What a strange year we've had. But we made it to the end! And that is something to be grateful for. This time eight years ago, the Mayan calendar spelled doom, but things are looking up. I guess all we can do is shake off the dust of 2020 and just keep going. That is the attitude of the companies showcased in today's holiday video roundup post. Despite being in the middle of a global pandemic, these companies still managed to produce a warm and encouraging holiday video greeting.
No. 10 - American Backflow Products Company
Subjectively, this Florida based wholesaler had one of my favorite holiday videos because of the constant flow of fake snow. Shout out to the production crew Laura Lea Hosey and Jenn Callaghan, for that touch.
Entertainment: 3 | Relevance: 1 | Originality: 2 | Warmth: 1
Authenticity: 1 | Covid-safe: 1 | Length: 2
(π Scroll to the bottom for the judging criteria.)
No. 9 - Hootsuite
Even though I've seen the Night Before Christmas book re-written as a holiday greeting, but I got to hand it to how spot-on they were about 2020. Bravo!
Entertainment: 2 | Relevance: 3 | Originality: 2 | Warmth: 1
Authenticity: 1 | Covid-safe: 3 | Length: 2
(π judging criteria)
No. 8 - aha! Process
This Texas education management company captured greetings from many of their employees, spot on for authenticity. Also, the edited decorations are a great touch.
Entertainment: 1 | Relevance: 2 | Originality: 1 | Warmth: 1
Authenticity: 3 | Covid-safe: 3 | Length: 2
(π judging criteria)
No. 7 - Sensofar Group
This Barcelona manufacturer produced a 2020 pandemic relatable video. And with only using still photos at that. Even still they, created something simple and heartwarming.
Entertainment: 1 | Relevance: 3 | Originality: 1 | Warmth: 2
Authenticity: 3 | Covid-safe: 2 | Length: 2
(π judging criteria)
No. 6 - Wholesale Warranties
This San Diego based RV Warranty business managed to get the vast majority of their small company's employees on camera having a great time. Go to the end to see their culture shine.
Entertainment: 3 | Relevance: 1 | Originality: 1 | Warmth: 2
Authenticity: 3 | Covid-safe: 3 | Length: 1
(π judging criteria)
No. 5 - Blackstone
This New York based public investment firm is notorious for creating funny christmas videos. At least we know where the stockholder's budget is going.
Entertainment: 3 | Relevance: 2 | Originality: 3 | Warmth: 1
Authenticity: 2 | Covid-safe: 2 | Length: 1
(π judging criteria)
No. 4 - Oak Bank
This Fitchburg, Wisconsin based community bank produced one of the simplest and straight forward holiday greeting corporate video. Warm feelings all-round. Everyone dressed up too!
Entertainment: 2 | Relevance: 1 | Originality: 1 | Warmth: 2
Authenticity: 3 | Covid-safe: 3 | Length: 3
(π judging criteria)
No. 3 - EF Corporate Solutions
Wow! A+ to the world's largest privately-held education company's b2b division. What a fun collaborative way to produce a 100% Covid-Safe holiday video. Loved the message and length.
Entertainment: 2 | Relevance: 1 | Originality: 2 | Warmth: 2
Authenticity: 3 | Covid-safe: 3 | Length: 3
(π judging criteria)
No. 2 - DocMorris
This Netherlands pharmaceutical company killed it with a story using no words. If you also set a goal in 2019 and fulfilled it in 2020, you too deserve a gold star! Warning: Have a box of Kleenex nearby.
Entertainment: 3 | Relevance: 1 | Originality: 2 | Warmth: 3
Authenticity: 2 | Covid-safe: 2 | Length: 3
(π judging criteria)
No. 1 - Soothing Relaxation
This is the only non-corporate holiday video on this list. But they got a free pass to the top 10 list because the video is brilliant. It's the longest holiday video I've ever seen and 10/10 on usefulness.
Entertainment: 2 | Relevance: 3 | Originality: 1 | Warmth: 2
Authenticity: 1 | Covid-safe: 3 | Length: 3 | Usefulness: 10
Judging Criteria
Each of these categories has a low score which is 1 point and a high score which is 3 points.
- Entertainment: How much it made me laugh and smile throughout.
- Relevance: How relevant is the company brand to the content of the video.
- Originality: This is more or less the originality of the content and idea in general.
- Warmth: This is how the video made my heart feel while watching it or seeing the story unfold.
- Authenticity: How real the people and content felt. Authentic video is at a premium these days.
- Covid-safe: Let's face it. It's 2020. I had to include this category. It's basically how well did they follow protocol like staying six feet apart and wearing masks in the production media.
- Length: Typically, corporate holiday video greetings are supposed to be short and strappy. If the style of the video felt like it would have been better shorter, I gave it a less than a perfect score.
Happy holidays to you and yours. May 2021 be even better!