How to Build Video Messages That Travel Everywhere

Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Columnist Network series, which explores the tactical thoughts and actions from Adweek’s community of high-level experts. Today, Adit Abhyankar, CEO of Ad-Lib.io, expands on the case for the travel industry to use video messaging to connect with consumers during this uncertain time. I just got back from my Easter holidays. I actually got on an airplane to go to Dubai with my kids. This gave me an interesting vantage point from which to observe what a potential post-Covid world could look like—experiencing how the travel industry is ramping up their marketing programs during what is still a highly uncertain time. If my experience is at all representative, people are ready to travel again. Lines were three hours long at immigration. Restaurants, bars and beach clubs were fully booked, and my hotel was at 70% occupancy. While PCR tests were obligatory, the results were given only a perfunctory look. However, signs we are still in a pandemic were everywhere. There was no logic to what was open or closed. Trampoline parks? Closed. Indoor VR arcade? Open. Water park in Legoland? Closed. Water park in Atlantis? Open. I can’t think of a better use-case for video than showing the fun that awaits a pandemic-weary public. I remember talking to a hotel chain prior to the pandemic about digital video advertising. They told me they didn’t do it because it was too expensive to produce and they believed the fragmentation of audiences added to the cost without delivering the ROI. Yet technology allows you to produce hundreds or even thousands of videos at the same price of a single television commercial, each customized to a specific audience. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video should be worth millions. When I worked at Google, I remember the struggle we had to get clients to think digital-first when it came to video. Here are four thought starters for you to think differently about video ads in digital: Rethink quality, relevance and process. Consumers will typically interact with the first six to 15 seconds of a video. But they expect immediate impact. Question your prior assumptions about storyboard, process and technology required, and you’ll find you can dramatically reduce cycle times and production costs. Insights gleaned from how consumers respond to messages and stories can quickly be used to build more relevant video variations for them. Digital platforms are an ideal testing ground before producing the expensive master spot. Digital video can be used throughout the funnel. While it's often associated with awareness and consideration, there is no reason you cannot retarget a user with a video ad to get them to convert. Or build contextual signals into your videos to drive more consideration. Build video messages that work everywhere. Video has exploded beyond YouTube to CTV, Instagram, TikTok, Snap and more. Building video assets for each of these platforms requires people who live on these platforms to determine what works—then let tech adapt the assets for each unique channel. Travel will make its way back from the depths of the past 12 months, and quickly. Brands that use video will engage customers better and capture a disproportionate share of that business.