News
The Collaborative Approach – Together We Can Be Better
20th June, 2018
We’ve always said that video is the powerful and persuasive tool of today’s marketeer but it can also be difficult to get it right, when competing with the deluge of noise online. To have stand out impact what’s needed is compelling and relevant content which speaks directly to the target audience. It can only be achieved through painstaking research and meticulous planning.
Planning and pre-production are key elements in our three phase service offering strategy, production and marketing. Our favourite part of the process is our bespoke creative workshops. Its really important to work in collaboration with our clients to ensure that every video campaign we create not only looks stunning but also encapsulates their brand while achieving all their initial performance indicators.
The Power of Workshops
We provide creative consultation sessions in order to refine the video content solution while giving the client the unique opportunity, to be part of, and contribute to the creative brainstorming party.
Brainstorming is a fantastic tool for idea generation, we find these sessions stimulate creativity across the whole team ensuring that each project is an inclusive collaborative achievement. Research by Adobe shows ‘8 in 10 people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth… yet a striking minority – only 1 in 4 people – believe they are living up to their own creative potential’.
It’s clearly so important to work together to unlock and maximise this rich potential resource.
How it works
During a typical workshop we will present our creative treatment and concepts. Open discussion follows leading to a clearer understanding on both sides of the way forward to ensuring that the final vision captures the true essence of the client’s identity. We at devilishly provide fresh perspectives to the project, a depth of experience in creating effective premium video content and the knack of turning the shared concept into reality within a quick turnaround and affordable budget.
Really handsome video content engages its audience, drives action and delivers direct results. Our collaborative approach combines creative passion with an in-depth understanding of our clients and their audience to make productions that not only look great but compel people to engage with the product.
This London Video Agency Just Nailed Your Integrated Marketing Campaign Plan
30th April, 2018
Spoiler alert: It’s us.
We see it happening all too often. Fabulous, world-changing brands commission a mind-blowing video. Really top notch stuff that’s ripe for viral video fame. All it needs behind it is a decent integrated marketing campaign, proper integration into the brand’s marketing mix and then… well. Nothing. Because that vital integrated work is rarely done, and the hot-shot video can’t go much further than wandering around the baron peripheries of the internet.
It brings a tear to our eyes, we can tell you.
Why isn’t one great marketing video enough?
However big the video production budget, a great video is just one piece of the marketing puzzle.
This wasn’t always the case. We’ve been operating a video production agency for a decade now, and the internet marketing landscape has changed beyond belief. You really did used to be able to push a video out there and watch the brand awareness, engagement rates and new customers come rolling in. Those were the days.
But it simply isn’t enough anymore, and what we see happening in brand marketing departments is a kind of total paralysis in the face of such drastic, fast-moving changes.
It’s nobody’s fault – it’s a skill gap that’s hard to fill and a culture change that’s tough to roll out across any organisation. But we’re here to swoop in and save you from those marketing department frustrations. We’re getting our Captain Marketing capes tailored as we speak. (How do you feel about neon lycra? No? Just us?)
What actually changed?
So much of the online marketing landscape has changed in the last ten years. The key contributing factors have included:
- Social media algorithm changes. Yup, we’re sick of hearing about those throttled numbers too, but it’s important to learn how to work with them for modern day marketing success.
- A fundamental distrust in brands. As social media gave rise to consumer power (as it rightly should), audiences have become very adept at seeing through the old skool smoke-and-mirrors marketing tactics. You can only do so much to control your own reputation now – the rest depends on influencer collaboration and word-of-mouth marketing.
- The Internet Of Things. We’re completely saturated by marketing material at every turn. This has huge effects on a range of things, but most notably it’s affected our messaging intake and attention span (which has now been reduced to roughly second seconds). Brands with budget now push harder to make their online to offline advertising more seamless to increase penetration time, and that makes for a whole new ball game for any ambitious marketing team.
This doesn’t even scratch the surface, but we thought it important to demonstrate how drastically things have changed, and why it won’t do to continue lamenting about the ‘old days’.
What’s the secret to marketing video success?
Creating a truly great piece of hero content like a brand video requires help from all marketing channels – online and offline.
To succeed at its objective, your video content needs to be flanked by two important helpers: strategy and distribution. Both of which we’ve become highly affluent at leading for brands all over the world.
Strategy
Recognising the need for pre-campaign planning expertise, we’ve responded by growing our pre-production team.
To help our client’s campaigns flourish in this saturated marketing climate, their duties include:
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- Research – No video campaign worth its salt was ever built on fluff and guesswork. These guys nail down the facts and the data required to create context for your video, bringing further content ideas to the fore that pad out your campaign and surge engagement rates.
- Creative conception – We’re not happy until we’ve squeezed every drop of inspirational juice from your campaign idea. Fresh eyes and extra minds on your campaign make sure there’s no better creative direction for our work to go in, and also ensures we’ve explored every avenue of an idea before production gets underway. Forget “brainstorm” – we’re all about the idea hurricanes.
- Platform assessment – Our team of marketing detectives will scrutinize (nicely – this isn’t The Godfather), assess and recommend improvements for your existing marketing channels, so they’re optimised for campaign success.
- Audience profiling – A valuable tool that allows you to know exactly what pockets of your audience are hanging out where, and what content will best engage them.
Distribution
Let us be clear right now – it is not enough to post your video once, or post the same thing without offering value to the conversation. A legit integrated marketing campaign is clever about the distribution of its content through social media, online communities, print, press, events and more.
Distribution is how the audience sees your campaign, when they see it and their opportunity to not only consume your campaign but input into it. Those conversations are the turning point in campaign success – the golden nectar you should always be looking for.
We know how to get this planned, implemented and reaping results for you. It’s no small feat, and a busy marketing team always value fresh eyes and outside help in putting this plan together. We have a whole team of PR and marketing heroes waiting in the wings to assist with your content distribution, leaving you with a brilliant and headache-free campaign that can’t help but fly.
Ready to change the way you market yourself forever? Drop us a message – let’s talk.
DHP IS EVOLVING
18th April, 2018
After a decade plus of creating award-winning Devilishly Handsome video content for the biggest brands across the world we are excited to announce that we are evolving.
Over the years we have created branded video content which has helped our friends and clients showcase their message, product and identity to a global audience.
This is no mean feat.
To achieve this we have employed the very best talents in script writing, creative direction, graphic design, interactive design, production, cinematography, editing, sound and more.. And over the decade we have continued to grow and flourish in a highly competitive market.
But this is no longer enough.
In 2018, and beyond, it simply isn’t enough to produce great content, to showcase business rockstars, animate disruptive products or document brand movements. Film production harbours too much raw creative and management talent to simply stop there. We’re way too smart, handsome, and devilish to be content with that. We can do more, and we will do more.
We don’t just want to make your video content, we want to help you and your marketing team maximise its impact on your business. We want to help shape the best possible message and distribute it to the right target audience so that your video gets real ROI.
Not just exposure. We are talking a real kick back on investment.
That’s why we have launched two new services to flank our award-winning film production offering.
Strategy
We have formalised and extended our creative and pre-production team. Drawing on our knowledge and experience with a team of handpicked researchers we’re ready to roll. This isn’t just creative work, it involves intense data and platform scrutiny and detailed measured audience profiling.
Distribution
Great content needs to be seen over and over. With an intelligent approach and a little push we’ll ensure that your brilliant video reaches its target. We love our clients and we love our work… we want it seen everywhere!
We are partnering with some of the top marketing and PR minds in the world to help distribute and seed your content once it has left our hands. From the very beginning of a project we will call upon these marketing heroes to help shape the project and ensure the work is given the attention it deserves.
And don’t be scared of budget. Our roster of marketing partners have been selected to cater to any size of budget or business, from start ups looking for their first job to blue chip clients wanting to tell the world.
It’s an exciting time for us here at Handsome Headquarters. We cant wait to get started all over again!
Video Production in 2017 – Going Open Source
15th June, 2017
We are a creative video production agency. It has been our mantra since we opened for business nearly 9 years ago. We have always stood by this, offering everyone our creative proposal work whether they are clients or not.
Because of this many people have seen as us an extension of their marketing departments, often asking us to add our thoughts and solutions to their marketing strategy. We have written hundreds of creative proposals for organisations and brands from finance to sports, and we have done it all for free.
We always have and we always will.
This year we want to go further. Creative ability in video is no longer enough to give video production agencies an edge. It is becoming increasingly clear that companies like ours need to offer clients a more direct return on their spend, using data and audience research to create content that truly engages a target demographic and can be traced directly to sales.
This is something we are continuing to focus on at DHP, our recent work for Lewisham College standing as a good example.
The Devil is in the Detail
17th May, 2017
This press coverage was originally posted on lbbonline.com. Click here to read the original article in full.
Creative video production company, Devilishly Handsome Productions, on creating irresistible visuals that don’t break the bank. In the age of tightening budgets and smaller marketing departments, sacrificing quality is inevitable, right?
Devilishly Handsome Productions disagrees.
There’s no reason brands can’t have top-notch 360 campaigns without eye-watering costs. For eight years now, DHP has been delivering irresistibly-handsome content for some of the biggest names. Its smart creative strategies, agile approach, and obsession with creating high quality visuals have caught the attention of Nike, Adidas, Unilever, Sky, and MTV to name a few.
A Handsome Family…
Steadily growing with the aim of innovating the corporate video market, Devilishly Handsome does so by blending beautifully conceived visuals with award winning VFX.
At the company’s heart are its charismatic team, Founder, Ben Collins and Head of Production, Harry Coulthard. A smart and safe pair of hands, the duo are experts at conceiving and executing projects with creative flair. What marks them apart from the crowd is their winning presence, magnetic energy, and skill as communicators and storytellers. Driven by the hunger for great-looking creative, their inclusive outlook and focus on listening means that their clients are always partners in the creative journey, realising their vision side-by-side.
Crafty Devils…
According to the team, the ability to target incredibly specific audiences online has enhanced the value of video content as a marketer’s tool.
“The landscape has changed dramatically, even since we opened in 2008. Now that we are able to reach the minutiae of different demographics, all content must be born from a clear understanding of the target audience and output goals,” comments Harry. “This is proof that using video as a starting point in the campaign process – and involving its architects in early discussions – is the perfect route to campaign success and value for money.
Audiences are used to premium cinematic content, so it goes without saying that all video content in the public sphere has to be of high quality. What keeps our clients coming back is the confidence that we can conceive, execute and deliver premium video content to a set budget.”
Working closely with Nike, Devilishly Handsome brought the sportswear giant’s products to life, creating enthrallingly detailed animations tailored to enhance each shoe’s unique design. For the Inneva, it manipulated the movements of the mesh to resemble ivy wrapping around a tree, emphasising the shoe’s design, which mimics the biomechanics of the human foot.
The Devil Makes Work for Idle Hands…
While its next-level animation and special effects are certainly a killer draw, the real weapon in Devilishly Handsome’s arsenal is creative strategy.
“Our strength lies in fitting seamlessly into clients’ existing teams,” comments Ben. “We’re the devil on your shoulder – an all-important asset to your team in an age where content is required to work just that bit harder. We see ourselves as an extension of our clients’ marketing department. Our flexibility makes us well-positioned to advise on how to make the most of budgets by leveraging the content we create for them across platforms. While we’ve worked with some incredible agencies, some of our most exciting jobs have been direct-to-client, where we’ve been able to craft and implement a full-scale content strategy.”
Sonia Furley, Head of Marketing and Communications, Lewisham Southwark College comments: “We first began working with DHP in 2015. Their creativity shone through right from the beginning, bringing a different perspective to often standard promotional items that we needed to complete. I, personally, have a large dislike for ‘talking heads’. The team took this on board and only returned with modern and innovative approaches.”
She continues: “The results have been far beyond what we hoped. The commercial ‘tint’ and high quality resonates with our very picky teenage target audiences. We’ve been impressed with quantity of views, engagement of viewers and conversion rates.”
A Handsome Price?
Working intimately with brands and organisations, they’re the smart partners unlocking a comprehensive and effective 360 campaign at a highly competitive price.
Tasked with creating a promo film for an exclusive charity event backed by members of The Who, Devilishly Handsome came up with an innovative, cost-effective solution that made the most of the modest budget. Using a custom made mini-speaker, Devilishly Handsome took the band’s classic mod emblem and captured the vibrations to create a mesmerising art piece, which was shot in its studio at approximately 250 frames per second.
“We take on projects as a whole company, meaning that our clients reap the full benefit of our clout and resources. Some of our favourite projects have been the smaller ones, where our highly-skilled in-house team has had a chance to cut loose and create something truly special.”
Better The Devil You Know…
Key to Devilishly Handsome’s offering is its ability to take a complex proposition and simplify it to satisfy the consumer, the layman and the expert.
A fresh approach to telling its client’s story, the team simplified a complex corporate message using a simple 2D animation that’s both engaging and communicative of the clear message.
“By working closely with brands, we like to develop a succinct, informative yet impactful style for any type of communication,” adds Harry.
Harry Speaks! A few words from our producer on video marketing for the year ahead
23rd January, 2017
Welcome to the new home of DHP Studios!
18th October, 2016
This is it. After months of hard work we are excited to bring you the new DHP Studios website. It’s massively sexy don’t you think?
Among the updated website features, you will find:
- Our new homepage, made up of tiles linking to our best client work, as well as live streams pulling in our social media content from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn as our updates happen.
- A brand new blog, which will host a range of articles on video production, integrated marketing, creative advertising campaigns and expert narration from us here at DHP HQ.
- A portfolio of all our fantastic client projects.
- A brand spanking new contact page should you wish to drop in for a spot of tea and invigorating video marketing discussion.
- And, of course, this tiny (not so tiny) list of just some of the brands we’ve had the pleasure to work with after 10+ years as a London video production agency.
As well as a lovely platform on which to show you all of our new work it will also act as a hub for industry news, pictures of our handsome team in action and musings on life, the creative ether and… well, anything we deem suitable.
Although we felt it was time for a bit of a facelift, we still hold firmly onto our core principles; to create compelling brand-focused content that really engages its audience. After nearly a decade doing this for the biggest companies in the world we are still constantly searching new ways and innovations to help us achieve this goal. We are a team of creative thinkers and we want to help you and your business inspire and shape the world.
Check in occasionally and see just how good we are… and what we can do for you.
The DHP Studios Team
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Handsome and Proud DHP Studios Merch
8th October, 2016
Have you ever wandered down the street, starved of adoring attention from passers-by, and thought; I know what I need. A fabulous t-shirt that not only represents the slickest, smartest video production agency that London – nay, the world – has to offer, AND makes a grand statement about my redeeming features?
Us too. Safe to say, we aren’t ones to turn down attention.
Well good news friends – we’ve officially released apparel that can’t fail to get you noticed. High quality t-shirts that boldly proclaim your devilish handsomeness to the world. That’s right; DHP Studios now sells our very own merchandise.
What style are the DHP Studios t-shirts?
You can choose between a black or white regular fit tee.
Both garments feature the DHP Studios logo on the breast pocket area on the front of the shirt, with “Devilishly Handsome” emblazoned across the back (so that others can’t judge you by your face if you’re having a melty face sort of day). Logo and text are both in the trademark DHP Studios shade of red.
What sizes are available?
All shirts are available from size Small up to 2XL.
What are the delivery details?
Orders are printed, shipped and delivered within 7 – 12 business days. Expedited or Rush shipping may be available depending upon the product(s) selected and the destination country. Products are fulfilled in the EU/UK.
Is there a shipping discount for multiple orders?
Yup! shipping for one shirt is £4.49, but any additional apparel only incurs a shipping charge of £1.50. So do buy one for all of your devilishly handsome friends…
How much do they cost?
You can snap your DHP Studios tee up for just £24.
Where can I get a DHP Studios t-shirt?
Our shirts are sold through Teespring, and you can grab yours right here.