A few days ago I was in a deep conversation with a videographer about the future of video. He uttered the now immortal words “no one’s going to watch an entire movie in 9:16 format (vertical video)”. Well, we’re going to challenge that line of thought by doing just that. By creating a series of short films in the vertical video format. We’re creating all our content in the 9:16 format. We hope our proof of concept will help pave the way for more professionally shot vertical video to reach the hand of SME’s . To help support the movement, we’re also going to co-launch The London Vertical Film Festival later this year, more to follow on this.
Nothing new just, a new approach
We are already viewing content this way. Vertical videos are just not always as easy on the eye, as they are often shot on mobile phones. 2019 will be the year big brands push vertical video forward, and we want to be a part of that. People will continue to consume huge amounts of content from their smartphones.
Join the revolution
Did you know that 82.5% of mobile phone users watch their videos in vertical mode? Yet time after time we’re seeing content produced in the traditional widescreen tv friendly 16:9. Such a loss of screen real estate is criminal. So why are small businesses not taking advantage of this emerging format? There’s an amazing opportunity here for small business owners to take the lead with vertical video (9:16). The challenge is small businesses are often slow to adapt and often fearful of the cost involved. With good planning and knowing what you want to achieve with your content is key to keeping costs down. Working with the right talent and creative agencies can also help get the most from your budget.
Facebooks data backs this up. Engagement from 9:16 video content vertical ads have higher engagement rate than traditional landscape ads. Their internal test on vertical video ads found that they were the most memorable to consumers, with a three to nine point increase in ad recall.
Advertisers are also losing out, as only 30% of users will turn their phone. Whereas vertical video has a 90% higher completion rate compared to horizontal videos.
Consider this, smartphone owners hold the phones vertically 94% of the time. Is your content and video strategy taking this into account? 9:16 video will revolutionise the video industry. More than half of all video is now consumed on mobile devices. Mobile video cannot be ignored. It’s time you put mobile and social media at the heart of your marketing efforts.
9:16 to the future
We’re looking to revolutionise social media advertising by taking the bold move to have all our campaigns in 9:16 format. Recording and producing content in the 9:16 aspect ratio will become the norm and as common place as widescreen 16:9. Videographers will have to embrace the 9:16 format and think about this new aspect ratio when filming.
With the surge in the use of stories for marketing, small business owners will need to come to grips with the use of stories to get their message across and focus on being social first. IGTV is a massive opportunity for brands looking to establish themselves and gain the support of influencers.
Do you have a social first video strategy? We can help you with this from planning through to full production. This is a rallying cry to all marketeers and small business owners who want to raise their brand’s profile and increase brand awareness. After all it’s proven that consumers prefer watching video.
