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November 8, 2019

How Sights and Sounds Shape Video Marketing & Advertising

It's common knowledge that we perceive the world through five senses - touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. The information we ingest and process each day comes to us through one or more of these senses and develops into our thoughts and feelings about the original stimuli. As a video production firm, the work we do here at Sparkhouse, especially in creating impactful video ads, is directly impacted and influenced by two senses: sight and sound. By curating the audible and visible elements of a video advertisement, we are able to allow our clients to communicate with their target consumers on an emotional level.

Shades, Hues, and What They Do

Conveying an advertising message with emotional appeal is a proven method for successfully influencing the desired outcome of that advertisement. Color plays a big role in shaping the emotional depth of an advertisement. Each shade, hue, and pigment has an effect on the viewer, and on brand perception itself. Therefore, choosing the right color palette for a visual advertisement is one of the most important steps.

At Sparkhouse we are a video marketing production company that has over 15 years of working experience with creating video marketing campaigns. Speaking from that experience, it is no small task choosing colors for an advertisement. The palette will affect the choice of props, costumes, backdrops, logos, text, and possibly even location. Depending on the intended outcome, the palette may have lighter shades or darker tints. There should be one palette for the overall video and a separate one for each character, if any, featured in the video.

From Hearing to Feeling

While the visual components of a video marketing advertisement are obviously important, the background music of the video is of similar importance. Music in ads works as a cue to trigger an emotional response. This type of cue is known as a peripheral cue, meaning that it lies outside of the central advertising message - the narrator, characters, on-screen text, or other ways of literally communicating with the consumer.

Music in a video advertisement should not only match the emotional tone of the video, but the emotional state that will further influence the desired outcome of the video. Studies have shown that certain chord progressions can create different atmospheres, with major chord progressions sounding much happier than their minor counterparts. Tempo works to set the actual pace of the advertisement. The tempo of the music should not be in a race with the content of the video and should work to engage the customer rather than distract them.

Many advertisements feature one song, however multiple can be used. This is not applicable in all cases, but transitioning between songs to show contrast between moods or situations can be a pivotal moment in a video advertisement. This method is especially useful for further illustrating a problem versus solution scenario. When properly done, shifting between moods and music within a video advertisement can create a deeper emotional layer for communicating with the target audience.

The music in an advertisement does not have to be expensive. Depending on budgetary constraints, custom music or copyrighted music may not be an option. Luckily, there are some less expensive options available online such as PremiumBeat.com, AudioJingle.com, and MusicBed.com. At sites like these there are low-cost alternatives to contracting custom composition.

Conclusion

By now it may seem as if there are way more factors involved in creating effective video advertisements than you originally thought - and that's a safe reaction. Producing quality video content that properly communicates to its target audience without distracting from the video's desired outcome is no simple feat. It takes a combination of resources, the most important of which is knowledge.

Sparkhouse has been working in video production for over 15 years. The knowledge and expertise we are offering is here to create the most successful video campaigns for our clients. If you are considering a video marketing campaign and are unsure of how or where to begin, reach out to us at Sparkhouse to see how we can work together to make your campaign a success.