Today video consumption rates are at an all time high.  At the time of writing this blog more than  89% of all consumers say that they would like more video content from the brands they follow, and 52% are more likely to share video content than any other type of content.  

At Studio4, we pride ourselves on creating visually striking and scroll-stopping content that doesn’t just entertain the consumer but also elevates your brand’s key business objectives. It’s a fine balancing act—keeping your content production on schedule and within budget while bringing to life big ideas that captivate  your audience.

So, how do we do it? 

Be Clear and Specific with What Your Content Should Accomplish

First things first, define what you want your content to achieve. Are you looking to build brand awareness and affinity, generate leads, or convert directly to a sale? Where will this content live? With this information, develop a content creation plan that leverages each media channel accordingly – including TV, radio, paid and organic social media, as well as your website and supporting OOH and print.

Each piece of your campaign should feel interconnected, yet native to its platform. Spoiler alert: simply resizing your content for different platforms won’t cut it. Audience demographics and media consumption habits vary on each channel. You need to tailor each piece to fit its specific medium. This starts in the content creation process; rather than waiting until you start editing.

How Will Your Content Resonate with Your Audience?

Here’s a nugget of wisdom: make sure your content goes beyond entertainment and resonates deeply with your audience. We call this the “Core Human Truth.” What will resonate with your viewer as a human being even if they aren’t in the  market to buy your product or service?

People see over 5,000 ads every day. If your content isn’t captivating, it’s just white noise. Connect with your audience first and they’ll justify their interest with reason later.  Think of television shows. They specialize in  engaging long form content creation that connects with audiences in order to sell advertising time to brands. If their content isn’t entertaining, they aren’t able to sell advertising and the show goes off the air.

As advertisers, we need to keep this simple fact front and center. Just like any television show, if the content you are creating isn’t entertaining, no one will stop their scroll long enough to hear the life-altering message or key selling points that your brand has to offer.

So, What’s the Plan?

Now, it’s time to build out and develop a comprehensive view of your content creation needs. Determine the resources required, the content production schedule, and how to bring your big ideas to life. It’s one thing to brainstorm a brilliant idea. Executing it, and executing it well, is a whole other ball of wax.

Content production requires meticulous planning and a team of extremely talented individuals. Don’t underestimate the effort needed to transform a great idea into reality. Even some of the most influential user generated content creators (if they are doing it consistently), have a team of people working behind the scenes to ensure it all happens.

Work the Plan (With More Planning)

Congratulations. You have a well-informed content creation goal, concept and plan. It’s go-time — almost. Welcome to the pre-production stage.  Now it’s time to start storyboarding your concepts, developing shot-lists, identifying locations, sourcing vendors, casting talent, and scheduling resources. Here is where the project kicks into high gear, and it is not for the faint of heart. 

There are hundreds of moving pieces, if not thousands, and all of them need to flow together like a well-composed song. At this point of your content creation workflow, small decisions have to be made.  Communication is everything. Regular meetings are one of the primary keys to success. 

Stick to your plan with the tenacity of a bulldog. But—and this is a big but—be prepared to pivot when necessary. The production process is a minefield of unexpected obstacles. Professional athletes stick to their game plans but pivot gracefully under pressure to achieve the best outcome. You should adopt the same mindset. Flexibility within a structured plan is your best friend in content production.

Finally, The Actual Content Creation

All of your hard work and planning pays off here. If your goal-setting, concept development and pre-production work has been thorough, your actual content creation should be a breeze. Everyone should be fully aware of and aligned to your creative vision and have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. Now it is a matter of managing the shot list and keeping the time before your models’ hair falls flat and you lose your light. Hip-Hip-Hooray – the wrap party is on its way!

Time to Cut it Up

You thought you were done once the cameras stopped rolling? Think again. The real work begins in the editing room. Martin Scorsese once said, “If you don’t get physically ill seeing your first rough cut, something is wrong.”

Brace yourself; your first cut might be a disaster. It’s normal. Lean into it, learn from it and hold on tight to the original vision. In the world of advertising and creating content this is where the most small compromises can sneak in, leading to a death-by-a-thousand-cuts scenario. This is where the phrase, “If you try to appeal to everyone, you’ll end up appealing to no one” can really rear its ugly head.  Stay flexible but never lose sight of your initial goals and the emotional impact your content is supposed to achieve. Always keep in mind WHO it is meant to resonate with. 

Another key insight within the editing process is to always be on the lookout for creative ways to maximize the output from your footage. This isn’t about quantity over quality; Far far from it!  It is about getting the most bang for your buck with all of the amazing content that you already have in the can.

That’s a Wrap

We covered a lot. Here’s a streamlined content creation workflow strategy for you:

1. Set Clear Goals: Define your content’s purpose and its intended platforms.
2. Understand Your Audience: Create content that resonates on a human level.
3. Comprehensive Planning: Outline resources, timelines, and content production plans.
4. Follow the Plan: Stick to your plan but be ready to pivot when needed.
5. Edit with Vision: The first cut is just the beginning; refine your content while maintaining the core vision.
6. Maximize Content: Get the most out of your footage without compromising quality.

Content creation, content production, and content production studios may all sound like buzzwords thrown around to appease the SEO gods (and yes, this article was written just for them), but they encapsulate the essence of what we do. Great content isn’t just about looking pretty; it’s about achieving real business goals and making your brand shine. So, next time you’re planning your content strategy, give a nod to the algorithms, but never forget that the real magic happens in the execution.

Gigasavvy is an award-winning content creation, brand and creative agency that position clients for long-term success. Connect with us to chat about how we can produce impactful content for your business. 

At Gigasavvy, we don’t think anything cuts through the noise better than good storytelling. You don’t have to compete; you just have to connect. That takes good strategy, a compelling narrative, and good production. How do we achieve this magic? We’re going to let you in on some of our secrets with a look at our content creation process. 

Understanding Your (Actual) Content Creation Needs

Obviously, our clients typically have products or services to sell, and platforms to sell on. But it would be a mistake to think of selling first. Great projects don’t start with a decision to make a viral video or to hop on a TikTok trend. They start with a decision to tell your brand or product story to a relevant audience. With that objective in mind, you can produce content that can easily be formatted for any platform.  

Understanding Your Audiences

When thinking of audiences, it’s easy to jump ahead to think about buyers. It’s also easy to ignore the buyer and only listen to the brand. But good content creation requires investing the time to fully know BOTH. That’s why our discovery process is not a simple one-hour meeting with a checklist of questions. 

Sure there is a discovery meeting. But that is neither the beginning nor the end. We continue discovering things about our clients and their customers for as long as we work together. We dig in deep to get to know our clients: Why do they do what they do? What are their business goals? What inspires them? How do they define success? 

And we dig just as deep to understand their customers. Only after we are armed with this strategic foundation can we develop a strong creative brief that gets to the heart — the core human truth — so that it will resonate with all people, even if they are not in our target audience.  

Weaving a Narrative 

We know we are intruding on peoples’ lives with the ads we create, so we want to make sure it’s really worth it. We take special care to speak to what they care about —  and to do so in a way that matters and inspires. 

We believe in relentlessly attacking the creative brief to accomplish this. Our creative, strategy and account teams work together — asking every question, debating every nuance, and looking at things from every angle to make sure we have it right. Then, when we have a clear and concise creative brief that gets to the heart of the matter our team works together to visualize stories that connect. 

With our approach we get to know our clients so well that it is often hard for them to choose among multiple concepts that really fit their needs.

Considering the Channels 

You may have felt something has been missing in the process described thus far. We have not yet talked about the channels where the content will live. That is not an oversight; it is an intentional order of operation. While we definitely create for and manage to the media plan, we don’t believe that impactful projects start with a goal of “making a viral video” or producing a video for TikTok, etc. We believe that the story comes first. After the story is outlined, we create custom content that consistently tells that story in a way that is native to each of the media platforms where it will live.

Bringing it to Life in Production 

With the story agreed on and the appropriate channels established, we get to work on production. At this point, some creatives prefer to go work and come back with a finished project. At Gigasavvy, we believe it’s important to continue to collaborate with our clients to make sure they are heard and understood at every stage of the process. 

We recognize that at any point — from location scouting and talent management to filming and post production — there may be a need to enhance, update or pivot. We embrace flexibility within a framework in order to create the best deliverable.

Project Wrap-Up

As mentioned above, discovery never stops. We don’t wait for things to go wrong and schedule a project retrospective. We proactively wrap every project with a discussion on all of the things that went right, and any learnings or opportunities for future projects. Whether our key takeaways are client specific, project specific or process-oriented, we take the mindset that there is always something to celebrate, and always something to learn. 

With that, we are ready to start the whole process over again with another happy client. Next time, maybe it will be you. Just let us know what you’re ready to work on.

Gigasavvy is an award-winning content creation, brand strategy and creative agency that has successfully developed and brought many brands to life with authentic storytelling. Contact us to see how we can help you tell your brand’s story.

Meet the Designers: Teague Anderson

How did you fall into design?

I always loved making things when I was younger, and my love for design was born when I had to make PowerPoint presentations for my classes. I always wanted to flex on everyone with how good mine looked and how cool my slide transitions were.

How would you describe your design style?

I would describe my design style as sophisticated. I really like clean and simple, but like to add a little flare here and there to avoid work becoming too stagnant or boring. 

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration from everything! Our whole world was created by a Designer, and there is no shortage of inspiration to draw from. Whether it’s beautiful nature scenery or cruising up and down aisles in the grocery store looking at packaging, it is always fun to see the different ways people express their creativity.

What type of projects would you work on full time if you could?

I would work on branding projects full time if I could. It is so fun to see a brand come to life from nothing, and to set someone up for their future success as a business. The whole process from logo development, to colors/type, to applications etc. is really enjoyable and rewarding.

Gigasavvy is a brand strategy firm and creative agency that is passionate about helping brands craft their authentic story. Contact us for help with your brand.

Meet the Designers: Jacky Northgrave

How did you fall into design?

Ever since I was little I loved to create – designing new worlds, telling new stories and letting my imagination run wild. My mom always did such a stellar job cultivating a space for creativity. As I grew older I dabbled in interior design, painting, drawing. My love for design started when I was little and has never gone away.

Once I started diving into graphic design, I knew my future was there. It was the perfect blend of so many artistic aspects all in one space. My career has just evolved from there, and I am very proud and grateful for what I’ve been able to build. I know that little girl would look at me now and be in awe of how design can be so much more than just her thoughts and dreams.

How would you describe your design style?

I think my true design style is modern minimalistic. I love the simplicity and power of curated elements that build together to create something strong and beautiful. I’ve always been more drawn towards minimal and impactful work, so I think I’ve just naturally carried that on in my own work. I love playing with typography, retro elements and abstract shapes to create a world of modern nostalgia. 

Where do you find inspiration?

My inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere. I learned from a young age that when you limit your inspiration you’re really limiting your potential. I could be inspired by the little moments: a song, a special experience, a person you just met, a story you heard. Inspiration is all around us. We just need to be ready and willing to see it when it strikes.

Lately some of my greatest inspiration has been from my daughter. She’s three, curious, whimsical and full of wonder. Seeing the world through her eyes gives me a new perspective, and a unique understanding of even the simplest of things. I’ve tried to carry the essence of a new perspective in my work to create something new and fresh, using a new and unique angle. 

What type of projects would you work on full time if you could?

I genuinely feel so lucky to have dipped my toes in a lot of different projects. I’ve been able to work on all kinds of design, and so many different projects. But, it’s those branding projects that I just love. It’s really my bread and butter. Whenever I get those projects it feels like home.

Don’t get me wrong, I genuinely love how I’ve evolved as a designer – art directing and strengthening new muscles – but I love being able to help someone feel confident in their business or brand by giving it a chance to succeed. Whether it’s breathing new life into existing brands or starting from scratch, it’s a problem I just LOVE to solve for.

Gigasavvy is a brand strategy firm and creative agency that is passionate about helping brands craft their authentic story. Contact us for help with your brand.

Gigasavvy is a creative agency with brand strategy consultants who are passionate about helping brands craft their authentic story. Contact us for help with your brand strategy.

Meet the Designers: Nicole Pawloski

How did you fall into design?

Since I can remember, I have always wanted to be an “artist.” Growing up an only child, drawing and making art of any form was my outlet and way of expressing myself. This hobby stayed with me through grade school, high school and eventually led me to getting a scholarship to pursue fine art in college.

About as quickly as I started my fine art major, I decided this career path was not for me. As much as I loved creating, I soon realized I wanted more out of my career and I would not be a successful traditional artist. I remember seeing my former roommate’s sketches and concepts for a packaging project she was working on in her Graphic Design class and was sold then and there. I changed my major the following week and began exploring what it meant to “design on the computer.”

Long story short, I fell in love with the purpose behind design and creating for a tangible goal.

How would you describe your design style?

I would consider my design style to be very graphic forward and colorful. I love any opportunity to incorporate illustrative design and custom typography. My design idols Ty Mattson and Hoodzpah Inc. have also shaped my design approach and I hope to create an instantly recognizable style of my own.

Where do you find inspiration?

Inspiration, for me, can be found everywhere. Over the course of my career, I have found that even outside of work – I am always creating. Whether that be in cocktail making, cookie decorating, calligraphy, etc. – inspiration is all around me and can take different forms. Inspiration is often found when we disconnect from our screens and take in our surroundings, explore different mediums, and have conversations with those around us.

What type of projects would you work on full time if you could?

Gosh, this is a hard question. Agency life really does allow us designers and creatives to touch a little bit of everything. I have really grown to love the process of creating a campaign from scratch and seeing the big picture come to fruition. The amount of teamwork, collaboration and talent it takes to take a single idea and turn it into a full campaign – involving video production, photography, asset creation, social media etc. is truly amazing and worth every minute put into it.

Gigasavvy is a brand strategy firm and creative agency that is passionate about helping brands craft their authentic story. Contact us for help with your brand.

We are happy to create a set of blogs that will feature each of our designers and give them a chance to show off their unique creative personality.

Meet the Designers: Brittany Davis

How did you fall into design?

Design isn’t something that came super naturally to me. I took one art class in high school (that I was whatever at) and decided last minute to jump into design as my college major. I took a giant leap – hoping that somehow it would suit me, and surprisingly, it did.

Looking back now, it does make a lot of sense, but in the early days of my design career, there were still a lot of doubts and fears. The biggest being that I had a mostly type A/left brain. I wasn’t a messy artsy person naturally – even though most of my design friends seemed to be, and that made me feel quite inferior – like I wasn’t creative enough to really excel in design.

Since then, I’ve learned to put my orderly, type A brain to good use in my work, and it’s really helped me shape my creative style.

How would you describe your design style?

I consider myself to primarily be a minimalist – and that really flows through most of my work. I’m a firm believer in purposeful design, and I like to think that the simpler a design can be, the better (most of the time, of course). It’s really easy to overthink and over-fluff creative with excess design elements or copy, and I think there is strength in simplifying a design down to its core, leaving only what’s purposeful and necessary. There are many other graphic styles that have shaped and inspired me though, including Art Deco, Swiss, Retro, and Dreamy.

Where do you find inspiration?

I believe that the world around me was designed with purpose, and that pushes me to do the same. Design should be not only beautiful to look at, but meaningful. That way of thinking has really pushed me to admire the world around me, and incorporate it into my work.

Right now for example, I’m really into sunset gradients. They are each so different and unique from day to day, but all equally beautiful. I also love looking at storefront signage in different cities – so many examples of fun, retro type!

What type of projects would you work on full time if you could?

One thing I really enjoy about working for an agency is the variety. No day is ever boring, because I’m never stuck on one project- but switching from brand to brand. If I could work on anything full time, it would definitely have to be a mix! I have a lot of interests, from packaging, type-focused creative, feminine brands, cosmetic, beverage, brochure/editorial, etc. It’s not necessarily about the projects for me, but the overall vibe! I think in an ideal world, I would work with a handful of different brands that live inside an aesthetic that I enjoy – something that I would buy into as a consumer. Those types of projects make my heart the most happy!

Gigasavvy is a brand strategy firm and creative agency that is passionate about helping brands craft their authentic story. Contact us for help with your brand.

Leveraging Purpose and Vision to Define Brand Messaging Pillars

Whether you are starting out with a new venture, or your brand has been around for years with an ever growing offer, sometimes the best way to arrive at your brand pillars is to take a step back and think about your brand vision and purpose. When Brandini Toffee came to us to build a brand strategy, they knew they had a passion for creating a quality product using a generations-old family recipe, and a vision to grow their already successful business into a world class confectionary.

We worked with them to translate their passion into a strong brand vision and purpose, which served as a cornerstone for brand messaging pillars that would set them up for growth. The new brand strategy and creative direction helped them to immediately start increasing their revenue. Learn more about our work with Brandini Toffee in this case study.

Creating Brand Messaging Pillars Based on Strengths

When Cliq came to us to update their brand identity, they knew what they were good at. In fact, Cliq is good at so many things that they needed help simplifying their message, to develop a messaging hierarchy that would more concisely communicate their strengths and capabilities to the market. We worked with them to develop these descriptive brand pillars. Check out more of the elements from the Cliq rebrand project here.

Creating Brand Messaging Pillars Based on Rational and Emotional Benefits

When it comes to technology, it can be easier to talk about specific features than it is to talk about why those things matter. With PatientFi, a medical financing technology company, we navigated complex B2B and B2B2C relationships to help articulate their unique benefits to multiple audiences. We parsed out the rational benefits of their offering, and then dug down to the heart of the matter, extending our thought process to the very important emotional benefits that they bring to their clients and borrowers every day.

Being Bold with Brand Messaging Pillars

Flame Broiler is a bold brand that creates bold Korean flavors. Their brand pillars had to reflect their personality, as well as their heritage and passion for creating craveable, healthy meals. So when we worked with them to create a brand messaging hierarchy, we focused on strong keywords that have the power to evoke an immediate emotional response. See the Flame Broiler case study to learn more about this project.

Gigasavvy is a brand strategy firm and creative agency that is passionate about helping brands craft their authentic story. Contact us for help with your brand strategy.

Gigasavvy is a brand strategy consultants and creative agency that is passionate about helping brands craft their authentic story. Contact us for help with your brand strategy.

In contrast, brands that were born of surf culture were warmly embraced. For instance, Wahoo’s Fish Taco was formed by three brothers who were seeking to bring home the authentic food experiences they enjoyed during their surf trips to Mexico. The brothers were scrappy in making do with what they had — from the dishes that were already in the restaurant space they bought, to the daily menu changes based on whatever the fishermen caught at sea that day.

With Wahoo’s Fish Taco, culture marketing was not just a ploy. They had a really fun origin story that we helped them tell in the video below. Their commitment to the business came from their love of surfing. They knew that if they could make it all work and sell enough tacos for lunch and dinner, they would be able to continue to spend their mornings on the waves. Customers responded to the authenticity in their local market, and in the events they later sponsored. Soon, the brothers found themselves expanding their business beyond what they had ever dreamed. They were no longer only tied to the surf community, but also to the larger board sports community that followed. 

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The Rise of Street Surfers 

The idea of strapping wheels to a board and cruising the asphalt waves was originally invented by California surfers in the 1950s. The skating craze hit a roadblock when high insurance premiums forced a lot of skate parks to close in the 1980s and 90s. That pushed kids to look for a place to skate in the streets and back alleys where they turned stairways, handrails, and urban architecture into their personal playground, often to the displeasure of a security guard trying to chase them away.

Skateboarding thrived alongside fellow outcasts in punk music, and then evolved, becoming tied to the emerging alternative rock and grunge scene in the 1990s. Just like the surfing subculture before it, skateboarders came to be its own subculture, known to dismiss and dislike anything that could be remotely described as ‘corporate.’ It had a gritty, punk rock, DIY, break-all-the-rules ethic that was almost uniformly anti-establishment.

Enthusiasts Hate Marketing, but Love to be Supported

Naturally, the companies producing boards, clothes, and other products for surfers and skateboarders were faced with a unique challenge: how do you advertise to a market that hates advertising? The answer was not to. 

The brands that succeeded didn’t make traditional ads, they lived authentically in the subculture. They participated in events on a global, national and local scale. And all of these events, large and small, led to authentic connections, as well as authentic content. Branding was relevant and subtly interspersed throughout events and videos because it happened naturally as an immersive extension of the culture.

Some of those early brands like Wahoo’s, Vans, DC, and Volcom would grow from small upstarts to full-fledged, national and multinational brands. The lesson learned was that if you stay true to your values — and worry about the authenticity more than the hard sell — even the most jaded and hard-to-reach audiences will embrace you.

Culture Marketing Lessons for the Larger World

We were proud to work with Wahoo’s Tacos, and so many other great brands, to tell their stories to the world. We are also happy to see that the way that brands like theirs have gained acceptance and traction within their own subculture is now beginning to permeate beyond these niche markets. This trend in authentic brand interactions and culture marketing to consumers is becoming more balanced across industries.

Customer conversations are now closer to a collaborative partnership than a classic buyer-and-seller relationship. Brands that want to connect with consumers are starting to realize that they have to be willing to connect at a real level and stand with their customers in a range of experiences along the way. When they do, they will be rewarded for their authenticity.

Gigasavvy is a forward-looking creative agency partner that uses brand strategy, creative development and video content creation to help growing brands tell their story and connect authentically with their audiences. We believe every brand has a compelling story to tell. Contact us to help you tell yours.

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