Interview with video communications expert Christian Mahne

We’re fascinated by the power of visual content in communications, so we spoke to ‘video king’ Christian Mahne, founder of Mahne Creative Media, to understand more about why the format is more valuable than ever in corporate comms. Christian, who started out in financial journalism, now runs his own media production business offering a wealth of insights for corporate communications teams. He tells us why video is a must-have in today’s comms toolkit, shares top tips for managing unprepared C-suite execs and highlights the importance of authenticity, preparation, and the art of storytelling through visuals.

Christian sheds light on platform strategies, production challenges and the transformative power of video projects, including one that helped close a £40 million deal. His most memorable project involves fake blood, broken pint glasses, and a pub fight – a training video that could rival a day on a Spielberg set. We wonder if that was for one of his corporate City clients...

1. We know you're a video king! Tell us about your background.

My first (and worst) job was as a trainee stockbroker which taught me about the city but from where I was able to talk my way in to financial journalism at the BBC and CNN where I learned my production skills. After a decade or so, once the stories started repeating themselves, it was time to move on and Sarah at The Works placed me at Lansons as head of their broadcast and online division where I learned that people will actually pay for advice and the best story going on at a client’s company is invariably the one they don’t want to tell. Three years of that and I’d built up the confidence to strike out on my own and I’ve been running my own media production businesses ever since.

2. Why is video more valuable now than ever before?

A combination of things; it has become mainstream and ubiquitous. People enjoy watching something far more than reading it. Good video is concise and entertaining and on the creator side, there are now great metrics for its effectiveness. Plus video is essentially “tamper proof” as a message delivery medium.

3. What does great video content look like?

Authentic, engaging, real. With well shot visuals and (more important than you’d expect) good quality recorded sound. What doesn’t great video content look like? Almost anything delegates shoot when they’re off at an international conference and come back saying “can you turn this into something for our website?”

4. Which platforms are most popular for companies to share their digital video content today?

Whichever one reaches your audience! Internal comms content just needs a good intranet and CMS. LinkedIn has kind of come from nowhere as the “white collar” video platform (their metrics are particularly good). We recently won some business purely on the basis our LinkedIn video engagement stats were 10% higher than the client had got previously. Vimeo is popular as an embedded player if you’re sending out content in a newsletter – that’s down to the lack of adverts. YouTube is the elephant in the room with its massive viewership, so that’s the place for content you want to be “found”. A lot of the snootiness towards YouTube a decade ago has evaporated and that’s down to its sheer size and the fact that company IT policies are less inclined to block it these days. Leave TikTok to the kids, brands stick out like a sore thumb on there.

5. What's the most common challenge you face with C-Suite when producing content?

The more senior they are the less likely they are to read the brief before turning up. Our productions are dependent on good interviews. So when you hear giveaway lines like “what do you want me to say” you know it’s going to be one of those days. There can be a silver lining though – unprepared often means off the cuff. If they know their stuff then intelligent, quick witted leaders can wing it with aplomb and will probably do better than trying to memorise an entire script written for them. Not too little and not too much preparation plus discussing something you are passionate about is probably the sweet spot.

6. Tell us a disaster story that’s happened when filming!

Production disasters come in three main forms and I’ve had all these – “talent disasters” when a key participant either doesn’t turn up or is terrible on camera when they do. “Location disasters” when it’s just not going to work where you intended – noisy construction works next door, civil unrest, lockdowns. Thirdly “equipment disasters” – camera breakdowns, on-street thievery (happened when I was at CNN), battery issues. Most of the time there’s a rapidly assembled plan B and I quite enjoy the challenge of rescuing the situation.

7. At what point in the internal and external planning process is it advisable to be thinking about bringing in a digital media partner?

As early as possible. The biggest influence we need to exert is getting comms teams to appreciate what is seen on screen is as important as what’s being said by interviewees. A whole lot of energy goes into preparing participants on paper. But video by definition is not a paper medium. It’s visual and has its own grammar attached to that. “Say it, see it”. Visuals and spoken components need to be consistent and supporting each other. Otherwise it’s at best “radio with pictures” and at worse jarring and incoherent. Ultimately we creatives are good for bouncing ideas off and the more heads involved the better the final outcome will be. If we’re just brought in at the end then the only influence we can exert is dragging that tired pot plant out of shot from the back of a bland, grey meeting room.

8. Where have companies really benefitted from an effective video project and what was the impact?

Our videos directly assisted in the £40m sale of a British company by its founders this year. We were commissioned early in 2024 to produce a series of ten videos, covering everything from corporate branding to recruitment to client testimonials. On the face of it the aim of the videos – to visually prove the company was established, well managed and highly regarded by its clients – was to enhance the new business funnel and hiring processes. What the founder was also doing was sending each video to their prospective acquirer based in Australia. When the deal was done they passed on that the videos had been key to getting the wider board (who couldn’t visit the company for themselves) to sign off the acquisition.

9. When has producing a video failed?

See Answer 7. When there’s no clarity on what the desired outcomes are to start with. When we’re brought in late and have to try and read minds. Coupled with internal politics where responsibility for a video falls between two teams / business areas with opposing aims. We’ve got much better at sounding the alarm early rather than keeping silent for the sake of being easy going.

10. What's the most memorable video you've ever made?

A pub fight, one of a series of training film scenarios we made for a client. I had to go to Shepperton Studios to pick up breakaway pint glasses and fake blood. This had everything, a script with all my best jokes in, makeup, filming permits, proper actors. Spielberg for a day!


Thank you, Christian.

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