Cinematic vs. Lo-Fi: What style of content is right for your campaign?
Cinematic vs. Lo-Fi: What style of content is right for your campaign?
We’re facing an interesting time in terms of audience perceptions and responses to the cinematic quality of video production, animated content and social media campaigns. If it’s a paid advertisement, cinematic material can be a trigger to swipe away in fear of “being sold to”. Whereas lo-fi, or user generated content (UGC), can also run the risk of being seen as cheap or content created for a start-up brand. So what considerations should be taken into account when deciding on which approach to take?
Step 1. Before deciding, do some competitor research
It seems like a no-brainer, but before producing content with a content agency for your branding or marketing purposes, it’s always worth seeing what else is out there. Find your direct competitors and get watching! See which parts of their content piques your interest or gets you to watch the whole way through, then be critical about why.
- What was intriguing about it?
- What made the branded content interesting to you?
It’s worth venturing into some neighbouring categories of content when doing your homework as well, and asking similar questions. Sometimes, those indirect competitors can provide immensely valuable insights and inspiration also.
Step 2. Decide what perception you want the viewer to have of your brand and messaging
Now that you’ve done a little bit of research, it’s worth bringing your attention and energy back to your campaign and asking yourself a few key questions that might help define the success of your content and will ultimately dictate where your content will sit on the lo-fi > cinematic spectrum:
- What is the key message/takeaway of the marketing campaign?
- Is there a call to action for your content?
- What audience insights do I have that I can tailor the content’s concept to? And,
- What perception do I want audiences to have of the brand when taking away these messages, or being inspired to take action? (I.e. Relatable, Luxurious, etc.)
Step 3. Conceptualise and apply your cinematic style!
It can feel slow and prohibitive to not have put pen to paper yet, but taking the time to do the research and ground work will allow you to do so with a lot more clarity and make great video content and marketing content. Assuming you’ve been watching plenty of creative content, made note of relevant findings, you can now ideate with the below cheat sheet in mind!
WHAT DIFFERENT CINEMATIC STYLES OF CONTENT SAY ABOUT YOUR BRAND
Filmed on phone (lo-fi)
The brand is approachable and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Pending the context of the material, this could go a number of ways so it’s a fine line to dance. Just make sure you are careful at the conceptualisation stage when it comes to cheaper, phone-based filming approaches if you are seeking to project a hugely authoritative, luxurious or high-end reputation.
User-generated video content (UGC)
The brand has advocates, people who are happy to spread the word and speak highly of it and have gone to lengths on their own end to create user-generated content. Because there is a disconnect between the brand and the user who has generated the trustworthy, high-end and trustworthy brand image.
Lo-fi video interviews
The people behind the brand are approachable.
Lo-Fi Comedy
The brand is fun and playful, as well as approachable.
Cinematic video interviews
The people behind the brand, and the brand itself, is well-established and trustworthy.
Cinematic authentic storytelling
The brand is established, trustworthy, and able to portray its values. (Clarity and quality execution of storytelling narrative pending).
Cinematic comedy
The brand is fun and playful, as well as trustworthy and established.
It goes without saying that, of course, within each of these categories and assumptions, there are always exceptions to the rule if the research done, and core concept, are strong enough. But for those who want to dip their toes into the ocean of content production, this will steer you in the right direction for the brand image you wish to portray.