I want you to think about your favorite brand for a few minutes.
What’s the first thing that came to your mind?
If I had to guess, you probably thought of a popular advertisement from them.
The fact is, this outcome is actually expected.
When businesses need a bang-for-buck ROI on their brand awareness efforts,
Commercial video production is the thing they turn to in a heartbeat.
But this is mostly the case for B2C businesses.
What about B2Bs? Can commercial videos work their magic on B2B brand awareness too?
We’ll try to find a definitive answer to this question in this blog.
With some stunning examples to show you how it’s done!
Commercial video production is the process of creating video advertising content for businesses to promote their products, services, or brands.
These videos are primarily designed to engage, inform, and persuade target audiences through advertising and promotional channels.
While B2Cs use the perks of commercial videos almost on a regular basis,
B2Bs may have their apprehensions mostly because there are other visual mediums like animated explainer videos that feel more lucrative.
But commercial video production is equally valuable to B2Bs just as it is for B2Cs.
And we’ll look at some compelling reasons soon so do stick around.
Which swiftly brings our discussion to another thoughtful question…
Brand awareness refers to the extent to which potential customers are familiar with and recognize your brand.
It is a crucial component for B2Bs as it influences decision-makers when choosing suppliers, partners, or service providers for their offerings.
If you were to ask me, brand awareness is not just about how well your audience knows your brand.
It’s a measure of credibility, trust, and reliability.
Which is to say, brand awareness is perhaps the most important objective that B2Bs need to strive towards for long-term success
But where do commercial videos come in all of this?
That’s exactly what I’ll be discussing at length in the next section coming right up.
Commercial video production is a powerful tool for B2B businesses aiming to boost their brand awareness.
And to put things in perspective, here are some compelling reasons B2Bs should give commercial videos a shot for their brand awareness efforts:
A comprehensive study on video marketing by Visme found 85% of marketers trusting videos to grab attention online.
Various statistics on Video Marketing (Source: Visme)
And one of the main reasons for this is the visual appeal that videos bring to the table.
Commercial videos take it up a notch by combining visuals, audio, and text to create a quick yet effective multi-sensory experience that is more engaging and memorable
This helps B2B brands capture the attention of their audience more effectively and establish prolonged brand retention.
A survey conducted by TechSmith found that 24% of people stopped watching a video the second they received the information they needed.
Statistics on how videos are influential in conveying critical information (Source: TechSmith)
But it also found 17% of participants stopping a video because they didn’t get the information they needed.
These numbers tell us two things:
Commercial videos convey information quickly and efficiently, with the video’s visual design taking care of retention and engagement,
In the B2B space where products and services often require detailed explanations,
Commercial videos can break down complicated concepts into easily digestible quick demos with clear CTAs in a matter of seconds.
Which plays a major role in driving conversions, especially for offerings like SaaS and B2B events.
Videos are among the most shared visual content on the Internet as reported by Kapwing.
Videos are among the most shareable visual medium on the Internet (Source: Kapwing)
But what makes commercial videos uniquely shareable is their video length.
And the latest numbers from Yaguara bring this point home, showing the ideal length to be between 30 to 60 seconds.
The ideal length of short-form videos and, by translation, commercial videos (Source: Yaguara)
Even though these numbers are for short-form videos, the impact of shorter video lengths can safely be extrapolated to commercial videos.
As most commercial videos last anywhere between 15 seconds to 90 seconds.
They can go higher in some cases but it’s usually not recommended to go longer than 90 seconds.
As that leads to a dip in watch time and engagement metrics.
For B2Bs, this enhanced shareability leads to amplified reach.
Allowing them to connect with a larger audience and generate more visibility.
Data from Forrester Research found videos to be 50x more likely to get organic page ranks on Google as compared to text links.
The reason is quite simple.
Organic search prefers sites that keep people on a particular page for an extended period of time.
This translates to enhanced dwell times and thus signals to Google that your site is worth reaching new online audiences.
But aren’t commercial videos devoid of organic search results as they’re paid advertising at the end of the day?
You would be correct but the principles of SEO still apply.
Commercial videos that:
Get favored by search engines to rank higher when something is searched online.
This gives B2Bs another avenue to expand their reach and also improve their search engine rankings and SEO efforts.
Not to mention, also improve their ROAS metrics and get more out of their commercial videos from an ROI perspective.
As I touched upon earlier, commercial videos are a great way for B2Bs to build:
Amongst the audience they’re trying to reach.
But you might be thinking:
How can B2Bs build trust in a matter of seconds when other brands take years to do so?
It again comes down to the video length of commercial videos.
A tight video length prevents B2Bs from exploring irrelevant information.
Enabling them to only touch upon things that are relevant to their target audience.
And that’s how they grab attention and keep their prospects watching.
I want you to look at commercial videos from a different perspective now.
Instead of seeing them as mediums for video advertising, I want you to see them for what it is.
A short and effective video that brings audiences closer to your brand.
And if you were to tag along with this distinction, your commercial videos can be anything you want them to.
They can be:
The list can go on.
Here’s the point I’m trying to make.
Your commercial videos can serve multiple purposes based on your objectives.
And videos, as a whole, help you tap into multiple marketing channels to boost your ROI.
This approach is called the Video-First Approach where a single video leverages your existing channels to increase your reach and brand awareness.
Curious to learn more about this approach? Check out our dedicated video on this here:
This versatility allows B2B businesses to leverage commercial videos to address different aspects of their brand and reach their audience at various stages of the buyer's journey.
Video marketing makes it easier to track campaign success by quantifying the impact using KPIs.
According to Hubspot, there are 6 important metrics that signify video performance as shown below.
6 important metrics that measure video success (Source: Hubspot)
But commercial videos are a specialized application of video marketing.
Which makes some of these metrics highly relevant to our discussion on B2B commercial videos.
Various advertising tools like Meta Ads Manager and Google Ads show metrics like CTR and conversion rates across a detailed dashboard.
They also show other advertising-related metrics to help B2Bs get a better understanding of their commercial ad performance.
All in all, these tools help B2B businesses stay on top of their commercial video performance by quantifying scope of improvement and optimizations.
Here’s a breakdown of how much it costs to advertise on YouTube from a B2B perspective, courtesy of recent data from WebFX.
A simple demonstration of how commercial videos are a cost-effective marketing tool (Source: WebFX)
It shows 17% of companies mostly paying $0.31-$0.4 per view when advertising on YouTube.
We have a dedicated blog on YouTube video ads if you want to learn more.
The point I’m trying to make here is that commercial videos are cost effective.
Both to produce and use in advertising campaigns.
Commercial video production can be a significant investment for B2Bs in some cases.
But the long term benefits and ROI offset the investment when executed correctly.
Still unsure as to how much it would cost you to make a commercial video?
Check out our blog for a detailed breakdown on animated video production across several use cases next.
Commercial videos come in all shapes and sizes.
And when B2B brand awareness is concerned, commercial videos can wear many hats to achieve the same outcome.
Let’s take a closer look, starting with…
Product commercial videos are essential for B2B businesses to showcase their offering in a detailed and engaging manner.
These commercial videos highlight core features, benefits, and applications of your B2B product,
Making it easier for potential clients to understand its value and relevance to their needs.
A good example of product commercial videos are SaaS video ads.
A B2B company launching a new software solution can create a SaaS video ad to demonstrate key software features and how it solves specific pain points for a B2B SaaS audience.
This type of video can be used in presentations, on the company’s website, or in targeted email marketing campaigns to request software demos and drive sales.
Commercial videos centered around company culture play a major role in humanizing your B2B brand.
Showcasing the people behind your business, employee values and morals, and a behind-the-scenes look at your work environment.
This type of commercial video helps build trust and rapport with potential clients, partners, and employees, making the brand more relatable and trustworthy.
For B2B businesses looking to onboard top talent or new clients, a company culture commercial video can get the job done.
These videos can be advertised across social media platforms, your company’s careers page, and during recruitment events.
Testimonial commercial videos feature satisfied clients sharing their positive experiences with your B2B brand’s products or services.
Here, a satisfied customer acts as your brand mascot through your commercial video.
Serving as powerful social proof, helping to build credibility and trust with potential clients by showcasing real-world success stories.
One of the best ways B2Bs can use testimonial commercial videos is for lead generation and to drive conversion efforts.
When used in sales presentations and digital advertising campaigns, it can attract new clients by showing feedback and results from existing clients.
It’s not surprising to see B2B commercial videos made specifically for social media.
The latest numbers from Social Champ point to the same thing.
Showing businesses spending 80% of their marketing budget on social media advertising.
But why is this important for B2Bs?
Social media commercial videos are designed to capture attention on platforms where everything happens quickly.
These videos are typically short, visually appealing, and optimized for sharing,
Making them ideal for increasing brand awareness and driving traffic to other marketing channels.
Most social media commercial videos come in the form of:
You get the point.
This gives B2B brands a means to create a series of short, engaging videos highlighting different aspects of their services or industry insights.
Here’s something I believe is true for commercial videos,
Whether you look at it from a B2B or a B2C lens.
An effective commercial video generates excitement to take the next step.
And in that effort, teaser commercial videos do this perfectly.
They generate excitement and anticipation for upcoming products, events, or announcements.
B2B businesses planning to launch a new product can create a teaser video that offers glimpses of the product and hints at its benefits.
They can break down their campaign into several teaser commercial videos that slowly tease aspects of your offering to build and maintain intrigue.
Making them a perfect visual medium that can be advertised on social media, in email newsletters, and on the company’s website to build anticipation and drive interest ahead of the official launch.
Now that you know why commercial videos are worth the investment when B2B brand awareness is concerned.
Let’s understand how B2Bs can use such videos to reach (or even exceed) their goals.
And for that, I have curated an exhaustive list of 15 amazing commercial video examples.
That’ll not only inspire your efforts but also show you the bigger picture on what’s possible with animated commercial videos.
Let’s begin our exploration with this commercial video example from Symantec.
Taking help from Oddfellows, they use motion graphics to bring the perils of manual accounting to life.
It touches upon a specific problem that Symantec’s SaaS solution promptly solves.
The keyword here is “specific problem”.
The visual design is a medley of animated elements and contrasting pastel colors that’s hard to miss.
But the thing that caught my attention was the voiceover.
Notice how the narrator delivers Symantec’s message in a conversational way.
As if the video was made personally for you.
Such small yet profound steps make this B2B commercial video worth watching.
This next entry comes from Oracle.
B2Bs today are going through somewhat of an “AI shift” these days.
Everywhere you look, it’s AI left, right, and center.
So it’s easy to get lost in the hype train and come off as generic.
Oracle decided to stand apart in the AI revolution with this animated commercial video.
They talk about their new AI solution and how it integrates seamlessly with their other flagship products.
But the way they shed light on their message is absolute eye candy here.
The visual design is immersive and fluid, almost making you feel like you’re witnessing a story.
And since animation is one of the best mediums there is for visual storytelling,
I don’t think Oracle did this by accident.
You would think brand awareness comes only when you talk about your B2B brand and company culture.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
Brand awareness also means talking about products and services that your business is most known for.
It can very well be an established product.
Or, like Microsoft did here, it can be an upgrade to an already beloved product.
In this commercial video example, Microsoft gave it their all to bring their new Surface Pro tablet to life.
Coupled with vibrant 3D visuals of abstract designs, it’s nothing short of a visual masterpiece.
Making you wonder how they achieved this in just 52 seconds!
In the world of SaaS, Adobe is a brand that needs no introduction.
So when they jumped on the AI bandwagon a couple of years ago,
People were already lining up to see what they had to offer.
But how do you give users an accurate taste of your services virtually?
Adobe decided to do that with a screencast animation commercial video.
It gives a comprehensive view into Adobe Firefly, their state-of-the-art AI solution.
Putting prompts and showing results in real-time, thanks to their use of screencast animation.
It not only tells you what’s possible with Firefly, it shows it too.
Adding another layer of trust and assurance to a brand millions of people already love.
If you thought Google was sitting on the sidelines in this AI revolution,
You would be wrong.
This animated commercial unveils Gemini, their AI solution, and talks about it from a user’s perspective.
They keep the presentation simple and minimalistic but for a reason.
When talking about something that has several layers of applications to it,
You better keep things simple or you risk confusing your prospects and driving them away.
It applies a healthy dose of mixed media animation and screencast animation to make Gemini feel like the real deal.
And one look at the video will make you say the same thing.
Let’s bring our attention from AI to another exciting industry where competition is fierce.
This space is filled with rapid technological innovation that’s guaranteed to make your head spin.
So how do you keep your audience updated in this sea of chaos?
Kaspersky gives us some pointers in this 3D animated commercial video here.
They talk about their enterprise cybersecurity offerings geared specifically towards B2B.
And that’s what makes this video unique.
They have a specific target audience in mind and have made this commercial video only for them.
Making the commercial video relevant to B2B brands looking to up their cybersecurity game.
This example from Volvo Trucks is one of the wildest ones I’ve ever seen.
Picture this.
An almost 100 year old vehicle manufacturer hires a world renowned movie star to demonstrate a feature of their new lineup of luxury trucks.
The movie star in question is Jean Claude Van Damme, popularly known as the “Muscles from Brussels”.
But it gets even crazier!
In the commercial video, he does one of his iconic leg splits on top of two Volvo trucks.
Just to show off the technical prowess of Volvo’s Dynamic Steering.
The commercial video is aptly named “The Epic Split”.
And has been viewed by 120M people on YouTube!
Nothing I say can come close to describing why this commercial video is effective.
You have to see it to believe it.
This next example comes from IBM.
It is a commercial video that doesn’t sell you a product or draw your attention to a new service.
It helps IBM establish authority among a tech-savvy audience by covering 5 emerging tech trends for the upcoming 5 years.
As far as subtle persuasion goes, this commercial video shows you how it’s done.
It uses an artistic visual design very much resembling drawings from sketch pens which feels relatable.
IBM knew that simply talking about trends of the future would mostly fall on deaf ears.
So instead, they chose visual storytelling and infographics animation to drive their point home.
Here’s the thing about virtual features.
They’re virtual, and thus, a bit tricky to visualize tangibly.
Android decided to turn the intangible into the tangible using this character animation commercial video.
It talks about everything you can do with Google Assistant on an Android device.
But to make it more relatable, they throw in some bubbly characters into the mix too.
You see yourselves using Google Assistant in those characters.
Which makes the video reach a new level of personal appeal.
That sticks with you the next time you say, “Hey Google”.
Speaking of character animation, Zendesk takes it up a notch in this 3D character animation commercial video.
Apart from a character design that’s hard to miss (even if you tried to),
They went one step further and named it “Derek”.
What you’re witnessing here is a demonstration of a brand archetype.
It’s a visualization technique used to understand your ideal customer.
Essentially it helps B2B brands answer questions like:
Zendesk does the same thing here with Derek.
With a clever use of character animation that makes the message humorous (while keeping it effective).
If you want to learn more about brand archetypes, we have a dedicated video on it which you can watch here.
This next example gives a new perspective on rebrands that I found quite innovative.
It shows Mirego taking you through their brand overhaul.
But to assure their audience that they’re the same brand they love, they used this commercial video to set the record straight.
They use kinetic typography to make their words have more meaning.
Most rebrands lead to a disconnect with existing audiences and the new audience B2Bs try to attract.
Because they fail to communicate their core company values in a cohesive way
But when done right, like Mirego did here, it can bring existing audiences close.
And new audiences closer to your business.
What’s the one thing that B2Bs need to ensure in their commercial videos at all times?
It’s to communicate their USP as clearly as possible.
And to give you some pointers, I have for you this example from Slack.
One look at their video and it’s clear that they’re on a mission to make workplace communication a stress-free experience.
But it’s how they depict this using visual storytelling that truly catches your attention.
One of the highlight features in this video is the extensive use of their brand colors.
And this is intentional.
Slack clearly understands that their visual content is an extension of their brand.
So maintaining coherence is the first step towards building a memorable brand perception.
Still think commercial videos aren’t worth the investment for brand awareness?
Imagine a commercial video that not only sells you on an offering,
But also puts you at ease while it does so!
I’m talking about this example from Headspace.
You would think getting the viewer relaxed and calm while watching this commercial ad is a wasted effort.
But it’s actually what Headspace is known for.
And they ingrain it throughout this commercial.
From the voiceover to the relaxed pacing of the visual design,
Everything feels like it’s moving at a pace you’re comfortable with.
And that’s how Headspace draws your attention and maintains it where it matters the most.
Here’s the thing about financial services.
Trust and credibility are the pillars on which your services stand.
But these are volatile attributes that need constant reinforcement.
Which puts the onus on fintech brands to not only establish authority but also maintain it.
American Express shows you how it’s done with this financial services commercial video.
It talks about their Lifetime Membership benefits on their credit cards.
But notice how they talk about each benefit using some amazing animated visuals and a lively voiceover.
It suddenly turns a sales pitch into a storytelling session that impresses as it intrigues.
I saved the best for last.
What happens when a railway company from Australia takes a unique approach to build brand awareness?
You get this animated commercial video from Metro Trains Melbourne.
It talks about best practices to stay safe when traveling on trains.
But the way they drive awareness is truly eye-catching and something I have never seen before.
They make light of train safety using humorous character animation while making sure it doesn’t come off as insensitive.
Such an unconventional method proved fruitful to Metro Trains Melbourne as the video went instantly viral.
Amassing a staggering 310M views on YouTube as of this writing.
Becoming the world’s most shared public service announcement in 2012.
I’m pretty sure you understand the true essence of commercial videos for brand awareness by now.
In many scenarios, it’s a robust tool 3 out of 4 B2Cs swear by for their marketing campaigns.
And based on the commercial video examples we saw just now,
It can also be the differentiating factor that helps B2Bs break new ground and milestones.
But in its most fundamental form, commercial videos are a filtering medium.
They show your audience why you are worth paying attention to among several others in the market.
And when executed correctly, customers come knocking on your door in numbers you never thought possible.
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