Choosing the right company to produce your Melbourne corporate video company is a crucial and difficult decision. If you get it wrong, you can end up paying a lot of money for an ineffective product that doesn’t do what you need it to do. Get it right, and you will end up with a highly valuable marketing tool that presents your message clearly and engages all the right people.
Here are a few tips on how to choose a good corporate video production company in Melbourne or anywhere else.
Do you like their previous work?
Before you speak to the company, take a look at the examples of previous videos they’ve produced. A reputable and experienced company will have a variety of different examples of work they’ve produced for previous clients available for you to view on their website – if not, you should steer clear, as it suggests they’re not experienced or professional enough.
You should watch a number of examples from beginning to end and ask yourself a few questions:
- Do they present information in interesting and engaging ways?
- Are the productions of a high enough quality?
- Do they use graphics, voiceovers and music, and are these effective?
If you’re happy with the quality and ideas of their videos, then you’ve probably found a company you can trust.
Are their previous customers satisfied?
Previous customers always tend to be honest about a company’s work. If you know anyone who can give you a word-of-mouth recommendation, that’s ideal, as you can actually speak to them about their experience – but if not, Google and Facebook are good places to find out what people are saying.
Director yelling in a noisy factory
If a video production company has good reviews online, it’s usually safe to assume they’re a trustworthy and competent company. If their website has testimonials from previous clients, so much the better, as people are not willing to let their opinions be used unless they are happy with a company’s work.
Do they understand what you want?
An initial discussion with the producer will tell you a lot about a production company. A good producer will:
- Understand and show interest in your idea and what you want the video to achieve.
- Want to know more about your company. They should be asking questions about what you do, the product or service you’re promoting, your target market and the ethos of your business.
- Show a sympathetic approach by coming up with ideas that fit with your company culture and brand messaging, while finding creative ways of presenting the information in a way that will appeal to your target audience.
It’s a good idea to meet as many of the creative team as possible. If you like the people, and feel they have an interest in what you do and an understanding of what you’re hoping to achieve, you’ll have a much easier time working with them. The process is likely to be more collaborative, resulting in a satisfactory outcome.
Do you like their ideas?
Listen to their ideas and gauge your own reactions. Do you actually like what they are suggesting? Ultimately your corporate video has to reflect your company, which is something you understand better than they do. If you feel they have the right instincts about the message you want to convey, and if they are prepared to listen to your input in order to gain a better understanding, this is likely to be a company you will be able to work with.
Is the price right?
Video is a highly effective medium for conveying information to audiences in a memorable way – but it’s not the cheapest form of content creation by any means. You need to establish what the budget is for your video before you start.
Director and Cameraman on the job
A good production company will then be honest with you about what you can expect to achieve on that budget. They should be able to demonstrate their creative expertise by working with you to come up with an idea that conveys your message effectively at an affordable price.
As with all purchase decisions, this may involve a degree of compromise, but an experienced and skilled producer will be able to offer you the best value for money by using your budget as innovatively as possible.
Do they have the right experience?
The “right experience” isn’t as simple as it seems. It doesn’t necessarily mean they will have previously produced work for other clients in your exact industry or on the same subject matter. It’s much more important to choose a company that is well-established and respected, with a professional creative team that has a strong track record in delivering high-quality, effective corporate videos on time and on budget.
A true story from the MD at Rockmans Creative Media
This can be really well-illustrated by a story from Josh Rockman, a highly experienced producer who is MD of his production company, Rockmans Creative Media. He received a call from a client who wanted a training video about harassment in the workplace.
“They wanted to see a video we had created on that exact subject, but we hadn’t done one, and they couldn’t get past that,” Rockman explains. “We didn’t even get to offer a quote as we were automatically judged ‘unqualified’ for the production. Based on that logic, Steven Spielberg and the team at DreamWorks would have been ‘unqualified’ to make the video.”
Rockman makes a good point. The client was asking completely the wrong questions – instead of asking if the production team had a demonstrable track record in delivering clear, strong messages and quality productions, they were obsessed with finding a company that had previously made a workplace harassment video. By being too specific, they were reducing their chances of getting the quality video they needed.
In the end it should be about finding a company whose previous work is of the quality you’re looking for, and whose ability to present information in engaging ways is strong enough to get your message across effectively, without going over your budget.
So, before you choose a corporate video production company:
- Establish your budget
- View examples of their work
- Take a look at reviews and testimonials from previous clients
- Talk to their producer and discuss ideas
- Ask questions about the background and experience of the production team.
And if you’re still finding it difficult to decide between companies? Choose the people you like best – you’re going to have to work with them, after all.
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