Food or drink brands with no personality will leave a bitter taste…

24th November 2017

written by George Hughes

If your food or drink brand doesn’t have a great personality, you’ll leave a very bitter taste with your customers and will struggle to connect with the Millennials and Generation Z consumers of today… 

1600 new food and drink products are brought to market each year in the UK (LSEG). That’s a sh*t ton of choice, and this abundance means consumers are incredibly discerning about the brands they buy into. In fact, Millennials are said to be the pickiest generation when it comes to food (NYPost) and yet at the same time the most impulsive buyers, with nearly 1 in 5 Millennials admitting to impulse shopping every day (Finder).

With 90% of Millennials spending time online every day (Google), it’s never been more important for brands to send out the right message and connect with audiences in the digital space. 

The proliferation of social media means that consumers have endless access to information, making them more culturally aware. In the last couple of years, people’s attitudes to food and drink has radically changed, particularly in western countries; Millennials and Generation Z has totally redefined the FMCG industry. In fact, 25% of teens aged 15-17 say they worry about staying healthy, and another 49% agree that drinking soda is unhealthy (Mintel). And Millennials are far more attracted to personalisation, with 77% thinking that it makes a food brand more attractive (Askatest).

They aren’t just concerned with the consumption of food; however, with so many Millennials spending a lot more time on social media and having their lives on display, the image and identity of the food they consume is extremely important and acts as an extension of their own personality (Kantarmedia). Now the phrase “How to Cook This” is the most searched on Youtube, and on Instagram, over 3 million posts contain the hashtag #avocado (Onebrandmagic). Incredibly 1 in 4 Millennials and Gen Z share food images and search for food products every day (PSL). According to a study by Maru/Matchbox, 69 percent of millennials take a photo or a video of their food before eating.

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Whether you’re a restaurant, smoothie or chocolate bar, your brand’s identity on-and-offline is extremely important. Your consumers today will resonate more with the brands that seem to share their values and lifestyles, represent what they do or want to represent, are building personal connections through relatable and engaging content, and provide them with a more individual experience. Brands like Cadbury show us that you don’t need to be an all plant-based and organic product to do this; instead, you need to connect with them, show them your brand’s personality, and resonate with them on an emotional level. Cadbury recently changed its brand’s personality from being loud and quirky to being more family-led and down-to-earth. This was specifically to “reconnect with consumers” (The Drum), and their recent adverts have been very down-to-earth and relatable to a large UK audience of different ages, gender and status.

Cadbury Inventor – Go Madbury UK

https://youtu.be/UXAz4nLvfTE

Cadbury – Mum’s Birthday

https://youtu.be/l0eEqeizNCA

Cadbury – Coast

Creating video content can be one of the most effective ways to showcase your brand’s personality, especially online, and it’s why many food and drink brands decide to create brand films. A brand film gives the audience an instant deep dive into your brand’s personality, background, and story. It gives the audience something to instantly connect and engage with, making your brand a lot more relatable. It will typically be the first thing a customer sees and help inspire and formulate a positive first impression.

Ugly Drinks exploded onto the UK market last year with this killer brand film which encompasses their personality very well. They’re bold, they’re disruptive, and they have a problem with sugar. Here’s a quote from an interview with the Founder of Ugly Drinks “Our fans love to be seen with the cans, they buy our merch from the website, and they stick our stickers everywhere!” (Business Advice).

Ugly Drinks – It’s Time for the Ugly Truth

https://youtu.be/45YCR8VP4QY

Your brand’s personality is going to be what sets you aside from all the other food and drink businesses out there, and it is going to be your greatest asset when building loyal customers. That’s why focusing attention on building a brand personality online through platforms like Instagram, your website and Youtube has become so important. They help you connect with your customers, spread a message and help to build a loyal following. Once you achieve that loyal tribe, it will be easier for your brand to tackle larger demographics. Brands like McDonald’s have always been nailing this part of their marketing and are now providing a relatable personality to millions of customers. It works so well for them because they know who their customers are, what their customers want to see from them, and why their customers buy their products.

In this advert by McDonald’s, “More in Common”, we can see how they connect with multiple demographics based on multiple personalities. This, in turn, showcases McDonald’s as being inclusive, down-to-earth, and enjoyable for everyone.

McDonald’s – More in Common

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD1Ln_4ttHo

Consumers today want to see the brand behind the product, they want to see your personality, and they want you to speak to them as individuals. You can read our other blogs to find out how to connect with your customers online, and best spread your brand’s personality through video.

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Looking for support from a video production company in London? Pop us over an email and we’ll be in touch in a flash.

As we discovered in our previous blog post , there’s no ignoring the power of video content to transform business marketing. With statistics showing that adding video to your website landing page increases conversions by a whopping 80% (Invisia) and that embedding video in enewsletters increases click through rates by over 200% (Hubspot), video is now the undisputed leader of content marketing formats. And it’s not just the big brands exploiting this power. Advances in digital technology have made video marketing accessible and affordable for even the smallest of businesses and start-ups. Even so – making the decision to use video content in the marketing mix can initially be a little daunting for small business owners. Perhaps it seems like it must be a complex, time consuming or expensive exercise – so how do you go about taking those first steps into potentially commissioning a video, and how does the process work?

Here are our top tips for a smooth video commissioning experience:

1. Assess your business objectives and desired outcomes

You know you want a video because it’s the most effective form of content for marketing – but what do you want to achieve with it? Are you trying to educate, raise awareness of your knowledge and credentials, tell your brand story, or sell something? Have a clear objective and make sure you and other stakeholders in the business are on the same page about your goals.

2. Prepare a video production company brief

Be as detailed as you can so that the video production company can get a full picture of what you require. Putting the time in to give full information at this stage will save time later in the process. Include the following:

– Your business objectives.

– A detailed description of your audience – demographic, location etc.

– The core message you want to communicate through the video.

– Your ideas for the ‘treatment’. How do you want the video to look or feel? Do you have any examples of pieces you have seen that might help convey this?

– The elements you hope to include in the video. For example, do you want voiceover? Interviews with you or your customers? Shots of your product or service? Actors? Animation or motion graphics?

– The platforms where your video will be shown. Is it for your website, a trade conference, social media advertising or all three?

– Your Call To Action – what do you want your audience to do after seeing this video? Are they getting the right information to be able to do it easily?

– An idea of your budget. It’s worth giving a rough idea of what you might be able to spend as this will inform the production company’s proposal. You’ll often be surprised at how much you can get for your money. Think of the video production company using the analogy of an Architect. A builder can construct you a ‘generic’ house, but you need an Architect to design and build you the ‘specific’ house that meets your specific needs. The video production company performs that role for your corporate video. Your budget is paying for the expertise that brings all the complex elements together to produce the right video to communicate your specific business message.

– Your schedule and delivery deadlines. Does your video need to be ready for a trade show or the launch of a new website? Make sure you factor in enough time for the production process.

3. Approach video production companies

Ask for recommendations from colleagues and friends, search locally or look on Social Media. Have a look at case studies of their previous jobs. Some video production companies specialise in certain industries or certain types of video. Some video companies (like our very own Small Films) offer marketing strategy as well as production so bear this in mind when looking for the right fit for your business. Brief two or three companies so that you can compare proposals, but don’t just compare prices. There is a delicate balance to be struck between experience and expertise against cost – a very cheap video is probably not going to be professional enough for your business requirements.

4. Review video production proposals

Your selected video production companies will come back to you with detailed proposals based on your brief. They will have an overall creative idea or angle, (with examples to help you visualise), budget expectations for different options and a schedule. You can then choose the best fit for your business, budget and objectives.

5. Planning process

Once they have the green light, your video production company will give you a detailed production plan and schedule, including consultation meetings and reviews of progress. They will begin work on a script or storyboard for the video and start planning for the shoot. They will carry out location research and venue booking, props finding, acting or voice over casting where necessary – as well as all technical aspects of the filming. They will undertake rehearsals or run-throughs where necessary and will keep you involved and consulted throughout the planning process.

6. The film shoot

The production company will organise everything on shoot day (or days) and will have all the necessary filming, lighting and sound equipment in place. If the filming is taking place at your business location and requiring members of your staff, they will try to minimise the disruption by shooting at quiet times or out or hours if possible with a schedule to make sure that people aren’t kept hanging around.

7. Post production and delivery

After the shoot, the video production company will edit the footage to produce a rough cut of the video. You are provided opportunities to give your input through the editing process and after tweaks and amendments have been made, a final cut will be produced. The video will then be formatted and duplicated correctly for the platforms required, within the agreed schedule.

If you’d like more information about commissioning video or a chat about potential video projects, contact us here.

Small Films are London based video content specialists. By combining strategic minds with creative flair we create powerful stories with video that deeply resonate with audiences, supporting our clients to achieve their ambitions in growing their organisation, brand or campaign