Corporate video is a broad term which subsumes any type of video that helps serve a corporate need. The Nike Corporate Presentation Video is an example of a corporate video that was made to present shareholders and investors the conceptual plans for construction of the new Nikke corporate headquarters plant in the Midwest.

The video is creative in that it precedes documentation of the plans for the new headquarters with a 1 minute segment dedicated to presenting the spirit of what Nikke is. This is a pleasant interlude, and artfully done as well.

The videographers who produced the intro segment present a parallel between athletes preparing for a contes, then beginning the contest and then finishing it, to the Nikke Corporation which is preparing to create a new corporate headquarters. At the beginning of this segment we see athletes who are concentrating and preparing themselves mentally to begin a contest. These clips are accompanied by other images illustrating the theme of beginning something, including a flower unfolding and a baby preparing to emerge from the womb. Subsequent to that we see scenes of athletes starting a contest. Finally towards the end of the segment we see images of athletes who have finished their contest, collapsing at the finishing line, in some cases, or simply being helped along by friends after crossing the finishing line.

The message NIkke presents to its shareholders is clear. Just as athletes, who use Nikke products, must prepare intensely for a competition, so must the corporateion prepare for the creation of a new corporate headquarters. At the end of the project, Nikke like athletes who use their shoes, will have used all their resources, and will be dependent on loans musch like athletes who are held aloft by friends after crossing the finishing line.

The video enhances its effect by preceeding and concluding the one minute intro segment with important take home messages, displayed as captions. The message at the beginning is “A legacy of innovation.” The message at the end is ” Nike design refining endurance plus sustainability.”

The effect of the video is enhanced by music which was specially composed for the video. The tune is short catchy and repetitive, without being domineering, qualities which together make very effective background music. The one line verse is ” I got a sole but I’m not a soldier.” The vocal line uses a pun between soul and sole to convince viewers that Nikke has a “soul.” This is a powerful branding concept. But Nikke are not soldiers. Images in the film show men and women involved in powerful contests of strength, but for whatever reason, we don’t see scenes of military combat, rather the healthy wholesome peacetime combat that takes place in athletic contests.

Videos with background music that have a beat have been proven to be effective in holding audience attention, and presumably that is true of this video. At the end of the intro interlude, the video transitions to the presentation segment which displays floor plans and concepts about the new corporate headquarters.

What are some of the concepts of corporate video production illustrated by the first half of the video. One concept is that well chosen and well placed short theme messages can be effective when used in a video. The second concept is that presentation of corporate images can be enhanced by the inclusion of similar types of images taken from life in general, i.e. images of speedy athletes who use Nikke shoes, are juxtaposed with speedy animals. A third concept is the power of unity of concept and presentation. This video doesn’t merely present images of athletes who use Nikke shoes, it presents these images in a way that speaks about the effort of Nikke to prepare to undertake a major corporate endeavor. The fourth concept is that a company song or jangle can be very effective when the words are well chosen and appropriate to the message of the video. In this video, “I’ve got a sole but I’m not a soldier,” is pleasant to listen to. Of course, it might not be appealing to veterans, and this could be a negative factor affecting the popularity of this video. Finally, while corporate videos are neatly divided into different categories, depending on their function, as this video has shown, sometimes you can creatively combine two corporate video categories into one. This video has an intro, which functions much like a general Corporate branding video, followed by a presentation video, all combined into one package.