Shazia Ginai, CEO of NeuroInsight, used data to show how video campaigns cause direct responses in the consumer’s brain. NeuroInsight is a neuromarketing and neuroanalytics resource that measures the electrical activity in the viewer’s brain.

Long-form content needs to encode the story into the consumer’s brain to create positive lasting associations. It is widely known that 80-90% of our decisions are made in our subconscious, but we don’t actually care about brands, we care about stories, says Ginai. Effective video content must ensure it tells a narrative of human emotion or interaction in order to build positive associations.

“By building more associations towards a brand that’s how we effectively build brand equity in the brain,” adds Ginai.

Talking through the methodology, research director at NeuroInsight, Holly Jordan, sought to explain why the brain loves storytelling. NeuroInsight gathered data regarding brain responses from consumers viewing articles on Evo, an online automobile magazine, using different short and long-form video campaigns.

Online advertising on websites was found to be more intrusive and jarring for the consumer and sparked a negative brain response. However, watching long-form content that matched the platform on which it is viewed created a more fluid consumer experience and positive brain response.

Normally long-form video content loses 60% of viewers by 2 minutes, but by knowing its audience and tailoring video content, Evo found that 85% of viewers watched all the videos until the end. “This means that by creating high quality long-form content that matches the context in which it is viewed, viewers stay engaged and you have a greater chance of that content having a stronger impact,” says Jordan.

The goal is to create a narrative that drives brain memory and response, but it’s not a one size fits all strategy. NeuroInsights provides five key narrative tools for brands to use when creating engaging video content.

Creating early intrigue in videos suggests that something interesting is coming and gives the brain an incentive to engage, which causes viewers to continue watching.

Weaving brands into the story is another key tool. Memory was 17% stronger when the brand was woven into the narrative rather than being blatantly placed and feeling staged.

Key characters drive strong responses and replicate interaction and human connection. NeuroInsights found that long-form scenes where the narrator spoke directly to the audience were much more effective in driving responses. Close ups of characters interacting also saw a rise in interest and engagement rather than product shots, which saw a drop in memory and engagement response.

Using relevant language and speaking to the audience directly, increased brain engagement between 39% and 386%, which caused the detail delivered to be encoded and drive future responses.

“Long-form video content can be successful at driving actions for brands if used in the right way. Using intrigue and weaving branding into the story with key characters interacting and talking to the audience helps drive response, and alignment of the senses makes stories all the more magical,” says Jordan.

The most powerful videos align the senses using a combination of audio and visual while also tailoring the content to its specific audience.