The Building Blocks for Sales Videos; Examples

As part of our Building Blocks for Sales Videos, I wanted to share with you examples of videos that each have been executed differently, to give you an idea of what can make, break, help or hinder your sales video. I will break down each video individually to discuss it's high and low points. So sit back and enjoy!



Above we have a Hanoverian gelding who, in his ad, has been described as the following:
"true gentleman showing first level, working at second level. Uncomplicated and straight forward to ride and show. No health issues. Imported from Germany and registered with the Verband Hannoverscher, branded with the German Hanoverian brand, he is also registered here in the US with the American Hanoverian Society, USDF and USEF. Great for an amateur or pro looking for a quality horse with a future."

- My first impression of this video is positive. We have a introduction header, which describes, name, age, breed and point of location or contact (website).

- The music in this video was a good choice. It is soft and relaxing, much like the horse itself.
If you choose to use music make sure you choose something that appeals to the masses of the those who you think will be considering your horse. Music that over-powers a video, such as heavy metal rock, is usually something to stay away from. A good rule of thumb when it comes to music, is to choose something that is purely instrumental and fits the personality and movement of your horse. (Soft music for a light and graceful moving horse etc)

- As we get into this video, it's apparent that the person who is videoing is not using a tri-pod. This video could have been enhanced with the use of a tri-pod to limit what shaking you can see.

- For nearly a minute and 50 seconds the horse in the video is shown at a walking pace. This is a bit long, as gait example shots should be kept to a 30 second maximum at a time. This keeps the viewer interested and more focused on what is being featured.

- Note the rider and horse turnout, clean, neat and tidy.

- The arena is also lovely as well. Looking freshly groomed for this video session.

- At the end of the video, we see the closing header telling us who to contact. This should be included in every sales video.

My closing notes for this video would be, that although the video was rather long and drawn-out in how the horse was shown, it was consistent. The horse was shown as if on a normal day of schooling. The video was well balanced - horse shown going up through the gaits in both directions.



Above we have a Dutch Warmblood gelding, who in his ad, has been described as the following:
"He is solid in all the movements of the I-1, with suprising ease in the half passes and full pirouettes even with his size. Rudy does also school one tempis proficiently. He goes easily in both a snaffle or double bridle. Would be well suited for an amatuer to learn the upper level movements while working with a professional."

- My first impression is how lovely this horse is!

- There is no introduction header, which I believe is a key part of any sales video. It gives the viewer more insight into the horse. Name, age, breed etc.

- The video has not been edited.

- The next thing I notice is the absence of music. If you choose to not include music, leaving the sound from the video is better than silence. Unless of course, there is banging, loud, obnoxious noises in the background! - Point in case with this video is that in the beginning we see a large semi-truck going down a road above the arena. If your arena is close to a road or you happen to video something like a loud semi-truck, it's best to remove the original audio. - However, add music instead of going silent.

I should note that sometimes listening to the hooves as the horse moves and breathing in the audio from the video, is quite nice!

- The person videoing this horse has some rather shaky moments, which could have been prevented with the use of a tri-pod.

- The surrounding landscape around this arena is lovely. But the arena is a bit dusty and looks poorly maintained. A grooming could have given off a better impression.

- Horse and rider are neatly turned out, although I personally would have liked to seen a helmet.

- The video is long, but consistent as it has not been edited. We see the horse exhibiting it's "confirmed" tempi's and other movements conducive to it's training.

- There was no ending header for contact etc. I was not expecting one considering the entire video was not edited at all, but again this would have been nice.

My closing comments for this video is that although the horse was exhibited well, the video was not. A horse of this type, should have a more invested sales video.

More examples to come. What are your thoughts on the above videos?