Reels for brands: thinking vertical video for social media

A brand reel is a vertical video designed for how people watch on social media: it is decided in the first second, it is understood without sound and it has an idea that makes it worth watching to the end. It works better when the point of view and the moment are decided before the format, which sometimes is not even video.

What is decided in the first second of a reel

Nobody chose to watch your reel: it appears among others, and the person decides in an instant whether to keep watching or move on. That first second calls for an image that sets something up: a situation, an unexpected point of view, a gesture. The logo and the brand introduction can wait.

The second thing is sound. A reel has to be understood with the audio off. Music and voice add when they are there, but the story does not depend on them.

The third is framing. Vertical means thinking for a phone screen from the script onward: a clear subject, one action per shot and text that does not compete with the platform's interface.

Point of view as the idea: the Playmobil POV at the Abasto

Abasto Shopping wanted to keep developing its Playmobil collection without repeating previous executions. For social media it needed an immediate, close way of telling the story, and the answer was a POV, a piece told through the Playmobil's eyes.

The figure comes out of its packaging, goes with a family through shopping, entertainment and dining, and finally arrives at its new home. Perspective, scale, character integration, AI, animation and post-production sustain the point of view throughout the whole journey.

POV is a native social media code. Used as an idea, it turns the product into the narrator and shows the whole shopping center without listing its services. The campaign changed its language according to the format and did not lose its identity. If your brand has its own character, how brand characters are created and sustained with AI covers the work behind it.

How to arrive on time to a conversation: Colapinto and Formula 1

When Franco Colapinto arrived in Buenos Aires, the conversation about Formula 1 took off. Static pieces in which tire tracks formed brand identities were circulating on social media. For Alto Palermo, the challenge was to arrive on time and contribute something new.

Alto Palermo's piece took that visual code into a video sequence: from the driver's perspective, the car travels through the city and ends with a maneuver that leaves Alto Palermo's identity marked on the asphalt. Spotting the trend, thinking up the idea and producing it with AI, camera direction, animation, compositing and VFX happened within the same process, in a very short window.

The piece came out while the conversation was still active. In an opportunity reel, timing is part of the idea. More on that in the article on real-time marketing for brands.

When a carousel is better than a reel

Not everything has to be video. For Noche Shopping, DOT Baires Shopping took the trend «Estoy a esto de» (I'm this close) to a carousel. A person covered in bags shows only a hand making the gesture that something is very close, and the text is revealed as the user swipes until the sentence is complete.

There, the swipe gesture replaces the movement of video. The format was chosen because it served the idea. Having more tools does not mean you have to use them all: a well-thought-out carousel sits alongside the campaign's videos and adds simpler, more social content.

Four decisions that repeat in the reels that work

The same four appear in the examples in this article:

• A point of view. Who is looking at the scene defines how it is told: a toy figure, a driver, a pet.

• A moment. The piece arrives when the topic is alive, or it is designed so it does not expire with the date.

• One idea per piece. What does not fit is told in another reel or another format.

• A format chosen by the idea. Video, carousel or story, depending on what the idea needs.

A reel can also have a second life off the phone. If the campaign is going to the shopping center's screens or to outdoor, it is worth planning for it from the start. In adapting a campaign to many screens we explain why each screen calls for its own version, and the guide to AI video production lays out the whole process.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a brand reel be?

As long as the idea needs. There is no length that works for everything. As a reference, Espacio San Juan's seasonal piece is a 15 to 20 second vertical for Instagram stories, and a story with a journey, like the Playmobil POV at the Abasto, may call for more. What is not negotiable is that the first second hooks the viewer.

Video or carousel?

It depends on the idea. Video works when movement, rhythm or sound tell something. A carousel works when the user's interaction can be part of the message, as in DOT Baires Shopping's Noche Shopping, where the swipe gesture reveals the sentence. Choosing the format well is part of the creative work.

Can the same reel be used on the shopping center's screens?

You can start from the same material, but it is worth adapting it. A shopping center screen has a different proportion, a different reading distance and almost always works without sound. Cropping a vertical for a horizontal screen usually breaks the composition. The right approach is to plan the versions from the script, so each screen has its own piece.

How often should a brand post?

There is no frequency that suits every brand. More important than the pace is that each piece has something to say. An account that posts less, with well-thought-out and timely pieces, usually builds more brand than one that posts a lot of generic content. The frequency is defined according to the strategy and the capacity to produce with quality.

The Playmobil POV, Colapinto and the carousel are in projects for social media; the service, in social and vertical content.