When I think of B2B marketing, rock ‘n’ roll is far from my mind. But Video Brothers CEO and former touring musician Chandler Quintin brings exactly that to his strategy.
It turns out the skills he built playing Warped Tour and opening for bands like Panic! At the Disco are surprisingly transferable to marketing.
“That kind of experience gives me the charisma to go out there and tell an industry like B2B, ‘Hey, you’re boring,’” he says. “B2B is having a really hard time standing out and cutting through the noise, so they need a little rock n’ roll, right?”
But even the most raucous rockstars have a method to their madness, and Quintin says Video Brothers’ method for helping B2B brands stand out is called the ad suite formula.
“One of the principles of the ad suite is bringing people through a journey because people like stories,” he explains. “They like to be entertained. We want them to remember things; the best way to do that is to tell a great story.”
The formula hits all the right notes. According to Quintin, after implementing this formula, Loxo, a Video Brothers client, experienced a 46% increase in quarter-over-quarter revenue and a 25% increase in pipeline growth.
So, what‘s the deal with this ad suite formula? Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:
Step 3: The Follow Ups and Reminders
Step 1: The Teaser Ad
While most marketers get caught up in clicks and conversions, Quintin focuses on what he calls an “attention matrix.”
“Audiences are in this bottom left corner of not knowing who you are and not caring. They’re also not going to watch a lot of content,” he says. “Our goal as marketers is to bring them to the top right, where they know who you are, care a lot about what you do, are problem-aware, and possibly solution-aware. Now, they’ll watch a lot more content.”
Think of the 15-second teaser as an opener to a live show. It gets the crowd’s attention and prepares them for the main act.
“We’re not looking for clicks or conversions; we’re looking to stop them in their tracks and introduce them to the pain because great marketers market pain,” Quintin says. “They don’t market solutions.”
In the teaser ad Video Brothers created for Loxo, the problem is a recruiter trying to find the most elusive candidate yet — Bigfoot!
It’s short, snappy, funny, and exciting.
The teaser ties the problem to the brand and spotlights the business as the solution.
And in a world where viewers like me struggle to muscle through even 10 seconds of ads, Quintin says it‘s okay if audiences don’t get through the teaser. The ad will just run again.
“We don’t want to be afraid of showing the same ad twice because the ads are fun. People actually want to watch them,” he says. “The idea is to start warming the audience up, so we capture them with a teaser ad, we retarget them with a teaser ad again to get them to a higher viewer intent.”
And once the crowd is warmed up, it’s time for the headliner: the hero ad.
Step 2: The Hero Ad
If you’ve been to a concert, you know the headliner usually has the longest set. The same goes for hero ads in the ad suite formula.
The hero ad is about 30 seconds long and is a stand-alone, front-to-back narrative that introduces the problem and solidifies the brand as the solution.
“It’s all done in this memorable, fun environment,” Quintin says.
Loxo‘s hero ad is an excellent example. The recruiters are looking for Bigfoot as a job candidate. Of course, Bigfoot isn’t easy to find. Notice how the ad shows the recruiters discussing the tools Loxo provides to lead them to Bigfoot.
Okay, you‘ve seen the opener and the headliner. That must mean the show’s over, right? Nope! It’s time for the encore.
Step 3: The Follow Ups and Reminders
After the hero ad gives the audience the full story, they’re treated to follow-up and reminder ads. The follow-up ad shows the positive transformation the brand provides and gives the audience closure regarding the story.
In the Loxo follow-up below, we see the recruiters finally reached Bigfoot via video call and are preparing to send him to the hiring manager.
The story may be over, but the work isn’t. Video Brothers will roll out reminder ads to stay top of mind with the audience.
“The reminder ad plays into the psychology of needing reminders and signs to see things,” Quintin says. “You’ll tune out a lot of information in your day-to-day life, but signs will stand out to you.”
Reminder ads are about 6 seconds long. Like stop signs and green lights, they convey one action the brand wants the audience to take. That action could be to make a call, book an appointment, or visit the brand’s website.
“Think of reminder ads as video billboards where you could be scrolling by it fast, but because your brain recognizes the patterns from the prior ads, you know subconsciously that you’re seeing ads from that company,” Quintin explains.
If the audience sees the ads enough, they‘ll eventually become curious enough to research your brand or visit your website. Just make sure your website isn’t a letdown.
Bonus Track: The Landing Page
I can‘t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a concert, fallen in love with a band, and then decided to visit their merch table, only to be underwhelmed by the items there.
No business wants its audience to be disappointed by a bland website, which is why Quintin says the visual aspects of the ad suite formula are crucial.
“The one thing a lot of marketers get wrong is that they’ll have these awesome ads and send someone to a boring landing page with a form-fill,” he explains. “You were just entertaining them, and now you’re baiting and switching them by bringing them to some boring website to ask for information.”
To avoid this problem, Video Brothers clients often have themed landing pages to continue the fun. For example, the ad suite for Act, another Video Brothers client, plays out like a Law & Order episode.
“There’s an investigation, the characters are looking at a small business owner’s office, and there’s chaos everywhere,” Quintin says. “They don’t even promote their domain. They don’t say, ‘Visit us at Act.com.’ They go to ‘SolveMyChaos.com.”
At SolveMyChaos.com, visitors see a mysterious landing page that reads, “The investigation continues.” The site keeps the mystery/crime theme while showing how the business solves its customers’ problems.
The point of the ad suite formula is to make your brand memorable and to delight your audience from beginning to end.
“If you’re not memorable, you’re not going to be the first thought when it’s time for that audience to solve their pain,” Quintin says. “And if you’re not their first thought, you’re rarely going to be on their day-one consideration list, and then you won’t win any of the races that you’re in.”
