As somewhat of an OCD person, I like to live by the motto of “less is more” as well as incorporate this thought into my design projects. I find that it makes my job easier; and produces cleaner results that are easy to understand and make a bigger impact. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a perfect marketing example of less is more in one of my favorite subjects: collegiate athletics.
While watching sports on a Saturday afternoon, I saw two commercials – produced by two different powerhouse conferences – that perfectly demonstrate the principle of less is more.
These videos have a very similar objective in common; to garner excitement before a new “launch”. The SEC (Southeastern Conference) is hyping the launch of its new network on ESPN and the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) is hyping the launch of its new expanded conference for the basketball season.
ACC Video
After watching this it’s very difficult to tell this video apart from any other collegiate PSA. We have video clips of players and coaches with dark overtones, overused words and phrases associated with athletics, dramatic piano music, and a voice over telling you exactly what the words say. Bottom line – there’s a lot crammed in here. Who are they marketing to? And what are they trying to say?
SEC Video
What makes this video great is what it doesn’t have; no words, no voiceovers, and no dramatic lighting. Just simple visuals of fans and a song that not only registers with the target audience, it pretty much captures the culture of an entire region. Compared to the ACC video, the identity of the audience is very clear and the message is easy to understand as well: If you’re a fanatical SEC fan, you’ll want to make sure you have the SEC network so you don’t miss out on anything.
While I personally do not care for the SEC on any level. I do have to give them credit for their video. It is very engaging and captures the true essence of less is more.