What problem does the video solve?
Competitors having videos is not a reason for you to make one. A strong reason is a clear business goal.
Video is only worth investing in when tied to a specific business goal: launching a product, explaining complex features, building long-term awareness, or driving a clear action. Making a video just because competitors have it is a weak reason and can easily waste money on something no one remembers. Before discussing format and production methods, confirm whether the video serves to build the brand or activate sales.
- launch or brand repositioning
- Explaining complex products requires visuals.
- the message needs movement and emotion
- the business goal has been clearly defined
- the only reason is that a competitor just released a video
- not being able to specify which behavior-changing video
Video is one of the most time, labor, and money-intensive formats in the brand toolkit. Therefore, the question "Is it worth doing?" needs a clear answer before discussing anything else about format, length, or production methods. This question should be addressed right from the beginning of the brief: what behavior or perception is this video intended to change in customers?
Two roles of the video, do not confuse
Before deciding to make a video, you need to determine where that video stands in the business journey. According to research by Les Binet and Peter Field (IPA), communication activities clearly divide into two roles with entirely different operating mechanisms.
Building a brand (long-term): Creates slow effects, accumulating over time. Measured by brand awareness, associations, and prioritization. Effectiveness is often only evident after many months.
Short-term sales activation: Create a quick boost, immediate response. Measured by clicks, sign-ups, direct revenue. The effect fades quickly when the campaign stops.
Choosing the wrong role leads to incorrect metrics and misplaced expectations. A beautifully branded video evaluated by next week's sales will always be deemed a 'failure' even if the video is doing its job.
Four questions before pressing record
Google's ABCD framework outlines four things that every advertising video needs to clarify: attract attention (Attract), present the brand early (Brand), create a connection (Connect), and direct action (Direct). If you have not identified the desired action after viewing, the video should not be shot yet. These four points can be translated into four practical questions:
- Who are the viewers and what stage are they at in their buying journey?
- After viewing, what do they need to understand or feel differently?
- What is the next action you want them to take?
- Can this challenge be solved more cheaply through another channel?
The final question is often the most overlooked. If the goal is merely to announce a short-term offer to an audience already familiar with the brand, there are less costly ways than producing a full video.
When to do it, when not advisable
Not every stage requires a video. Below are situations where video is truly worth investing in, and situations where you should pause and think further.
- Should be done: Launching a new product or service that needs to create quick awareness on a wide scale.
- Should be done: The product has complex features that text and static images cannot adequately explain.
- Should be done: The brand needs to convey emotions, stories, or movements that other formats cannot capture.
- Should be done: Repositioning the brand, needing to break an old market perception.
- No need to do: The only reason is that a competitor just released a video.
- No need to do: You cannot specify how the video will change customer behavior or perception.
- No need to do: The budget is only enough to create one video that encompasses all messages at once.
Common mistakes when making a hasty decision
Most brand videos fail not because of poor technique but because of unclear goals from the start. Nielsen also notes that the quality of the creative idea is one of the significant factors affecting advertising effectiveness: a beautiful video without a clear goal cannot be saved by technique.
- Creating a video out of fear of falling behind competitors, without a specific goal.
- Stuffing every message into one video out of fear of waste, resulting in no memorable ideas.
- Discuss the format and production approach before finalizing what the video will address.
- Set short-term sales expectations on a video that was designed to build long-term brand.
Each image must serve a specific purpose. If you cannot articulate what that purpose is, do not press the shutter.
Practical experience.
The video is the answer, not a default.
Video should be viewed as a touchpoint within the overall brand system, serving a purpose in a long-term strategy, not as a standalone production. If the answer to "what is the real problem behind the video" is simply "because competitors have it," that is a weak reason and there are often more effective ways to use the budget. If the goal is just to announce a simple offer, there are usually lighter alternatives than a fully produced video.
A video is worth making when it is the best answer to a real problem, not when it is the only answer you think of.
Decision checklist
Topic: Which business problems video should solve, or just because competitors have it. Sinh Vũ guide, sinhvu.com
Tick each item that applies or that you can already answer, then print or save as PDF to take with you.
If you have marked most of the signs above, this is the time to discuss in more detail. Sinh Vũ can help you review and propose a direction.
References
Think with Google, ABCD framework for effective video advertising; IPA, Les Binet and Peter Field, The Long and the Short of It; Nielsen, factors driving advertising ROI.
Frequently asked questions
A competitor just released a beautiful video; should I make one right away?
You should not hit record just for that reason. Competitors may be burning their budget on something ineffective, or they may have entirely different goals than you. The question that needs to be answered first is: what problem does that video solve for your business? If you do not have an answer yet, waiting is not a weakness but a budget discipline.
Is a long, informative video much better than several short videos?
Not necessarily. Stuffing every message into one video out of fear of waste is a common mistake. The result often leads to no clear takeaway. Each video should serve a specific purpose and desired action. Multiple short videos, targeting the right audience at the right stage, are often more effective than one long video trying to cover everything.
How can you tell if a brand-building video or a sales video is more suitable for you?
Ask yourself: how long do you want the results to take and how will you measure them? Brand-building videos create slow but lasting effects, measured by awareness and associations. Sales activation videos create quick but short-lived boosts, measured by clicks, sign-ups, or direct revenue. Choosing the wrong role leads to measuring the wrong metrics and expecting incorrect results.
This article is for reference. The scope, pricing, and specific commitments of Sinh Vũ are detailed in the proposal and signed contract.