Beware pitfalls of corporate videos

Videos made by private corporations solely to boost morale can sometimes be seen as a last desperate attempt to make up for a lack of 'real' vision and values. But according to a United States telecommunications firm, there is a consensus that authentic stories that involve real employees communicate an effective message.

In a recent report by the Bivings Group, commentators on web-based communication concluded: 'Peers will listen to stories and experiences from the heart of the employee and not from the ivory towers ... however there is a danger that too often they end up as vanity projects for executives.'

To avoid the pitfalls associated with this type of video, Genevieve Hilton, senior vice-president for communications consultant Ketchum Hong Kong, offered some cautionary advice: 'Employees are tougher than any external audience because they can smell insincerity a mile away. This makes music videos particularly difficult to do well.

'For certain companies, they will never work. But for others, the company culture makes them an obvious choice. Companies looking for ways to engage their employees are always thirsty for a new tactic. It's a reality of the internet that any internal communications document or tool has the potential to end up in the public domain. That's why we recommend that any internal approach be taken with an external audience in mind, for better or for worse.'

Still, there seems to be some doubt within the PR industry of the effectiveness of these internal morale-boosting videos, with one industry insider in Hong Kong stating: 'I always thought these videos were a waste of time and money. It's almost impossible to make one that doesn't make people cringe.'

Chris Kyme of Eight Partnerships, a company involved in the creative process for corporate videos, agreed. 'I don't believe in the idea of corporate morale videos to boost morale. If a company needs to do that, then they must be doing something wrong.'

However, he said that they could be a 'valid mechanism for delivering information or to introduce people to a company'. In Hong Kong, examples include pharmaceutical company Pfizer's recently launched Can I corporate video, and the infamous 'Tute in Da House from the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Public Accountants (HKICPA).