Videos are great at raising anticipation. Just like having a killer trailer for a movie, promo videos are a mandate if you’re planning on having a huge app launch. Just like landing page and awesome screenshots are a no-brainer, make sure you have a promo video. It might not even having to be anything overtly technical, just shoot a great scene on your iPhone.
Dan Counsell from dancounsell.com shows us the linear effect a great promo video has on marketing. This post originally appeared on his blog.
I’ve helped produce a lot of app promo videos over the last three years, everything from stop-motion to full-production videos with hired locations and actors. Currently I have a soft spot for documentary style promo videos, they are hard to get right, but they simply look and feel more genuine. We did a couple of documentary style videos for Ember after its initial launch, and while they are not well suited for launch videos they are really effective for ongoing marketing campaigns.
If you’re planning a launch video, anything goes as long as it’s engaging. To give you an idea of what you should be aiming for I’ve put together a showcase of ten great promo videos.
Tiny Wings 2 ~ 400k views
With half a million views, this hand-made low budget promo video is doing great. Just goes to show that money may not mean everything. The success of it’s predecessor Tiny Wings was an obvious help, but even without it, this video would’ve gone viral!
iA Writer Pro ~ 98K views
I personally LOVE using iA writer on the Mac. And the promo does perfect justice to it. It just makes you want to have in your hands right now. They conveyed simplicity in a beautiful way. It also goes to show how important a soundtrack is for a video.
Clear ~ 1.2M views
Dan Counsell and his team were the ones to make this video. It follows the mainstream thought process of a promo video, but it still did great. Great might be an understatement considering this one got over a million views. For just under $5000. That might be an understatement.
Perfect Weather ~ 43.5K views
Another one that follows the classic app promo style; everyone’s happy and everyone’s well. It showcases the product very neatly and conveys it’s message well, perfectly!
Thunderspace ~ 54k views
Taptanium, the makers of this app, revealed that they shelled out $11,500 for this one. I don’t know if I would ever spend this much on marketing but, the team did build a set and literally drenched it in water for this one. Here’s a little behind the scenes video.
Keezy ~ 76.8K views
This one’s got a lot of soul and character, not surprising since it features Reggie Watts. It’s totally captivating and worth watching.
Jelly ~ 200K views
It’s a great documentary styled video which showcases the app perfectly. Have a look! It’s jellyyy.
Day One Journal ~ 50.1K views
Here’s the big one. It’s professionally produced and has a certain warm, engaging feeling to it. Though it might not show the app too well, it’s a great promo.
Carousel by Dropbox ~ 145K views
Another big budget video, just like Day One. But it’s worth the watch. This is a great app by Dropbox.