How to Create Extraordinary Videos for Lifestyle & Luxury Brands
Videos showcase brands like nothing else does.
Instantly captivating, brand videos communicate and connect with audiences faster than text or photos alone. Combining sound, images, and words, videos for high-end brands can be an ideal way to reach any audience — and to keep them coming back for more.
That can empower any upscale brand to gain more exposure, grow, and engage loyal audiences more effectively and far faster than more traditional digital marketing mediums.
And get this — most businesses are NOT taking advantage of videos or video marketing. That means that luxury brand video marketing can be an no-brainer opportunity for forward-thinking companies who want to gain a competitive edge and stand out in a crowded online space, as well as in highly competitive industries, like the hospitality industry.
Here’s why, with a closer look at:
This guide is designed to give any high-end brand a leg up on how to leverage video marketing with maximum success, even when getting started with more limited budgets.
About Videography for Luxury Brands: What Is Video Marketing?
Video marketing means using video content to share information about a brand. With video marketing, brands use videos explain their offerings, services, and unique value propositions. Brands can also leverage videos to share the “ineffable,” communicating what feels like to interact with that brand and become one of its clients.
Whether focused on a specific aspect of a brand or a company in general, video marketing can tell memorable, high-impact stories that impact deep meaning.
That’s because videos stimulate eyes and ears simultaneously, letting an audience passively consume some message.
With that, video marketing for lifestyle and luxury brands has amazing potential to:
Improve both engagement and conversions, keeping brands front and center when it’s time for buying clients to make a purchasing decision
Build brand visibility, recognition, and authority, distinguishing brands from competitors while giving them more ways get in the spotlight on social media, in organic search, and elsewhere
Benefit SEO, as search engines value multiple forms of content — and they have search features that rank video content, offering another way to show up in organic searches.
Additionally, videos for your brand can be radically versatile, opening up opportunities to:
Add lifestyle marketing videos to websites.
Create newsletters and emails around video content and digital assets.
Go viral and get in front of much wider audiences.
Whether or not your competitors are using videos for their brands, now’s the time to do more with video marketing for your company. If you do, you give your brand better chances of standing out as a leader — and the best option — in whatever space you’re in.
How to Capture Better Videos for Lifestyle & Luxury Brands
What does it really take to create outstanding brand videos that can deliver the best ROIs? It takes more than recording a couple of minutes on a smartphone.
In fact, top lifestyle marketers at Alias have put together these videography tips to give you a look behind the curtain and reveal what’s actually behind the best videos for lifestyle and luxury brands.
1. Start with Pre-Production Planning.
Before you call “action” and start recording any video, you need to have a plan and a crystal-clear idea of:
The brand identity
Who your target audience is
What story you’ll be telling with the video
The takeaway you want your audience to leave with
To map all that out, work like the pros and storyboard. That means outlining the scenes, shots, and sequences you want to capture.
Once you have this in place, take one more critical look at it to make sure that it’s communicating the right message in the best way possible in each shot.
2. Gather Equipment.
Make sure you have equipment that will let you capture footage in 4k, so it’s as crisp and professional-looking as possible. Along with the recording equipment, you may also need other items, like:
Special lighting
Sound equipment
Sets and/or props to add context
3. Choose location(s).
Select filming locations that will complement the brand identity or reveal more about it. While exotic locations are eye-catching, you don’t have to travel far to find the ideal backdrop for branded videos. Showing off retail spaces, hotel rooms, VIP experiences, or certain areas of a venue can all be great location ideas for branded videos.
4. Select Talent, Wardrobe & Styling.
If you want people to be featured in your videos, choose models who embody the lifestyle or fashion sense your brand represents.
Once you’ve selected the talent, it’s time to choose wardrobe and styling.
The clothing, accessories, hair, and makeup should all reflect the brand, showcasing affluence and aspiration for lifestyle and luxury brands.
Consider working with a stylist for this step to ensure you hit the nail on the head.
8. Get Technical.
What sequence of shots, frames, and angles will be used in the video? How will that add to the story the video’s going to tell?
To answer these questions, don’t just consider shot composition, the rule of thirds, and leading lines. It’s also essential to think about:
Camera movements: Pans, tilts, dolly shots, and crane shots are just some camera movements that can add a dynamic, cinematic quality to a brand’s video.
Details: Close-ups and macro shots can zero in on finer details, like textures, inviting an audience to appreciate quality and craftsmanship. These details can also add a “feel” to the video, bringing viewers right into the scene so it seems like they’re standing right there, instead of watching a video.
Depth of field: Blurring the background with the main subject in sharp focus can create distinct focal points that draw attention to specific elements.
Motion and action: Movement can show how things work, what’s next, and what an experience is like from moment to moment. With lifestyle and luxury brands, this action can resonate deeply while keeping an audience engaged the entire time.
9. Add Audio, Narration, and/or Text.
What sound experience do you want to pair with the images you’ve filmed? Aside from dialogue in the video itself, you can also add to the audio aspect with:
Narration over parts or the entire video
Music playing in the background (Pro Tip: Make sure you have permission to use the music you choose, so you don’t run afoul of any copyright laws).
Text overlay to call out certain items, actions, or options for an audience
If text overlay will be part of your videos, go with fonts that match your logo or the overall visual style of the video you’re making. If you use just any old font, you could detract from the story you’re telling. You may even send the message that your brand is willing to corners or ignore the details.
10. Edit with care.
Rarely are brand videos for lifestyle marketing and luxury brands shot in a single take. Instead, most of them need to be edited together to harmonize various shots.
Beyond that, it’s also crucial to edit the video footage for colors, transitions, and lighting to really fine-tune it.
Videos & Video Marketing: How to Maximize the ROI for Lifestyle & Luxury Brands
When it comes to videos and video marketing for high-end brands, the right content can make all the difference. Get it wrong, and you could lose an audience and customers forever.
Whether you need videos for social media, websites, or any other lifestyle marketing avenue, you can turn to Alias for better brand videos, digital assets, and video marketing. From conception and video creation to editing and distribution, our team does it all, putting together some of the most remarkable digital assets that get noticed and deliver better ROIs.
Better Videos for Luxury & Lifestyle Brands
Whenever you’re ready to do more with videos, digital assets, and photos for your brand, contact our team.
Video Marketing for Luxury Brands in Action
