted to give viewers the option to return to the main menu to explore other content.”

“As a production company working with commercial clients, we often face the challenge of fitting as much information as possible into a short timeframe. The key is to provide enough information without making the film too long, which would cause viewers to switch off completely.”

Bear House Media are a full-service production agency that create compelling content to captivate audiences and drive results. See their website here.