Elocal has invented the genre of short, (10-20 second), generic website videos which can be used by any business in the profession for which they are made. Because this approach to video marketing is recent, it is crucial to analyze the videos in use to determine what content and style ismost likely to successfully attract customers to companies using this type of web video on their website or landing page.
The eLocal health insurance landing page video, consists of three short family vignettes. The vignettes are backed up by a wistful electronic synthesizer generated melody. The vignettes tell a story, but it takes a while to put the pieces together.
In the first segment, a young mother is holding her baby, in a well lighted domestic environment. Instead of the joy a mother usually feels when holding her young child, this mother is anxious, distant a bit distracted, and even bites her lip. There is a sad look in her eye. What could be the reason?
In the second scene we see the silhouette of a father playing with two of his older daughters on top of a hill. In the third scene, the father, perhaps the same father is pushing his young daughter on a swing. If this is the same child as we saw in the first scene than she has grown up a bit.
There are three captions in the course of the video. Putting them together they read: ” Can you measure the value of your family?” “Find out about your health options today.”
After I replayed the video a number of times, the segments, music and captions all came together to suggest a story line.The mother may have been anxious in the first scene because she had a medical condition and knew she wouldn’t live to see her child grow up. In the second and third scenes the mother is conspicuously absent and the father is playing with the children. The setting sun against which the father and children are silhouetted in the second scene might symbolize the waning life of the mother. In the third scene, the mother the father, is playing with his daughter, the absence of the mother suggests that the scenario actually occurred.
This may not be the only interpretation of the video sequence. However, this interpretation goes along with the sad almost funereal background music. The suggestive plot line seen together with the captions suggests that the family did not have enough health insurance to pay for the mother’s catastrophic health needs. Perhaps if they had, the mother would still be living.
Each person viewing the video might interpret it differently Like rorschach diagrams, the three scenes together suggest various interpretations to individual viewers. However, most of the interpretations are likely to be somber.
In order to be fit for inclusion on many company websites, the eLocal videos frequently avoid using real actors or real scenes taken from one business of the given profession. In this web video, however, the film depicts a scenario portraying people who need health insurance, and not portraying the insurance company itself. eLocal apparently felt comfortable using real people to portray members of a family with inadequate health insurance to cover their needs.
The question one puzzles about is how people will interpret the story, and if this will motivate them to buy health insurance. I don’t believe too many people will interpret the storyline in the way I did. The video emphasizes family relationships. People viewing the short video might be inspired to contact the insurance company because they believe they must have insurance for their children’s sake. Or else they must have health insurance for themselves so they will be healthy to take care of their children. These lines of thought might be aroused by seeing the video, and subsequently inspire the viewers to contact an insurance company.
