How to make your Explainer Video competitive.

Humans are comparative animals. Every judgement in life is a measurement in comparison with other conditions and experiences. 

So what is an Explainer Video, and what does it have to do with the previous paragraph? An Explainer Video (EV), is a brief and descriptive video or animation describing your services, product, or mission statement. These short videos can make a great impression on potential clients and customers, and you should spend a lot of time creating one. 

When creating an EV, there are some important factors that come into play, but this article is only about one - comparisons. When you are explaining how great your company is, or about how super duper your new app is, people will have a stronger opinion when compared to other sources. 

Here is an example: One of Pepsi's most successful ad campaigns was the Pepsi challenge, and based on a blind comparison, they influenced people to believe that Pepsi was the better taste. Not only did they show people that they had a great beverage, but they also showed that they had a BETTER beverage. Imagine how lack-luster the campaign would have been if Pepsi just had one cup of soda and said, "Does this taste good?" 

When scripting your EV, consider who your competition is and get as much information that you can on what you're comparing yourself to. If you operate in a small market, your competition most likely doesn't even have an explainer video so you're already one step ahead. 

Show your audience why you're better. You don't have to be specific about who your competition is, but it helps to use one or two comparisons for a 30 or 60 second EV. It could be as simple as using the phrase "more affordable than other brands," or "better customer service". The point is to show why your value is greater than other values. It's a simple concept, but can have great benefits. 

Here is a EV for Groupon. The comparison made in this video is "Unbeatable discounts that you can't find anywhere else." Without even mentioning the competition, they beat the competition. 

What Is Groupon? from Brad Chmielewski on Vimeo.