3 Ways to Adapt Creative during COVID-19

May 6

As a business, we specialise in producing beautiful and engaging video content for online and broadcast. Sadly, as it stands, we are currently unable to shoot original footage due to the required restrictions in place.

And yet, there is more demand for video than ever before as media consumption across digital and TV continues to rise due to our home confinement. The latest data from Facebook’s Q1 results shows the number of users to visit one of the Facebook family of apps (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and/or Facebook Messenger), was up by 100 million from Q42019 to Q12020, reaching 2.99 billion. Similarly, a recent GroupM piece of research depicts a 19% increase in our TV consumption compared to this time last year.

This paradox, of increased demand but no supply, encourages us to think beyond new productions and to deploy more innovative tactics to produce high-quality video, of which there are many. Companies and brands still need to broadcast their messaging and reach key audiences with rich content. Otherwise, they may inflict more damage than necessary by simply remaining invisible for a sustained period of time.

We have put plans in place to resume shooting in a safe and controlled manner, once we are permitted to do so. But for now, below are a number of strategies to produce new creative without actually shooting new footage.

Archive & Imagery

If you are in the position of having archive footage or an image library subscription, it would seem an obvious solution to simply redistribute the content. However, the same marketing rules apply during a pandemic as they did before. You still need to engage an audience with content that will grasp their attention and cut-through the increasing clutter. The recent growth in digital consumption only strengthens the need for this.

Our advice is to consider how you can innovate using your assets. This could be through the use of VFX, effective storytelling or strong sound design and VO.

The below piece which we produced for the GAA used a mix of archive and still images to bring different generations of players together in one emotive piece of content. This illustrates what is possible when you think innovatively about your output:

Similarly, working with Racing TV ahead of the launch of their OTT TV app, we produced the below video to entice users to signup to their channel. In this instance, we elevated the archive footage by using motion graphics to bring the campaign to life and tell the story of the product:

If you don’t have access to archive footage, there are plentiful stock footage options available, which are superb in terms of their quality, and getting better all the time. This footage can also be elevated in post production through the same tactics as above.

Animation

The increase in the number of animated ads on the TV in recent weeks has been stark, and for good reason. This is a segment of production that has not been affected by the imposed restrictions and offers a way to create a bespoke piece of content that can deliver your message in an engaging way. As opposed to using archive footage or stills, an animated video can be utterly unique and be imagined in a truly creative sense.

Ahead of producing the below video, the GAA asked us to come up with a concept that would compellingly inform people of the organisation’s support of the wider GAA community. The use of animation allowed us to be flexible and communicate the core messages in a more dynamic way than a traditional video would allow.

Audio

We have previously highlighted the rise in audio during COVID-19, with both streaming and podcasts showing an uptick in consumption, and radio remaining strong. The latter not only serves as a news source during these troubling times, but also provides people with a sense of normality they crave as they listen to familiar voices. In a survey conducted by Nielsen, 44% of respondents said listening to their favourite radio host helped them feel less alone.

With many VO artists quick to set up from their homes and aided by connective technology, radio ads are being delivered to the same standard as prior to the pandemic. In a recent radio ad we produced for the great folks at Revive Active, our director was able to remotely join our VO artist via video conferencing and work together on the script.

We are also fortunate to have audio post-production fully operational and set up for sound design and mix. You can listen to the radio ad in question, featuring James Ryan, below:

Of course these are creative strategies to supplement the lack of productions, but there also remains everyday content for digital like statics, carousels, gifs and motion graphics which should not be ignored. These creative units also play a key role in the ongoing marketing of your brand.