05 — Publish / 05.02

Content packaging

You can create an excellent video and still lose the viewer before they ever properly watch it.

10 principles7 min read

Examples from

The Jet Business

@thejetbusiness

Packaging is everything surrounding the content that influences whether someone decides it is worth their attention.

The examples here are from The Jet Business, a client whose films are on the showreel. Read them as a worked example: the principle is the same in your field, the specifics are yours.

The title.
The cover.
The opening text.
The caption.
The way the idea itself is framed.

The objective is not to make the content sound more dramatic than it really is. It is to communicate the most interesting reason to watch as quickly as possible.

On this page / 11

01Find the most interesting version of the idea
02Make the title easy to process
03Create an information gap
04Let the cover communicate visually
05Use specificity
06Use contrast
07Make the cover text short
08Use the caption to add something
09Do not destroy curiosity
10Deliver what you promise
—Before you publish

Find the most interesting version of the idea

Before writing a title, identify what is actually interesting about the video. Imagine you have filmed a tour of a Bombardier Global 7500.

You could package it as:

Bombardier Global 7500 Tour

That tells the viewer what the video contains. But it does not tell them why they should care.

Now compare it with:

How can this private jet stay in the air for over 17 hours?

The aircraft has not changed. The footage has not changed. You have simply identified a more interesting entry point into the same subject.

When packaging content, ask:

What is surprising here?
What would someone outside aviation find interesting?
What question does this answer?
What makes this aircraft, story or situation different?
What does the audience not already know?

Find that first. Then build the packaging around it.

Make the title easy to process

People do not carefully read everything they see online. Decades of usability research consistently show that people tend to scan digital content, picking out important words and phrases rather than reading every word. That means your title has very little time to communicate the idea. The viewer should understand it almost instantly.

Compare:

Some of the important things you should consider before purchasing your first private aircraft

with:

3 Things To Check Before Buying Your First Jet

The second version requires less effort to understand. It also uses a number. Eye tracking research has found that numerals can stand out when people are scanning text because their shape is visually different from surrounding words.

That is why 3 Aircraft Buying Mistakes can often be easier to scan than Three Aircraft Buying Mistakes.

This does not mean every title needs a number. The principle is simply:

Reduce the amount of work required to understand the idea.

Create an information gap

One of the strongest reasons people continue consuming information is curiosity. Psychologist George Loewenstein described curiosity as arising when people become aware of a gap between what they know and what they want to know. Good packaging creates that gap.

For example: The Gulfstream G700 has 20 windows gives the information away.

Whereas: There is a reason Gulfstream windows look completely different creates a gap.

The viewer knows there is an explanation. They do not yet know what it is.

Another example:

The Global 7500 has four living spaces

versus:

There is one reason some passengers prefer the Global 7500 on ultra long flights

The second version creates a question in the viewer's mind. What is the reason? That question gives them a reason to continue.

The key is not to hide everything.

Give enough information to create interest. Withhold enough information to create curiosity.

Titles that open a gap, from the library

Let the cover communicate visually

Your brain can understand visual information extremely quickly. MIT neuroscientists found that people could identify images shown for as little as 13 milliseconds. That is why the cover matters. Before someone has properly read the title, they may already have understood what the image is showing.

If your video is: Gulfstream G700 versus Global 7500

A strong cover could immediately show both aircraft.

If the video is: Why are Gulfstream windows shaped like this?

Show the window clearly.

If the video is: Inside one of the longest range private jets in the world

Show the aircraft or an immediately recognisable part of the cabin.

The image and title should work together. Do not waste the cover showing something unrelated simply because it looks cinematic.

Do not duplicate the same information

If your cover says:

GULFSTREAM VS BOMBARDIER

Your accompanying title does not also need to say:

Gulfstream Versus Bombardier

Instead you could write:

Which would we actually choose?

Now the image, cover text and title each contribute something.

Use specificity

Specific information feels more tangible than vague information.

Compare:

This jet has incredible range

with:

This jet can fly from London to Los Angeles nonstop

The second version allows the viewer to immediately understand what the capability actually means.

Or:

This is an expensive private jet

versus:

What do you actually get inside a £50 million private jet?

Numbers, locations, aircraft models, time periods and specific outcomes can make abstract ideas easier to understand.

Instead of saying:

A long flight

say:

A 14 hour flight

Instead of:

A very large cabin

explain what makes it large.

Instead of:

A rare aircraft

explain how rare it is.

Specificity makes the promise more concrete.

Use contrast

The brain naturally notices differences. This makes comparisons one of the simplest ways to package information.

In aviation this could be:

£10M Jet Versus £50M Jet
Gulfstream Versus Bombardier
First Class Versus Private Aviation
New Jet Versus 15 Year Old Jet
Short Range Versus Ultra Long Range

Contrast gives the audience an immediate framework. They know there are two things to compare and they want to understand the difference.

Make the cover text short

Your cover is being viewed on a phone. It may appear very small on someone's profile. Do not try to explain the entire concept on it.

Instead of:

WHY THIS PRIVATE JET CAN FLY FOR MORE THAN 14 HOURS WITHOUT STOPPING

Use:

14 HOURS NONSTOP

Instead of:

THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE FIRST TIME PRIVATE JET BUYERS MAKE

Use:

BIGGEST BUYING MISTAKE

The title or video can provide the rest of the information. The cover only needs to earn the next moment of attention.

Use the caption to add something

Do not simply transcribe the video into the caption. The viewer has already watched that information.

Instead, use the caption to add:

Extra context
An additional fact
A question
A clarification
A relevant call to action

For example, if the video compares Gulfstream and Bombardier:

If range was identical, would you choose your aircraft based on cabin size, comfort or resale value?

Now the caption continues the conversation.

For an educational video:

Quoted aircraft range is not always the range you will achieve in real conditions. Passenger load, weather and reserves can all affect it.

The caption adds value rather than repeating the video.

Do not destroy curiosity

One of the easiest mistakes to make is giving away the entire video before it begins. Imagine the payoff of your video is that a particular Gulfstream feature makes the cabin quieter.

Do not write the title:

This Gulfstream Is Quieter Because Of Its Cabin Insulation

The viewer no longer needs the video.

Instead:

Why does this Gulfstream sound so different inside?

The title identifies the subject. The video delivers the answer.

Deliver what you promise

Curiosity works only when the content rewards it. If the title says “The Biggest Problem With This Aircraft”, there needs to be a genuine problem. If the cover says “£70M MISTAKE”, there needs to be a legitimate reason for that claim.

If someone repeatedly clicks your content and discovers that the title exaggerated what actually happened, trust disappears.

Strong packaging does not trick someone into watching. It identifies the genuinely interesting part of the content and makes that impossible to ignore.

Before you publish

Ask one question:

If someone knew nothing about this video, would the title and cover give them a genuine reason to care?

Then check:

Call sheet

01Is the idea understandable immediately?
02Is the title easy to scan?
03Is there curiosity?
04Is the most interesting part being emphasised?
05Does the cover visually communicate the subject?
06Are we being specific where possible?
07Have we avoided giving away the payoff?
08Does the video actually deliver what the packaging promises?

The rule

Do not package the video around what it contains.

Package it around why someone should care about what it contains.

Got the rule?