Brand Announcements That Don't Suck
Brand Announcements That Don't Suck
Tips for making social content that makes an impact.
In Today’s Newsletter—
An exploration into brand announcements and how to make them better.
The way most brands announce a new campaign, website, event, or product quite frankly sucks most of the time.
There’s an archaic view of social strategy that assumes audiences on social media are interested in what a brand has to say 100% of the time. This misconception fails to address the ways in which the algorithms and rise of short form video have changed the way we consume content, and how brands communicate and make a meaningful impact.
A simple static graphic and a long caption imploring audiences to explore more just doesn’t cut it anymore. That approach lacks the storytelling angle that grips viewers and compels them to explore on their own accord.
Let’s take a look at some brands who are doing things differently and succeeding—
Jacquemus
Arguably no other modern fashion brand has mastered the art of an announcement quite like Jacquemus. They use every creative tool at their disposal to create social announcements that are interesting, shareable, and unique. Take for example their launch announcement for their St. Tropez store—
Leaning into an ‘oversized object’ motif, the brand featured short videos of a woman with a massive postcard, coordinated sailboats spelling out the brand’s name, and a huge beachside cocktail. These videos lean into the brand’s fun online persona, and resonate with audiences in a way a simple announcement graphic with the address cannot.
Maison Guava
While documenting a physical store opening is easier, a new website can be trickier. However, Maison Guava, a Parisian boutique, turned the digital announcement of their new online store into something physical, with a couple fun, simplistic videos.
They had their employees bump into each other on the street holding custom newspapers announcing their new webstore launch. This content is way more interesting than just dropping a screenshot of the site on the grid and calling it a day. Its also a great example that leveling up your content and creating videos that hook the audience doesn’t need a massive budget.
Koncrete Space
These principles work well for restaurants too, as demonstrated by Koncrete Space, a Dubai based coffee shop. When announcing new food and bev offerings, they drop these incredibly clean, one-shot videos of aesthetic pairings. Typically, the only motion in these videos is a hand coming into frame to open a sandwich container.
Blanked Studios
To build hype for their sleek, aluminum homewear, Blanked Studios drops these videos set in their product studio, which feels quite lab-like, breaking down the craftsmanship and intentionality behind their products. For their metal tray, they used several ‘aesthetic’ items that pique the interest of their target consumer— an expensive watch, Aesop hand balm, Diptyque scent, and Chrome Hearts rings.
3 Tips to Make Your Product Announcements Better
Ultimately, these brands leverage the dominant medium of short form video to tell a compelling story. Across all social platforms, a significant majority of users are consuming video, so its wise of brands to leverage that medium and catch the algorithmic wave. Here are 5 tips I have for brands—
Don’t overthink it: If you have the budget, you can afford to pull off world-class creative direction like Jacquemus. If you don’t, then don’t overthink your content. Try one simple, aesthetic format and repeat it consistently until you’ve created a bingeable library.
Expand your brand: Use this content to expand the dimensionality of your brand. Use settings, characters, and props that further communicate your brands visual story.
Keep it short and sweet: There’s no need to boil the ocean with each social post, just identify a singular message and create content that leaves audiences with one simple takeaway per post.
All in all, the social paradigm is rapidly changing, and the scrappy brands who do a lot with a little make the most impact on social nowadays.
The short form video algorithms have actually democratized the social landscape, leaving an opportunity for smaller brands to cut through the noise and catch as much attention as legacy brands.
What brands do you think do announcements really well on social? I’d love to get your thoughts. Drop a comment below.
Jake Bell is a content marketing, creative strategist, designer, and writer based in NYC. He specializes in brand building, content strategy, creative direction, business development, and making things cool.
Want to chat? Email me: jake@jb.studio