Product Videos Good, Storytelling Or Not

Koziol

Camera icon on a product sticker leads to online product videos.

Credit Mrs. G for this one. She bought a hand-held citrus juicer, saw a product sticker featuring a camera, and thought it might be blog-worthy. Turned out to be a lesson in product videos.

The juicer is made by the German company, Koziol. The website… mostly in German… not much of a help. When Mrs. G suggested this as a blog post we joked about potential topics. Knowing it was a German company, the first one that came to mind… video… the universal language.

Thankfully, the website linked to the company’s YouTube channel. Guess what I found there?

Lots and lots of product videos

Product videos… dozens of them.  All the ones I saw were pretty much the same… music with a basic demonstration of the product. Nothing Earth shattering, but all professionally produced… and I have to say… I kind of like them. No story… just product demos.

I know… totally not a Tony thing to write, but in this case it worked for me. Mainly because all of the videos were short, and there were sooooo many!

Taking a storytelling break

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I’m a big believer in storytelling. And believe it or not, everyone of Koziol’s products has a story behind it. However, they have HUNDREDS of videos at their YouTube channel.

I love storytelling, but I’m also realistic. You’re probably not going to tell the story of hundreds of products, and apparently you don’t have to. Koziol’s YouTube channel has been up for three years and has received more than 180,000 views.

Not bad for some basic product videos.

If I were counseling their leaders… I would suggest telling a few stories, but it’s hard to argue with a company so devoted to video.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.