According to ‘Think with Google’ almost 50% of internet users seek videos related to a product or service before going to a store. If that is not compelling enough, here is another mind-blowing stat from Aberdeen Group: Brands who use video improves revenue 49% faster than non-video users! Clearly, in the modern digital era, the video is an unmissable tool in every marketer’s kitty. On that note, let us take a look at some of the brands that make the best use of them.

1. Lowes Home Improvement

Here is a brand who is at the forefront of video marketing campaigns. They initially broke into the video marketing domain in 2013, partnering with Vine, the latest social channel of that time. The question that drove Lowes into the campaign was “How can we help people improve their homes in just six seconds?”. The answer was ‘Fix in Six’ series that featured 50 six second videos made using stop motion animation techniques. From how to keep squirrels away from flowers beds to how to remove crayon marks with WD-40, the series provided useful tips on various topics related to home improvement.  The videos were so popular that they even went on to win a Bronze Cyber and Silver Clio at Cannes Lion awards. The campaign created more than 30,000 followers and over 40 million loops on Vine.

And this was just the sign of things to come. Continuing from their Do it Yourself success story, Lowes created another video campaign named ‘Made in a Minute’ using Facebook’s 360 technology in 2016. The campaign was aimed towards providing viewers with step by step instructions on how to fulfill home improvement projects. With the 360 technology of Facebook, users were able to move their phone, interact with the video and go backward and forwards between each step of the project. The series featured eight individual frames combined together to portray one person completing every step of the project. Every step played like a GIF which allowed users to watch a specific step as many times as they wanted.

Very soon Lowes also made effective use of Snapchat through their “In a Snap” video series where viewers were able to hammer, drill or chisel to finish a Do it Yourself task by tapping at the correct place. The tutorial style snippets utilized the tapping action to turn snapchat stories into interactive lessons. That is, clicking on the head of a nail would take you to the next video where a nail is smoothly drilled into the wall. Or tapping on a paintbrush would take you to a video where the wall is painted. Users were able to follow step by step processes to complete different home improvement tasks. And when Instagram released their stories feature, they quickly turned “In a Snap” videos into Instagram stories too.

2. Airbnb

Airbnb, the hospitality service chain has a social reach of more than 2.4 million. Their efficient use of all the available video-friendly platforms was a significant factor that empowered this growth. One of their early successful video campaigns too started with Vine back in 2013. Through their first short film “Hollywood and Vines”, they invited fans from all over the world to create short vine videos. For four days, fans worldwide worked with the director to create a single story about travel, adventure and finding your place in the world. The film was directed via Twitter and shot entirely on Vine. 100 movies were chosen from among 750 entries and the entrants won $100 in Airbnb vouchers.

Airbnb tested three days of 360-degree video tours on Twitter and Periscope early in January 2017 with the aim of bringing people together by building meaningful connections. The experience had multiple international destinations starting with targeting travelers who are keen to visit Hawaii and Detroit. The tour also featured a London based video that showed how to prepare for a Cameroonian feast.

Airbnb’s Youtube show ‘Daily Kindness Bulletin’ is a fabulous example of creative storytelling. Launched as a part of the brand’s “Is Mankind?” campaign, the show highlights positive tales that doesn’t hit the headlines of usual news stories. The campaign aims at portraying human kindness and it guarantees to make every day more cheerful. The show’s ‘Never a Stranger’ episode was viewed more than 6.9 million times when it was first uploaded.

Check out this awesome business video that upholds the virtue of Airbnb as a brand. The video urges its viewers not just to be tourists but to be at home wherever they go. Being in a new place can seem a little tricky. But with an authentic companion like Airbnb, anywhere is home… or as there… belong anywhere. It’s not just about a home… It’s not just about a city… It’s about the neighborhood. The video has generated more than 13 million views in about 8 months!

3. RedBull

RedBull gives you wings, don’t they? And what gives RedBull the wings are definitely videos! A couple of years back, in 2016, RedBull was the most shared video brand on Youtube, according to video ad tech company, Unruly. One of its most popular Facebook videos is “Red Bull Creepers” that has generated more than 73 million views. The event was a deep water soloing competition that happened in Northern Spain and it involved the participation of world-renowned climbers such as Chris Sharma, Daniel Woods, Dave Graham, Nalle Hukkataival and Rustam Gelmanov.

Fans of high-intensity action sports clips know exactly where to look on the Internet. RedBull’s series of spine-chilling adventure sports clips are followed with extreme enthusiasm all over the world. Check out their latest clip showcasing the stunts of two wingsuit flyers, who jump from the top of Jungfrau, one of the highest mountains in Europe! Try to keep breathing when you see the adventurers, Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet fly into a plane mid-air!

You can check out Red Bull’s channel for more such thumping action sports clips.

It is estimated that even on their bad months their total youtube view count is a 100 million and it raises to a whopping 300 million on their amazing months!

So what worked for these brands? Definitely, the foresightedness to consider video as an integral part of digital marketing campaigns. There are always takers for quality content. But you should not just make a video and think that your job is done. The key is in reaching out to the millions of potential customers out there. Social media, influencers, competitions, games etc are just some of the many tools that you can use to attract viewers towards your video. Start exploring them today!