The phrase ‘vox pops‘ might be new to some people, but what if you’ve known about them all along?
Often considered the ‘vital ingredient’ in attempting to understand the topic at hand, vox pops have always been important in giving a voice to the public. Popularised in TV and radio, we only need to consider the career of Louis Theroux, where he would be roaming around maximum security prisons or candidly attempting to understand scientology, where interviews would be conducted there and then when the opportunity arose to interpret a different perspective to his own, and most importantly, learn.
More recently however, trending vox pop interviews with Trump supporters or ‘anti-mask’ protestors have dominated social media, spilling over into local and global news outlets confirming the importance of such interviews when it comes to global events. Because of the technological developments, this stripped-back method of interviewing can often be conducted and published within the same day.
Check out our COVID-19 vox pop series about different topics ranging from mental health, to purchasing sustainable products.
But what are the core benefits?
As you could probably guess, vox pops are a powerful tool for creating compelling content. The most viral of these have always been due to the emotional or charismatic nature of the interview. But what always comes back to the fore-front is that these are real people, speaking about their own unique experiences, in their own words, from their own perspective. And when creating a video or news segment with various people interviewed, the viewing experience can be compelling.
Informative
Typically conducted on a high-street or at an event, vox pops are known for giving a voice to the everyday public, where one of the key benefits is giving the opportunity to talk to a wide range of individuals who will naturally come from a wealth of backgrounds, intellectually and socially. But what’s to say that these people can’t all be experts in a field that you’re interested in hearing from? The power of vox pops means that you don’t have to be confined to a specific geographic location to find these people. Vox pops are open and unrestricted in terms of who you’re able to talk to. Recruitment agencies are a popular choice in helping you source those desired respondents.
Visual
The glorious benefit of working with filmed footage is that it allows for a cinematic style, especially when filming in colourful and vibrant locations. When producing video content for any purpose, it’s absolutely crucial to hold the viewer’s attention within the first 5 seconds and so adding a creative flair, such as filming with high-quality cameras, lights, using different locations and most importantly, choosing a background to reflect the topic of the video will go a long way.
Fast, simple, affordable
It’s important to understand that one of the core reasons why vox pops have become a staple in information seeking, is due to it’s fast, simple and affordable nature. Typically conducted in a single day, vox pops allows video content to be published and shared that same week, if not that same day. Compared to other video solutions, you’re going to be spending less time, money and effort if the method of vox pops meets your goals and objectives.
Why are vox pops also important for businesses?
At the core of every business, customer is key. To not include them in some shape or form during the product conception, development and marketing going forwards is a risky feat. If the introduction of video can help increase sales, then why wouldn’t you? Aside from the points listed above, vox pops can be conducted with anyone, anywhere. No matter who your customer is and where they are globally, your burning questions can be asked and presented back in a short, digestible video which can be easily shared throughout the entire business to make an impact from day one.
There are also no limits to how far this can go. Multi-country segmentation vox pops projects are also a common approach for the bigger multinationals. When every customer matters, consumer led video approaches are often the most cost effective method in creating change on a global scale.
Want to find out more about how vox pops can create an impact across your business? Get in contact now or see our latest membership offer, where you could receive new and up-to-date video content to your inbox every month.
