An event video makes a software company’s community visible when it is not just the company that speaks, but its customers too. For parcelLab’s Customer Experience Day, we produced an event video in which the founders, the team and customers explain in short statements why the exchange is worthwhile. This is how the event video shows what makes this customer event special: customers learning from each other.
parcelLab had invited its customers to Cologne. The agenda included the product roadmap, upcoming launches and plenty of time for networking. The centrepiece, however, was customers presenting their own use cases. We covered the day with our event filming and edited it into an English-language event video that was ready just a few days after the event.
The project at a glance
| Client | parcelLab GmbH |
| Event | Customer Experience Day in Cologne |
| Industry | E-commerce software (B2B, SaaS) |
| Video type | Event video with statements (event coverage) |
| Language | English |
| Length | approx. 1:40 minutes |
| Delivery | 3–4 days after the event |
| Agency and production | Pathfinder Studios |
Who is parcelLab?
parcelLab is a platform for the post-purchase customer experience in online retail, from shipping notifications to returns. Online retailers use it to keep their customers informed and engaged after they have placed an order.
Why does a customer event need an event video?
An event video helps customer events make an impact beyond the day itself: as PR afterwards, as a keepsake for attendees and as an invitation to the next event. These were exactly the three jobs the event video for parcelLab had to do.
A customer day thrives on the atmosphere on site, and that is gone by the evening. The event video captures it: for everyone who was there, for everyone who should be there next time, and for the company’s external communications.
How does an event video show what customers learn from each other at a customer event?
An event video best conveys the content and atmosphere of an event when it is not just the host who speaks, but the customers themselves. That is why, in the event video for parcelLab, the founders and the team are joined by a customer who explains what the day gives them:
- Tobias Buxhoidt, CEO & Co-Founder: working out together with customers what challenges they face and how the product can solve them
- Julian Krenge, CTO & Co-Founder: direct contact with customers as the basis for product innovation
- Max Schmitt, Solutions Consultant: sharing news, connecting customers and getting instant feedback
- Jana Soppa, Head of Carrier Integration: getting to know the people behind the customers and seeing that everyone faces similar challenges
- Thomas Draheim, Associate Director Customer Experience at Redcare Pharmacy (Shop Apotheke): so many ideas for his own customer journeys that they will keep his team busy for the next few weeks
We recorded the statements in English, because that is the language of parcelLab and its customers. For us, that is part of everyday work: we film in two languages all the time. We prepared the questions in advance and, as always, coached every interviewee in front of the camera.
How we present customers and employees convincingly on camera:
How do you plan interviews for event coverage without missing the programme?
Interviews at an event are ideally planned so that the interviewees don’t miss anything important in the programme and the camera still captures every key moment. As the agency, we take care of this timing: we decide when to film the programme and when to conduct the interviews, and keep everyone involved up to date at all times.
It sounds trivial, but it decides whether the event coverage succeeds. A camera can only be in one place. If you conduct interviews during a keynote, you miss the keynote on camera, and if you pull interviewees out of an exciting session, you won’t get good statements.
“At an event, planning is half the battle. We agree in advance exactly when we film and when we conduct the interviews, so that our interviewees don’t miss anything important and we don’t miss anything important on camera. After all, a camera can only ever be in one place.” – Yvonne Schwalowski, Marketing Consultant & Film Producer
How much effort is event coverage with an event video for the organiser?
Event coverage – whether event photography or event videos – takes little effort for the organiser: a briefing at the start of the project, usually together with the request for a quote, and a pre-production meeting about a week before the event, both via Zoom. parcelLab received the finished event video three to four days after the event.
In the pre-production meeting, we agree on all the details: schedule, agenda items, interviewees and the timetable for the interviews.
What did the event video achieve for parcelLab?
The event video for parcelLab impressed the team so much that they even wanted to book us for a customer event in London afterwards. As is usual with event videos, the event video is used for PR after the event, for the attendees and to promote the next customer event.
“The professional team captured the atmosphere perfectly and ensured everything ran smoothly on site. We were thrilled!” – Matilde Serodio, PR, parcelLab
Find out more about our event videos here:
Which companies benefit from event coverage of a customer event?
Event coverage, meaning event video and/or event photography, is worthwhile for any company whose event attendees have something to say to each other, that wants to capture a special atmosphere, that has to report on the event to a third party, or that wants to fill its event again next year. Typical occasions:
- Customer days and user conferences of software and SaaS providers
- Partner and dealer days of manufacturers
- Customer advisory boards, user groups and user meetings
- Member events of associations and networks
What can other companies learn from the event video for parcelLab?
- Let customers have their say. What a customer says about the exchange convinces future attendees more than any invitation.
- Plan the timing with the agency. Coordinate interviews and programme so that neither the interviewees nor the camera miss anything.
- Film in the language of your target audience. With international customers, that is usually English.
- Publish the event video quickly. A few days after the event, the enthusiasm is still fresh. Two to three weeks later, the video no longer has quite the same effect on attendees – but it still works as a report for third parties and as PR & promotion for the next event.
Our services for parcelLab
- Briefing and pre-production meeting: schedule, agenda items, interviewees and timetable
- Preparation of the interview questions
- Coaching and interviews in English
- Event coverage on camera: programme, networking and atmosphere
- Editing and post-production, delivery 3–4 days after the event
Credits
| Client | parcelLab GmbH |
| Agency and production | Pathfinder Studios |
| Producer | Ivy Thomas |
| Camera | Michael Üdelhofen |
Frequently asked questions about event videos for customer events
Planning a customer day, a conference or a customer event?
We’ll gladly advise you on how an event video can make your event work beyond the day itself. No obligation, and as equal partners.
Yvonne Schwalowski · +49 2251 773 99 66 · office@pathfinder-studios.de
