Have you sat through many financial reports lately? Me neither. As a consumer, I couldn’t be bothered about how well a company did in the last quarter, only that I can keep receiving the excellent service I chose. Numbers were never my thing — which explains my profession — so when people start droning on about how much they grew over the last quarter…I fall asleep.
Imagine my surprise then when I sat through an entire financial report without dozing off once. All two and a half minutes of it!
How do you turn one of the most boring things ever into something digestible by everyone? Make a viral video.
Well, it isn’t quite viral yet, but it certainly checks a lot of the right boxes. All they need is for someone to fall down in it.
We like to think that Maxis has a couple of good ideas up their sleeves. A quick look at how they treat their employees is a good indication. They’re certainly not afraid to try new stuff out. Innovation is key, and this time, I think Maxis knocked it out of the park.
They made use of modern video making tools like clever graphics and an attractive colour scheme (plus that popular off-camera-side-profile-shot) to deliver something that is usually meant for boring people in equally boring suits.
No offence, but you probably see us as hippies sitting around a bonfire so that description is fair I think.
What makes this video unique is that it makes the viewer feel smart. We like it when we can actually understand what a financial report is actually talking about, something that has always eluded me when it is presented in the form of a stack of dead processed trees.
But, the key ingredient is that they’re building a personality. A relatable face for the company (notice he wasn’t wearing a fancy suit, only a simple shirt). Think of your favourite YouTubers, you remember them for who they are as people, right? You came for the content but stayed because you liked the individual. Otherwise, why on earth does UnboxTherapy get so many views? (No offence Lew, I binge watch your videos all the time)
Being in the content creation and creative industry, we like innovation and clever use of simple techniques, so we certainly hope more people will pick this format up. Yeah, the audio could use some work and it wouldn’t hurt if Morten smiled a little (they’re positive numbers man!) but hey, nobody gets everything the first time right?
