Herbivore Botanicals Brand Story Video and Product Video Production + Photography
Client Request
Herbivore asked us to develop a comprehensive video marketing campaign to support its new partnership with Sephora.com. The goals of the videos were to educate Sephora salespeople and customers about Herbivore’s brand story, what sets the products apart, and to build brand awareness and affinity. We produced a comprehensive brand story video, 12 product videos, and 5 Instagram videos that highlight Herbivore’s most popular products. Herbivore requested that we shoot the videos at their headquarters and production facility in Seattle, Washington, to make them as authentic and grassroots as possible. In addition to producing the videos, we delivered high-resolution stills from the shoot to be used on their website and across their social media channels.
The Result
The videos are engaging, beautiful, and informative introductions to the brand’s story and key products. They are inspiring, genuine, and have a clean, chic, on-brand aesthetic. The videos are cinematic, memorable, informative, and highly shareable across social media.
Company Description
Herbivore Botanicals is an all-natural skincare company founded by husband-and-wife duo, Julia and Alex, who started by creating products out of their kitchen in Seattle. Their highly concentrated soaps, sprays, creams, and serums, are ethically sourced, thoughtfully formulated, and lovingly produced in Seattle. Ingredients range from French pink clay to Brazilian gemstone, and every ingredient has a specific therapeutic purpose. Sephora.com recently added Herbivore to its catalog of products, and that was the impetus for the production of these videos.
Deliverables
Brand story film
12 short product videos
5 x 30-second Instagram videos
Product and lifestyle photography
Product Videos
Bath Collection
Lapis Oil
Coco Rose Collection
Toners
Body Oils
Bamboo Charcoal
Blue Tansy
Soaps Collection
Pink Cloud
Orchid Oil
Phoenix Oil
Brighten Mask
Our Approach
To ensure brand continuity across platforms, we developed a visual language that felt like an extension of Herbivore’s unique online presence. The videos were designed to be minimalist yet sophisticated, incorporating tones like marble, gold, pastels, and rich gemstone colors.
The narrative-driven brand video highlighted origin story of the husband-and-wife-owned brand, its philosophy, mission, and its heart in a visually captivating way, through interviews and broll. The individual product videos showcased each product’s key ingredients, usage, and benefits.
Each product video included a model using the product in a stylish home environment. The settings were simple, clean and sophisticated, with a lot of greenery and natural surfaces. We selected a diverse range of models who felt natural and holistic but aspirational and shot them in a beautiful, organic way. Each product video showcased close-ups of the products, fresh ingredients, and on-screen callouts to highlight key features. We used voiceover to explain the origin and usage of the product.
To achieve a clean, cinematic look, we used cinema lenses but the camera movement was free and improvisational to give the spot an attainable yet aspirational and polished feel. We incorporated sun flairs, slow motion, and reflections to elevate the videos.
In crafting the scripts, we worked closely with the client to ensure that all messaging felt authentic to their voice. We engaged one of our seasoned beauty copywriters who had knowledge of the kinds of claims that can and cannot be made per FDA guidelines. Since the videos were designed to be featured on Sephora.com, we worked an approval process for Sephora into our timeline.
We relied heavily on b-roll to showcase the founders’ genuine day-to-day, the love that goes into making each product, and their attention to detail. We incorporated close-up shots of the production process to call attention to the fact that the products are made by real people – and all the care they put into it. We highlighted their production facility and showcased its family atmosphere, their diverse staff, and the artisan nature of the products.
While shooting the videos, we created several opportunities for still photography of products and lifestyle shots in different environments for the client to use across its website and social media channels.
On-Set Product Photography
