Video Inception: Cultivating mutual ideas within your target audience
How can we create Inception using video content? Ultimately, way down the line, video marketing is about getting the person consuming it to “do” something that they wouldn’t have done before they watched it. It’s as simple as that, giving your target audience an idea to change their mind, attitude or behavior. However, to make this happen is difficult. Very difficult actually. Influencing through video marketing is a one sided conversation. You are engaging in a dialogue when the audience is plainly consuming the content you created. Yes, there are platforms now that allow you to go live with your content and by doing so you can interact with your audience. But the majority of the online commercial video content is a one way street. But, it works really well, when you know what you’re doing. Not just from a knowledge and experience point of view, but you have done the necessary homework and gathered the required data.
Don’t you tell me what to do!
The trick with video marketing is to present information about your idea in a way that it persuades your audience to ‘have the same idea as you’. Professional corporate video production allows organisations to craft compelling narratives that guide viewers through a persuasive journey without being overtly pushy or preachy. The way you do this influences the success rate of the persuasion itself. Think of it like convincing someone to change their mind in person. Do you think an imperative like ‘BUY THIS FROM ME’ or ‘SIGN UP HERE’ really works?
A significant pitfall in video marketing is the use of what can be called “top-down content. This is the kind of content that feels as if it’s delivered from an ivory tower, where a content creator, acting like a god amongst men, decides what’s right for their audience. By being overtly pushy or preachy, this approach ignores a fundamental aspect of human psychology. When a viewer is explicitly commanded to buy, sign up, or believe something, their natural instinct is to push back. The immediate internal response is often, “Don’t tell me what to do.” This resistance means that instead of inspiring action, top-down content, unless the viewer is already invested, typically leads to the swift rejection of the message, alienating the very audience it was intended to persuade.
I personally get quite annoyed when someone tries to sell to me like that. I don’t like it when people tell me what to do. Instead, on occasions where people have successfully given me an idea to do something, they guided me through a process where I arrived at the positive idea and acted by myself. And on various occasions, I acted as a brand ambassador when talking to friends and family.
Video Inception: It’s a dream inside a dream inside a dream inside a dream
The last paragraph is perfectly summed up in a bit of dialogue between Cobb, Saito and Arthur in the brilliant film Inception by Christopher Nolan. A film that was partly shot on Phantom Slow Motion cameras, the same style of cameras we have on our shelves here at FDHQ. But back to the dialogue:
Cobb: What do you want?
Saito: Inception. Is it possible?
Arthur: Of course not.
Saito: If you can steal an idea, why can’t you plant one there instead?
Arthur: Okay, this is me, planting an idea in your mind. I say: don’t think about elephants. What are you thinking about?
Saito: Elephants?
Arthur: Right, but it’s not your idea. The dreamer can always remember the genesis of the idea. True inspiration is impossible to fake.
This bit of dialogue, although it’s a work of fiction, illustrates how an audience can grow adversity to your message if it is not delivered in the right way. Like when you keep seeing that same advert on Youtube or LinkedIn over and over and over again. This scene continues after Arthur states the impossibility of implanting true inspiration by Cobb saying: No, it’s not.
Cobb: How complex is the idea?
Saito: Simple enough.
Cobb: No idea’s simple when you have to plant it in someone else’s mind.
Video Inception Goal: Defining the Idea and the Action
Before any camera starts rolling, the most critical question is: what is our goal? Every successful video works on two levels. First, it aims to plant a clear and compelling idea in your audience’s mind. This is the core message you want them to remember, whether it’s a feeling about your brand, a new perspective on a problem, or an understanding of your company’s values.
Second, that idea must be linked to a specific, measurable action. This is what turns a passive viewer into an active participant and makes your ROI clear. The action is the tangible next step you want your audience to take after the idea has resonated with them. For example:
- You plant the idea that the vast amount of pension provides out there fund the fossil fuel industry, so they are prompted to change their pension provider.
- You share the idea that small lifestyle changes have a big environmental impact, encouraging them to use less water.
- You convey the idea that your service offers unparalleled convenience, leading them to sign up for a free trial.
- You establish the idea that your organisation is a fantastic place to build a career and have a positive impact on the planet, motivating them to apply for a role.
Defining this ‘idea-to-action’ path is the foundation of your entire video strategy. It ensures that creative choices serve a distinct business objective and that your final video is engineered to deliver results.
Cobb: Now, the subconscious motivates through emotion, not reason, so we have to translate the idea into an emotional concept.
Video Inception in online commercial video content
In real life, it is impossible to guarantee a 100% success rate with video content. However, through a carefully designed video, you can increase the likelihood of successfully persuading the audience towards having that idea.
Emotion is the most powerful tool in a video producer’s toolkit for inspiring action because it forges a direct, memorable connection with the audience. While facts and figures can inform, they rarely motivate. A video that successfully evokes emotions—whether it’s joy, empathy, inspiration, or even urgency—bypasses the viewer’s analytical filters and speaks to their core human experience. This emotional resonance makes the message feel personal and significant. When an audience feels something, the idea presented is no longer just abstract information; it becomes an experience they’ve shared.
Once this emotional groundwork is laid, the call to action feels less like a sales pitch and more like a natural, satisfying conclusion. For instance, a video that elicits empathy for a cause makes a donation feel like a genuine act of compassion, not just a transaction. Similarly, a video that creates a sense of excitement and possibility around a new product transforms the purchase into an opportunity for personal gain or happiness. By skillfully weaving emotion into the narrative, video producers can plant an idea so deeply that the desired action becomes the viewer’s own motivated choice.
Eames: It’s not just about depth. You need the simplest version of the idea- the one that will grow naturally in the subject’s mind. Subtle art.
Arthur: (impressed) So he gives himself the idea?
Understand your audience
The key to deliver commercial video content that persuades is a thorough understanding of your audience. This principle becomes even more critical in sensitive industries where trust and clarity are paramount—which is why healthcare marketing campaigns require such careful audience analysis to communicate complex medical information effectively. So our pro-tip for the start of every video production process is to really dive deep into the minds of your target audience to explore all the layers of their subconcious so you can plant your seed of inception. And if we follow the script and dialogue of the film a bit further, we see the important role creativity plays in all of this:
Eames: You’re at the mercy of the subject’s prejudice- you have to go to the basic.
Cobb: Which is?
Eames: The relationship with the father.
Eames: If you’re going to perform Inception, you need imagination!
Once you have your idea succesfully planted in the mind of your target audience. You have them. It’s a very powerful yet dangerous tool and it is often misused in disinformation campaigns and fake news on social media.
Cobb: What’s the most resilient parasite? An idea. Resilient, highly contagious. Once an idea’s taken hold in the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. A person can cover it up, ignore it- but it stays there. An idea? Fully formed, understood? That sticks… (taps forehead) In there, somewhere.
Closing Summary
Yes Inception is a film, a work of fiction. But the similarities to what video producers do is uncanny!
The core principle is that people resist being told what to do, so effective video content guides the audience to adopt an idea as their own.
To achieve this, marketers must first define a clear “idea-to-action” path, linking a core message to a specific desired behavior. The key to success lies in using emotion, which bypasses rational filters and forges a personal connection with the viewer. By understanding the target audience deeply and crafting a simple, emotionally resonant narrative, a video can make the viewer feel that the subsequent action is their own motivated choice. Once successfully planted, this idea becomes a powerful and resilient motivator, making this a highly effective, albeit complex, marketing technique.
Are you ready to let us help you create video inception? Get in touch! or should we not tell you what to do?
