Having explained the Why? and the How? of pitching a video to your brand client, we now get to the distribution stage. When pitching a video it is important to set realistic expectation on its ROI.
Although online video has the potential to organically generate massive engagement and millions of views, this is definitely not guaranteed. Setting a realistic expectation of return is something that is vital, but often missed when pitching the idea of branded video to a client.
There is the potential of free views! By uploading content to multiple video networks like Youtube or Vimeo you can achieve some free views. The bonus of this is that it’s quick and easy to do and in some cases, where the content is highly shareable and the brand is lucky enough to strike the right chord at the right time, it can be very successful.
However, with the growing mass of videos out there, this is becoming an increasingly risky tactic for distribution as your video may never even be discovered. Making a video, uploading it to youtube and then just sitting back and waiting for views to roll in is a common mistake, and one that often results in an unhappy client!
You can eliminate the risk of that awkward client meeting by including paid seeding in your proposal. This will not only raise your chances of a viral smash, but will also give a safety net of returns for your client.
The chart below show the rough costs and returns of a small video campaign with and without an included media spend.
|
No Media Spend |
Media Spend |
| Asset Production |
-£5K |
-£5K |
| Media Spend |
-£0.00 |
-£5K |
| Total Cost |
-£5K |
-£10K |
| Organic Views(Worst case) |
100 |
100 |
| Organic Views(Best case) |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| Bought Views |
0 |
35,000 |
| Total Views (Best case) |
100,000 |
135,000 |
| Total Views (Worst case) |
100 |
35,100 |
| Cost Per View (Best case) |
-£0.05 |
-£0.07 |
| Cost Per View (Worst case) |
-£50 |
-£0.28 |
As you can see, the bought media takes the risk out of the campaign. It also means you can set your clients an agreed minimum return for their money, which in turn makes it much easier for them to buy it from you. WIN – WIN
In part 4 – see how you can use video as an ongoing communication channel for your brand client, and an ongoing revenue stream for you.
(Disclaimer: these numbers are estimated and may not necessarily reflect real-life results, which will depend on individual campaigns)
