Where do you go for new work if all of your usual contacts seem to have gone quiet? To help you get started, I’ve identified 11 industries that might need your creative and video services.
It doesn’t matter whether you specialize in animation, live action, VFX, or motion graphics;all of these industries need content that can educate, inspire or entertain their audiences!
Business Type 1: SaaS & Software
A SaaS company with a fresh capital investment is an absolute dream client for creative studios.
Software companies rely on video to communicate quickly, and it’s possible that your video might be the one chance they have to convert their visitors into paying customers. Tools like Crunchbase can help you find companies that have recently closed a round of investment.
In addition to marketing videos, software companies may also need videos that train their current customers to use their platform. Many companies don’t know how to create a professional video, and they settle for a screenshare + voiceover to train their users.
Example Companies:
- Dropbox
- Shopify
- DocuSign
- Squarespace
- Shutterstock
- Atlassian
Business Type 2: E-commerce
E-commerce companies often have large budgets for digital advertising. Sometimes, the entire business model seems to be this: sell the product at a loss so that you can capture a larger market share through ad spend.
For example, if you’ve been online in the past few years, I can almost guarantee that you’ve seen ads for Purple or Casper. These companies are literally spending themselves into the ground in order to get people’s attention.
If there’s one thing that video marketing is good for… it’s capturing people’s attention.
E-commerce companies need your video because they need something new to put in the hopper to “feed the content machine” and to get people to click on their ads.
Example Companies:
- Harry’s
- ModCloth
- Hayneedle.com
- Billie
- Purple
- Weight Watchers
Business Type 3: Finance
The finance and investment management industry is built on trust.
These companies need videos that break down the industry lingo and the scary regulations into language that their customers can understand, taking complex concepts and making them simple.
Venture capital firms may need internal videos to present to their investors, and insurance companies need to impress you with the need to buy their insurance products.
Any companies that deal with money are also inherently dealing with people’s future, so you’ll often see videos that promise a better life and tell the story of a happy retirement.
Example Companies:
- John Hancock
- Fidelity
- Kabbage
- Rocket Mortgage
Business Type 4: Manufacturing
When you think of manufacturing, you might be thinking heavy machinery and assembly lines. However, many of the world’s largest consumer goods companies also fall under the “manufacturing” umbrella.
Many of the modern mega-conglomerates are vertically integrated, with global manufacturing enterprises to support their consumer facing products. These companies often need internal training and safety videos, as well as videos that showcase their newest sustainable practices and manufacturing innovations.
Example Companies:
- Ford Motor
- AB-InBev
- PepsiCo
- Boeing
- Philips
- GE
- Procter & Gamble
Business Type 5: Health & Fitness
Here’s another highly visual industry. Their customers need to visualize their transformation to a better life (after they buy what the companies are selling).
Direct to Consumer (D2C) fitness companies are also heavily involved in the Instagram influencer world, and they may need additional content to display on their social media profiles.
Let me make a distinction between Health & Wellness vs. Healthcare. The former is more consumer facing, and the latter is more focused on corporate communication. Hospital & Healthcare systems have different needs from a company that sells supplements, but they may still need internal training videos or testimonials.
Example Companies:
- 24 Hour Fitness
- Beachbody
- Massage Envy
- Fitbit
Business Type 6: Education
Many colleges and universities have their own media departments, but they often need professional support for a specific promo or project. With distance learning becoming more and more popular, opportunities to create videos and animations for course materials or other educational references are also on the rise. This sector may also include scientific research companies that need explainer videos or scientific model animations.
Example Companies:
- Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Bright Horizons
- Pearson
Business Type 7: Beer & Wine
Another great consumer industry for selling video service is the beer & wine industry. Many of the trends that hold true in the manufacturing industry are just as true here. Small, hip breweries need modern lifestyle videos whereas large producers try to sell their products in a more traditional video landscape. This is an industry with many small players (and a few large conglomerates producing lots of content).
Example Companies:
- AB InBev
- Diago
- Molson Coors
- SABMiller
- Heineken
Business Type 8: Esports
As an emerging category, the needs of esports organizations are still up for debate.
We’re seeing interest from people like Post Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, Mark Cuban and more, and the format so far has followed traditional broadcast media.
Another highly visual, content-driven industry, esports tend to draw a lot of attention outside of the US, and they’re gaining popularity in America as well. Esports tournaments have millions of dollars of prize money at stake, attracting giant sponsorship deals from global brands (a great opportunity for video makers!).
Example Companies:
- Team Liquid
- Riot Games
- Activision
- Cloud9
- Electronic Arts
Business Type 9: Non-Profit Organizations
If you’re an agency or studio with a strong social stance, the non-profit space might be a great fit for you. Mission-driven organizations are keen to find creative partnerships that align with their values.
Cause-based organizations are a good target, but so are museums, religious or educational institutions, and philanthropic foundations. You could even get involved with politics...
Example Companies:
- The Rockefeller Foundation
- The American Red Cross
- World Vision
- Natural History Museum
Business Type 10: Pharmaceuticals & Health Care
Who doesn’t love a good technical animation? The pharmaceutical and healthcare industry can be very specialized but it also requires technical expertise and a knowledge of the medical jargon. If you can overcome the knowledge barrier, your portfolio will open additional doors in this vertical.
Example companies:
- Pfizer
- Merck
- Sanofi
- Amgen
- AbbVie
Business Type 11: Apparel & Fashion
Apparel and fashion is another great example of an industry driven by consumer spending and, therefore, advertising. Nike has done some amazing experiential work, as brands are trying to push the limits of what people will pay attention to.
Again, social media advertising is a large factor, and brands are looking for visual content that brings out the personality of their product. Ancillary industries include cosmetics, jewelry, and sporting goods.
Example Companies:
- Urban Outfitters
- VF Brands
- Gillette
- Converse
- Oakley
I hope this list of industries helps kick-start your thought process. As you try to generate leads, look at your portfolio and think about how each of your pieces would apply to a new industry. Why should an e-commerce company be interested in your car commercial?
Talk about the problem that you solved for the company, and try to explain how your creative solution would also work for their industry (even though your example was for a different vertical).
