I recently travelled on Turkish Airlines – which was a superb airline to travel with and I would wholeheartedly recommend it. Usually with a good airline you might remember the comfort, the food, the in-flight entertainment, the staff; which was all great on Turkish Airlines, but one unexpected element that was memorable for me was the safety film as we were taxing down the runway!
Now we all have seen numerous airline safety films, but I bet you couldn’t remember most of them? They are all pretty standard, either using actors or animated people to portray the risk and mitigating factors, script that is duller than the airborne tea served and usually a ‘tick box’ have to do for them. But good old Turkish airlines took a very different slant on this (and I believe some other airlines have been doing similar).
They bought in the rights to use the Lego characters and they had a Lego movie created specifically for them and their objectives. They had a script created that was funny, engaging and still on point with the messages it conveyed. The film was well structured as a story, rather than just a series of factual messages.
Obviously the well-known brand and characters were a draw and something which was appealing and had credibility for passengers and so as such they paid more notice (I have never seen my children engage so much in a safety film before and they are pretty frequent flyers!!)
Obviously there would have been a large cost involved for the company to not only produce such a high quality film but to aquire the rights for the brand. However, doing this and aligning themselves with this brand allows them to be memorable, communicate their messages clearly and build customer loyalty. Whereas other companies might see a health and safety film as something they have to do so they do the bare minimum to prove they have ticked the box, Turkish Airlines saw it as another opportunity to stand out, be remembered and be seen as the quality company they are.
I think a lot of businesses can learn from this. Especially when it comes to producing films, videos and presentations that are requirements in their business but not necessarily seen as sexy. There is always a way to make a video engaging. So whether it is health and safety training videos, staff induction videos, site induction presentations, slides or events; there is always a way to think differently, be engaging, think outside the box and entertain people whilst you are delivering your messages.
Even if you are producing sales videos, marketing presentations or social media videos; there is a lot to be said for not doing what everyone else is doing. Just because everyone else is doing ‘talking heads’ doesn’t mean you should. Just because every other professional firm as an infographic video, that doesn’t mean you will stand out amongst them. It may be that those styles are right for you, but maybe there is a more creative and interesting way to use video.
So what 3 things can we take from this –
1./ You can create a script that is engaging, funny and still communicates your business critical messages.
2./ Storytelling is everything and you can create a story around everything.
3./ Partnering with other companies and brands can be really powerful (and doesn’t necessarily need to cost the earth, it could be a local partnership and could result in saving money as you can split the cost of production!)
4./ Taking some time to be innovative and think a bit differently in todays crowded, noisy business world will reap benefits long term when it comes to creating you company video productions.
To see how we can help you to do this contact us at our Cheshire video production office…
Or to see how you can use video to demonstrate social proof (and why this will help you to increase your sales) read ‘How to use video to demonstrate social proof’
Or to read more on how to simplify your business communications in your company presentations read ‘Good communication makes the complex simple, not the simple complex’
See the Turkish Airlines video here
