Corporate film or recruitment video: What your company really needs

Two films, two very different jobs

The question comes up in almost every initial meeting: We need a video, but what kind? Usually, there are two goals on the table. Sales wants something that convinces customers. HR wants something that attracts applicants. And because both cost money, there is a temptation to cover everything in a single film.

That is exactly where things usually go wrong. A corporate film and a recruitment video have different audiences, different questions to answer and different criteria for success. Mixing the two produces a film that offends no one and moves no one.

The direct comparison

The last row is often overlooked. A corporate film generally shows capabilities, facilities and values, which change slowly. A recruitment video shows people, and teams change faster. A film featuring six people, half of whom have left after two years, looks uncomfortably dated.

How to tell which format you need first

Producing both at once is possible, but there is almost always a more urgent problem. These questions help you assess your priorities:

1. Do vacancies stay open for longer than three months? Then you lack visibility as an employer, not as a supplier. Recruitment video first.
2. Do prospects drop out after the initial meeting? Then they lack confidence in your expertise and scale. Corporate film first.
3. Does your sales team explain the same things in every meeting? A corporate film can then save measurable time by covering the basics in advance.
4. Do applicants keep asking the same questions in interviews? Those are exactly the questions your recruitment video should answer.
5. Is a trade show or careers fair coming up? The date determines the order, because both formats need eight weeks of lead time.

The trick: one day of filming, both films

The most expensive mistake is to schedule the two productions separately. Much of a filming day is spent setting up and packing down, arranging lighting, coordinating and moving between locations. Shooting the second film six months later means paying for that work twice.

With a shared shot list, a filming day looks like this:

• Morning: Production, equipment, processes, detail shots. This is the foundation for the corporate film.
• Midday: Interviews with management on positioning and quality standards, usable in both films.
• Afternoon: Interviews with four to six employees about everyday work, the team and getting started. The foundation for the recruitment video.
• Late afternoon: Atmospheric footage of breaks, collaboration and the site. Supporting footage for both edits.

That day produces two main films, several short clips for social media and stills for the website and job adverts. In our experience, the saving compared with two separate productions is 30 to 40 per cent.

What is different about a recruitment video

The biggest difference is not the equipment, but how people are directed on set. For a corporate film, we work with a voiceover script and planned shots. A recruitment video needs people to speak naturally, and that calls for different conditions.

What works well: a small crew, no large lights, a conversation rather than a question-and-answer session. We ask open questions and cut the question out later, leaving just the answer. It is also important to establish beforehand who actually wants to be on camera. If someone is forced to take part, it shows immediately.

Legally, everyone filmed must give written consent for their image to be used, and that consent can be withdrawn. If someone has a central role in the film, you should bear this in mind, or you could lose your main character when they leave the company.

Practical example: NSB Polymers

For NSB Polymers, a company in the plastics industry, we completely rethought its brand presence. The starting point was typical of a mid-sized technical business: a strong product and extensive in-house manufacturing capabilities, but little external visibility among either new customers or skilled professionals. The concept of “Connections" runs through the entire visual language, making both the technical expertise and the people behind it tangible.

View the full case study: NSB Polymers →

Common mistakes when choosing

• Both target audiences in one film. This leads to a film that neither sells nor inspires.
• A recruitment video with a high-gloss look. Applicants immediately recognise staged satisfaction and distrust it.
• A corporate film without specific capabilities. Beautiful images without a message do not stick.
• Planning only one format when both are needed. The second filming day will cost full price later.
• Not planning short versions. Without social media edits, the film sits unused on the website.

Allocating the budget realistically

Once the format has been chosen, the most common question is how to split the budget. If an annual video budget has been set, this allocation has proved effective:

The last item is almost always cut, and that is the most expensive false economy. Without short versions, the film sits on the homepage and is never seen again. With six to ten edits, you have a quarter's worth of material for job adverts, social media and newsletters.

How to measure success

Both formats can be measured, but not using the same metrics. For a corporate film, what matters is watch time on the homepage, the page's bounce rate compared with before the film was added, and feedback from sales on whether initial meetings are becoming shorter. For a recruitment video, what matters is the number of applications per vacancy, the quality of applications as assessed by HR, and time to hire.

The baseline is important. Measure the figures four weeks before launch, otherwise you will have nothing to compare them with afterwards. For open positions, time to hire is the most meaningful metric, because shortages in many technical occupations are structural and not caused by the video^[2].

Legal points to clarify before filming

For recruitment videos, the right to one's own image is the issue that can cause problems later. As a general rule, images of a person may only be distributed with their consent^[1]. In practice, this means:

• Written consent before filming, not afterwards
• Specify the purpose and channels, such as the website, social media and trade shows
• Agree what happens if the person leaves the company
• For apprentices under 18 years of age, also obtain consent from their parents or legal guardians
• If someone has a particularly central role, plan an alternative edit without that person

This takes half an hour beforehand and could save you from having to redo the entire production.

Timeline: eight weeks from idea to film

1. Week 1 to 2: Briefing, refining target audiences, choosing the format, quotation
2. Week 3 to 4: Script, interview guide, shot list, selecting the people who will appear on camera
3. Week 5: Filming day, one full day rather than two half-days for two formats
4. Week 6 to 7: Editing, first cut, one round of revisions, colour and sound
5. Week 8: Short versions, subtitles, export in all formats, integration into the website and careers page

If you want to move faster, you can bring the filming day forward, but you lose precisely the preparation time that makes the difference.

Your next steps

Write two sentences describing what a customer should think after watching the film, and two sentences describing what an applicant should think. If the sentences differ significantly, you need two films. If they sound almost the same, your positioning is not yet clear enough, and that is something we work on before filming.

You can find specific price ranges, cost drivers and a sample calculation in the article Corporate film costs. The article Recruitment video explains how employee interviews work in practice. For an overview of all services, visit Commission a corporate film.