Using Video for Branding: 5 Top Brand Examples

Video is quickly becoming the preferred tool for most marketers to connect with and reach new audiences.

Branding videos are undeniably effective — including a video on a landing page can boost conversion rates by over 80%, and the mere mention of the word “video” in your email subject line increases open rates by 19%.

For me, a great video can spark curiosity, get me asking questions, or even make me feel emotional.

But what separates great brand videos from those that fall flat? Here’s a look at what makes video marketing successful, and five examples of brands that got it right.

Table of Contents

• What makes a successful brand video?
• Five Examples of Great Branding Videos

What makes a successful brand video?

What is a brand video? Any video that promotes your brand.

What makes a successful brand video? Any video that reaches your target audience and causes the desired reaction.

For example, if I’ve just launched a new outdoor clothing brand, my target audience might be people who are interested in camping or other outdoor activities. My desired reaction is for potential customers to visit my website or social media pages.

As a result, my video should focus on what my product does, not what my product is. This could mean creating a short video of hikers exploring a new trail or campers setting up next to a lake, all while wearing my clothing.

I wouldn’t show prices or talk about specific product lines; I’d just show my gear being used in real-life situations. At the end of the video, I’d showcase the company name and website.

Then, I measure the reaction. Have my visitor numbers gone up? Have users left comments on social media pages or sent direct messages? If yes, then my video was a success. If not, I need to go back to the drawing board.

Key Features of a Branding Video

No two marketing videos are the same. Some target awareness, others drive conversions, and some focus on providing information.

Regardless of the intent, however, all great videos share five key features:

• Clarity: Great videos have focus and purpose. They have a clear message and use clear language and images to get it across. They also waste no time in getting to the point. While there’s no hard-and-fast rule here, ads should stay in the 30-second to 1-minute range for maximum impact.

• Specificity: For branding video ads to work, they must target a specific audience. For example, if you’re selling top-of-the-line car care products, your audience is car owners. Make your ad too general, and it won’t reach your target audience.

• Authenticity: While it may be quicker and cheaper to make inauthentic videos using stock footage or actors as stand-ins for real customers, users can tell when you don’t put in the effort. Want better engagement? Put real people talking about real experiences on the screen.

• Quality: Your branding video doesn’t need the budget of a blockbuster movie, but it should look and sound good. Think clear images, crisp colors, and clear audio. If your messaging is great but your quality is “meh,” your video won’t have the same impact.

• Consistency: All videos act as ambassadors of your brand. As a result, it’s important to use consistent logos, fonts, colors, and designs to ensure users can easily recognize your products.

I know — it’s a lot to consider when planning your brand video and your overall video marketing strategy. If you need help getting your ideas off the ground, try HubSpot’s free AI video tool Clip Creator.

Five Examples of Great Branding Videos

1. Tasty

The goal: Increasing brand awareness.

Video can help your business reach new audiences and attract new viewers to your social media pages and website, which is likely why “increase brand awareness” is the number one reason brands use video.

Take this video from Tasty, a Buzzfeed brand:

Ultimately, Tasty‘s video isn’t meant to sell any products (at least, not directly) — instead, it‘s simply meant to entertain new audiences and, ultimately, increase awareness of Tasty’s brand.

Why I Think It Works

The video works because it’s entertaining. It’s silly, fun to watch, and provides a small but welcome diversion. Yes, it mentions Tasty, but that isn’t the focus of the video. Instead, the ad provides a jumping-off point for viewers to learn more about food and recipes — which just happen to be on the Tasty channel.

2. Fabletics

The goal: Driving new sales.

Consider how you might create entertaining or informative videos with the sole purpose of increasing brand exposure.

Ultimately, brand awareness can foster trust and increase brand equity, so it plays a critical role in your company’s bottom line.

To highlight this point, here’s a video that I think makes a good example. This video highlights Kate Hudson’s company, Fabletics:

While at first glance it might look like a somewhat random video of Kate Hudson running through the Aspen wilderness, it’s actually an effective example of a video designed to increase sales without appearing like, well, an ad.

For instance, while the video portrays Hudson in a range of workout gear from her October Fabletics collection, it also incorporates an exclusive interview with the celebrity to discuss family, nature, and growing up in the mountains.

Add in a gorgeous Aspen backdrop, and viewers might be fooled by the true purpose of the video: to sell Fabletics clothing.

Why I Think It Works

Ads that don’t look like ads are becoming more commonplace.

This ad works because it leverages Hudson’s well-known name and combines it with a popular clothing category: Athleisure. Show both in tandem and I’d say you’ve got a winning ad formula.

3. Gillette

The goal: Growing a social media community.

Did you know that four of the top six channels global consumers use to watch videos are social channels? Ultimately, many marketers use video to attract visitors to a company’s social pages.

Consider, for instance, this #ShaveItOff video by Gillette partner The McFarlands:

While the video is undoubtedly entertaining to watch, it also serves a powerful purpose: to send some of The McFarlands‘ 2 million followers back to Gillette’s own social channels.

Best of all, the hashtag #ShaveItOff can be found on Gillette’s Instagram page as well, ensuring viewers can find the brand regardless of which social channel they prefer.

Why I Think It Works

Social media is one of the fastest-growing platforms for product sales. In part, this is thanks to a concept known as “ambient shopping.”

Unlike intentional shopping, which sees customers seeking out a particular product or service, ambient shopping happens when users are scrolling social media or watching streaming services and come across an interesting product.

This video works because it features well-known TikTokers doing exactly what their audience has come to expect — only this time, it points back to a partner product page.

4. HubSpot

The goal: Educating customers.

Video can be an incredibly effective tool for education. This how-to video from HubSpot Marketing dives into a game-changing technology that’s transforming the ecommerce world for small businesses: text-to-image AI tools.

Many people learn best through visuals, which is why video can be a phenomenal tool for educating prospects and even customers.

Consider how you might incorporate educational videos into your own content strategy in unique ways – for instance, perhaps you include video demos for interested prospects, or how-to tutorials for new users of your product.

Why I Think It Works

HubSpot is a well-known resource for free and comprehensive content.

Of course, our ultimate objective here at HubSpot is to create new customer connections, but this video shows the power of providing something of value for free to help kickstart a reciprocal relationship.

5. Microsoft

The goal: Building brand authority.

Similar to the reason listed above, the fifth reason brands use video is to build brand authority on a subject and demonstrate expertise.

Ideally, this means when people are searching for help on a certain topic, your brand will show up. After watching your videos, if viewers feel they‘ve gained unique insight, they’ll trust your brand more and explore other offerings.

Consider what happens when I search “How to run a vlookup” in Google. When I click on the video section (since I prefer learning about vlookups through visuals like video), Microsoft is the first two video results:

In this example, Microsoft is demonstrating its brand expertise when it comes to its Excel product — and, more widely, anything related to technology and data.

This provides Microsoft with a good opportunity to showcase its brand authority while attracting new visitors to its website.

Why I Think It Works

When I do a Google search, it’s rare I make it to page 2.

In most cases, I’m clicking on one of the top five results, and at most I’m heading down through the top 10.

Why? Because higher rankings are associated with increased authority on a subject, product, or service.

Microsoft succeeds here because it’s (still) capturing the top 2 spots.

Branding Video: Getting Noticed for All the Right Reasons

Video gets you noticed. Branding videos tip the scales — prospective and current customers get closer or farther away depending on how well you package and convey your message.

My best advice? Don’t get locked into a single branding approach. Different videos have different purposes. Some are designed to generate interest, while others drive new sales and still others look to build community or build authority.

What’s important isn’t replicating what other brands have done, but rather defining a goal for your video, and then measuring how successfully your video achieved that goal.

Take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing to learn more about how you can create a powerful video marketing strategy for your own brand.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.