Produce It Yourself:
Before You Begin

Small Business Marketing Video Production for:

What equipment and skills will I need?

What Should Your Entertainment Facility Video Include?

Before you begin writing a script or planning your shots to produce a primary video that introduces your facility to clients, review the following marketing research findings. (Collected 2/8/18 to 4/26/18).

Maximum Video Length Average: 105 seconds (1:45)

Video Element	Recommended?	Want	Indifferent	Do Not Want
Owner Narration	Yes	45%	32%	22%
The Facility's Story	Maybe	37%	39%	24%
Animated Logo Intro	No	12%	37%	51%
Background Music	No	21%	49%	30%
Tour of the Facility	Yes	82%	13%	5%
People Using the Facility	Yes	32%	43%	25%
Fun Special Effects	No	24%	32%	44%
A Funny Skit	No	6%	31%	63%
Pricing/Deals	Depends	86%	10%	4%

Industry Overview:

84% of customers said they would use the internet to find entertainment facilities. 16% of people said they would not watch a video before choosing an entertainment facility for a group of kids. On the flip side, 83% of consumers say they would watch a video if curious and unfamiliar.

Things that Improve Customer Interest:

Good prices/group specials/packages 27%
Appealing equipment/activities/variety, appears fun 19%
Nice, smiling customers enjoying themselves (real, not too many close ups) 11%
Clean, well-maintained, updated 10%
Concise, clear explanation (not vague) 10%
Facility tour (entirely, demos of each activity) 9%
Safety precautions, well-lit, no pitfalls, patrols 9%
Fits age group/all ages/things for adults 8%
Accommodating, friendly staff 8%
Testimonials, reviews (real, independent, verifiable) 5%
Real footage, true representation, not an ad, 4%
Good food 4%
Not crowded, spacious 4%
Family friendly 3%
Quiet, laid back environment 3%
Accessibility, special needs 2%
All information provided 2%
Parking is easy 2%
Appealing decor (energetic feel, colors) 1%
Easy to travel to, directions, public transportation 1%
Walkthrough of process 1%
Map to location 1%
Message is not dumbed down 1%
Allows you to bring your own food 1%
Modern special effects 1%

Things that Scare Customers Away:

Price too high (relative to fun) 18%
Crowded, long lines 10%
Messy/dirty/outdated 11%
Unsafe 10%
Exaggeration or pushy sales message, promoting instead of explaining 7%
Too flashy, loud, chaotic, cheesy, corny 7%
Unappealing activities, lack of activities 7%
Lack of diversity, not all-inclusive 6%
Lack of information 5%
Failure to be concise, clear (too long) 5%
Unappealing clientele (rude, shady, overly attractive) 5%
Animated mascot, animated items or people, too many graphics 4%
Lack of authentic, live footage of facility/use of stock footage, actors, animation 4%
Does not fit desired age group, age limits 4%
Lack of pricing/vague pricing 3%
Unimpressive narrator (low energy, poorly dressed, annoying, loud) 3%
Poor production quality, bad camera work, annoying music 3%
Location (proximity or bad neighborhood) 2%
Failure to show full facilities/best visuals 1%
Lack of clarity in narrative 1%
Appears to not be family oriented 1%
Appears to be family oriented 1%
Staff appears unprofessional 1%
Alcohol served 1%
Too many strict rules 1%
Unappealing design (colors, lighting) 1%
Any sign of disrespect towards users 1%
Poor philosophy 1%
Message is too dumbed down 1%
Political message 1%
Needing flash player 1%

General Advice

32% of consumers said they would not watch a small business video online. The 4 most popular reasons they gave were that videos are…

Biased, exaggerated, overproduced, flashy, only showing the business in the best light, not a true representation
Cheesy, dated, gimmicky and annoying
Too long, too slow, failing to get to the point, not concise, clear, rambling
Fail to provide the needed information, waste of time, adds no value, only necessary for visual products/services

On the flip side, 68% of consumers surveyed say they would watch a video before choosing a small business. Some of the top things consumers are hoping to see in a video are…

Real footage, true representation, authentic, honest, not overproduced
Message is concise, clear, short and to the point
Full footage and information provided, nothing is left out
Message is calm and sincere, not pushy or aggressive
Does not try to entertain

Many consumers said they would rather watch a video review from an unbiased third party than to watch a video from the business itself. Small business owners tend to want to show only the best aspects of the business in the best light. It may feel counter-intuitive, but including the business's shortcomings demonstrates honesty and earns customers.

Review over 40 entertainment facility marketing video examples here: Entertainment Facility Video Examples.