If you want an example of how mobile technology is changing the way businesses build their brands and reach their communities, look no further than White on Rice, a successful South African business born as a side project that posted a picture of a different origami figure every day for an entire year on Instagram. Something that started as an amusing experiment quickly grew into a side hustle, and then into an origami specialist producing advertising campaigns, stop-motion animations and loads of origami art for some big brands.
It's a great example of how the connected camera is driving new rules of communication and creating exciting ways for artists and brands to tell immersive stories through video and photos.
With people living on mobile and accessing platforms that connect them to each other and to brands, great ideas can come from anywhere. The community engaging with mobile, visual storytelling is already massive, and growing by the day. Instagram, for example, has 700 million monthly active users. And 80% of them are outside the US; a sign the world is truly getting connected.
Brands that embrace the way mobile technology and visual communication have changed the way we discover, experience and share can get great returns from platforms such as Instagram. A diverse set of voices and ideas is using the platform for storytelling - and emerging markets are leading the way.
Did you know, for example, that KFC South Africa and its agency, Ogilvy Johannesburg, conceptualised and executed the global "fast-moving consumer goods" industry's first Instagram stories ad with their Summer Burger campaign?
When it comes to creativity, South Africa and the rest of the continent are not emerging markets - they are amazing markets. Our brands, agencies and creatives are brave, first and fast.
The magic comes from the way the mobile, visual platform gives brands a canvas on which to create immersive and creative visual stories, as well as the tools they need to connect with the right people at the right time to build communities around their mission and products.
It's a powerful combination of art and science - and is about competing for today's rarest commodity; the attention of an audience that is spoilt for choice.
- Here are some considerations for visual storytelling and mobile video: Capture attention quickly. People decide in a second what they will engage with, so flip the traditional story arc and hit them with the punchline first. Consider fast motion, quick cuts and branding upfront. And deliver your message in 15 seconds or less so you don't lose them before telling them what you want them to remember;
- Frame your visual story. People watch videos on mobile devices a few centimetres from their face and often in vertical orientation rather than turning their phone to landscape;
- Design for sound off but delight with sound on. Most people will watch videos without sound; and
- Play more, because we are still learning what video content works best. And the tactics that make each piece of content successful may be different. So we recommend experimenting to learn.
Creativity has never been more important, but today it's possible to fit even the biggest ideas in the palm of a hand, and mobile is a big part of our daily lives. Brands that embrace mobile, visual storytelling can do more than sell products and services - they can form bonds that last with their customers, and create communities.
Saad is head of Creative Shop at Facebook for the Middle East and Africa
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.