Blog · 12 August 2026 · 4 min read
Choosing a format
Brand film, customer story or short form: where do you start?
You know you should be doing video. The problem is not conviction, it is choice: everyone recommends a different format, and every adviser sells their own.
| What is stuck today | Symptoms | The format |
|---|---|---|
| People do not understand what you do | Ten minutes of explanation at every meeting, a website that does not say who you are for, salespeople each telling a different version | Brand film |
| They understand you but they hesitate | Quotes that drag on, prospects who are “thinking about it”, competitors promising the same thing | Customer story |
| Nobody thinks of you | You are good, your clients know it, but you exist nowhere between two referrals | Regular short form |
How do you choose a video format for your company?
The right question fits in one sentence: what is stuck today in your relationship with your clients? Video is a tool, not an end. Whether to do it at all is no longer the question: according to Vidico, 91% of companies now use video as a marketing tool. It is no longer a differentiator, it is a standard, which moves the whole stake onto choosing the right format. The format follows from the problem, never the other way round.
When should you make a brand film?
Symptoms: you spend the first ten minutes of every meeting explaining what you do, your website does not say clearly who you are for, your salespeople each tell a different version. A brand video settles that once and for all: it says what you do, clearly, and it says it the same way to everyone.
When should you make a customer story?
Symptoms: quotes that drag on, prospects who are “thinking about it”, competitors promising the same thing you do. At that stage, you are not the one to listen to, your clients are. A filmed testimonial does what no brochure can: someone like your buyer, who had the same problem, explains why they chose and what changed. You can be suspicious of a sales pitch. It is harder to be suspicious of a peer.
When should you make short-form videos?
Symptoms: you are good, your clients know it, but you exist nowhere between two referrals. Regular short-form videos work on memory: being seen a little, often, in the right place. It is a format of duration, not of one big moment. It rewards regularity and punishes bursts with no follow-up.
Which format do you start with from scratch?
The classic trap of a first video project: trying to solve everything at once, one video that introduces the company, reassures prospects and feeds social media. It will end up doing none of that.
Choose the problem that costs you the most today, produce the video that tackles it, judge the result, then widen. A first project with a defined scope also teaches you something else: how your supplier works, before you commit further with them.
And where does the podcast fit in?
The podcast is a case apart: it is not a format for winning new attention, it is a format for building a relationship. It will not get you discovered by hurried strangers; it will install your voice with people who already know you a little and who will give you twenty minutes on a regular basis. An excellent second or third project, rarely a first.
The exception: if your business rests on expertise and long-term trust (consulting, professional services, long-cycle B2B), long form can become your best asset, all the more so because it can then be cut down into short formats to feed social media. The podcast and long form page sets out how we produce it.
What does a first year of video production look like?
For a company starting from scratch, here is a progression that works because it is sustainable. First quarter: a pilot project with a defined scope, tackling the most costly problem, which also teaches you to work with your supplier. Second quarter: the next video depending on the result, plus the short cuts of the first project. After that: a regular rhythm set by your real capacity to feed it (subjects, people available on camera), not by launch enthusiasm.
The guiding principle: every stage has to produce something usable on its own. If it all stops after six months, what has been produced keeps working. That is the opposite of the grand content strategy that delivers nothing before month four.
What goes wrong on a first video project?
The video for the trade show in three weeks: a project born of a date, not of an objective. It gets made in a rush, serves once, and fits into nothing. If the date is unavoidable, you may as well design the video to outlive the show.
The competitor copy: “they made a video like that, we need the same”. Except their video answers their problem, not yours, and you have no idea whether it works for them.
The epic film that tries to say everything: the company, the team, the offer, the values and the accountant's dog in six minutes. It is the classic symptom of a project with no single objective, the one this whole article is trying to vaccinate you against.
Frequently asked questions about choosing a video format
Which video format should you start with from scratch?
The one that tackles the problem costing you the most today. If people do not understand what you do, a brand film. If they understand you but hesitate, a customer story. If nobody thinks of you, regular short-form videos.
Can one video introduce the company, reassure prospects and feed social media?
No, and that is the classic trap of a first project. A video that tries to solve everything at once ends up doing none of it. Better a first project with a defined scope, judged on its result, then widened: it also teaches you how your supplier works before you commit further.
Is a podcast a good first format for a small company?
Rarely. A podcast is not a format for winning new attention but for building a relationship: it installs your voice with people who already know you a little. It makes an excellent second or third project. The exception: businesses built on expertise and long-term trust (consulting, professional services, long-cycle B2B).
What does a first year of video production look like?
First quarter: a pilot project with a defined scope, on the most costly problem. Second quarter: the next video depending on the result, plus the short cuts of the first project. After that: a rhythm set by your real capacity to feed it, not by launch enthusiasm. Every stage has to produce something usable on its own.
Should you make the same video as a competitor?
No. Their video answers their problem, not yours, and you have no idea whether it works for them. It is one of the three most common false starts, along with the video made for a trade show in three weeks and the epic film that tries to say everything.
Still torn between two formats?
Thirty minutes to lay out your situation, and we will tell you frankly which format tackles your real problem, and whether we are the right people to produce it.
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