Why people LOVE video (and why people hate corporate video)

Humans love video. It’s wired into our brains. Storytelling is one of the foundations of human society, and we’ve gotten really good at making it—and getting people to pay attention to it.

So why do people hate corporate video?

Companies Are Redefining Corporate Video

Well, people don’t necessarily hate all corporate video. But over the last few decades, corporate video has gathered some negative associations. Boring and generic. Elevator music. Dated graphics. A requirement for you to get back to your real job.

Companies today are breaking these stereotypes. Thanks to social media and the increased emphasis on video of all kinds, corporations are investing more money into their videos. They’re creating effective recruitment, fundraising, and marketing campaigns using video.

Check out this brand film Tribe made for Sumitomo. The video captures the company’s current values married with a beautiful watercolor graphic style. It represents their deep Japanese history.

Corporations Trust Good Storytelling

The gap is also closing between creative film and corporate film. Nowadays, brands are collaborating with top-tier film professionals to turn out beautiful visuals with powerful stories. Corporate films no longer feel so stiff and rigid. They’re bringing humanity and heart into the workplace.

The days of newsletters and elusive executives are behind us. Companies facing industry change—a merger, a rebrand, a crisis—are turning more to video each day. When leaders need to connect directly to their stakeholders, they’re going on camera to send the right message. Video has the power to turn corporate leaders into icons.

This executive profile on UBS’s Alli McCartney does just that. The video brings Alli’s story to life with humanizing visual storytelling.