The word is out: a good video is good marketing. Video is popular for a few reasons. First, we live in a culture that likes to learn about things via video. You often hear the statistic that YouTube is the #2 search engine. Given that it’s owned by Google, businesses have even more motivation to create good video content and put it on their YouTube channel (hello SEO).
More to the point, businesses are having to find their voice in this new (to them) medium. Will videos be animated? Doodle videos? People talking? Dramatic reenactment? The way you express yourself in video is part of your brand and it’s a part well worth considering. Unfortunately, 99.99% of business videos will bore you to tears (Source: Lucky 13’s Institute of Unscientific Research). There’s nothing worse than a bad, boring business video to turn me off learning more about a company.
Companies that create a clear message and have fun creating business video content are few and far between. What makes a good marketing video? We think Medallia knows. They have taken business video to the next level.
Recently, Medallia filmed a new video (“We Are Medallia”) to highlight their unique company culture and lure potential recruits. The video is a parody of the most catchy song from the musical The Book of Mormon. Talk about unconventional. Watch for yourself:
Let’s check the Medallia video against some of the best practices for compelling video content. Something fresh? Check. Tasteful use of humor? Check. A compelling storyline or setting that keeps the viewer interested? Check. A video that presents useful content within the context of a unique brand? Check.
We sat down with Amit Pandya, a recruiter at Medallia, to ask him about how they decided to take on this creative project and how they’re using video to power their department’s efforts to bring in the right candidates.
L13: The video Medallia put out is completely unlike anything we’ve seen before on the corporate side. What inspired it and what was your role in creating it?
AP: The Medallia recruiting video concept began formulating during my first month on the job (February 2014). When I joined Medallia, folks discovered I had a musical background, and told me of their particular yen to have a special song for our recruiting team. I felt like half of them wanted us to live our days as though we were in a Disney musical, and to be honest, I wasn’t totally opposed to it. Anyway, the fervor for a team song simmered down over the next few weeks, but I still found the idea… interesting. Then I was listening to the Book of Mormon original broadway cast recording, and from the beginning, when I heard Andrew Rannells sing “Hello, my name is Elder Price,” I immediately drew a connection between elders ringing doorbells and recruiters answering phones.
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Amit Pandya, Esq., whose description on Linked in is
“Finding Brilliant Minds & Building Unforgettable Experiences at Medallia” |
At that point, I started playing around with the lyrics. I made the mistake (or the incredible decision) to mention this to our VP of People & Culture, David Reese, who immediately got behind it. Word spread, and suddenly I realized that not only had Medallia completely bought in to the idea, they had gathered a small team who was devoted to working on it, including a man who was obsessed with creating unbelievable stories (Monty, our producer) and an unstoppable USC film major (Nate, our DP). Combine that with the enthralled and up-for-anything recruiting team, and we had quite a project on our hands. It was the definition of a group effort. My role, at that point, was co-director, vocalist, actor and choreographer.
L13: How long did it take to film the video?
AP: Recording the background vocals took three or four afternoons (it was a bit of a disjointed operation, as we all were working at the same time…) but it was pretty epic. My colleagues Kali, Natalie and Olivia had particularly important roles in this portion… We’ve all had some musical experience, so we used those singular talents to work out harmonies and lay down most of the vocal track. After we recorded the track, we filmed the video… And that took 4-5 afternoons of just running around the office. Monty and Nate have to be particularly commended… they were the mindful powerhouse behind putting the film schedule and storyline together.
L13: The team really got into it! Any other fun facts about production?
AP: All the vocals were done by the recruiting team! It really was a labor of love for us.
L13: What has the response to the video been like from the business community and the applicants you were targeting?
AP: The response has been very good. You know, we haven’t gone viral or anything (yet!), but it’s had a farther reach than I initially expected. At best, I was thinking that friends of ours would see it, have a good laugh, and move on. However, when applicants see the video, they are seeing much more… they’re taking a glimpse into life at Medallia, a place where your job title is only the beginning of your journey. It’s a place where you can take what drives you and brings you joy and make room for that in the workplace, all the while inspiring and motivating others.
L13: Why was video the right choice for this campaign?
AP: Medallia is a company that deals with enterprise organizations, not directly with the consumer. In that, it’s a particular challenge to create brand awareness amongst people who we want to bring on as new Medallians, especially when the Googles of the world, brands that are encountered by consumers daily, are vying for the same talent. Sometimes, it takes something fun and ridiculous and completely out of the box to get the attention of someone with the right mindset, and surprisingly, this video was it. Of course, it’s not the complete story of what life as a Medallian is, but it’s definitely enough to start that conversation with interested parties. Our recruiters can take it the rest of the way!
Amit told us that he’s brewing up ideas for another video. We won’t spoil it here, but keep an eye on Medallia and you’ll know when it comes out.
About
Medallia was founded on a simple idea: that companies can win by putting the customer before everything else. Our cloud-based platform does this by capturing customer feedback, analyzing it in real-time, and then delivering it to everyone in a company — from the C-suite to the frontline — to help them improve. We’re now considered the leaders in a space we helped to create, we’re Sequoia backed, and we’re growing like crazy, doubling in size every 12 months. We’ve got a culture focused on smarts, kindness, continual learning, irreverence… and our people love it. A full 95% of our employees would recommend us to their friends.
Come find out why.
