The History of Video Marketing

The usage of images in marketing campaigns became viral a while back. We all probably agree that a picture is worth a thousand words, so considering a newer trend of using video for marketing, what is the history of video marketing, and how does the saying change? 

Video marketing has become a vital part of our daily lives whether we are simply consumers or fit into the creator and brand segment. These days, a one minute video is worth about 1.8 million words! The marketing technique goes back in time further than most of us realize. So, let’s take a look at the history of video marketing and how it became the discipline we know today. To make things easier, you can check out this infographic that summarizes our blog post on the history of video marketing, created by Venngage.

It all started back in 1941 with Bulova, a company selling watches, running the first commercial on a New York TV station during a Yankees game. About 40 years later, MTV launched ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by the Buggles, who prophesied a message soon to become reality. Only two years later a major player entered the field, and you guessed it, it was ‘Apple’ with its commercial for the Macintosh during the Super Bowl.

the history of video marketing

We are getting closer to the current trend of viral videos with South Park creators’ Jesus vs. Frosty video in 1992, and the first viral video, The Spirit of Christmas in 1995. As we approached the next millennium, the biggest platform yet was born: Youtube was founded in 2005. Big brands like Nike recognized the opportunity, receiving the first 1,000,000 views for their Ronaldinho video, setting a record for a lifetime.

Only a year later, Google correctly realized the possibilities of video in searching and marketing and bought Youtube for 1.65 billion US dollars. Setting off the start of the trend, different brands then entered the world of video marketing to launch campaigns, boost recognition, and most importantly start reaching a large spectrum of views and possible customers. Dove’s beauty campaign reached a large audience having women all across the globe share their message and increase brand recognition. This step forward also included Google monetizing ads and capitalizing on the success in the first decade of the millennium. In 2010, the first interactive video campaign was launched by Old Spice, a brand for male grooming products that aimed to reach a new generation. Catalyzing creativity, video formats as advertisements are now further used by Public Services (such as trains in Australia), charity, and of course, corporations and individuals.

the history of video marketing

More recently the industry has adapted to the market and introduced explainer engines, online courses, and tutorials to be used for brand recognition, internal communication, public relations, company image and branding, and marketing. With all of these improvements and variety, we are left to speculate where we are heading next. What does the future of video marketing hold for corporations, businesses, and individuals? We’ll check back in a few years 😉