Insights

As 2022 closes, being the owner of a business, one can't help looking back at the year and ponder. I think it's a good thing. Quite often you find yourself wrapped up in running the business and you forget to stop, step back and look at the year’s journey. Not to harp on about the past but to see how far you've come - and what you have learned.

I am pleased to say that my business, Prisma Broadcast, has consistently grown over recent years and 2022 has been no exception. In fact, it's been our biggest growth year yet.

We were lucky during the pandemic/lockdown, as all but one of our retainer clients was suited for growth during this period of restrictions. And they did grow. The result is that we've been busier than ever and consequently we have grown, too.

Beyond Making Films and Videos

What's really satisfying is witnessing what you truly believe prove itself. When I started Prisma Broadcast 6 years ago, we only produced and delivered corporate films. From a brief, we designed and produced films that told stories to promote a brand and attract enquiries.

Then I noticed something.

Some of the films that we delivered were way more successful than others. No, it wasn't the quality of the messaging that was wrong… but I would say that, wouldn't I? It was what happened to the films after we delivered them.

Performance results differed dramatically when the films were deployed sensibly, had a concise line of enquiry beyond the films’ Call to Actions, and how the client company actively promoted the films to attract views.

Films that didn't perform well did not have any of those deployment attributes. Yes, they got views but they weren't nearly as productive. The main reason for this, we found, was that those clients either didn't know how to deploy them productively, or have the time to promote the films properly to attract views. Moreover, there was no real objective journey to drive results.

That was a kind of epiphany for me.

A business can commission the most beautiful film ever made, but without the strategy in place - to get the film seen and then drive an action forward - then it would flop, just like a Hollywood production would. The film would be a cost and not an investment.

I realised that day, that in order for a film or a simple video to be productive, consideration needed to be made on its objective, how it is to function, and where it is placed within a business’ marketing framework. If we were to truly support our clients, we needed to change our approach, too.

Prisma Broadcast changed its offering that day.

We started to insist on learning what the client’s communication challenge was, the objectives that were needed to be achieved, as well as where and how our content would function to achieve those objectives. We then would design and produce a story, film, or set function videos to suit that objective. We also helped in the deployment of the content.

From Video Production Company to Communication House

Prisma Broadcast changed from a video production business to a communication house that helped businesses communicate better.

I believed from the experience of that moment, that - in more cases than not - businesses needed support in their overall communication, in which video would or could play a part.

That was four years ago.

Since then, we have seen our clients experience consistent growth. I am confident that our services and support have been a major contributor to that improved performance.

Let me share two examples with you.

One client of ours, in the motorcycle retail space, has grown from a 600 ft.² showroom to a 6,000 ft.² one and their turnover in two years has grown almost by 500%.

As a result of an innovative video campaign, they have been noticed by the bigger brands, one of which approached them to take on their motorcycles as a new dealership. In February 2023 our client will open a brand new 4,000 ft.² showroom dedicated to that brand.

Another client is in the office technology space. They were ideally positioned, product wise, for the changes that the lockdowns brought about.

We helped the client refine their communication and recommended them to start talking about the changes hybrid working would bring before it actually happened. Since 2019 they have more than doubled in size, elevated their market position and have attracted blue-chip companies’ huge budgets to meet these changes through a network of resellers.

In both cases our clients firmly believe that our role, in improving the way they have been communicating, has had a significant part to play in their growth. It’s reinforced my belief that video is the Apex communication tool and that we are truly doing good for our clients.

I am so proud of my team.

They are directly responsible for making my vision come true. Their hard work in supporting our clients has helped our client’s success. And the fact that we have grown at the same time confirms that.

In fact it was the result of one of our brainstorm meetings for a client, that my team helped me define our key principle. Not only do we make videos, we make videos work!

I am so looking forward to 2023. Happy Festive season everyone!