How to Choose the Right Features for Your Video Brochure

Choosing the right features for your video brochure can make a big difference in how your campaign looks, feels, and performs.

The best video brochure isn’t simply the one with the biggest screen or the most add-ons. It’s actually the one that makes the most sense for your target audience, message, call-to-action, budget, and overall campaign goals.

In other words, the right features depend on what you’re trying to accomplish.

Start With the Purpose of Your Campaign

Before choosing screen size, memory, buttons, overall size, or what finish you’ll use, your first priority should be to answer the following question.

What do you want your video brochure to do?

For example, is your goal to:

• engage specific decision-makers?
• recruit the right candidates?
• present your product, service, or opportunity?
• ask for a donation?
• train or educate?
• create a premium leave-behind for after meetings?
• give something your target audience can share with others who influence them?

After that decision is when you should start making choices about the design of your video brochure.

Once your campaign goal is clear, the right features usually become much easier to choose.

Choose a Screen Size That Best Fits Your Message

One of the most common questions we receive is which screen size is best.

The answer is simple: the best screen size is the one that helps communicate your message most effectively.

For instance, a larger screen can create a stronger visual presence, but bigger isn’t automatically better. Why? Because if your content is concise and visually strong, a smaller screen may create just as much impact at a lower cost.

Likewise, if your campaign depends on viewers seeing more detail like in charts, diagrams, product visuals, or other fine content, then a larger screen might be worth it.

Effectively, the most important thing about screen size is that it matches your message.

Important point: In the past decade or so since we’ve been involved with video brochures and video mailers, we’ve never found any correlation between screen size and improved effectiveness.

Make Sure the Memory Fits Your Content

Memory size matters, but many people misunderstand how it works.

A common assumption is that if a video file is large on a computer, it will automatically require large memory in a video brochure. However, that’s not always true.

Videos often need to be reformatted after we receive them so they’ll match the brochure’s screen and processor. Then after they’re reformatted, they play smoothly and take up less memory.

That’s why we always ask three questions:

1. How long is your video?
2. What format is it in?
3. How many videos would you like to include?

Also, if your campaign involves:

• multiple short videos
• several language options
• chapter-style navigation
• training content
• a broader content library

Then higher memory capacity might make sense.

In reference to this, Nicholas Hibbard’s Google Review says, “The brochures are going to be used with clients for video briefings in multiple languages. We’re excited to have the ability to update the content as needed and as well as carry multiple videos to suit needs.”

That’s exactly the kind of situation where memory planning matters.

Carefully Consider Print Quality and Finishes

The quality of the printed piece matters more than some people realize. Here’s why:

Before a video ever starts playing in a video brochure, a recipient has already formed an impression based on how it looks and feels in their hands. Print quality, lamination, and finishing techniques all help shape that initial impression.

That doesn’t mean every project needs upgraded finishing, but it does mean the look and feel of the entire piece should support the message it contains.

For example, some presentations may benefit from gloss, foil, or other specialty finishes. Other presentations, however, may look better with a cleaner, simpler finish.

Anthony Antonuccio, one of our clients, referenced that in his Google Review when he said, “We ordered an intricate video mailer with both gloss and foil overlays. They came out beautifully. So professionally coordinated, communicated, and developed. We couldn’t be happier!”

To some, that kind of detail can help a video brochure feel even more worth taking seriously.

Use Buttons to Support the Experience

Since buttons can play an important role in how a recipient experiences the content, they should definitely be a priority.

For instance, sometimes a simple setup that includes buttons for the following is best:

• Pause/Play
• Volume Up
• Volume Down

On the other hand, some campaigns benefit from additional buttons that enable recipients to:

• choose between multiple videos
• navigate sections
• select a language
• explore product categories
• watch testimonials
• learn about features, departments, services, or programs

For communication purposes, the best button configuration depends on how much control your target audience should have.

In practical purposes, what that means is if your message is straightforward and meant to be experienced in one clean presentation, fewer buttons may be ideal. But if your content is more varied or interactive, additional buttons will likely make your video brochure more effective.

Keep the Overall Size Practical

Similar to screen size, a larger overall brochure doesn’t always create a better result.

In many cases, the best overall size is one that keeps the presentation compact, comfortable to hold, easy to distribute, and cost-effective to distribute.

That matters because your video brochure should feel impressive instead of awkward or unnecessarily bulky.

The ideal overall size depends on:

• screen size
• how much printed content you’ll include
• how your video brochures will be distributed
• whether shipping cost matters
• how your target audience will most likely handle the units

Based on feedback and results, your video should be the primary focus. It’s the star of the show, and the part of the format that makes these products unique. If too much printed content is included, it can dilute the video’s effectiveness rather than strengthen it.

Will You Update Your Video Content In the Future?

Some campaigns are one-and-done, meaning users don’t recover or reuse the units.

Others evolve so that the video content gets changed and the users reuse the units.

That’s why file loading and the ability to change video content matters.

For example, if the content may need to be revised later for:

• future campaigns
• new messages
• language updates
• trade show locations
• customer meetings
• recruiting
• training

Then it helps to make sure your video brochures can be updated easily.

Again, Nicholas Hibbard’s Google Review supports the value of this when he said, “We’re excited to have the ability to update the content as needed…”

That kind of flexibility can add lasting value well beyond the first use of your video brochures.

Being Rechargeable and Reusable Extends Value

A video brochure doesn’t always only get used once.

When users recharge them and update their video content, they become reusable, which means they can keep working long after the original campaign ends.

This matters because smart buyers also look at how much long-term value video brochures can provide instead of only focusing on their original costs.

The Best Choices Support Results

At the end of a campaign, video brochure features only matter if they help accomplish your goals.

That’s why it helps to ask the following questions while design is being considered:

• What screen size will help deliver my message clearly?
• What memory capacity will suffice for my content now and in the future?
• Which finish should I choose to improve the presentation?
• What buttons should I include to optimize the experience for my target audience?
• What overall size is appropriate for my message and sensible for distribution?
• Will I reuse the units in the future?

Those are the questions we recommend you ask yourself to help make the best decisions.

And when it comes to results, Chris Kiernan got right to the point in his Google Review when he said, “The video cards are fantastic! They can be directly correlated to gains in sales! Highly recommend.”

Final Thoughts On Video Brochure Features

The right video brochure features aren’t just about specs. They’re about fit.

The best choices depend on your target audience, message, the experience you want to create, and the action you want your targeted prospects to take next.

That’s why choosing the right features should begin with you identifying the goals of your campaign.

Then, when your screen size, memory, print finish, buttons, overall size, and usability coincide with that same goal, your video brochure will become a more effective tool to achieve the results you have in mind.

If you’d like to experience a video brochure in person, click this link to request a FREE SAMPLE.