It took a while to establish itself. But the Instagram TV has now turned out to be a tool that brands cannot ignore

* Davide Colla, founder of the creative agency 150UP

My favorite thing about TV has always been advertising. This is due partly to my professional deformation and partly because I love to think about all that happens behind a commercial: brainstorming, storyboards, clapperboard and everything you need to get to those perfect 30 seconds. 30 seconds to tell a product, and, by osmosis, a brand: at its best. Sector studies, market analysis, slides with aspirations and other targets: all for those 30 seconds that sometimes change history or, when it goes wrong, just the channel.

Doraff, design Ben van Berkel, Alessi‘exploded’ and told by 150UP through 3D simulations


This was life before the advent of Instagram which, in fact, is an infinite container of advertising. On this platform, each of us is busy to look, to create a better version of himself, to show off. And the feed becomes our commercial, which lasts for years rather than seconds. A container that offers the possibility of developing continuous editorial plans, lasting months or even years, to inform and entertain our audience but also and above all to form a relationship of shared trust with them, to be renewed every day.

In the midst of all these single pages, what was missing was a noteworthy schedule: and came the IGTV. A stage that allows everyone to create quality content without worrying about the duration as was the case with the Stories. The response of the creators was a bit long in coming but now IGTV has finally won the place it deserves. Right there, still a little below the most watched TV in the world, YouTube, but on the rise.

And so on to National Geographic documentaries, cake recipes and make-up tutorials, without having to think about timing anymore, but only about the content. And if we also manage to engage our followers by posting the first part of the IGTV video, that's it.

Read also how brands are transforming the way design is communicated

Pedrali by 150UP social content to digitally launch the new 2020 products


Obviously, the conception and creation of content has changed a lot with the advent of IGTV: if on the one hand we want to capture our users with the first 3 seconds pyrotechnics – the classic of social networks – on the other we can really tell a product, an idea.

It is a way of thinking and working that I see every day, collaborating with many brands to create specific campaigns for Instagram. IGTV has become the perfect place to show campaigns in full, using the same content that would have populated semi-deserted YouTube pages.

Watch here Pedrali's working spaces

IGTV has allowed us to shift our focus from the stopwatch to the ultimate goal of our campaign: to tell our story. Whether it's a product or an awareness strategy, we know we've finally found the perfect stage to showcase our campaign in all its glory – be it horizontal or vertical.


Today, video is the most powerful tool for telling a story. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is probably worth a thousand images.

During the pandemic, I found myself completely enraptured by Loewe En Casa's IGTV series. Artisans, photographers, musicians and writers opened the doors of their studios and talked about their work, each in their own mother tongue. In my opinion, one of the most successful experiments in how a brand becomes a lifestyle. And, thanks to IGTV, he is able to tell his vision of the world, going beyond the product he sells.

Often when I create a campaign I become a bit obsessed with the product I have to tell. I like to know every detail to be able to make it understood and loved in the shortest possible time. The design for IGTV is different. What matters is the idea, the point of view of the brand to be explored and known. This is where the narrative starts which is, precisely, much more televised than social.


Of course the road is still long, there are many new possibilities to explore and implement (the search functionality, monetization and so on) but the direction is certainly the right one. Also and above all because it opens up new creative scenarios.

 

 

Cover photo and above, the RVSS21 campaign designed by 150UP for Roger Vivier. For the launch of a new super-glossy finish, the creative studio drew inspiration from the 1980s advertising and touch and guess play.