How Much Does a Corporate Video Cost?

The “Ah-Ha!” moment – when it comes to value

I remember once sitting in my local barbers waiting for my turn to be called up, and seeing a plaque on the wall that caught my attention. It read; “Good haircuts aren’t cheap, and cheap haircuts aren’t good”. I found this quote incredibly poignant, not only because it’s true, but because it’s relatable to so many aspects of life when seeking a professional service. We all know somebody who’s opted for the builder that was half the price of all the others, only to end up with half of their extension finished before the contractors disappeared.

Now, this isn’t to say that service providers who are competitively priced aren’t good, some amazing creatives may often choose to reduce their prices on specific briefs if there is strategic reasoning to do so. But those that are established and have the experience to go with it, will often charge relevant to their standard of service and product they deliver. So how much does good quality corporate video production cost? Well, there’s no quick answer to this, but I’ll try my best to explain how we go about it.

Factors that can affect corporate video cost

If you’re new to the process of having a promotional film made for your business, then your chosen production company should be only too happy to assist you along the way. But what is important (and will greatly speed up the quotation process) is to have a good idea of what you “need” and a list of your “deliverables”. For example, you require 2 x 90 second films edited to share on your website and perhaps linkedIn, plus a 20-second edit to use on social media platforms. This gives the producer a good idea of the edit time required to fulfil the brief and a basis to begin building a more accurate quote.

Invest some time to research

Another useful exercise is to do your own research. Try where possible to approach your supplier with example videos that you may have seen elsewhere. Now, this isn’t to copy somebody else’s work, but rather a great way of establishing a style or look that you would like to achieve in your own corporate film. Again, this is a great starting point and can establish the production value you aim to achieve.

Do you require animation in your corporate video?

If you require animation, you should always factor in the added cost of this. Great animators are hard to come by, and often come at a premium, so it’s best to keep this in mind when brainstorming your ideas.

Project scalability

In most cases, ideas and budgets are scalable, with compromise of course. Avoid trying to push for more than what your budget can cover. A supplier may choose to cut corners at the detriment of production value, in a bid to keep the client happy. Remember, the more planning, filming and editing required, the greater the expense.

Managing project expectations

Now, we often find ourselves in a position similar to that in the image above, minus the guns and horses, of course. Clients can often hold their cards too close to their chest, making the process of collaboratively establishing a quote rather long-winded. When transparency isn’t on offer, we revert to our go-to question;

“Tell us what you want, and we’ll tell you how much it costs OR tell us what your budget is, and we’ll tell you what we can achieve”.

It’s important to be upfront with either your budget or your list of deliverables for an estimate to be calculated. On second thoughts, the holy grail is having both of these things established beforehand, but of course, this isn’t always possible. The two should be carefully considered and accurately aligned to get the most efficient quote.

As you can see, there’s no short and sharp answer, and forgive me for using the old cliche “how long is a piece of string?”, but it lends itself pretty well here.  So if you’re budgeting for a new promo film production, understanding the variables that influence corporate video cost is really important to making the most of your budget and investment.