a single source, nothing corroborates it

Let the story run and bring the product in late

Entertainment platforms do not reward company self-praise, so a clip that opens on the brand gets scrolled past. Building the video around the most impressive thing a person pulled off with the tool, casting that person as the lead, and cutting the call to action and the oversized logo lets the viewer feel they found you.

The method

1. 01

   Build your short-form video around the most impressive thing someone can achieve using your product, and never say the product's name in the video.

2. 02

   Cast the customer or creator as the protagonist of your brand video and keep the brand in a supporting role, because audiences on entertainment platforms do not show up for company self-praise.

3. 03

   Frame the video hook as one person's journey from a starting point to an end point rather than as a feature claim.

4. 04

   Put the narrative first and let the product show up second in the sequence, so the clip earns attention before it asks for any.

5. 05

   Strip the call to action and the oversized logo out of the clip and optimise for curiosity, so the viewer feels they found you themselves.

What it returned

• 4

  Adobe's clip about redesigning New York City signage unprompted, 4.2M views

• 4

  Adobe's Photoshop TikTok reached 4.2M views

• 42

  Suggested hooks: day 42 of learning Mandarin to talk to grandma (Duolingo); stay-at-home dad becomes an Apple software engineer (Udemy)

• Tabs uses no CTAs and no prominent branding in its videos

Sources

• Adobe's Perfect TikTokHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Adobe's Perfect TikTok · undated
• The chocolate that goes viral every dayHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · The chocolate that goes viral every day · undated