Why do you need a video for your crowdfunding campaign?

 I hear you ask…

So, you’re running a crowdfunding campaign, you have a product which solves a problem in a way that nobody else has thought to do, or indeed is the case that it’s an ingenious new product which the world needs to know about.

So how do you take your brand new product pitch to the next level?

Well, videos are one of the most crucial parts of a successful campaign, having a huge impact on the final raise. A well made crowdfunding video can help encourage your audience to invest because they get to see exactly what they’re financing, whether that’s you or the product/service you offer.

Not only this but videos provide easily shareable context for news sites, social, youtube channels etc to use. Giving you more exposure to a greater audience. As was the case with the TerraPlanter recently.

We could talk for hours about why video is the best asset a crowdfunding campaign can have but forget our opinions and listen to this one fact. According to Indiegogo, campaigns with video raise over four times the amount of ones without – some platforms won’t even let you launch a crowdfunding campaign without a video!

But simply having a video isn’t good enough – you need the right video for your product or service. Below we’ve listed some of our favourite crowdfunding videos to give you some inspiration.

Atari VCS

$2,955,31

Platform: Indiegogo

 At Eight Engines we love video games at the best of times, so having a video that tapped into the deep nostalgia we already had for Atari was always going to hit home. However, what we love is how this video uses that nostalgia, evoking an 80s aesthetic whist still feeling modern.

It uses its best asset – the product! Not only does it start with those beautiful product shots, it also gives you a detailed description of exactly what you’re investing in and why you’ll love it.

Exploding kittens

$8,782,571

Platform: Kickstarter

 The team behind Exploding Kittens have managed to make a video that works on two levels – not only is it an amusing and highly watchable standalone video, it also captures the tone and comedic values of the game itself.

The tone tells you so much about the product – it’s so good it essentially becomes a part of the ‘world’ of the game. If you enjoy the video, you’ll enjoy the game, it’s that simple.

One other clever move from team is to use the assets they already have, most of the illustrations used in this video are from the card’s, thus saving them lots of money on animators.

Tropicfeel

€2,140,416

Platform: Kickstarter

 Practical shoe’s aren’t sexy, yet with the use of slow mo, drone shots and music they’ve managed to make a video that feels aspirational. They’ve done it by using the visuals to sell a story, sure, shoes aren’t sexy, but kayaking at sunset looks beautiful and that’s what you’re seeing – it makes you want the shoe’s by association. The subliminal messaging is “if you’re the cool kind of person the kayaks at midnight, these are the shoes for you” – who doesn’t want to be the col kind of person who kayaks at midnight?!

Pulp

$24,522 (in just one day!)

Platform: Indiegogo

 We love the way this is put together, its pacey, funny, it uses colour really well. Alongside that they’ve used people who benefit from the service in the video which takes away the possible bias of using employees.

Finally, the tone of the video is really nice, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, it feels like nice people offering a nice product.

Dollar Shave Club

£…0?

Platform: …None?

 This isn’t a crowdfunding video, but it’s one of our favourite pieces of video marketing and could easily function in a crowdfunding campaign. There are three reasons this is a great piece of film making.

1) It’s genuinely funny

2) It manages to convey all the required information in a highly watchable, surprisingly short, video

3) It’s cheap and it knows it – the film makers have managed to match the style of film making to the product – the product markets itself as cheap, yet quality, and the video is cheaply yet high quality!

So, there are five examples of highly effective crowdfunding videos to get the creative juices flowing. If you’re looking at crowdfunding as a way to raise money then we can help, we have partnered with the fantastic team at Conspicuous Crowdfunding to bring seminars and workshops which will give you the foundations in marketing, IP, legal, finance and video that you will need for a successful raise. Check out their site for info on the latest workshop.

If you need any help with your video production in Manchester and surrounding areas, be sure to get in touch with our friendly team!