Whites of the eyes

Faced with the choice of reading lots of text or having someone explain a subject clearly and succinctly to you face-to-face, it's fairly obvious that most people will choose the latter option. That's why it's little surprise that video content has taken off so massively in various digital formats. It's just that much more user-friendly.

And we're all experts on video, too. Most of us spend a very large part of our lives studying video techniques and approaches simply by watching a lot of television. We are used to very high production values and real ease of conveying complex messages using interviews and graphics. It's part of our lives.

Unfortunately, that also means that we can all see when things are not quite up to scratch too. The proliferation of video content on the web in recent times has led to some really innovative, high-quality stories – but it's also led to some really terrible experiments too.

Over the next couple of pages we take a look at a range of video uses in corporate communications – including results, crisis management, and strategic messaging.

These examples are designed to show why video has become an increasingly powerful business communications tool. Hopefully, it will also help you decide when you could use it, who is asking for it, and, most importantly, what it offers relative to other means of conveying the same information.

HSBC www.cantos.com/company/HSBC%20Holdings/project/6846

2010 interim results interview with HSBC executive team

HSBC produces biannual financial results video interviews which sit alongside the regulatory results information on the investor pages of the HSBC corporate website, and also on www.cantos.com. For HSBC it is a good way to get key messages, unmediated, to their critical audiences in a personal and direct medium. The video helps put the financial numbers in context, and encapsulates the main points in just 10 to 15 minutes. The video is also presented in chapters so the audience can navigate directly to those sections of interest to them.

A short video trailer is produced alerting staff to the full executive video interview which is streamed on the HSBC intranet as soon as the results are published.

HSBC Bank, the UK arm of HSBC, also leverages the filming opportunity to produce a magazine-style programme for their internal audience. The tone and the setting is rather more informal, in deference to the target audience, so the set is changed to reflect this. Staff with no intranet access in HSBC branches watch the video interview as part of the results cascade in their regular Tuesday morning briefing on a plasma screen.

HSBC is very keen to facilitate opportunities for management to speak directly to employees and there are a number of video programmes throughout the year that do this.

Eurostar www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jx5EdCEgT4&playnext=1&list=PL268B1EFF84D60E42

Richard Brown, Eurostar's CEO, offered a "heartfelt apology" to disrupted passengers, as the cross-Channel rail service was brought to a standstill on December 19 2010, with some passengers stuck in the Channel Tunnel for several hours without food or water.

The video from the CEO went a long way to providing reassurance that the issue was being taken seriously and being dealt with. Whilst media commentators agreed that the medium was the right one, some questioned the quality of the video, so do bear in mind that the actual execution needs to be of a high standard. Richard talks directly to customers and says sorry but his style and approach is up for debate. You decide…

• If you're going in front of a camera, do it properly: look relaxed, look on top of your brief, and sound sincere if you are offering an apology.
• Don't just make one appearance. To build a relationship with your audience, you need to keep them updated throughout a crisis.
• Make sure that the video is high quality – but also accessible across a variety of formats. There is little point in sending out messages to 'mobile customers' if they cannot access the video content on their mobiles.

SABMiller www.sabmiller.com/index.asp

SABMiller was an early adopter of online video communications almost a decade ago and embraces the medium across a wide range of corporate communications initiatives.

The above clip shows Chief Executive Graham Mackay and his senior management team who are regularly interviewed talking about their background and experience, areas of responsibility, and their vision for the future of the business.

'Quality of management' is frequently cited amongst investors' top priorities when making investment decisions so these short video interviews are an effective way to illustrate the unified vision across the management team, and their strengths and depth of experience.

Published online, these short interviews are a successful way of reaching SABMiller's global stakeholders in a timely, easy, direct and personal way.

How else does SABMiller use video effectively online?

• In-depth video interviews about financial results, deals and strategic announcements.
• Webcasting results presentations and quarterly seminars.
• Investor documentaries showcasing regional and national operations.
• Management profiles.
• Internal magazine-style news programmes for employees.
• Sustainable development films showing how SABMiller is making a difference.
• Video case studies of leading brands for marketing teams.
• Distribution services – hosting and streaming video content to SABMiller employees around the world.
• Technical solutions – including the introduction of a Digital Asset Management system.
• Consultancy services – including advice and best practice on social media.

Online annual reporting

Many companies are increasingly producing video – including results announcements, CR updates, investor documentaries, 'About Us' videos and management profiles. An easy win for a company is to raid the video library and repurpose this existing video content. It may mean some hours spent in the edit suite to ensure the right message is emphasised for the right audience but this will be more cost-effective than filming from scratch.

And it's not only video that will bring your online annual report to life. Similarly the use of animation, graphics, and dynamic navigation can offer a well-structured annual report offering each audience a fast, informative and relevant online experience.

Unmediated corporate messages

In a time-poor and crowded information environment, stakeholders – both internal and external – value hearing the story and key messages directly from management in an unmediated and direct way. In our experience there's a huge appetite for hearing it straight from the horse's mouth – and online video does exactly that – putting you face to face with the CEO and the senior management team as they explain in their own words deal rationale, new appointments, the company's performance and the business strategy going forward.

The issue of trust

And hot for the moment is the issue of 'trust'. Companies are being advised to take responsibility for delivering bad news and to admit mistakes openly and not be defensive or try to shirk responsibility and there is no better way than to see 'the whites of the eyes' than on video. A recent study* found that when CEOs take responsibility and deliver the bad news via online video, investors' trust in management rises and they recommend larger investments in the company.

*The findings are contained in a paper entitled Using Online Video to Announce a Restatement: Influences on Investor Trust and Investment Decisions by professors Brooke Elliott, University of Illinois, Frank Hodge, University of Washington, and Lisa Sedor, DePaul University.