AO.com and natural beauty brand Lush are among the businesses named video leaders by Retail Week and Brightcove in the new Video Oscars interactive guide.

Highlighting what it takes to lead customer experience with the best use of video, the list features not just the brands mastering onsite and offsite video, but also those pioneering the commercial opportunities of shoppable, interactive and personalised video.

It also contains exclusive insights on current and future consumer expectations for retail videos and case studies about how leaders have leveraged video marketing to win competitive advantage.

Meet three of the video leaders below. 

Dulux – winning in shoppable video

 

This super-smart shoppable video from decorating brand Dulux ticks all the interactive boxes. The viewer follows models wandering around an eclectic, colourful space and can buy a sample of any colour seen in the video by clicking on it within the video.

Clicking triggers a pop-up displaying Pinterest ‘pins’ of the colour used in various settings, with the option to ‘click to buy a tester’.

The customer is then taken directly to the relevant shopping page on the Dulux website.

Lush – winning in live video

 Lush’s live video series, Lush Kitchen, took its fans behind the scenes by introducing staff members and engaging its employees.

The series offered expert advice and incentivised engagement by running company tours and live cooking demonstrations with the support of social media influencers.

While each video in the series averaged more than 30 minutes – 10 times the optimal video length suggested by the 1,000 consumers surveyed in the report – the series was aimed at retaining customers who had already bought into Lush, so it was an effective means to maintain their interest.

AO.com – winning in best overall use of video

 

“AO.com has built an enviable video content workflow across all retail video types”

AO is winning in online video marketing through a multichannel strategy that ensures its quality video content is featured at every stage of the customer experience.

For Brightcove’s account director Kirsty Wilson, AO.com is a clear video leader “because it recognised early on that, as a pure ecommerce seller, its digital-only store front could use video to replace the tactile, tangible experience that physical stores provide”.

Going beyond basic marketing, AO.com is using video content that is specific for each type of retail video. For example, for offsite video and social media channels, the retailer is using short-form, square and captioned content that is also shoppable. Meanwhile, its product pages hold OEM (original equipment manufacturer) content and product videos created in-house that convey physical characteristics and help customers tangibly visualise how they would use the item in their home.

Wilson continues: “AO.com has built an enviable video content workflow across all retail video types.”