In the fast-paced world of business, rebrands are common as companies evolve to better reflect their mission, vision, or market positioning. However, rebranding can pose significant challenges, especially when it comes to updating existing marketing assets. At Maximum Flavor, we recently faced such a challenge with our client, ExTracker, who rebranded to Clearstory. This case study highlights how we used AI tools to solve a unique problem, saving our client thousands of dollars and maintaining the quality of their video assets.
The Initial Project: Creating Success Stories
ExTracker initially hired us to produce two compelling case study videos. We filmed with two different companies, capturing their executives and employees praising ExTracker's product. These videos were a success, effectively showcasing the value of ExTracker's solutions and earning positive feedback from both ExTracker and their clients.
The original video delivered to ExTracker can be seen below.
The Challenge: A Company Rebrand
About nine months after delivering the videos, ExTracker informed us of their rebrand to Clearstory. This rebrand presented a significant challenge: the existing video assets prominently featured the name "ExTracker." Our client needed these videos to reflect their new identity without compromising on quality or incurring excessive costs.
Exploring Solutions
Faced with this challenge, we considered several options:
Reshooting the Interviews: The most straightforward approach would have been to reshoot the interviews with the clients. While this would ensure the highest quality, it was also the most costly and time-consuming option. Additionally, it would require asking the clients to participate again, which could be inconvenient given their initial generosity.
Editing Around the Old Name: Another option was to edit the videos to cut around any mention of "ExTracker." While this could technically solve the problem, it would result in a compromised video quality. The testimonials would lose their personal touch and become more generalized, and the edits would likely appear jumpy and disjointed.
Using AI Tools for Audio Replacement: The most innovative option involved using AI tools to update the audio. By leveraging voice generation technology, we could replace mentions of "ExTracker" with "Clearstory" without reshooting the videos. This approach promised to maintain video quality while being more cost-effective.
Implementing the AI Solution
We decided to pursue the AI solution. Here’s how we did it:
Obtaining Permissions: First, we obtained permission from the interviewees to use AI tools on their audio recordings.
Generating New Audio: We uploaded audio samples of the interviewees to a voice generation tool, which allowed us to generate new audio files where the company name was replaced. For example, we transformed the original sentence, "The impact before ExTracker was huge," to "The impact before Clearstory was huge."
Seamless Integration: We meticulously mixed the generated audio with the original interview audio to create a seamless edit. This involved fine-tuning the AI tool to match the delivery and tone of the original speech, ensuring the transition was as smooth as possible.
The video below compares a section of the original video with the new generated audio.
Addressing Video and Audio Mismatches
While the AI-generated audio matched seamlessly, the video did not. To address this, we strategically moved some b-roll footage to cover the speaker whenever the new name was mentioned. Although a complete reshoot would have provided a perfect match, it would have been prohibitively expensive. This solution allowed us to maintain high-quality video content while adapting to the new brand.
The Outcome
The results were impressive. The updated videos maintained the integrity and quality of the original assets, and Clearstory was thrilled with the outcome. Our innovative approach saved them thousands of dollars and ensured their marketing materials were up-to-date with their new branding.
The new video with generated audio delivered to Clearstory can be seen below.
Lessons Learned and Future Potential
This project underscored several key lessons and future possibilities:
Innovative Solutions: Embracing new technologies like AI can provide creative solutions to complex problems, enhancing the value we offer to our clients.
Cost-Effectiveness: By using AI tools, we provided a cost-effective alternative to reshooting videos, demonstrating our commitment to delivering high-quality results without unnecessary expenses.
Future Applications: The success of this project opens up new possibilities for using AI in video editing. AI tools could potentially fix flubs from subjects, correct mistakes when mentioning specific numbers and stats, or adjust the cadence of voice in edits to ensure seamless transitions.
Conclusion
At Maximum Flavor, we are dedicated to leveraging cutting-edge technologies to solve our clients' challenges. This case study with Clearstory exemplifies how AI tools can be used to maintain high-quality video content while adapting to business changes in a cost-effective manner.
For other video producers, this serves as a testament to the potential of AI in enhancing video production processes. And for potential clients, it showcases our forward-thinking approach and commitment to delivering exceptional value.
We’d love to hear your thoughts! How do you think AI tools can further revolutionize video production? Have you faced similar challenges in your projects? Share your experiences and ideas in the comments below.
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